Bored with kibble. Help please!

[Ryan2421]

Hello all.

Lately Camille he's been very picky about eating her kibble. She is currently eating 1/4 cup Fromm puppy and 1/4 cup Fromm beef frittata/ Fromm duck. She is 6 months old and normally eats this 3 times a day.

Over the last couple weeks she hasn't been eating her kibble well. As if she's bored with it. She won't eat unless I add either crumbled treats or tiny pieces of turkey deli meats to keep her interested.

I'm thinking of switching to Orijens so respark her interest in kibble. Do any of you switch kibble brands to keep interest in food? Switching to raw sounds interesting but I can't back it up financially at the time. I read other threads about Stella and Chewys and I'm considering to add that as a topper to keep Camille interested.

And advise is appreciated!!!

Ryan.

 

[MunasG]

Hi Ryan,

My Nellie is going through the same thing as of a week ago. She was bored with her fromm puppy gold and barely ate any of it over the last week. I kept adding in canned pumpkin and she'd eat it sometimes but wouldn't finish it. She's almost 4 months. So a few days ago I decided to read some of the threads here and posed a question in one of the threads about toppers. To get her interested in eating again, I added some booked sweet potato and booked leaned chicken with a dollop of coconut oil. She devoured it! Then I upped it to adding some boiled lean ground beef, boiled eggs and liver (not at the same time). I gave her a bit more than her regular feeding amount and she inhaled it! I think the answer is variety. Just like us humans am sure they get bored eating the same food every day.
I know it's an added step having to cop some stuff and add to his food, but I often have to make my own food for dietary reasons, so I take that time to make her toppers and enough for two weeks then I freeze it and thaw when I need it. Good luck but you can try toppers before switching kibble brands.

 

[davidh]

Some of them go through this. Henri was really bad about it. You do just what you are doing and add things to their kibble. We sometimes use Feta cheese in their kibble and they like it. Just put a little bit in there. Plus try a different FROMM. Mine didn't like the Beef Frittata. We are feeding FROMM Hasen Duckenpfeffer and they like it. You can change between any FROMM 4 star foods without a transition. Plus if you buy a FROMM food and they do not like it. The store you bought it from will take it back.

 

[hannah]

Salmon oil is good too we also do cranberry powder but these are not so much toppers but more supplements... for toppers we do canned pumpkin or cottage cheese.

That's for their nighttime kibble meal and morning they get raw turkey and beef

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[MunasG]

Just an update that my so called kibble topper plan has failed! �� yesterday she refused to eat the kibble that I had topped with booked ground beef and scrambled eggs for breakfast. She only ate part of the toppers. And for lunch the minute she smelled the Kibbles in there she wouldn't touch it. So I gave her a different serving of the toppers alone abs she ate that. The same for dinner. I don't know what to do. Since yesterday her poo has been really loose a d very dark in colour. I'm considering raw but have no experience in that. I'm not sure if she's just being picky or what but I need other options fast because she is already behind in her weight as it is I don't want her to loose more weight.

She due to visit the vet next Thursday for her final round of shots. I'll talk to him about this when we go. I just hope she tries to eat until then

 

[MaplesMommy]

Just an update that my so called kibble topper plan has failed! �� yesterday she refused to eat the kibble that I had topped with booked ground beef and scrambled eggs for breakfast. She only ate part of the toppers. And for lunch the minute she smelled the Kibbles in there she wouldn't touch it. So I gave her a different serving of the toppers alone abs she ate that. The same for dinner. I don't know what to do. Since yesterday her poo has been really loose a d very dark in colour. I'm considering raw but have no experience in that. I'm not sure if she's just being picky or what but I need other options fast because she is already behind in her weight as it is I don't want her to loose more weight.

She due to visit the vet next Thursday for her final round of shots. I'll talk to him about this when we go. I just hope she tries to eat until then

If you wanted to try raw (that always sound so gross lol), you can try a commercial brand like Primal or Natures Variety etc. Then all you have to do is thaw the amount you need(usually a pattie or two a day) and serve. Thats it. You could do the fresh diet by yourself with balancing muscle meat,organ and bone but honestly, who has time for that . Plus,you need to have some nutrition knowledge to properly balance everything. Its much easier with the commercial brand.
Same goes for freeze dried diets, which fyi most dogs go crazy for. But FD is a little pricey.

Oh and one more thing, depending on what kind of vet you go to,you might get yelled at for even considering a fresh diet ... But remember, they tend to push their own products because they dont know a lot about nutrition and they work on comission. And the crap that they call 'food' eventually makes your dog ill, which means even more money for them... By the way, I can recommend the book 'dogs would live longer if' its a great eye opener.

