am I going backwards with their eating habits ?

falabo

hi all would love to get your opinions on this: I use to feed my dogs dry food only RELIGIOUSLY (James Wellbeloved) and would only give them dog treats (biscuits, pigs ear from time to time etc)

recent;y I started addind a bit of chicken or bacon to their din-dins until the day came they wouldnt eat any more just the dry food

so I thought: ok after all its really really nice to see your dogs enjoying their din-dins so i will start adding very little wet food to they portions. I started buying PEDIGREE COUNTRY CASEROLES IN GRAVY (love the name lol) and adding ONLY 1 TBALESPOON

it makes a massive difference its like their apetite is back. I used to think dry food was the only way forward but seeing how much more they love it with wet food I dont believe in that crap anymore of giving them only dry food.

I mean would ONE TABLESPOON of wet food per meal really kill them ? their coats are still fantastic, they still have loads of energy and their poops are grand ...

I'd rather see my dogs enjoy their food and at least the day they wont eat I will know for sure thetre is something wrong.

Bookworm85

I think you might be going backwards! With all the chopping and changing they'll start to get choosy.

Don't panic though, its easily sorted.

If I were you, I'd go back to James Wellbeloved,or another quality brand. Pedigree is the McDonalds of dog food.

When you are feeding, put the bowl out for 15 to 20 mins, if they don't eat it take it back up and don't feed them until next meal time. Keep doing this until they start to eat it. It might take a day or two, but don't worry, your dogs wont starve themselves. Once they realise that there is nothing else available they'll get stuck in!

Also, try adding a bit of warm water to their dry food - it'll make it a bit more appealing to them.

falabo

sorry I actually meant I only add Pedigree wet food (1 spoon) but the dry food is still James Wellbeloved. could one spoon of Pedigree really harm them ?

I dont mind taking a few minutes to prepare their meals, and love watching them eat it

hpsheba

I do the same TBH, sometimes wet dog food and sometimes a little tuna or grated cheese. I would get bored if I have to eat the exact same thing everyday so usually add something, but not always. They will still eat their dinner without the added stuff just not as quickly LOL. Mine are on the James Wellbeloved as well

Bookworm85

falabo wrote: »

sorry I actually meant I only add Pedigree wet food (1 spoon) but the dry food is still James Wellbeloved. could one spoon of Pedigree really harm them ?

I dont mind taking a few minutes to prepare their meals, and love watching them eat it

Sorry Falabo,

I misread your post (Yes, you had it in big bold letters and I still missed it )- no a bit of wet food isn't going to harm them!

But if you find that they are getting too fussy, only eating the wet food, or bits of chicken/bacon and leaving the dry stuff, then I'd try what I mentioned my first post.

Again apologies for jumping the gun and misreading your post

DBB

Whilst I don't agree that feeding only dry food is "crap", after all, pretty much every dog would prefer tinned food, I personally like to give my dogs a half-and-half diet of wet/dry. They're getting on now... if they want a really tasty element to their meals, who am I to stop them?:D
However! Here's the "but"!
The wet part of their food is not tinned stuff. I think if you want to call anything "crap", it's the average tin of dog food!
Mine either get a lightly cooked version of the BARF diet (dogs have been shown to prefer the taste of cooked meat), or they get a really good quality commercial wet food, like NatureDiet or Nature's Best (both of which are stand-alone wet diets, nutritionally complete etc). Mixed in with good quality dry food (Royal Canin works well here, but have used JWB). I will, however, eventually have them on minimal dry food and get them almost exclusively onto the lightly-cooked BARF.
So no, I don't feel that a spoon even of crappy tinned food will kill them! But for me, I'd rather give them the better quality stuff.
To be honest, I no longer take shiney coat nor liveliness as indicators of health. Most commercial dog food have ingredients in them specifically designed to shine the coat, which may give an illusion of super health, but it's not necessarily! Many foods also contain ingredients which can make dogs hyper, so liveliness may not be because of wellbeing, but from being wired to the moon!