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01-13-2014, 03:52 PM | #1 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| At my wits end and running out of food options Follow up to my Lola is driving me nuts thread. I've tried quite a few wet foods, at best she'll eat it for a few days then snub it. I've tried tons of dry, won't touch them. I've tried eat it or starve, she eats just enough to stay alive but is too thin and lethargic. I'm trying homecooking, she'll eat the meat but not the carbs. She ate sweet potatos for a few days, the past few she wouldn't touch it. She completely snubs pasta, rice, and oatmeal. Is balanceit carnivore really bad for them? I'm also thinking of ordering a sample of honest kitchen veggie mix. I'm not willing to try raw or freeze dried. I'm at my complete end between the pressure I'm putting on myself and the freaking out my family is doing I can't handle it. They want me to feed her table scraps and mighty dog NO NO NO!!! I've thought of taking her to the vet but I doubt he can do anything. Her teeth and everything are fine. I don't have tons of money, I can't keep throwing food out and I don't want to pay for a custom recipe from a nutritionist and have her not eat it. |
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01-13-2014, 05:04 PM | #2 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 726
| Ok so I am not an expert, but this is what worked for us. I use Weruva canned. Mostly the chicken flavor. Then I mix this with Natures Variety kibble and freeze dried raw bits. Mix this with the canned Weruva. Sometimes I will add in a bit of cooked egg to this mixture. Sometimes it makes a different to heat it up a little. Lexi is sometimes picky, but this combination of food is and has been working for us. I also use a product called Real Meat Pet Food. It is like a chewy kibble. I buy all of these items at a speciality pet food store. A yorkie doesn't eat a lot, so it may be more expensive than Petsmart foods, but it may be worth it to give it a try. Maybe ordering online would be an option. |
01-13-2014, 05:32 PM | #3 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Garner, NC
Posts: 1,485
| ^^I agree with Margie about trying the Weruva if you haven't already. The human-style ones are packed with real meat (if that's what your pup likes the most and is picking out from the homecooked) and don't have very many veggies and no huge pieces...also check out TikiDog which is also high protein and lower on veggies...sorry if I'm repeating things you've already tried. But those brands both look like human food (shredded chicken, big flakes of fish etc.) and might work. I don't think the BalanceIT Carnivore Blend is bad but it just seems to lack variety to me (I guess the supplement "balances" everything but it just seems weird to me to feed just straight up meat or eggs or whatever)...The carnivore recipes I've seen all seem like it's just the supplement and the main protein you select...so I personally prefer to use other recipes with the regular supplement to incorporate and variety of nutrients/vitamins from whole food sources. But that's just a personal preference and doesn't mean that it's not going to work for other people or worth checking out. I'm sorry you're having a difficult time with finding something that works I tried feeding Toki the Honest Kitchen mix before and while she ate it, it seemed so low in protein and had a heavy plant/herby/smell as I recall. I really like the company and it's a high quality food but just didn't work for us. I think mimimomo feeds it or rotates with it so maybe she can offer some feedback on the varieties that her pups enjoy a lot. |
01-13-2014, 05:41 PM | #4 |
YT Addict Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Alabama
Posts: 371
| I really feel for you b/c my 3 YO Milo was a very picky eater at first. I adopted him 10 months ago; changed him from what they had him on---Natural Balance---& tried several different foods after that which he did not care for at all----mostly in the Blue Buffalo line. When I talked with my vet about it, he said I was worrying too much; that when he got hungry enough he would eat---to just "free feed" him which just means to leave him out some food at all times. He is now on Blue Buffalo, Grain Free, Small Breed Red Meat formula & seems to really like it & it is rated 5 stars by dogfoodadvisor.com. Good Luck! |
01-13-2014, 06:32 PM | #5 |
Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland
Posts: 17,814
| My dads JRT mix is THE PICKIEST EATER EVER. She could have a plate full of steak (yes, human STEAK) and still snub her nose to it. She loves Weruva. It's just pricey and I got sick of my dad and stepmom not buying it, so she only gets it on special occasions, or when I have it for Jackson. But it's the only times I ever see her immediately go to her plate and eat.
__________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier |
01-13-2014, 06:46 PM | #6 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| Thanks everyone. I was feeding her weruva but she stopped eatting it. I was going to try tiki dog but it's almost $5 a can and I'd have to drive 1/2 hour to get it, so if she didn't like it I'd be stuck. Thanks for telling me about the honest kitchen stuff, it might still be worth trying though. I have tried free feeding her, but she won't eat it if she doesn't want it. It has effected her weight and energy level. |
01-13-2014, 06:58 PM | #7 |
Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland
Posts: 17,814
| Jackson looked at THK like "WTF?" It's a very odd consistency IMO... I am actually shocked that dogs like it? lol, it's so... parsley smelling. Or something. I dunno.
