Best canned chicken & rice formula for picky pup!

[bobbigirl]

Hi all : ) I'm still having trouble with my five month old picky puppy! I'm now back to square one cooking for her. I have to add the vitamins, minerals, bone meal, oils myself and it's a little tricky. Vet recommended switching to California Natural Chicken Rice if I want to stop home cooking. Well no one carries it and if I want it I have to order the whole case. So I'm wondering if there is a different brand of canned chicken and rice that I can try? Maybe Canidae, or Natural Balance? What do you think? She's super picky and tiny! Only 2.5 lbs! Want her to get the foodstuff she needs to grow! She's supposed to be around 4 lbs but at this rate I'm getting worried! Would love advice and opinions! Thanks!!!

[BanditSocks2]

Is there anywhere you can drive to get it? Then you don't have to order a whole lot of it but can see if she likes it. What about trying Merrick's food line. It's good, but not excellent, but it's highly palatable and picky yorkies usually like it, but I've never seen just chicken and rice.

Good luck on your search!!

[bobbigirl]

Thanks I need some good luck! Hehe! Yes I've tried Merricks and she likes it but she threw up after she had it. I didnt give it much of a chance though. When she threw up i jut stopped giving it to her. So the vet said try California Natural. I mean if I have to I will order it but I've got a few more places to call. The petstores I go to has every other brand but CA Natural! Both stores told me it didnt sell well. So I thought there might be a different brand that's comparable to CA Natural. Pet food store guys said Canidae, Natural Balance or grandma's something (can't remember ; ). Wanted to see what my YT friends thought...

[BanditSocks2]

Maybe something called Grandma's Spot's Stew? I think there's something along the lines. I think California Natural is the best out of those though. You can call some companies for free samples. I got about 20-25 samples from Lukes All Natural Pet store (I think that's the web address too) and I think I only paid $15 but it was worth it because I got to have my pups try all the brands I wanted them to, and see which ones they liked best. Maybe they could do that with canned chicken and rice food brands?

[NikoNiks]

My dog was a picky eater too, well still is and we have tons of dry kibble left that he just one day decided he didnt like anymore.

What I do is I give him some kibble (wellness sweet potatoe and fish) ..about 1/8 cup mixed with about a 1tbsp wellness 95% turkey (it comes in a can) - I get mine at Krisers. That is his breakfast.

he gets a NV medallion for dinner mushed in with another 1/8 cup or so of kibble.

HE LOVES BOTH. Devours the food.

I know you are asking for chicken and rice formulas, but try the wellness 95% turkey canned. Niko never ate his kibble with other canned formulas, he would just lick it all off and leave the kibble, but for some reason he finishes everything with this.

Oh and my dog used to be around 3.5 lbs when he was picky and never ate his food, he is at a stable 4.5 lbs now but you wouldn't think it because he is sooooooo small.

[bobbigirl]

Originally Posted by BanditSocks2

Maybe something called Grandma's Spot's Stew? I think there's something along the lines. I think California Natural is the best out of those though. You can call some companies for free samples. I got about 20-25 samples from Lukes All Natural Pet store (I think that's the web address too) and I think I only paid $15 but it was worth it because I got to have my pups try all the brands I wanted them to, and see which ones they liked best. Maybe they could do that with canned chicken and rice food brands?

That's awesome how they did the samples for you! I ended up ordering the California Natural Chicken and Rice but if she doesnt eat it I will certainly look into samples of canned. I'm just hoping and praying she will eat it! Because we are going to have an entire case of it!!! Ugh! Please please please like it! Yea I cant think of the grandma name so it may be what you said!

[bobbigirl]

Nikoniks! : ) yes I have tons of samples of kibble! So many! And she's funny because maybe she'll eat one kind one day and another on a different day and hen never again! Picky! Totally picky! I will definitely keep your suggestions in mind! Thanks! I've never given her turkey anything so you never know! I've tried Wellness kibble and well, she won't eat it! It's amazing too how she sorts her food! If I mix in 10 kibbles into her wet food there are 10 kibbles licked clean sitting on the plate! What the heck!

Oh what is NV medallion? Would love to know!

Yea my girl is too small right now. Really want to fatten her up! Haha! So your little guy went from 3 to 4 lbs and is picky. How old is he now? What I'm wondering is... How much longer is my baby going to grow and fill in? She's already 5 months and only 2.5 lbs!!! Tiny! I really didn't know how small she would be! And I fell in love the second I saw her! There's no turnig back now!!! Hehe! But I do want her to grow. Really for her own health and safety. She so fragile. Anyway thanks so much for the info.!

[NikoNiks]

Hi, Niko is 13 months old now.

He was always picky and was around 3.5 lbs at a year, but he has gained 1 lb in the past month now that he finally eats his meals.

