We are at our wits end..................

[Lee Seidman]

We are at our  wits end,  Lexi has been a fussy eater and now that she has turned three we have tried everything.  She currently gets fed once a day a cup of Orijen and a half chicken breast, or roast pork, or hamburger on top of the Orijen. She picks out the meat and spits out the Orijen. We have tried every quality brand of Kibble and have donated tons of partial uneaten bags to the Humane Societty. She is only 37 lbs but is the sweetest gal ever.

In the morning the only thing she will eat is a couple of the dried chicken strips.  I am afraid of those because they have had some bad publicity and they are made in China. We have tried wheat free treats and she tries them once or twice and no good.  She will not eat any kind of biscuit. I would like to try adding a high quality canned food to the Orijen and eliminate some of the home cooking.  We tried some Taste of the Wild canned and she went three days without eating anything.

Can anyone suggest a really good quality canned food to suplement her Orijen....and a healthy treat for her breakfast      ..Please please please.

 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I've experimented with sweet potato chews too, but I just used the oven.

 

I cut sweet potatoes into slices about 1/2" thick, then sliced in half lengthwise.  I then put them on a rack (I had a toaster oven rack) and put that rack in the oven (lowest oven setting, mine was 190 F) for 3 hours.  If I were to do this again, I would also poke some holes in the potato slices for a little more dehydration.

 

Luna absolutely LOVES these; they have the consistency of soft leather so she has fun chewing them.

[jenni hoffman]

I used to make the chicken jerky before Chloe seemed to have a bad reaction to chicken.  Costco has three pack organic chicken breasts, two to a package and I'd freeze them.  With a bit of freezing, or freeze then some thawing, the breasts are very easy to thin slice with a good knife.  Then after baking I'd put them in a zip lock and refrigerate.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I mix Wellness canned Beef in the kibble, mixing it up really good so all the kibble is covered. I add a boiled egg, sweet potato and/or cooked green beans from time to time. She loves it. It's the only way I'll get her to eat her kibble, unless she's starving. It sucks that I have to alway doctor up her kibble, but I don't want a starving doodle, I want a happy doodle who loves her food, so I don't mind doing it. It's easier than cooking.

 

Maybe you should try the natural food, i forgot the name, maybe 'Healthy Kitchen' or soemthing. I'm guessing it's pricey but people who use it swear by it.

[KC]

We found Milo to be super enthusiastic about his kibble after we started adding a crumbled lamb patty from Stella and Chewy. I had gone to our small pet food store to ask about canned supplements, and the guy there, who I find very well informed, said, with cans you pay so much for the water weight. Stella and Chewy's is dehydrated meat, and you add the water at home. So we tried it, and Milo eats it right up like a puppy. Earlier he would eat a few mouthfuls of kibble grazing reluctantly for several hours.

Here is a link if you want to try it. I think it came out to one $ a patty, and we break a patty into two and give him half in the morning and half in the evening.

http://www.stellaandchewys.com/dog-driedlamb.php

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Lee,

Just read your post.  I've been looking for a safe, low fat treat for Mitzi and Pepper, too.  We have been making our

own dog bone cookies for them for a while and need more choices.  I also have the Nesco Dehydrator and love it!

Have been using it all summer to dry mangoes.  You can get it at Bed,Bath and Beyond and with the 20 percent coupon it is not too expensive.  I think it was under $40.00, don't really remember but you can price check it easily enough.

 

I sometimes add greek yogurt to their kibble, always add one tablespoon of canned food, either Natural Balance or

Wellness, but N.B. sits better on their tummies, (just discovered that).  Sometimes I heat the food in the microwave

if they are getting fussy.  I also sometimes add a little parmesan cheese to their food, they both go crazy for it.  Hope to see you all at the romp Sunday!

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Cooper gets super bored of her kibbe - each time I buy a bag I get a different meat protein, but she still bores of it half way down the bag. I sometimes add a tiny bit of canned food or natural balance chubb which she loves. A few days a week I give her raw.

 

If you are going to home cook, make sure you add supplements as cooking meat looses lots of nutrients and it isnt a balanced diet. You could try raw, or freeze dried raw or dehydrated raw. They are very yummy so Cooper tells me