After a long wait we finally found a dog, So happy and grateful. Its a 1 yr old rehomed 11 Lb small cross breed male dog. Oh the benefits, , neutered, and mostly house trained and the price was great in comparison with the prices around here at this time?. How much should this little guy be eating? How often? His previous owner left a small bag of kibble but he doesn't really want to eat.it so I had to coax him by putting a tbsp of chicken broth over his food. Some of it went down. It's been a long time since I've had a young dog,in the house, mine were seniors at the time they passed, so I will be asking lots of young dog questions again.. Thanks all for listening to me cry about my long wait to find another forever pet companion?
Finally found a dog
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Fixed it. You can edit your post but I think only a moderator can edit a topic title. We don't want people changing them to something like. "Best grey-market iPad here."
Be careful about adding extras to the kibble unless you're prepared to do it forever.
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Glad you finally found one.
The suggested amounts on the bag are just that, suggestions. Start with the amount suggested. If he starts looking a bit too thin, up the amount a bit. If he starts looking pudgy and/or leaves food, then drop the amount down a bit.
The not wanting to eat cold just be because he's in a new situation. As Ron said, though, the more elaborate the preparations and feeding ritual, the more picky the dog is likely to become. Unless there is a medical reason for inappetence, all of my animals have been given the "eat what you're given or go hungry" option.
The suggested amounts on the bag are just that, suggestions. Start with the amount suggested. If he starts looking a bit too thin, up the amount a bit. If he starts looking pudgy and/or leaves food, then drop the amount down a bit.
The not wanting to eat cold just be because he's in a new situation. As Ron said, though, the more elaborate the preparations and feeding ritual, the more picky the dog is likely to become. Unless there is a medical reason for inappetence, all of my animals have been given the "eat what you're given or go hungry" option.
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Gonna disagree a bit.
Dogs aren't "designed" for a dry diet, so bone broth/goat's milk or just water are a must if you feed kibble.
You might look into raw. For such a small dog, it would not be expensive.
Quality canned would be another good option.
Also, I do not agree with making a pet eat something they don't really want. So many good options, you can find something they actually like, not just eating because they are "starving".
Wanted my new pup on raw. A few bumps in the road and we found what she likes, eats with gusto and everyone is happy... Primal.
Dogs aren't "designed" for a dry diet, so bone broth/goat's milk or just water are a must if you feed kibble.
You might look into raw. For such a small dog, it would not be expensive.
Quality canned would be another good option.
Also, I do not agree with making a pet eat something they don't really want. So many good options, you can find something they actually like, not just eating because they are "starving".
Wanted my new pup on raw. A few bumps in the road and we found what she likes, eats with gusto and everyone is happy... Primal.
Thank you for fixing the typo error.
Thanks for the replies, I looked on the bag, there is no recommended amounts per pound, only nutritional Information? Yes, I'm afraid of the dog getting use to being given the extras and wanting them all the time, so will have to keep a limit to that? My in law's brought home an 8 week old puppy, it wouldn't eat, but they finally got it to eat chicken breasts. To this day, the dog won't eat unless it gets chicken breasts. Dogs catch on very quickly to what they want? They also made the mistake of coaxing it to eat by hand feeding it, I'm hoping they broke that habit,, they baby their dog too much, I don't know, maybe they enjoy doing what they're doing.
Thanks for the replies, I looked on the bag, there is no recommended amounts per pound, only nutritional Information? Yes, I'm afraid of the dog getting use to being given the extras and wanting them all the time, so will have to keep a limit to that? My in law's brought home an 8 week old puppy, it wouldn't eat, but they finally got it to eat chicken breasts. To this day, the dog won't eat unless it gets chicken breasts. Dogs catch on very quickly to what they want? They also made the mistake of coaxing it to eat by hand feeding it, I'm hoping they broke that habit,, they baby their dog too much, I don't know, maybe they enjoy doing what they're doing.
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Dogs would happily gorge themselves on any number of things that are literal poison to him. Their preferences are not the best indicator of what's good for a dog.
The thing is, regardless of whether one personally approves of kibble, decent kibble is a balanced diet, and if it's one of the mainstream common brands and formulations it's been the subject of extensive feeding studies. It might be the dog equivalent of gruel but it's gruel that meets the dog's physical needs.
It's one thing to switch over to a researched, planned, balanced homemade diet - quite another to just add tasty things to the dog's diet because they're more enticing or it feels good to treat the dog.
Sometimes I feel bad that I don't put more effort into my dog's food. Then I remind myself that dogs evolved to eat literal garbage.
Anyway, my dog loves the salmon formula Purina Pro Plan, probably because it smells like swamp butt.
The thing is, regardless of whether one personally approves of kibble, decent kibble is a balanced diet, and if it's one of the mainstream common brands and formulations it's been the subject of extensive feeding studies. It might be the dog equivalent of gruel but it's gruel that meets the dog's physical needs.
It's one thing to switch over to a researched, planned, balanced homemade diet - quite another to just add tasty things to the dog's diet because they're more enticing or it feels good to treat the dog.
Sometimes I feel bad that I don't put more effort into my dog's food. Then I remind myself that dogs evolved to eat literal garbage.
