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04-16-2009, 09:38 AM | #1 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire
Posts: 640
| Dilemma I am a little confused and would appreciate some input As a first time Yorkie owner (not first time dog owners) we are struggling to get Remy's food "right" He is 8 months old and we got him at 6 months, so we are two months into our relationship. At first he would not eat anything, refused kibble, etc. which I figured was an adjustment issue. We finally met with success with canned food. However after a few days on that I tried kibble again, to no avail. Given concerns over a diet of only canned food (quality, variety, not enough "hard stuff to chew, etc.) I began to home-cook his food after our first week together. Admittedly I am not a nutritionist however we have met with success with a variety of meats, veggies, fruits, etc over the last two months. He has a healthy appetite (small amount of food in the AM, with two "meals" throughout the day). I do not leave food out, he eats on a schedule. His digestive system was extremely regular, one poop per day in the AM pretty much like clockwork. However I have always had in the back of my mind that we need to integrate kibble (to ensure he is getting a balanced diet, worries over long-term pancreas issues, and to give him hard food to benefit his teeth and gums). Finally I found one he would actually eat - Wellness Puppy. And I thought - perfect! I wanted to transition him onto the kibble, and reduce the home cooked food to supplement, or for a special meal treat. Unfortunately the kibble integration seems to be a problem, which has me very confused. We have tried the kibble twice - once last week and once yesterday. Each time I gave him about 1/8th of a cup of the kibble for his "lunch" meal, and only gave him home-cooked food later in the afternoon for his "dinner". The home-cooked food is exactly what he has been eating - with no negative after-effects. I had no trouble getting him to eat the kibble - it was gone both times in about 20-30 minutes. It is the after-effects that are the problem....each time he ate the kibble Remy has gotten diarrhea. The first time I thought, well, maybe it is just a coincidence and he picked up something he should not have eaten which was the real culprit. However, this AM (after eating 1/8 cup of kibble yesterday), sure enough - a tummy ache this AM. So, I am asking for input! Do some dogs just not fare well on kibble? Is it the type of kibble? I am going to try the kibble again next week (after he has a few days to re-regulate his system) but I can't rationalize continuing to experiment with the kibble if we keep having tummy aches, because he is likely loosing any of the nutritional value since its going right through!! One option I am considering is to just leave him on home-cooking and talk to my vet about a supplement to ensure he gets complete nutrition??? Any input would be very much appreciated! |
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04-16-2009, 09:50 AM | #2 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Snowflake, AZ, USA
Posts: 672
| Have you tried to mix it with the soft food or the home made food? That is what my little ones eat. We use Royal canin for puppies and I mix it with a little canned food. They love it and eat all the dry stuff too. Good luck! I know it's frustrating. Does he eat hard trreat for his teeth? Because if the home made food is your only alternative, I would make sure he gets something to help clean his teeth.
__________________ Chloe and Little Man's Mommy We Miss you Milo! |
04-16-2009, 09:54 AM | #3 |
I Love My Yorkies Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Posts: 37,147
| The kibble is most likely not causing the diahrea but the switching back and forth with the foods is. Some yorkies have sensitive digestive tracts and any switching has to be done gradually giving some of the old food and some of the new and slowly weaning out the old. You could homecook and there are others on here that homecook so hopefully they can give you suppliment advice. I just know you have to give them suppliments for calcium and other things if you homecook
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04-16-2009, 09:54 AM | #4 |
Donating YT 10K Club Member | Any food addition or switch can cause diarrhea...it should clear up within a week. The best way to prevent it...is to slowly add the kibble to his meals, gradually reducing the other...while increasing the kibble.
__________________ Deb, Reese, Reggie, Frazier, Libby, Sidney, & Bodie Trace & Ramsey who watch over us www.biewersbythebay.com |
04-16-2009, 09:58 AM | #5 |
And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI
Posts: 17,928
| A high quality canned food or a correctly balanced homecooked diet will meet his needs just exactly as kibble would. If you are worried about his teeth, they should be brushed no matter what he eats. General vets know very little about nutrition and it is best to get a recipe from a nutritionist. Feeding homecooked long-term with proper supplementation can do a lot of harm. Dogs don't need kibble either. Different dogs do well on different foods but I wouldn't give up on kibble too quickly if that's what you want to feed. How about just putting a few pieces in with each homecooked meal and then gradually increasing? I have heard some reports of Wellness and stool issues, so maybe something else would set better.
__________________ Crystal, Ellie May (RIP), Rylee Finnegan, and Gracie Boo🐶 |
04-16-2009, 10:10 AM | #6 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire
Posts: 640
| As far a hard-chewing things, he has a chicken treat that is the consistency of an animal cracker and he gets several a day. They are very hard and crunchy. Sometimes he gets raw carrots the other hard chew option is his dried sweet potato chew. Aside from that, if I do not get the kibble into his diet I am relying on tooth brushing. With regard to calcium, he loves yogurt and he gets non-fat greek plain yogurt each morning. It is likely not enough - and I would have to discuss that with our vet and potentially supplement there. I understand they can be sensitive to diet changes, however to a certain degree I find it hard to believe that is the problem because I change out his proteins and veggies on the home-cooked front pretty regularly and he has never had a digestive problem. I will try to integrate a smaller amount of kibble with his home cooked food when we try again next week and see if that makes a difference... |
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