Good luck!

 

[MunasG]

If you wanted to try raw (that always sound so gross lol), you can try a commercial brand like Primal or Natures Variety etc. Then all you have to do is thaw the amount you need(usually a pattie or two a day) and serve. Thats it. You could do the fresh diet by yourself with balancing muscle meat,organ and bone but honestly, who has time for that . Plus,you need to have some nutrition knowledge to properly balance everything. Its much easier with the commercial brand.
Same goes for freeze dried diets, which fyi most dogs go crazy for. But FD is a little pricey.

Oh and one more thing, depending on what kind of vet you go to,you might get yelled at for even considering a fresh diet ... But remember, they tend to push their own products because they dont know a lot about nutrition and they work on comission. And the crap that they call 'food' eventually makes your dog ill, which means even more money for them... By the way, I can recommend the book 'dogs would live longer if' its a great eye opener.

Good luck!

Thank you so much! Almost everyone I've spoken to has told me to go raw. I am seriously considering. I'm going to wait until she gets her last shots this Thursday so as not to mess up anything. I can guarantee you my vet will not be on board with Raw. Just s little while ago when I was there and telling him about her reduced appetite he told me don't cook for he le she'll start eating better than you!

 

[Cbrugs]

If you want to switch to raw, I use the Vital Essentials brand. Not sure if that is available where you are but I think the price is fairly reasonable and they have a few different proteins.

 

[hannah]

We use pets go raw. Also not sure where you are but it's a Canadian company. And we still use fromm kibble for their dinner meal to keep the cost down.

Banksy used to turn away from kibble as well but now that he gets raw in the am he eats the kibble at night every day with no issues

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[MunasG]

We use pets go raw. Also not sure where you are but it's a Canadian company. And we still use fromm kibble for their dinner meal to keep the cost down.

Banksy used to turn away from kibble as well but now that he gets raw in the am he eats the kibble at night every day with no issues

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Thats good to know. I still have a lot of the fromm left so i didn't want to do away with it. I might go with your option of doing different meals during the day. I am in Toronto so i'm sure i can find it here. I'll check online and see where to find it. Thanks!

 

[Londonfrench]

I had the same issue with Buddy ... wouldn't eat his kibble we would change it then he would eat it for a day then stop.
So I switched to raw and haven't looked back, im in the UK so use a UK brand but Buddy loves it eats it all and it has stopped runny tummy and very very bad doggy wind lol ! which is a great bonus

 

[blushy]

Isabelle refused to eat for 3 days. Literally. I switched between different fromm, nope. I switched to Kangaroo kibble, and she ate? But she wasn't extremely excited every single meal...

Switched to Fromm adult purple bag? She demolishes it.

I use freeze dried raw as treats, so I toss a couple pieces in with my dogs kibble once in awhile. I also use coconut oil (which my dogs would eat the entire tub if I let them) and I have organic freeze dried bananas I toss in their food. Titan also gets a nujoint tablet broken up in his breakfast.

I always tried to never ever give my dogs table food or scraps. And beyond the couple things I add a couple times a week, I didn't want them thinking they HAD to have a topper to eat. Our pitbull thought that way. Refused to eat without SOMETHING added. It was a headache. So beyond switching kibble, they have to deal until I find one they eat.

My dogs don't have an issue with chicken (yet) and my boy can't really have other proteins he has digestive issues.


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[MunasG]

So this morning I tried giving her the Fromm again with the toppers. She ate a bit and walked away. Then 30 mins later she walked right back and finished it. I gues she realized she wasn't getting anything different lol. She is mischievous my Nellie but I love her to death!

 

[Ryan2421]

I bought Camille the Stella and Chewy's venison patties and use about an 1/8th of a pattie as a topper and she has been licking her bowl clean! I've been mashing up the chunk of patty finely so all the kibble is mixed in well and she goes crazy for it! It's been 2 solid days and no runny poop issues or her not wanting to eat. I was also running out of the duck fromm and the beef Fromm so I mixed it with the puppy Fromm so it's all a combo of Fromm kibble. I think she can't tell the difference once the party meat is mixed in. I highly recommend the Stella and Chewy patties!

 

[MunasG]

Ok I'm not sure if we have Stella and chewy in canada but I'll check. To complicate matters even more, the pet sitter decided to get her chew toys yesterday. She asked me if it was ok and I said yes assuming they'll be non-edible toys. By the time id got home she had half chewed and eaten one of them. So I panicked and called the sitter she said yes that she bought the nylabone puppy starter kit abs one of them is edible. She didn't leave the packaging though so I thought nothing of it. An hour later she started having diarrhea! The sitter then sent me a pic of the kit and I read online that the edible chew is meant for puppies 6 months and older! She has been having explosive diarrhea since last night. I had to wake up twice during the night and this morning it was still a major explosion! Should I be really concerned?? I am currently making her some brown rice and chicken with a but of coconut milk and a probiotic to settle her stomach. I'm hoping this is a one day thing. Has anyone had this happen before?