Anyway, my dog loves the salmon formula Purina Pro Plan, probably because it smells like swamp butt.
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I also usually feed the Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon and Rice formula.
When I say that they can eat it or go hungry, I'm obviously not talking about starving a dog into eating something they absolutely refuse to eat. I'm talking about not fussing and hovering over them, encouraging a healthy animal to eat one kibble at a time (although I've done that for some that were truly ill). Just make up their food, put it down, walk away, and pick up the empty bowl after they are done.
When I say that they can eat it or go hungry, I'm obviously not talking about starving a dog into eating something they absolutely refuse to eat. I'm talking about not fussing and hovering over them, encouraging a healthy animal to eat one kibble at a time (although I've done that for some that were truly ill). Just make up their food, put it down, walk away, and pick up the empty bowl after they are done.
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Lol, that's so true.
Likely the dog is a bit nervous in a new situation. He'll likely regain his appetite when he gets a bit more used to you and his new home.
As others have said, be careful giving treats in regular food if it's not something you want to do long term. The dog can get used to it and then decide not to eat when you forget those treats! You can certainly give a few treats in the bowl every once in a while though. It's your dog, and if you decide you don't mind putting something special in every meal, that's your business, as long as your dog is healthy, of course!
I have also found that the foods I think smell the....strongest, shall we say...seem to be the most enticing to dogs. My dog loves his current food, but I think it kind of smells.
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True, but if what you offer is ALL good, just finding what they prefer, then I say it's a win win!😁
Also, I had 5 seniors at the same time. Age, illnesses, etc.. , some were off food and I knew "the time" was close, so I say give 'em what they want ( good foods, of course).
Only two of the old farts are left.... lost all 3 boys within one year.
One of the old ladies was off food for MONTHS... frustrating. I tried literally everything out there, she'd eat something for a few weeks, then nothing... normally not a picky dog.
Many, many vet visits/tests later, still no real reason why, but she's eating again, very well. She has all the "leftovers" to work thru so I can get her back on raw.
Also, I had 5 seniors at the same time. Age, illnesses, etc.. , some were off food and I knew "the time" was close, so I say give 'em what they want ( good foods, of course).
Only two of the old farts are left.... lost all 3 boys within one year.
One of the old ladies was off food for MONTHS... frustrating. I tried literally everything out there, she'd eat something for a few weeks, then nothing... normally not a picky dog.
Many, many vet visits/tests later, still no real reason why, but she's eating again, very well. She has all the "leftovers" to work thru so I can get her back on raw.
The best dog food is..
The one your dog eats.
The one you can afford
and the best healthy option combining the two above.
We feed raw, this was an easy option for us given Murphys beef allergy.. Even the best kibble dont always list everything under 5% and they can just say things like meat derivitives ! and even 5% is enough to make him sick..
But getting back to you.. Firstly Congratualtions, I know how long and hard you have searched for this new friend..
Some dogs will try their luck with a new person .. Thats the if I hold out I might get something better idea, some just need time to settle..
Of course you both need time to get used to each other so I would say dont worry too much if he seems a bit off at the moment..
Oh and when he is settled some photos maybe? please...
The one your dog eats.
The one you can afford
and the best healthy option combining the two above.
We feed raw, this was an easy option for us given Murphys beef allergy.. Even the best kibble dont always list everything under 5% and they can just say things like meat derivitives ! and even 5% is enough to make him sick..
But getting back to you.. Firstly Congratualtions, I know how long and hard you have searched for this new friend..
Some dogs will try their luck with a new person .. Thats the if I hold out I might get something better idea, some just need time to settle..
Of course you both need time to get used to each other so I would say dont worry too much if he seems a bit off at the moment..
Oh and when he is settled some photos maybe? please...
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Congrats on your new pup! I'm in the camp of avoiding switching foods with a new dog if they already were eating something they were doing okay on, at least for the first couple weeks. I'm already going to be worrying if any loose stools were stress, illness, parasites, etc. I don't want to add a new food into that until the dog's settled in for a bit. The exceptions being, of course, if they were doing very poorly on their previous diet, or it was seriously unhealthy to the point of being dangerous, or if you bring home a dog from a shelter/rescue situation where they weren't on a consistent diet long-term to begin with.
I'd try some contrafreeloading as well by trying out some very simple food puzzles (you don't even have to buy anything, I'm talking scattering kibble under a blanket, or in an empty egg carton, etc.). For whatever reason, many animals find food they have to work/forage for more appetizing, and it also doubles as enrichment. Start super easy, even just scattering some on a bare floor so he has to move a little more to eat, because you don't want to make it so hard it's frustrating and he gives up. But a lot of picky/lower appetite dogs I know do better when they 'play' with their food.
I'd try some contrafreeloading as well by trying out some very simple food puzzles (you don't even have to buy anything, I'm talking scattering kibble under a blanket, or in an empty egg carton, etc.). For whatever reason, many animals find food they have to work/forage for more appetizing, and it also doubles as enrichment. Start super easy, even just scattering some on a bare floor so he has to move a little more to eat, because you don't want to make it so hard it's frustrating and he gives up. But a lot of picky/lower appetite dogs I know do better when they 'play' with their food.
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