I have a 9 week old yorkie-poo, and she seems to hate her dry food. I have a big bag of Eukanauba and she doesn't eat it, it seems that she only eats it when she is extremely hungry. We did buy another bag of puppy dry food, but she doesn't want that either. I do feed her cesars and the eukanauba with the gravy and she loves them but they are expensive and the big bags of dry food is economical. Any ideas?
2007-06-12 10:48:10 · 17 answers · asked by tlcorbett85 3 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Your puppy is a 'tiny dog' and the dry dog food may be just 'too big and too hard' for her 'baby teeth' to bite. Since your dog is so small, I think that you would be much better off if you could feed her a 'good quality canned' food for her whole life ... either that or try letting her dry food 'soak' in a little water so that it's 'softer' and easier for her to chew and swallow.
2007-06-12 10:54:18 · answer #1 · answered by Kris L 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dogs have a tendency to sometimes refuse the food they are given in hopes that they will get something better. If the dog wont eat enough, try softening the food with water about twenty minutes prior to feeding it to him. This will enable him to eat a softer, soggier food (it allows the flavor to come out a little more) without giving him the fatty alternatives, which are not altogether that good for a dog, especially a growing puppy. Try this before switching the foods, because not only will switching give him the idea that if he holds out long enough, you will cave, but also dogs are not always keen on new foods either, and changing foods can upset their stomachs. If you do change foods, do it slowly by mixing the food he is already eating with the new food first. Then, slowly, reduce the amount of the old food and increase the amount of the new food with each meal. This way, you will not upset the little guy's stomach.
2016-03-13 21:52:51 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
buy several small boxes of differnt types of food. Sometimes you can even get samples online at pet food sites. If you give them wet food, you will always have too. TRUST ME! It took us two months to break the habit with my doggie. my DOG (not puppy) will only eat puppy chow. She will starve herself before eating anythign else. Like people, not everyone likes cauliflower!!! She might be a mashed potatoes kinda gal.
I think the person who said the food might be too big could be right. The food size or even smell could deter her.. YOu might contact where you got her and see what they were feeding her, she might have just gotten used to their food.
good luck, she'll come around. You can always talk to your vet when you go in for a check up.
2007-06-12 11:28:31 · answer #3 · answered by Jenohio 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am of the belief that if an animal gets hungry they will eat what you feed it. Unless there is an allergy or she is drastically loosing weight on the food, then I would not bother trying to please her. I do suggest thinking about switching to a natural food though. One that does not have preservatives and chemicals in it. I feed Life's Abundance, my animals love it. I have a friend who feeds it too and her dog doesn't really care for it, but he will eat it. (just like kids, they don't like healthy stuff lol) The site has the ingredient list and cost comparisons too. You might save some $$ even.
2007-06-12 11:29:24 · answer #4 · answered by Ang 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make sure that the dog food is not too big for her tiny teeth. If it is small enough for her to crunch on she might just be being picky. Eukanauba is a good brand. If she gets hungry enough she will eat it. No dog in her right mind would starve herself!! Giving her the cesars and the gravy stuff will only make it worse though. She'll figure out that if she can hold out long enough you'll give in and she'll get the "good stuff". Even though the "good stuff" isn't good for her since it is pretty fatty and will rot her teeth faster than the crunchy stuff. I think she'll get used to it though...once she forgets about the gravy morsels!
2007-06-12 11:04:37 · answer #5 · answered by JDawg 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Okay... Nutrition wise:
From best to worst
RAW
Home cooked
High quality Wet/Canned
High quality Kibble
ulcrm is right... the 6 star foods are the best... Get a kibble without grains. They are the #1 cause of allergies/health issues in dogs.
Good luck.
2007-06-12 13:30:10 · answer #6 · answered by Jocelyn7777 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Eukanuba isn't the best quality food.It has a lot of cheap fillers in it. None of the store brands including IAMS, Science Diet, Pedigree, Purina..are good.
Try feeding her a better quality meat based food such as Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, Premium Edge, Wellness, Merrick, Fromm just to nmae a few.
2007-06-12 10:56:36 · answer #7 · answered by Great Dane Lover 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
The expensive food is not always the best. We have a pug and he didn't like Science Diet or any other food I bought from the vet. I remembered what a former vet told me many years ago. Dogs are like people in that they need a balanced diet. So most of the time cheaper foods are better. Mine eat Beneful and most any dry food that is in small pieces.
2007-06-12 11:00:29 · answer #8 · answered by 1 Sassy Rebel 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You may want to look up some recipes on the net so that you can make your own dog food. It make take some time, but will most likely be more economical if you make it in bulk and freeze it.
2007-06-12 11:31:21 · answer #9 · answered by Dandy Lion 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anything you can buy at a grocery store is pure garbage. Science Diet and Eukanuba is garbage.
Here is a chart that rates your dog food and tells you why it got that rating. One being the lowest (garbage) and six being the highest (best) They go by the ingredients, not what the advertisers want you to believe.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
2007-06-12 11:37:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