My Great Dane, Rory will only eat fresh ground beef and junk food. Any advice?

Question

OK…I know this sounds dumb, but every night I cook my pup a pound of ground beef when I get home from work. Spoiled, right? The problem stems from a visit to the vet a couple of years back when Rory was suffering from a lot of vomiting and diarrhea. My vet suggested a diet of ground beef and rice. This went on for a few weeks. Then I tried going back on dog food, but I had to hand feed it to him, or he would simply not eat. When I hand fed this mushy dog food, it made both of us gag. No joke! People told me to just put it down and Rory would eat it eventually. Not so…He refused to eat…for days on end….So…I continue cooking this meat every night. The other thing is…he won’t eat until just prior to going for a walk…which can’t be healthy either. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Answer 1

Mixing the cooked stuff in with the dog food sounds like a great idea, but if he is like our dog was, he will pick out what he wants and and leave all of the crap behind that he doesn't like and leave a big ol' mess. I agree with everyone else on this one. He will eat when he gets hungry. If you are that worried about it, ask your vet. I had a friend that they only fed their dog cooked steaks!! That dog was eating better than a lot of people out there!

Answer 2

First, don't cook the ground beef. Cooking any meat takes all of the nutrients out of it that a dog would need. Second, what junk food is your dog being fed? The absolute best diet for a dog is RAW, often called BARF (Bones and Raw Food). Processed dry dog food leaves out key ingredients that can cause any dog of any breed/age to become violently ill. If you think about wild canids, they are carnivores that only recieve plant material through the stomachs of their prey. Otherwise, straight RAW meat. That is what your dog is built to digest.
You can buy a brand called The Honest Kitchen that is a raw base. You add raw chicken or ground beef/turkey and it provides all the nutrients so many dry dog foods leave out. Last, feed your dog twice a day. Eating one huge meal per day is not natural for any dog, and can cause Gastric Torsion aka Bloat. Great Danes, and other deep-chested breeds, are at a very high risk for this fatal occurance.
If your dog still is finicky, take him to the vet. There may be something wrong that needs to get figured out. Otherwise, don't give in to his "starving". Believe me, he will eat when he's hungry.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Okay, here is what you do. Walk him first. walk him for a long time until he is visibly tired, thirsty and hungry. then, give him a mixture of your cooked food and some dry kibble. I'd say like 3/4ths. if he refuses it, keep it out for 20 minutes and then throw it out. make sure you do this at the same time every day. Dogs will not starve themselves. when he starts eating the mixed food, decrease the amount of cooked food over a week, and eventually he'll just be eating dry kibble. it's a lot easier on your budget and your time. great danes need a lot of excercise. good luck!

Answer 5

There is a brand of food called Red Barn that comes in a tube. They have a beef and a chicken/rice kind. I have never found a food that my picky dogs love more than this. You can find it at Petland stores but also online. i would mix a small amount of water in to make it easier to break down. The great part is that they only consume a small amount so the waste is smaller.

Answer 6

when he's hungry, he'll eat. i'd start showing him who is boss! you see, dogs are pack animals, and right now, he's the head of the pack. take him to obedience training, which will reinforce that YOU are master, and not him. Then, what has been suggested to me is that you put his food down only at designated times, and only leave it for 30 minutes, if he doesn't eat, you pick it up and put it back at the next designated time. he'll eat when he's hungry. also, you could try mixing a bit of your ground beef mixture with the regular dog food, making it a little less at a time. for sure though, YOU be the boss!

Answer 7

I feed my great dane Royal Canin Giant Breed and he loves that food. Then again, he eats everything! You could try slowly mixing in dry food with the meat. What would you prefer to eat? It tastes better to him so just try mixing it slowly in. If that doesn't work you may have to cook meat for him every night. It is bad to feed danes before they walk (and after), because of the increased risk of bloat (the stomach getting all knotted up). Feed either a couple hours before or after exercise.

Answer 8

My dog did the same thing .Its like an allergic reaction to by product in the dog food.Hamburger and rice is far from junk food if its cooked right .I always boil the dog food in water in order to pull all the oil out and than I rinse it several times.The dogs sometimes get to where they wont eat the hamburger because they are sick of oil plus its healthier that way.Chicken and white rice is good .Rice helps keep the stools hard a light snack of cottage cheese at night is good .Peas are good .I also give my dog vita bones because they dont have any food coloring in them and it helps keep his teeth clean .My dog stopped eating dog food at age 8 and now he is almost 15.Potatoes boiled and mashed is good.Dont ever give your dog the skin of a potato .meat mixed with white rice is great but test it out and see which meats cause diaria.My dog has a similar problem the vet calls it IBd for inflammatory bowel.Also it helps buils up the dogs appetite if you break up the meal times with smaller portions and it helps reduce the amount of stomach bile in the tummy.I feed my dog at 10 am 4 pm and 10 pm.I sometimes use keapactate too if my dog has diarea .My dog also takes meds in peanut butter and bread.He loves peanut butter and bread.Have you tryed boiling ground lamb oe veil in water and putting it in rice your dog might love that and if you add a bunch of veggies and rice it will go further

Answer 9

Mix the beef and rice in with hard food. Mix in a lot of beef with a very little amount of dog food at first and everyday add a little more hard for and a little less beef. You may never be able to cut it out completly but you will at least be able to cut it down.

Answer 10

You are supposed to train and instead he is training you!! You didn't leave the dog food down long enough! He WILL eat it eventually. You gave in after a few days. Ha Ha your dog is smarter than you! Really, start mixing small amount of dog food in the meat & rice mixture. Slowely add more and more dog food and he won't starve to death, you have to wait him out!!

Sounds like you have a wonderflu friend and he too!! Best of luck!