__________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier |
01-13-2014, 06:59 PM | #8 |
Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland
Posts: 17,814
| There comes a point tho where she's just got to learn to eat. There is only so much you can do. How much exercise does she get? I find after a long walk, my dads dogs eat a LOT better because they're worked up an appetite.
__________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier |
01-13-2014, 07:50 PM | #9 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 726
| That was my feeling with THK. Lexi didn't even try it. She smelled it and just walked away. I put fresh out for two days after and she did the same thing. I agreed it does smell like parsley. |
01-13-2014, 07:53 PM | #10 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| She doesn't get as much exercise as she should. I don't have a safe place to walk her and my yard needs major work. I also have a lot of pain and fatigue issues. My house is fairly big and I play with her a lot, I also take her to pet stores a few times a week to walk around. When she doesn't eat much for a few days she's not very interested in playing. Even if I have her out for hours and she did a good bit of walking it doesn't make her easier to feed. |
01-13-2014, 09:38 PM | #11 |
Don't Litter Spay&Neuter Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal
Posts: 9,874
| Yeah, THK takes some getting used to & you need to play around w/the water to make it a certain consistency that they will like. It's great when it's cold out bc you add warm water to it. It is a plant based food, so if Lola likes her meat protein, it might not be too palatable for her...unless you add more meat. The Embark (turkey) & Zeal (fish) has more protein coming from meat. Yes, Zeal smells fishy, but my guys loved it, the smellier the better! So if you can get samples of that, maybe it's worth a try. If you have a specialty boutique or feed store that carries THK, some stores have the 1oz samples to try for free, just ask them. One thing I didn't like, dehydrated fruits like bananas came in big chunks. I had to break it into smaller pcs. It (fruits) pretty much comes out the same going in! I don't feed them THK anymore, but when they get old & lose all their teeth, we might go back to it.
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01-13-2014, 11:31 PM | #12 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| I ordered samples from THK's website. I got Adult Dog Sample Pack, Puppy Sample Pack, Preference-4oz, Thrive-4oz, and Verve-1oz for $8.04 shipped. I signed up for emails and got $5 off. *edit* Lola does like most vegetables, I'm mostly having trouble getting her to eat the carbs. Last edited by ShowGirlLola; 01-13-2014 at 11:34 PM. |
01-14-2014, 11:09 AM | #13 |
Don't Litter Spay&Neuter Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal
Posts: 9,874
| I hope Lola will like THK! There's nothing wrong w/variety...my guys have an extensive menu. I rotate proteins too, but they eat Primal for 1 meal everyday. For other meals, they get air dried ziwipeak (have you tried that?), or canned food (we have lots of different kinds) & sometimes kibble too.
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01-14-2014, 11:49 AM | #14 |
♥ Love My Tibbe! ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: D/FW, Texas
Posts: 22,140
| Has she had blood work done, such as BATS and such to check out her liver function? A malfunctioning liver can cause a dog to lose its appetite. My Tibbe wouldn't eat, would lose weight and was lethargic but always has normal liver studies until YT member Ellie May(Crystal, who is studying to get her veterinarian's license) as well as other members here told me that normal liver studies don't always mean the dog has normal liver function and Bile Acids testing should be done to try to see if her liver was working adequately. The BAT was done, was found to be high and nuclear imaging and abdominal sono were done and he did not have a liver shunt but it was decided he had MVD(microvascular dysplasia) and that was causing his occasional anorexia, occasional vomiting and lethargy. He would eat normally for a while and then get anorexic and sleep all the time. Once the toxins were out of his system from his not eating and he felt better, he would regain his appetite, eat normally for a while, play, sleep and behave normally and then go back to anorexia and lethargy and occasionally spitting up yellow bile. Does your girl ever spit up bile or have tummy or digestive troubles?
__________________ Jeanie and Tibbe One must do the best one can. You may get some marks for a very imperfect answer: you will certainly get none for leaving the question alone. C. S. Lewis |
01-14-2014, 12:36 PM | #15 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| Variety is fine, but she takes it to an art form. Ziwipeak is raw, so no I haven't tried it. I'll ask about her liver when I take her to the vet, but I don't think that's the problem. She seems to handle everything very well, food changes and shots. Every time she's gotten a shot it didn't phase her the slightest bit, the vet said it would make her tired and it didn't at all. She's only had stomach problems once, when I gave her some HB egg as a puppy. She's never spit up bile either. I don't think she isn't hungry. When I fix her food she stands against my leg and lets out the occasional cry, tries to get my mom's dinner, never lets us forget treat time, and gulps her food down if she wants it. She's been gulping down the meat and eggs, she just won't eat the carbs. |
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