Food Suggestions?

[daniellecaro]

I have been feeding Toby (my 10 month old chihuahua) Iams small & toy breed puppy chow. So far, its not been so great. I don't know what his deal is? I feed him twice a day with the recommended amount of food that the box says. He will not eat it. Eventually, he might eat some of it if he's hungry, but its usually still there when I come back. I've tried to put mix-ins to make it taste better, but that doesn't work either. To this day he looks more on the skinny side. I figure since I'm going to be switching to adult food pretty soon, I need to find food that he will eat. If you have a dog thats a picky eater, will tell me what you feed them?

p.s. He eats treats and human food, just not his own! stubborn dog :mad:

[Husky06]

I have been feeding Toby (my 10 month old chihuahua) Iams small & toy breed puppy chow. So far, its not been so great. I don't know what his deal is? I feed him twice a day with the recommended amount of food that the box says. He will not eat it. Eventually, he might eat some of it if he's hungry, but its usually still there when I come back. I've tried to put mix-ins to make it taste better, but that doesn't work either. To this day he looks more on the skinny side. I figure since I'm going to be switching to adult food pretty soon, I need to find food that he will eat. If you have a dog thats a picky eater, will tell me what you feed them?

p.s. He eats treats and human food, just not his own! stubborn dog :mad:

I would stop with the treats and human food for starters. Also do you just leave his food out all day? I would give him food and if he didn't eat it at the time I gave it to him, I would take it away. If he is hungry enough he will eat. I would not suggest Iams or any food you can buy at the grocery store for that matter. I feed Nutro Natural Choice, but I'm sure others would have good food suggestions.

[Julia423]

When I first adopted Max he was an extremely picky eater.

I did what Husky06 suggested to you. I did not (& still don't) leave the food down...no treats...no human food. That worked in part, but what really helped finally was to boil a tiny amount of chicken (white meat) and to grind it and sprinkle it on top of his dry food. That worked. I would sprinkle just a little on his food, switching the days at random.

(I currently used Blue Buffalo lamb & brown rice...they like it and seem very satisfied)

[suebgone]

I would suggest a holistic brand, human grade, no grains or fillers. you can also google "natura" for lots of info on quality food. the better ones are usually found at feed mills, groomers or health food stores

Canidae
Caifornia Natrual
Innova are a few

[kurikim]

Blue Buffalo is also pretty good, if you're looking for a pet-store brand. I've heard decent things about Nutro, though I don't personally like it. I've also heard good things about Nature's Recipie.

Definitely hold off giving him people food. Depending on what you're feeding him it's probably not all the great for him, and he'll be more apt to skip out on dog food if he knows he's getting people food later.

[web-scribble]

A couple of questions...

Is it possible there's something wrong with his teeth or mouth and it hurts him to eat?

Perhaps, he simply doesn't like the food you are giving him? Our picky eaters, both cats and dogs, had definite likes and dislikes when it came to store-bought food.

[wishbone]

My cousin's dog is picky too and don't like those dry food at all. When I visited them, I bring mom's home prepared food for Wishbone and gave it to my cousin's dog. We take her dog the vet, glad nothings wrong with her, she just taking now Chicken Soup 4 dog lover's soul.

[Malteluv]

It is simple, your dog does not like Iams food. Please try and give him something else. When I first got Yuki, the original owners were giving him the beneful kibble and said that to just leave it there cause he will eat when he is hungry. Well, not me, absolutely not! I refuse to do that. So I have run the gamut of all the commercial foods out there and found (after paying special attention to Yuki) that not only does he not like the food, it contains corn which makes him itch uncontrollably. Then I found Nutro and he seemed to like it at first until the recall. After that, I discussed with my vet cooking for Yuki and the vet gave me his blessing and told me to give him Pet tabs as a supplement to my cooking and not to use salt. I did more research on the topic and have been cooking for Yuki since. Eventually, i found Innova Evo kibble and canned food and both Yuki and Kaya eat this with no problem. Since I found Innova Evo, I have not turned back and my dogs are fine. Yes they are still picky eaters and when the pickyness rears its ugly head i just cook for them and give them a break from the Innova Evo. I am happy to report, so far, so good. Oh, btw, at some point I was able to get Yuki to eat the Beneful prepared meals and he would only eat the lamb but i have completely stopped feeding them that and stuck with either Innova Evo or home cooked meals. Please keep trying, I am sure you will find something.

[mrandrei]

Holistic diet is the way to go to ensure that you little dog gets healthy! You can even make it yourself. Be careful with canned or packed dog food products with preservatives.

[Hobbes1]

Someone mentioned Nutro as a good store-bought brand. Both my Huskies are on Nutro Large Breed and really like it. I have heard mixed opinions about the brand itself, but for the most part I have no complaints.