UPDATE: Bailey is turning his nose to Acana!

[Melissa & Wesley]

So, Bailey has been on Acana Grasslands for about 3 weeks now and was gobbling it up like there was no tomorrow.  I currently feed him 2 times per day, in the morning and the evening.  I give Bailey a TBSP of plain yogurt after his morning feeding.  On Thursday & Friday, he did not want to eat his morning meal, but would hesitantly eat the evening meal.  I went to my local natural dog food store and they recommended trying him on the Acana High Prairie. I asked the owner of the store if I should mix the foods as I introduce the new food, High Prairie, to him.  She said that Acana is so similar between the different types, that I would be okay giving him the High Prairie by itself. So, Saturday afternoon I fed him the High Prairie kibble and he gobbled it up.  I gave him a little bit for his evening meal, which he ate as well.  Although, that night when I took him out for his bedtime walk, he came in and "coughed up" a couple undigested pieces of kibble.  Yesterday and today, he was hesitant to eat the High Prairie kibble.  He ate a little bit in the morning, then ate a little bit in the evening.  We tried to give him what little bit we have left of the Grasslands kibble and he turned his nose to that as well.  Could he just be too full from his earlier feedings that he is not hungry?  I know Karen has stated in previous posts that a dog will not starve itself.  Does the Acana not agree with his tummy? 

 

By the way, his poops have been awesome since starting the Acana.  I would really like to keep him on this kibble.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give me!!!

Melissa & Bailey Boop

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There may be a medical reason why Bailey is suddenly not eating. Is he interested in his treats? Sometimes you can tempt a dog into eating by giving them something new or extra-special and they will eat it, even though they really don't have an appetite. So I would not introduce any new foods at this point. Keep giving him the Acana, and if this continues, I would see the vet.

Otherwise, he may just be a picky eater like my guy. If I give him something new, he will eat enthusiastically for a week or two or three, and then start turning up his nose again. I may add a spoonful of chopped egg,  chicken, meat or fish to his dinner just to get him to eat, but only when I'm sure there isn't a physical reason for the lack of appetite.

[Melissa & Wesley]

Thank you for the quick response Karen!

 

Bailey has been eating Sam's Yams in the evening and the occasional banana (which he loves!).  I think I will try the chopped egg tonight.  Maybe that will entice him to eat.  Do you think I should return to feeding him the Grasslands or stay with the High Prairie?

 

Bailey starts puppy class on March 21 and the trainer asked that we not feed him his evening meal (class is at 6:30pm) but instead bring his kibble to give as rewards at the class.  So, what if he is not eating his kibble?

 

Thanks again for the advice Karen!

[Kim]

Melissa - if I tried to give Allie her food as her treat, she would probably bite me... LOL - I'm just kidding, she wouldn't bite me, but she would not eat her food as a treat.  I would give her something she REALLY loves for a training treat - not kibble.

[Melissa & Wesley]

Kim,

I never thought about that!  So, we will feed her less food Monday evenings, before his puppy class, and possible find a treat that would be good to bring for class.  Any suggestions on what type of treat?  I don't want to give him too much treats as to add more calories to his diet.

Thank you!

Melissa & Bailey

[Kim]

I dehydrate chicken for Allie, and cut them up into tiny pieces for training.  I have heard of others dehydrating sweet potatoes, but Allie is a very picky doodle.  I'm sure you will get more ideas from others in the group.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Zuke's minis are a great training treat. Most dogs love them, and they're the size of a piece of kibble.

[Melissa & Wesley]

I've seen the Zuke's in the natural dog food store.  Thank for the recommendations!  I will definitely not give him dinner before class and have treats ready to go! 

Thanks for the great advice ladies!

 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Oh but Karen ----- they stink.  I took them the other day on a therapy visit as treats for Sophie and thought I would gag when I opened the bag!  She loved them though.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL- JD won't touch them, so I had no idea they stunk!

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

For Cosmo's puppy classes, we did not feed him his evening meal until AFTER class--if he was hungry.

I agree that, especially for a puppy class, training treats need to be very high-value to be helpful--and kibble usually isn't.

Cosmo loves Zuke's minis, both chicken and lamb, but his trainer was not satisfied with his response even to them. So she had us by store-brand (Kroger, in our area) chicken cold cuts and cut it up into small pieces. It's nasty. but it really helped him to pay attention and perform amid the distractions of all the other people and puppies in class!

We used the chicken ONLY in class. For home practice sessions, we use Zuke's minis or Solid Gold tiny tots.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Melissa...Gracie Doodle is almost 4 years old and has now been on Acana for almost a year.  We love her poops!!!  She has never been a food motivated Doodle and would initially like her food but then grow tired of it after a few weeks.  With poop issues, Karen got us set up on Acana and Gracie loved it for a while and then became indifferent.  She would take until 4 PM to finish her morning breakfast and then when she got dinner she would be more inclined to eat all of it.  We played around with the three (grain free) flavors and the one she likes the least is the Ocean Fish one.  Can't remember if it is GrassLands or HighPrarie that she likes best.  It is the one with chicken and white fish.  Even after a few months Gracie went back to her waiting all day to finish breakfast.  She is 75 lbs and was getting 3 cups a day of kibble.  We now give her 2 cups and have added frozen cut green beans that we warm in the microwave.  She LOVES her beanies and actually picks each one out individually and eats them first.  We give her 1/2-1 cup at each feeding of beans.  This has been going on for almost 3 months now and she actually "asks" for her meals.  She looks at her bowl and then up at the microwave oven to let us know she wants her dinner "early" now!  She has the best poops ever and no more anal sac smell either!!!

[Melissa & Wesley]

Thank you Nancie for the green bean recommendation!  I have frozen green beans in the freezer for the kids and hubby :)~ I am going to have to try them for Bailey!

 

So I have to vent just a little bit.  I called another natural dog food store a few minutes ago to ask them if they sold Acana, as I do travel 30 minutes to my favorite natural dog food store to get Bailey his Acana.  This new store opened a couple months ago and is 10 minutes from my house.  So I was talking to the store clerk on the phone and their store does sell Acana...YAY!!  However, when we were talking about Bailey eating Acana, he told me that I was not suppose to feed a young puppy such "high protein kibble" because he may grow to fast and cause problems with his joints and other skeletal development.  He stated that I should be feeding him a grain based kibble and one that is more geared towards puppies.  But then went on to say I could feed him Orijen Puppy kibble.  Okay, he obviously does not know what he is talking about!!!  UGH!  Plus, the Royal Canin I was feeding Bailey had 29% Crude Protein and the Acana has 32% Crude Protein.  What's the big difference!  They have officially lost any business I would have given them. 

 

Thank you ladies for helping me find the right food for Bailey and not making me feel guilty with the choices I make for him!

 

Melissa & Bailey