Help...rescue wont eat!

[llcornell]

I have a 5 year old foster who I picked up yesterday, he wont eat dry food at all. I tried moistening the food and hand feeding him, he ate about 4 kibbles mushy. He was in a foster home for a week before me and she said he will only eat wet food. He had his teeth cleaned a few weeks ago and they were horrible so Im trying to get him on dry to help maintain his teeth. He also hasnt barked in the last few weeks (maybe debarked) he was a shelter dog so his past is unknown. I was curious to see if anyone has experience with debarked dogs and if this causes any throat problems that would effect eating. I dont know if I should give in to the wet food or hold out, is he just being picky? Ive heard a dog wont starve himself? or maybe he just needs time to adjust. He also is very, very skinny.

[TLC]

I would get a good quality wet. Merrick Dog Food makes an AWESOME wet food, it has whole veggies and meat. Wingling is nice, it has a whole chicken wing (but you must mash up the bone). They also make Grandma's Pot Pie in a dry, I'd get both and mix some together....I bet he would be in HEAVEN!

Honestly wet is good b/c it has more moisture and is less processed than dry.

Good for you! So glad you are helping this guy. With his past unknown and being so skinny, I would really focus on getting him to eat rather than holding out on him...Serious try my suggestions of the Merrick food.

Merrick Pet Foods : merrickpetcare.com

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by TLC

I would get a good quality wet. Merrick Dog Food makes an AWESOME wet food, it has whole veggies and meat. Wingling is nice, it has a whole chicken wing (but you must mash up the bone). They also make Grandma's Pot Pie in a dry, I'd get both and mix some together....I bet he would be in HEAVEN!

Honestly wet is good b/c it has more moisture and is less processed than dry.

Good for you! So glad you are helping this guy. With his past unknown and being so skinny, I would really focus on getting him to eat rather than holding out on him...Serious try my suggestions of the Merrick food.

Merrick Pet Foods : merrickpetcare.com

i am skeptical of merrick as they have a rendering plant on the same land they have their manufacturing company and the owner is always lobbying for rendering parts to be put in dog food which are diseased parts not suitable for human consumption -- google rendering and merrick and read up on it as that food really concerns me especially since on one of my yorkie groups a yorkie died of stomach cancer and had a huge cancerous tumor removed and has always eaten merrick food -- this really concerns me just a word of caution and to look into it more. I think if he is lobbying for it and it is on same land he is already doing it for profit.

[llcornell]

I already have a bunch of cans of Wellness so thats probably the route I will go if i go wet. I just am not sure what to do. Ive heard yorkies should eat dry because they can develop plaque easily and beacuse his teeth were bad before the cleaning I thought it would be best for dry but I worry about his throat but I assume if he can eat wet than there should be no problem with his thoat with dry, right? I have no experience with debarked dogs.

[llcornell]

Also I have another foster that is doing great on wellness dry and I dont want him to wonder why he's not getting the wet food. Im sure he would be jealous beacuse it seems all dogs love wet.

[bildio]

Originally Posted by llcornell

I tried moistening the food and hand feeding him, he ate about 4 kibbles mushy.

I assume you moistened the dry food with water. If so, try mixing the dry with wet, and leave some unmoistened for teeth.

[dwerten]

the soft is not ideal as i have a maltese with gum disease and have been reading a ton on this -- soft food gets under the gum line easier than dry but if you brush their teeth at least once a day i would assume that would help - you could add organic baked chicken to kibble as well or maybe sodium free chicken broth but if his gums hurt him then i would go with soft as he is stressed in a new home so i would not do anything to upset him further and maybe change food later

[llcornell]

I mixed soft with kibble and he ate just fine, actually inhaled the food. I think he might just be picky. Im going to keep doing this and keep decreasing the soft until I can get him on the hard hopfully that will give him time to adjust and gain a couple of ounces.

[jencar98]

There are conflicting opinions on whether or not dry kibble helps in keeping a dogs teeth clean. I would rely on daily brushing and not worry so much about getting him to eat dry food, just get him to eat a good quality food for now.

[Gizmo's Mom]

Originally Posted by llcornell

I mixed soft with kibble and he ate just fine, actually inhaled the food. I think he might just be picky. Im going to keep doing this and keep decreasing the soft until I can get him on the hard hopfully that will give him time to adjust and gain a couple of ounces.

Yay! I'm so glad you got him to eat.

[bettyeanne]

Just a thought .... maybe try moistening the kibble with a little homemade chicken broth? I keep fresh broth frozen in small quantities on hand all the time and Toto would probably eat a piece of wood if it had this broth on it! Good luck with the little guy and God bless you for caring!

[Babz]

As far as I know the fact that kibble helps maintain tooth and gum is just a myth. The logic is that we ourselves don't brush our teeth with crackers. But this is only from what I've read, not my own opinion. I feed kibble right now, and still brush their teeth every other day - I admit I haven't been as diligent in that department as I should have.

I've read conflicting theories about watering down kibble with water or anything. Some say it is good because it will help with their water consumption, others say it might help release the harmful bacteria in kibble, so I'm not sure about that one, but as for me I am not taking any chances. But! My dogs drinks like camels, so you have to decide on this one. On the other hand, I used to water Mocha's kibble (she eats Orijen) and she did not like it watered.

If Merrick is controversial now, try Wellness.

Every dog needs time to adjust. My only advice is get him some wet food. If he will eat that with no problem, then over time you can switch to kibble. Try feeding him in a different room with your other dog if you think the other one will become jealous - I do this sometimes with my girls.

Good luck!

[majesticyorkies]

Originally Posted by jencar98

There are conflicting opinions on whether or not dry kibble helps in keeping a dogs teeth clean. I would rely on daily brushing and not worry so much about getting him to eat dry food, just get him to eat a good quality food for now.

I agree brush every day. good post

[llcornell]

Well the little rescue didnt want kibble because he dosent really have many teeth left. I had gotten him on saturday and he is extremely scared of people so I gave him a little time to come to me and today he finally came over and let me touch him a little I looked in his little mouth and he has only 2 bottom teeth a few top. Poor little guy

[Babz]

Oh poor thing... Just breaks my heart

Well then we can't expect him to eat kibble now can we? Kibble is quite hard, and it was made to promote healthy jaw muscle and whathaveyou.. I would feed him wet, but that's just IMO.