has my puppy become a vegetarian??

Question

I got my yorkie puppy a week ago from a breeder, who had been feeding her purina puppy chow since she started eating dry food. After I read the ingredients on puppy chow's bag and did some research, I realize how aweful it is! corn as main ingredient?eek
So i bought her some new food, like innova and canidae.
But...the thing is, my puppy wont eat anything other than crappy puppy chow!! i've tried mixing canidae with puppy chow and she would just pick the canidae kibbles out of the bowl. Then i've decided it if i leave her no choice maybe she'll begin to eat the "right food". So I gave her only the canidae kibbles for the last couple of days and she has only eaten a small handfull. I caved in and gave her puppy chow since I really dont want her to have hypoglycemia or something cause she's so tiny,
I wonder what i could do, I really want her to be on better food, not crappy corn meals.

Answer 1

No its just a lot of dogs have different taste buds and when they find a food that they like they aren't fond of switching because they know they have had better. And they just want what they life best.

Answer 2

The devil's name is NOT purina. And dogs DO need carbs too, also corn gluten meal IS a protein source, NOT a "cheap filler". Corn is only a problem if the dog happens to be allergic to it. Science content to follow: It does NOT matter one whit where your protein comes from, as long as you are getting all your essential amino acids (the protein building blocks your body cannot manufacture). If it DID matter where your protein came from, then the Vegans would all die, as humans aren't meant to be vegetarians. Also Yorkies eat less than 200 calories per day, so a few bites is a full stomach for her. So either stick with the Canidae if that makes you happier, realizing that 1) she will eat more like a hamster than a dog and 2) Yorkies are higly intelligent, manipulative creatures who frequently train their owners to do exactly what they want, or give in and feed her the puppy chow, because contrary to what the fanatics on here will tell you, puppy chow IS a nutritionally complete, balanced diet. Either way, your little dog will be just fine.

Answer 3

Purina puppy chow is really a crappy dog food.. If she doesn't want to eat the Innova, and chooses to eat the junk, then leave out only the Innova, she isn't going to starve to death, she'll eat she's just trying to see what she can get away with. If after a day or two she won't eat anything at all, then try moistening it for her a little. You don't need to soak it down so it's mush, just a little bit of water, mixed up to make a bit of a gravy and release the smells of the food. Not hot water, but just regular tape water when you turn it on.
As she starts to eat it, you can slowly cut back on the water til she is eating just the dry.
You don't want to start adding other foods to the dry, or other yummy flavours, because then she'll always expect it and you'll be back to where you are. Just enough to get her interested.
If none of this works. Try playing little games with her. Teaching her to sit and her treat is a piece of Innova kibble. Make it fun, and if nothing else, at least she is eating :)

Answer 4

1. Dogs are not vegetarians. They are Carnivores.
2. The main ingredient in any dog food you choose should be an animal based protein (Chicken, Beef, Venison, Turkey, Lamb...etc)
3. Corn is not always a bad thing. It should not be the main ingredient, that is true...but a properly cooked and processed corn meal can be a well digested carbohydrate source for your dog.

I disagree with a previous comment about "corn gluten meal" however. Corn Meal is used as a carbohydrate. However, Any time you see "Gluten" in the ingredient (soy gluten meal, corn gluten meal, etc) that ingredient is being used as a protein source. Plant based protein sources are NOT easily digested by dogs. Your dog should get its protein from animal based protein sources, as I noted above.

4. Unless your dog is ill, your dog will not starve herself. Dogs are very good at training their humans...sometimes better than we are at training them. For example: every time you give in and put down the lesser quality food, your dog realizes if she waits long enough she will get the stuff she wants.

My suggestion: Your dog falls into the small breed puppy category. Gradually switch your dog over to a premium pet food designed for your dog's size and age. In your case, I would suggest Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy. The kibble is designed small enough for your little puppy, and is formulated for your dog's higher metabolism. After gradually switching your dog over to the higher quality food, see how your dog is doing with eating the food.

Suggestions for enticing your dog to eat their food without undermining the balanced nutrition of your dog food: warm the food up in the microwave for a few seconds. It will have more aroma to the dog, and make the food more appealing. A small amount of a low sodium beef or chicken stock could be used if you absolutely must.

Answer 5

That's great that you changed food. And don't worry too much about "caving in" - since she is small, her blood sugar levels are a concern. Next time, try boiling some chicken and save the water. Tear up the chicken (not very much) mix this in with her kibble, and pour some of the reserved water over all. This should make it more palatable for her, and then you can slowly decrease the amount of chicken that you put in there. Good for you for not letting your dog 'train' you into letting her be a picky eater....

Answer 6

Try mixing it with some Iams gravy.. it's not that great, but until she gets used to it, it might help because its supposed to be tasty. My dog refuses to eat dry food altogether, but she LOVES loves loves the wet pouched food from Nutro, like Chicken and Cheese Casserole. It's yummy, apparently. Try mixing that in a bit with the dry food. Also, try crumbling it up a bit and mixing the 2 dries together, slowly putting in less puppy chow. Also, try feeding her in a flat plate (like a paper plate). Good luck!

Answer 7

Perina is crap, try a superprimium food with lots of oils like a lamb and rice. Then mix in a few blueberrys or raspburrys or rasbury jam. Mix it throughout the food and watch your pup dig in. Keep that up for a couple of weeks then lesen the berrys and soon your dogs eating just kipple. I've used this trick for years and it works every time. Remember blueberrys, raspburrys and such are good for dogs and it feeds on the sweet tooth use that to your advantage.

Answer 8

Purina isn't the best quality of food but it is kind of a medium quality dog food. I have a golden retriever that will only eat Purina. He is doing fabulous. 8 yrs old and still going strong. One thing I've found that works for switching the stubborn dog's food is to start by giving her some wet food. I would recommend Iams Mix it in with the dry food. Wait about a week then start mixing by quarters Iams dry food. A week at a time. This should take a total of 5 weeks, to have her switched over to Iams. Make sure you keep the wet food in there until she is completely switched over on the dry food. After you've got her switched over use your own judgement on how long to keep her on wet food. Some people prefer to feed their dog wet food their entire lives.

Answer 9

Your right corn is not good. I have an idea. Try mixing cooked rice in with her kibble and maybe some warm chicken or beef broth. Let the kibble soak up some of the broth before giving it to her. Good luck

Answer 10

Put some real meat in with the puppy chow....in any case....the puppy chow would be fine alone anyway