Hi,

I have posted regarding my fussy pup before but I am now getting so fustrated and a little worried if I'm honest....

I have found that despite eating complete (soaked) CSJ when being weaned etc she now won't go near the stuff (soaked or not) or any complete food it seems? I have also tried Skinners complete puppy as the kibble is a lot smaller. She is also not always that keen on tinned meat??

I have now found a food which she loves - Prize Choice frozen mince blocks. However my dilemma is - what should I give her with this to give her all the nutrients she needs? She will eat the complete kibble mixed in with this meat but then am I not upsetting the balance of a complete food?

She is a 17 week old pup of a working breed. I am not a fussy person usually but at this age I am concerned that she is going to stunt her growth if she dosen't eat properly....

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Hi Gema

if she's happy with the PC mince and added kibble then I'd go with that :)  Pups and adults for that matter are more likely to be fussy about food when we provide too many alternatives early on which then makes it an ongoing problem for you as much as your girl.

I feed some of mine complete, some a mix of complete and raw and some raw only - TBH I've found the best way to guage how things are going with any diet is how healthy your pup/dog looks when on it and how much s/he is enjoying it.  IME it's more important to get them into the habit of eating regularly as youngsters than in later life as it's all too easy for pups to lose condition.

Try not to worry too much - they pick up on bad vibes ;)  Since she likes the meat blocks with kibble then stick with them - try not to chop and change away from that and monitor her weight, coat condition, energy levels etc to basically ensure she is thriving on it.  If you have other concerns then best to run these by your breeder as breed specific advice is usually worth it's weight in gold compared to general advice :)

Good luck, Teri

Have you tried her with chicken wings..... or depending on what size she is a chicken quarter or half...??

I know that she would love chicken - only problem is once she has it she will probably never go back to anything that isn't chicken!!

Oh boy I know this situation and it worried me silly with one dog as I saw one of his litter mates who was very different in size.
I felt that it would effect his growth and he went days without really eating anything, i know people say that a dog will never starve itself but this was getting a very worrying situation, I went through so many different completes, toppers etc, he'd like something for a few days and then turn his nose up.
I'm all for saying don't make a pup fussy and by doing what I did prob wasn't the best, but it got beyond a joke and I had to do anything to get him to eat - he wasn't ill either as he had check up's.

I in the end went to a total raw food diet and his appetite changed, he was on that for the main for a good 6 months and then we went back to complete and tripe.
He eats much better now that 1 he has competition, not that they are fed in the same room, but can see each other and 2 changed the food again. He's onto AG prestige as a main food along with the youngster and its making a huuuge difference in them both.
TBH if you go raw with her and stay raw whats the harm? if it means her eating through puppyhood

I'm still having that fun from time to time with my puppy, now 3 months old. She'll dance around in excitement until you put the bowl down and then look in it and say 'oh, just dog food again?' She's worse after a training session as that's when the chicken and cheese appears! As long as she only refuses one meal and eats the next, I don't worry too much any more.

I don't worry either if a pup misses a meal, as long as he eats the next one. My vet says a healthy dog will never starve it self (although you always think you have the exception to the rule) and it will eat what it wants/needs

I know many people who feed the blocks of meat and mix the complete in with it and they have fit and healthy dogs :)

My 12 week old pup is the most picky eater I have ever had, she should still be on 4 meals a day but I am lucky to get 2 down her. She likes anything on a bone, chicken carcass, necks whole sprats or sardines, lamb bones etc.."ON THE FLOOR PLEASE" not in a bowl but I usually feed one day bones one day minced meat (Mixtures) She bounces around squeaking while I prepare it then looks in the bowl and up at me as if to say "I am NOT eating that rubbish" She has plenty of competition with her Mum and Granny eating in the same room but she is just a fussy boots so I put it down and lift it if she refuses it. She then gets it next meal time. Some days if I chuck her tripe on the floor she will scoff the lot. As long as your pup is putting on weight and eating at least some meals I would not worry too much.
Aileen

Aileen that's what Hetty does, she won't eat it out of the bowl sometimes but will eat if I chuck a handful at a time onto the floor. She can't eat in the same room as the 2 adults because they will wolf theirs and hers so fast she wouldn't get any!