Let me tell you, I feel your pain. Niko would also leave every single piece of kibble, we never gave him human food or treats and would strictly give him his kibble and certain time periods and still NOTHING. He just would starve himself like he was on a strike or something, I could hear his little tummy going!

So I asked a friend what she gave her pup and she mixed FROMM Whitefish and Potato Kibble with Wellness 95% Turkey Canned wet food. I had the kibble already (Niko was just like your pup, try somethings, like it for a while and then all of a sudden refuse it, so I also have tons of different dry kibble). So I just bought the can and I only have to mix like a tbsp in and he DEVOURS the whole meal with such Gusto.

NV Medallion is Nature's Variety RAW Frozen Medallions. You should research RAW food, and a RAW diet. I did a lot and finally decided I would give it a try. You get it frozen from your pet store's freezer, it costs about $14-$15/bag of 48 medallions but there are many coupons you can use. I give one medallion (its like a little nugget) at night for his dinner mixed with kibble instead of the Wellness Canned. HE LOVES IT. I don't think any dog has turned away from it, plus it is good for them. The only thing is that you have to remember to defrost each one in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours and make sure to serve it in a metal dish because it is a RAW food and we have to handle it in a similar way we would handle any RAW meat we use for ourselves, WASH HANDS. And it can be pricey. But since that bag will last me a month and half I don't mind spending the money.
If you don't want to try a RAW diet yet, I would definitely give the Wellness 95% Turkey Canned a go!

And yes your girl will grow a little more, my dog was prob the same size as her when he was 5 months, he still looks really tiny though. I think at around 10-12 months they reach their maximum growth, from then on they can get fatter but it isn't good for them to be "fat" because its bad for their little joints.

Now that Niko is eating well he is at a stable 4.5ish lbs maybe a little bit less.

[bobbigirl]

Originally Posted by NikoNiks

Hi, Niko is 13 months old now.

He was always picky and was around 3.5 lbs at a year, but he has gained 1 lb in the past month now that he finally eats his meals.

Let me tell you, I feel your pain. Niko would also leave every single piece of kibble, we never gave him human food or treats and would strictly give him his kibble and certain time periods and still NOTHING. He just would starve himself like he was on a strike or something, I could hear his little tummy going!

So I asked a friend what she gave her pup and she mixed FROMM Whitefish and Potato Kibble with Wellness 95% Turkey Canned wet food. I had the kibble already (Niko was just like your pup, try somethings, like it for a while and then all of a sudden refuse it, so I also have tons of different dry kibble). So I just bought the can and I only have to mix like a tbsp in and he DEVOURS the whole meal with such Gusto.

NV Medallion is Nature's Variety RAW Frozen Medallions. You should research RAW food, and a RAW diet. I did a lot and finally decided I would give it a try. You get it frozen from your pet store's freezer, it costs about $14-$15/bag of 48 medallions but there are many coupons you can use. I give one medallion (its like a little nugget) at night for his dinner mixed with kibble instead of the Wellness Canned. HE LOVES IT. I don't think any dog has turned away from it, plus it is good for them. The only thing is that you have to remember to defrost each one in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours and make sure to serve it in a metal dish because it is a RAW food and we have to handle it in a similar way we would handle any RAW meat we use for ourselves, WASH HANDS. And it can be pricey. But since that bag will last me a month and half I don't mind spending the money.
If you don't want to try a RAW diet yet, I would definitely give the Wellness 95% Turkey Canned a go!

And yes your girl will grow a little more, my dog was prob the same size as her when he was 5 months, he still looks really tiny though. I think at around 10-12 months they reach their maximum growth, from then on they can get fatter but it isn't good for them to be "fat" because its bad for their little joints.

Now that Niko is eating well he is at a stable 4.5ish lbs maybe a little bit less.

Hey there!

Aw Niko is so cute! I want my girl to be 4.5 lbs! Hehe! So guess what... My local petstore forgot to order the CA Natural for me so to make up for it they offered me a free bag of NV Medallions (chicken)! What a coincidence! I told them you had just mentioned it to me! The guys who run the shop are all about the Raw Diet! They think it is the best diet for dogs. One said he is going to school to be a vet and specialize in nutrition and he feeds his dogs all raw all the time. I just started a thread to get more opinions. But it looks like I am going to give it a try! Thank so much! I will let you know how it goes!

[crispyk]

I finally found a raw food from tolden farms and it`s local. My doggies finally started eating meat after that. They like the boar one best I think... but now they`re getting fussy again. I would really like to find a dry food they would like but I`m having trouble. They won`t touch Acana or Royal Canin which is really disappointing. They love carrots and cucumber etc.. so I give them that as well and we`re doing okay.

Good luck with the raw. I think you`ll be very happy

[NikoNiks]

Yes! Do let me know how it goes! Usually they love it. Make sure if you decide to stick to Raw, that you rotate the different protein sources, don't just do all chicken all the time, rotate between chicken, beef, venison, etc.