Maxi not eating... sould I try homemade food?
 

Hey All,

So a week after I got Maxi I started to switch his food because he was on ProPac, which isnt really great food and I put him on Halo. He seemed to love and ate it up and we made the switch without any problems. Well fast forward to like a day and a half ago and all of a sudden Maxi doesnt want to eat his Halo anymore. I know that he is hungry because he stares at my food and begs. We gave him some wet food and he gobbled it up but then 30 mins later he threw up. He didnt eat for the rest of the day and finally I was at my wits end and gave him some cooked ground beef I made for dinner. He ate it up and begged for me.

So today I give him some Halo for breakfast and he refused to eat it. I have some of his old food left and I gave him some of that and he ate it. I dont know what to do, the old food isnt good so I dont want him to eat it but I want him to eat.


So now I am thinking of getting him on homecooked food, which I wanted to do for a while but some YTs on here where saying that it may not be a good idea because you dont get the right amount of certain things in the food for them. Do you think if I start cooking for Maxi, he will eat? I would hate for him to lose any weight, he is only 3 pounds. :(

What should I do, sorry this is so long:confused::confused:

Well, if you don't care if he becomes picky, you can go to a different type of canned or homecooked. That is totally your choice. I homecook and quite honestly, some (or all) days I just don't want to deal with it. I feel like I'm doing what's best for Ellie (and in fact we don't have many other choices because of her health), but it certainly isn't what's best for me.:rolleyes: Just some things to consider before you get into it:

It is by far safer to have a qualified nutritionist create a recipe for you. There are a few good recipes out on the net, but a nutritionist still needs to analyze them. Nutritionists are not cheap (I pay $90 for consult and about $50 per recipe). If a balanced diet is not given, it can lead to health problems including blood and heart problems. Reading a book or trusting a general DVM is usually not okay.

It is very different to cook for a pup instead of an adult. Certain things need to be considered and a nutritionist should be consulted.

Certain vitamins (or an all-in-one supplement) will have to be given.

It can get very expensive and I would have to disagree with the idea that it is cheaper than a high quality kibble. It depends on the quality of ingredients that you want to use.

If you want to save money and buy bone-in meat, somebody has to pick it off. In the case of whole chickens and such, the bones can be small and none can be left behind. In our case, it is whitefish. There are lots of small bones to pick out.

Remember, with homecooking, you are quality control. So you have to be careful to only leave it on the counter or in the fridge for so long.

Then there is the packaging part. Each ingredient is weighed out, combined with other ingredients and frozen. Some just make a big batch and weigh nothing, but then there is no guaranteed analysis on the diet and not way to know if it's balanced.

It is fine to do if you have the time and energy to do it, but it isn't always fun...

Thank you for your post. I dont want him to be picky. I just feel that homecooked is better that store bought. At least you know what your dog is eating, I know even some "holistic" brands use some shady products. That is totally JMHO though. Thanks for giving me the other side of it. I cook everyday for us anyway, so to cook for one more will just be practice for when we have kids lol

I totally agree and obviously prefer homecooked also.
It just isn't quite as easy as what the internet makes it look.

Holistic food isn't too much more than an advertising scheme.
There may be a few brands that are very good, but for the most part, these companies want money just as much as any other...

You don't have to cook everyday. You can freeze it up ahead and thaw when needed.

We went through this with Joey, during a food switch he became really fussy, and I gave him a little chicken and rice, and he ate out the chicken. A couple of things to remember is that they go through growing spurts, and some days they are hungrier than others. Once you feed them something that tastes really good, they will hold out for something that is just as good. The same is true with children, you have to be stronger willed than they are. This is harder when the dog is really small, or might be susceptible to hypoglycemia, so familiarize yourself with the symptoms. Toy Breed Hypoglycemia

I think home cooking is great, and some dog's really have little choice because of food allergies or special needs, but it can be very time consuming, if you do it right. If you are happy with the food you are using, you can do several things to help him eat. Some people pour a little parmesan cheese on top, and dogs love the smell so this will entice them, others will hand feed a few pieces. If the wet food that he vomited was a new food, this often happens, so many people will just put a tsp or so on the kibble, go slowly when you introduce new foods. Some dogs that really love their food, will often eat so fast that they vomit and then eat that, so in a way, it's kind of good if there are not nuts about their food. I would avoid giving him human foods for a while, and if you decide to give him some chicken or something, I would do it after his meal, and only a tiny piece as a treat. In this way, you won't be making him too fussy.

By the way Ellie May is our homecooking expert and highly recommends it, but never glosses over the disadvantages such as time and expense. I think if you decide to do it you have to be highly motivated because it will be difficult to change back.

I highly recommend Lifes Abundance! It is a great food Gizmo loves it! He used to be picky eating the food the breeder gave me but then I got him on Lifes Abundance and he loves it!

Thanks! Thats what we've been doing... I dont buy into some of those holistic brands either, but I still think that if I buy the chicken or beef I know what part of that my puppy is getting (the good part!). My DH complains that Maxi eats better than him (not true! ;))

I think every dog owner will hv this kind of problem
I solved mine with mixing dry food and some cesar (you can pick any flavor)
just mix a bit and ur dog will start eating again
or if you want to cook it urself jes try minced beef/chicken/beef stir until cooked and put it with dry food