Feeding tips?

[Kate Ware]

Hi, does anyone have any tips on food and feeding?

My boy has gone off his food almost completely.. he will sniff it and pick around but he's not interested. He has been wormed and is not unwell at all so I know he just does not like the food.

He is having royal canin maxi junior and tripe (or other meat) I will feel him twice a day, it was three times when he was growing up.

 

When I have given him a tin of processed meat he will wolf it down but the nutritianal value is not good so I don't want to go down that route. Also I want something that'll keep the weight on and his condition... shiny coat, good teeth etc...

 

So, what feeds are good? I'm in England.

Many thanks

Kate

 

 

[Christine Kent]

My friend feeds her irish setters their usual dry complete food and mixes a bit of the tinned butchers tripe with it and they love that. Someone else I know fees pedigree chum the one with the pasta and veg in. They should have all the nutrients in them and you can always give him a supplement. I give my irish setter a supplement called Bionic Biotic which has everything in it and makes their coat lovely. Its also a probiotic. It promotes healthy stools, Healthy skin, Glossy coat, Optimum weight, Digestion & Immunity. Just read that off the packet.  It is a powder and you sprinkle it on their food.  The website is www.poochandmutt.com   Good luck,

[Christine Pullen]

HI Kate, I feed mine a dried food called Symply, the salmon and potato version but I top it with either a spoonful of tinned sardines or tuna...the thing they REALLY love on top though is a tinned food called Lily's Kitchen which my vet recommended for one of mine who was underweight..it smells good enough for human consumption!! I do find though that every now and then they seem to get "fed up" with a particular food so i give it a break and just vary the above.

[Christine Kent]

I think I used Symply for my cavalier when I had him. They don';t sell that everywhere though do they? I used to get it from a pet section at my garden centre.  I have heard of Lilys kitchen. Where can I purchase that from?

[silvia]

Hi Christine , I also heard about l. kitchen: next time Oberon is fed up with naturediet I will give a try :)

is here:

http://www.lilyskitchen.co.uk/

 

you may want to look at these as well:

 

http://www.naturalinstinct.com/

 

http://www.naturediet.co.uk/

 

http://www.darlingsrealdogfood.com/

 

[Christine Pullen]

Thanks Silvia!! I do use naturediet for one of my boys who has megaesophagus as he has to be hand fed and it works well. Can't wait to look at the "darlings" one lol!!

[silvia]

Hi Christine

just saying I tried this lily's kitchen tin yesterday.. Oberon wolfed everything in one go: I never seen such iper-enthusiastic reaction from him with any other food!!  Down is the cost: at 2.20£ a tin I dont think I will go for this brand for normal-everyday use.. maybe is good for people with smaller dogs.. Wondering: did you (or anybody else) heard about natures:menu?   It looks less expensive, I am wondering if anybody had experience with this

best, silvia

[Christine Pullen]

Hi Silvia, so glad Oberon liked the lily's kitchen, yes it is expensive but good for a special treat sometimes maybe!!?? Mine have now moved onto Nature's menu!!! It seems as if these red dogs like a bit of variety!! It is a good price as you say and seems to keep them full and happy, I do add a bit of Symply (dry kibble) as well but at the moment I am getting polished bowls and waggy tails so must be enjoying it!! I have found that you have to be a bit careful when you buy it as sometimes the cartons can be "blown" and you can tell if the top is puffed out, it's something to do with the seal and Natures menu stopped production last year for a bit to rectify this, it is mainly the sensitive one with prawns in which one of mine adores but the meat ones see ok.

[Kate Ware]

Thanks to you all for your replies!!

Very very helpful all-round... Red is a fussy one but I know we will get there!

Funnily enough, if I put some Whiskers cat biscuits on his regular food he'll eat it but that ins't ideal... i will head to the pet store now... poor lad is probably starving!! 

xxx

[Christine Kent]

What meat do you feed them? ALso how much do you give them for each feed?  Do you give them any biscuit with this? My vet has said dont feed raw meat because she said they have a lot of dogs that get salmonella and other bacterial problems from the meat.  I have thought a lot about giving Riley raw because of his tummy problems. Mine is 2 years old soon and only weighs 26kg but he isn't a very big boy anyway. My vet doesnt think hes underweight and you cant see his ribs.  I would like him to put a bit of weight on though because when he gets ill I have to reduce his food and feed him only very small amounts at a time.

[KC and the boys]

Never had a problem with Errol not eating - he's greedy - but you might like to know what I do: Errol was also on fresh tripe and Royal Canin Maxi Junior when I got him aged 8 months. I had to switch because with an additional teenager in the house I could no longer afford to keep one freezer drawer just for the tripe and the Royal Canin also became too expensive. Since then I've been feeding my dog the Butcher's Tripe selection (comes in 4 different flavours) and Harrington's dry kibble. I always add a bit of moisture (vegetable oil and water) and occasionally I also add a bit of cooked chicken, an egg yolk, cheese, fish - basically whatever the fridge offers and what isn't heavily spiced - for variety. He will sort out any raw veggies but welcomes them if they have been cooked and tossed lightly in marge (basically our leftovers). As additional treats he gets the usual puffed jerky, dried tripe sticks, pigs ears, paddywack etc. Errol is always complemented on his nice shiny coat and colour and is a well proportioned dog, sheer muscle but with a little bit of chunkiness, too (now 30kg+). His teeth are good, too.

 

I’d prefer to feed the raw diet (especially because our Basset Hounds did so well on it) but it’s currently not an option for me and in the end if it works and the dog does well on whatever you feed him I think there’s no need to beat yourself up about it.

[Yvonne Wark]

My bitch was on the raw diet she was weaned on to it and it was great until she hit 7 or 8 months then she became so fussy.  I then would cook chicken for her or lamb and she would eat that for a while but then off that too, so now we are having a very fussy eater and have to feed her by hand and basically have to make sure she swallows it.......having had labs in the past this fussiness is all new to me :)

[Dušan Rauški]

Yup, same problem with my Storm too. He simply doesn't like food, and everything is more interesting then eating.

I have found that if i pour a glas of yogurth over the food he will eat it gladly. Also cooked rice, any kind of pasta, sliced doggie sausage, sardines, minced raw meat, pumpkin, etc.

All that if mixed with dry dog food he will eat everything. And also mixing it between (one day yogurth, other day, rice, etc) is helpfull.

Oh, and one other thing - size of granules. Generally small ones dont go so well like the big ones for some reason   :)