The bowl actually makes a difference to Inca as well - an old plastic ice cream tub is much preferred over the nice Stainless bowl..... I do think she would prefer it tipped on the kitchen floor but the OH would go mad... lol!!!

> complete kibble mixed in with this meat but then am I not upsetting the balance of a complete food?

My pup was raised on complete kibble mixed with raw tripe, I don't think feeding part raw + part kibble is a problem atall :)

As for the bowl, would she eat off a dinner plate (you could keep one just for her) or out of a plastic dog bowl? She may not like the shiny metal bowl.
When my pup hit about 6 months old, he decided his metal water bowl was too suspicious - he'd eat out of a metal bowl (it got very worrying as he's spend ages licking rain off the patio but not touch his metal bowl of water :( ), but not drink out of one, so now he has a plastic bowl for his water (he wont drink out of a ceramic bowl either!) he still enjoys licking rain water from the patio but also now enjoys his water from his bright green plastic bowl :)

I'm a big fan of raw green tripe, it's so easy to feed, isn't expensive, and can make a huge difference to a dog/pup's enjoyment of their meals. I defrost in a sandwich box (no smells) and just mince a little in. I don't give it any meal by any means, and my adult dogs get plain kibble 80% of the time, but I have a litter of pups here at the moment and they lick the bowls clean whenever I add the tripe.

It is quite high in fat however, so not too good if your dog is weighty.

With all my dogs I always have had the 10 minute rule, whereby the food is lifted if not eaten, which has always worked well for us. I think having more than one dog racks up the competition factor so food is rarely wasted.

>It is quite high in fat however, so not too good if your dog is weighty.

Are you sure? Tripe is usually considered to be a low-fat foodstuff.

Re fat content of tripe:-

For a while when my bitch was pregnant, I was feeding her lightly poached tripe and there was a lot of fat in the water. So based on that alone, I would say it has quite a high fat content. I do ordinarily feed it raw, not only does it stink the house out if you cook it, but I think they prefer it raw to cooked.

Not the nicest of things (makes my stomach churn!) but the dogs love it and that's what counts right?

Nutritional values.  http://www.truecarnivores.com/greentripe.shtml 

"Tripe Analysis

A sample of green tripe was analyzed by Woodson-Tenent Laboratories, Inc. in Gainesville, Georgia. The results for sample #G97-16346 are as follows:

Moisture 71.37%
Crude Fat 11.70%
Protein 15.82%
Ash 1.23%
Phosphorous 0.14%
Calcium 0.12%
Calories 756.35 cal/lb.
pH 6.12
Lactic Acid Bacteria 12,000 CFU/G
Linoleic Acid (EFA) 2.72%
Linolenic Acid (EFA) 0.37%

In an analysis of a sample of green tripe by a Woodson-Tenant Lab in Atlanta, Georgia, (see end of this article for full details) it was discovered that the calcium:phosphorous ratio is 1:1, the overall pH is on the acidic side which is better for digestion, protein is 15.1, fat 11.7 & it contained the essential fatty acids, Linoleic & Linolenic, in their recommended proportions. Also discovered, was the presence of Lactic Acid Bacteria. Lactic Acid Bacteria, also known as Lactobacillus Acidophilus, is the good intestinal bacteria. It is the main ingredient in probiotics."

From here: "What makes green tripe so good?  Well, there are a few notable items.  First, tripe has a calcium-phosphorus ratio of 1:1, which is great for dogs.  It has a relatively low fat content, along with good amounts of essential fatty acids."

Or here: "
Green tripe--available either raw or canned--is a low fat, low phosphorus food that may be an excellent component of a kidney diet. Raw green tripe is available through most raw dog food companies, and many better pet stores carry canned tripe."

Tripe is also a low-fat food for humans.

Ewwww, I don't think I'll be eating any green tripe anytime soon...

Thanks for the links though, interesting reading!

Hubby wondered if it was the bowl, we have tried a metal one and a ceramic one so far. Might try a plastic one but I suspect she will just push it around the floor and the scraping noise will drive hubby mad! She is cleaning the bowl out about 90% of the time now so we are getting there. I'm just used to greedy spaniels that dive in and don't reappear until every molecule is licked from the bowl!

>The bowl actually makes a difference to Inca as well - an old plastic ice cream tub is much preferred over the nice Stainless bowl..... I do think she would prefer it tipped on the kitchen floor but the OH would go mad... lol!!!