What to do with them?

[Roxyluvsme13]

Well, my mom blames this on the Raw, but of course it's not. Lily has practically STOPPED eating her kibble. She ate her Raw, but at the time being, we just honestly can't feed Raw. Don't ask why it's a long story. Roxy used to eat great. She stopped eating her Raw, and now she's not seeming to like her kibble as much as she used to. I know I could buy a higher quality kibble or something, but my mom just won't go for that. When we can we WILL switch back to raw, but at the moment, not an option. Is there anything you recommend feeding them that's not going to be too expensive? I'm really worried about them, and afraid they aren't eating enough .

[Flatcoatluver]

At the kennel we have can food. We put some can food in a blender and some water and blend it together. Then we put it on there food. They love it. T.j is a picky eater and he goes crazy for it.

[Roxyluvsme13]

At the kennel we have can food. We put some can food in a blender and some water and blend it together. Then we put it on there food. They love it. T.j is a picky eater and he goes crazy for it.

We used to feed canned food, but since it's so expensive we stopped. We've never fed Lily canned food, and I really don't want to start.. :/

[vinjashira]

I used to add chicken to Snowy's kibble. She absolutely loves it

[Flatcoatluver]

We used to feed canned food, but since it's so expensive we stopped. We've never fed Lily canned food, and I really don't want to start.. :/

you wouldn't even use a half a can for both dogs in a week. At our kennel we call it gravy, because it liquified and gravy look-a-like. You just put like 3 tablespoon in there food and mix it all around.

[Husky_mom]

a cheap way is to mix a raw egg on the kibble, they´ll love it and they´ll eat the kibble.........tha worse that can happen they could just lick the egg off but i´m pretty sure they´ll eat........

[caseysmom]

Well I have to work hard to keep Casey's weight down but most of the time I hand feed Bubba to make sure he eats. I feed him innova now and he seems to like it but won't take the time to eat unless I make him.

[Glacier]

This is going to sound mean, but I'd ignore it. An otherwise healthy dog will not starve itself to death. Around my house, they eat what is offered or they wait until the next meal time. Only Paxil gets special offerings to entice her to eat and only because she is not an otherwise healthy dog. She has major health problems.

Also many dogs eat much less in warm weather. If it's hot where you are, they may just not feel like eating. Just make sure they have water available at all times and are drinking it.

[caseysmom]

I was thinking the same thing that Glacier said. The only reason I hand feed bubba is I am thinking sometimes he is afraid of casey when he eats...if I am not around I know she will stand near him and growl when he eats so even if I am there and the food is in the dish I think he is afraid to eat it.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Well, Lily gets fed other things, too. I can't blame her about not eating her dog food since it's poop. It's time to switch hers anyways since she's not really a puppy anymore. Roxy eats hers, but I don't see why she didn't eat her Raw..

[Tralee]

Put their kibble down for 15 minutes if there is any food left it goes back in the bag. They don't get more food until dinner, same thing as the first meal, put it down for 15 minutes and take away whats left over. Don't watch them or add anything to the kibble. They will learn quickly that if they want food they better eat it when it is there. A healthy dog will not strave themselves! It may take a few days but they WILL catch on. My dogs inhale their food in about 30 seconds. When we got Toby he had been free fed. A few days of strict meal time and he gobbled all him food down.
Adding stuff to their food will just make the picky eaters, it is just a quick fix and doesn't help you in the long run.

Good Luck

[Roxyluvsme13]

Well, Lily knows if she doesn't eat her food that she'll get people food. Mainly my mom's doing, NOT mine. So of course she's not going to eat.. Roxy's doing a bit better though, but I want to go back to Raw, and she won't eat it..

[bckrazy]

I'm not sure what to say. Roxy refusing to eat could be the result of a number of issues... =/ is she eating even a little bit or totally refusing?

My advice would definitely be to entice her to eat. Because you've expressed concern about her weight, she shouldn't be fasting too much. Mix in canned food or meat or soak her kibble in chicken/beef broth or warm water.

[Roxyluvsme13]

I'm not sure what to say. Roxy refusing to eat could be the result of a number of issues... =/ is she eating even a little bit or totally refusing?

My advice would definitely be to entice her to eat. Because you've expressed concern about her weight, she shouldn't be fasting too much. Mix in canned food or meat or soak her kibble in chicken/beef broth or warm water.

Well, she's eating her kibble fine. I just hate to feed it to her cuz it's crap. But now she won't let me watch her eat. I would have continued with the Raw, but if one dog's not going to eat it..

[bckrazy]

Ok... so, Roxy IS eating but she's just being picky? Or does she actually refuse? How are her poops, and is she acting ill at all? Honestly, I think you should do much more research on raw and get to a point where you can give them a good variety of meats & supplements before switching them cold-turkey. That is how I feel. Raw feeding is great when it is given in a well-thought-out manner, but it sounds like they went from their kibble to just chicken for one week, so it's understandable that their systems might be unsettled right now. It IS better to feed a good quality kibble than to feed raw without knowing what you're doing.

I feel that Roxy & Lily, right now, would do much better on a good quality kibble with raw bones on occasion for recreational chewing. Going from all raw chicken one week to all (poor quality :/ ) kibble the next week is not a healthy diet, IMHO. My advice would be to get Roxy & Lily eating the best brand that you can afford (Nutro Natural Choice, Canidae, etc) and supplement that with occasional RMB's (for Lily chicken legs, for Roxy beef femur/knuckle or pork ribs) for their teeth.