 

[Londonfrench]

Ok I'm not sure if we have Stella and chewy in canada but I'll check. To complicate matters even more, the pet sitter decided to get her chew toys yesterday. She asked me if it was ok and I said yes assuming they'll be non-edible toys. By the time id got home she had half chewed and eaten one of them. So I panicked and called the sitter she said yes that she bought the nylabone puppy starter kit abs one of them is edible. She didn't leave the packaging though so I thought nothing of it. An hour later she started having diarrhea! The sitter then sent me a pic of the kit and I read online that the edible chew is meant for puppies 6 months and older! She has been having explosive diarrhea since last night. I had to wake up twice during the night and this morning it was still a major explosion! Should I be really concerned?? I am currently making her some brown rice and chicken with a but of coconut milk and a probiotic to settle her stomach. I'm hoping this is a one day thing. Has anyone had this happen before?

Yes I have had the same with edible chewy toys where Buddy has chomped through mega fast and then had the explosive diarrhea. Toys/treats that I would of assumed would take ages... they have such strong mouths. Frenchies have sensitive tummys at the best of times. Its probably been too rich for her. I would of suggested the plain food like you are doing (Although I have not tried coconut milk) and plenty of water. Is she eating and drinking? How does she seem in herself as buddy always seems fine but just bad tummy? i would just keep really close eye on her and if she doesn't improve then trip to vets.

 

[Cosmin]

We also had some issues with Louie not eating kibble when he was 3-4 month old.

What worked, was that i stopped feeding any other treats or foods for a while, and stopped topping his kibble with cheese and fishoil, just the dogfood.
I switched the kibble to Orijen puppy which are larger than Acana and as a result he has to break them in his teeth.

Now i feed him an occasional treat (apples, bananas, lamb meat and sometimes a lamb bone he can chew on) however, no food scraps and no chicken and pork unless they are organic (local farms - no hormones and antibiotics).

The results were amazing. L is doing much better.

Ah, currently he is eating Taste of the wild bison and venison, which he likes very much.

 

[MunasG]

Yes I have had the same with edible chewy toys where Buddy has chomped through mega fast and then had the explosive diarrhea. Toys/treats that I would of assumed would take ages... they have such strong mouths. Frenchies have sensitive tummys at the best of times. Its probably been too rich for her. I would of suggested the plain food like you are doing (Although I have not tried coconut milk) and plenty of water. Is she eating and drinking? How does she seem in herself as buddy always seems fine but just bad tummy? i would just keep really close eye on her and if she doesn't improve then trip to vets.

She still has diarrhea and vomited this morning too. there is a bit of blood in her diarhea so am really concerned. i had to leave for work but will be back at 1PM. She has been sleeping all day according to the spy cam and only gets up to poop on the pee pads. I will call my vet first before going in. I can't tell if shes being herself really. She didn't eat this morning.

 

[hannah]

Thank you so much! Almost everyone I've spoken to has told me to go raw. I am seriously considering. I'm going to wait until she gets her last shots this Thursday so as not to mess up anything. I can guarantee you my vet will not be on board with Raw. Just s little while ago when I was there and telling him about her reduced appetite he told me don't cook for he le she'll start eating better than you!

That is something I will never understand.... Like I get that vets may try and push certain foods and what not for commissions, and whatever. I get it. BUT why would you advise against a fresh diet stating Oh they will eat better than you? So? Isn't that a good thing seeing someone coming in and treating animals extremely well? If I went to school and worked my butt off to become a vet, even if I didn't myself feed or recommend a fresh diet, If someone told me they were doing it or wanted to do it I would praise them! It confuses me!!

 

[Londonfrench]

She still has diarrhea and vomited this morning too. there is a bit of blood in her diarhea so am really concerned. i had to leave for work but will be back at 1PM. She has been sleeping all day according to the spy cam and only gets up to poop on the pee pads. I will call my vet first before going in. I can't tell if shes being herself really. She didn't eat this morning.

Well most importantly she needs to drink as she loosing lots of fluids. Is she drinking? I think a call to the vet a good idea. Just as she still has the bad tummy and sickness. The blood might be from going so much s little tear maybe. But especially as she a baby vets best and u will have peace of mind! Hope she feels better soon ! X