Fussy Eater...

[Early riser 22]

My dog is 15 months now and has always been a fussy eater chicken and venison is his main diet but its not a cheap one at that, he won't eat dry food of any kind, I've tried all sorts. He is 27.5 tts and weighs 72lb so he's not under fed but would be nice to get him on a complete food so he's getting all he needs. Any advise would be great.

[LaraCroft 863]

If he is getting a decent BARF diet, he should be getting all he needs anyway ( there is BARF section on here, with loads of more advice ) - if he isn't keen on dry, it can be a struggle to get them to take it regularly. If I take my lot away for a couple of weeks, and there is no facility to store BARF, then they have dry, but I usually end up having to add gravy/chappie/cod liver oil etc to get them to eat it - and even then they are not impressed.

 

One thing that helps, is not making a fuss over it for the dog - put the food down, and if it isn't eaten in 15-20 mins, take it away again.

[Early riser 22]

Thanks, he won't eat veg,pasta,rice. But will eat some tin food. It doesn't seem to affect him on the field.

[LaraCroft 863]

Mine get some pasta/rice if there is left overs from what I am cooking, but they really don't need large amounts of carbohydrate. Shoving a load of green veg, carrots and spuds into a stock pan, with a chicken/rabbit ( or both ! ) carcass, and boiling for a while sorts out the veg - they happily eat cooled "soup" a few times a week to keep the veg level ok. The rest of the time it is chicken or rabbit, either whole or minced.

[Early riser 22]

Just been to a local butcher and got 20 x 1kg bags of beef trim and guess what he won't touch it, just wondering if it would help if it was cooked. It's quite a big deal trying to keep him in tip top con when he's so fussy.

[BORDERSCOT 3,816]

If he is getting a decent BARF diet, he should be getting all he needs anyway ( there is BARF section on here, with loads of more advice ) - if he isn't keen on dry, it can be a struggle to get them to take it regularly. If I take my lot away for a couple of weeks, and there is no facility to store BARF, then they have dry, but I usually end up having to add gravy/chappie/cod liver oil etc to get them to eat it - and even then they are not impressed.

 

One thing that helps, is not making a fuss over it for the dog - put the food down, and if it isn't eaten in 15-20 mins, take it away again.

 

Aye and don't feed it again for a fortnight or even three weeks - it'll eat after that.....nah only joking....good advice for your own sanity if nothing else...find a supplier of minced products and you'll not need to worry about complete...he'll be getting more from the raw than any complete...

[LaraCroft 863]

Just been to a local butcher and got 20 x 1kg bags of beef trim and guess what he won't touch it, just wondering if it would help if it was cooked. It's quite a big deal trying to keep him in tip top con when he's so fussy.

Try cooking, if he eats it, then just gradually reduce the cooking time until he is eating it raw. A lot of dogs are not familiar with the texture of raw, and need time to get used to it.

[Early riser 22]

Thanks.

[Huwidge 69]

you ever tried tripe? not a lot of dogs turn tripe down and its good for them.

[Early riser 22]

you ever tried tripe? not a lot of dogs turn tripe down and its good for them.

no mate I haven't yet but it's a good idea and I will try and sort some out. Thanks

[paulus 26]

They will normally eats what's put down before they will eat there front legs

[Early riser 22]

If I shoot some rabbits will the shot poison the dog?

[LaraCroft 863]

You don't want them taking in too much lead shot - yes, will poison them, but it isn't a great risk as it is slowly absorbed by the gut when in shot form. I tend to dig the shot out as I sort the meat for the feeds but that is birds rather than bunnies, which are caught more than shot.

[beast 1,884]

no dog will ever make itself ill by not eating, unless it has some serious problem internally. even the fittest dogs carry some internal fat as an energy store so no harm will come to the dog.put the food down, if it doesnt eat give it nothing till the next day. a dog might miss one meal, might even miss two, but it won't want to miss too many more! especially if it is getting plenty of exercise to build up an appetite. remember that any change in the diet should be gradual over a few days or the dog may get the runs

[j1985 1,984]

Honestly when I clicked into this thread I thought it said pussy eater!! Need to get some glasses haha