Food toppers?

[Nick Pietras]

Hi everyone - my ALD Gus has become a bit picky with his food in the past couple weeks. He is on Orijen (I rotate the formulas every couple of months) and top with a bit of boiled ground chicken. I also put a tablespoon of yogurt in his morning bowl. He has never been a ferocious eater and is surprisingly not really motivated by food. However, he's never had an issue eating his food. He still eats it, but he'll sniff it when I first put it down, walk away, and then walk back to it, nibble some, walk away, go back...and on and on until he's finished. Wondering if anyone has any tips for another easy topper I can use to change it up a bit and interest him. Is it ok to switch to ground hamburger instead of chicken? I only feed him the poultry and 6 fish formula of Orijen (Gus was not really into the red meat formula), so wasn't sure if it was the best idea to use red meat with it. Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Have you tried scrambled eggs? :)

Seriously, there's nothing wrong with wanting to make the food more attractive to your dog, and there's also nothing wrong with not caring if your dog likes his food or not, as long as there are no health issues related to food and you are offering good quality foods.

In the case of a dog who has a weight problem, either way, it's a legitimate concern.

 

[Nick Pietras]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and sharing similar stories. I'm not concerned about Gus' health or well being, and I'm certainly not upset because I'm not receiving pleasure from my dog eating the food right away - was just looking for another way to switch up his meals ad make them a little more appealing to him.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, men have the advantage over women when it comes to food just being food, lol.

[Denice Caouette]

My Sabrina has always been a picky eater and does not like to eat if ANYONE other than me or finally now my husband is around. I have tried several different foods. They like the Pork and Applesauce Fromms...not much into anything Duck or Fish and refused to eat any Blue Buffalo Grain Free. I tried adding some canned Blue Buffalo to their kibble and that worked for a while. I used to free feed them but when we traveled I had a hard time getting them to eat. So now I put down the food morning and night and if they do not eat within say 20-30 minutes I pick it up, generally they will eat the next meal in record time! I am now feeding Three Dog Bakery Bake to Nature and rotate between the Lamb and Rice and the Chicken adult formulas. I also rotate in some of the Fromms. I quit using the canned food and now make their "wet food" which I add on top of their dry food....I do stir it in pretty well so they can not just eat it off the top. They are really eating well at this point. I use the recipe for the Chicken Dinner that is here in the Food Group recipe section. I throw the whole thing in the crock and just let it cook like the recipe says. They love it...kind of like table food but with none of the salt, preservatives, etc. I just freeze it in those plastic containers, enough for about 2 days in each. Hope this also helps! The 3 Dog Bakery food is not on our list here, but it is rated with 4 stars.