Dog food for a fussy dog

abutler101

I know this will probably be the millionth dog food question on this forum but I need some advice. We have been feeding a very bad quality food to our dog without realising. We want to change the food now. The dog is a 7 year old jack russel terrier, who has a tendency to put on weight but other than that he is in good health.

Our vet has recommended that we stick to a dry dog food because of issues with his teeth. The problem we have is that he is very picky, I am not sure if this is to do with the quality of food or if it is just the dog though. Has anyone that has changed from a bad food to a better food found that the dog eats better? It can be very difficult to get him to eat any food some days, but the vet says there is no apperant medical problem causing this. If the quality of the food doesn't make it 'tastier' is there any feed made specifically for picky dogs?

I have been looking at Markus Muhle NaturNah, it is about as expensive as we can afford to buy. Is it a good choice? Anyone have any other affordable, good quality food that might suit a picky dog?

Thanks

maggiepip

I dont buy into dry food being better for teeth at all, in fact if I eat a cracker or a biscuit I dont feel like Ive had my teeth cleaned, I feel like all the cracker is stuck to my teeth! Im sure Ive read a study done that concluded there was no difference in the teeth of dogs fed dry or wet, only dogs who were fed raw bones had better teeth, but I cant seem to find it on google right now. Markus Muhle is apparently a good food, the Black Angus one would be better and theres no maize in that. I feed wet food, I have a fussy eater who loves the Rocco and Lukullus tins and pouches, once I alternate or he gets a bit bored, both wet foods from zooplus, great quality and reasonable, especially for the amount a Jack Russell would eat.

VonVix

maggiepip wrote: »

I dont buy into dry food being better for teeth at all, in fact if I eat a cracker or a biscuit I dont feel like Ive had my teeth cleaned, I feel like all the cracker is stuck to my teeth! Im sure Ive read a study done that concluded there was no difference in the teeth of dogs fed dry or wet, only dogs who were fed raw bones had better teeth, but I cant seem to find it on google right now. Markus Muhle is apparently a good food, the Black Angus one would be better and theres no maize in that. I feed wet food, I have a fussy eater who loves the Rocco and Lukullus tins and pouches, once I alternate or he gets a bit bored, both wet foods from zooplus, great quality and reasonable, especially for the amount a Jack Russell would eat.

My boys are also on Lukullus wet food and they are absolutely ravenous for it. They were previously on Burns but they gradually became more and more put off by it.

I'm now transitioning over to Lukullus dry food with them and that seems to be a winner as well!

maggiepip

VonVix wrote: »

My boys are also on Lukullus wet food and they are absolutely ravenous for it. They were previously on Burns but they gradually became more and more put off by it.

I'm now transitioning over to Lukullus dry food with them and that seems to be a winner as well!

And the Lukullus dry, also the Markus Muhle are cold pressed, so dont go through the extreme temperatures normal dried food goes through in processing which can destroy nutrients.

tk123

I agree with the dry food not always being the best for teeth - Bailey's teeth were always mucky on dry food but went lovely and clean on raw... But at the same time Lucy's were the same for a while on raw - at her 6 month checkup there was plaque on some of her teeth and I had to brush them for weeks to get them clean again...but I think it could have been her not chewing properly lol!! I regularly give her bones now and her teeth are spotless. I think we had a thread a while ago where a few people agreed that it was down to the individual dog at the end of the day?

abutler101

Our vet recommended changing to a dry food when he was young because of problems with his gums getting inflamed, when we changed to dry food the problem went away. I might start mixing in some wet food again though. Which would be better Markus Muhle or lukullus dry food?

maggiepip

I would prefer the ingredients of Lukullus to the the Markus Muhle Naturah, personally I like to stay away from any type of maize, but thats me!. The Markus Muhle Black Angus ingredients are very good too but its a bit more expensive.

VonVix

1.5kg for 5.99 at the moment for Lukullus dry food on Zooplus. It was the pack I got to see if my boys would take to eating dry food ever again lol. My boys only need 100g of it each for their size, I could imagine a JRT needing a lot less (it's mostly good stuff so your dog doesn't need to eat a whole lot of it unlike cheap dry food that is full of filler), so it may last you long enough to figure out if it works for you.

tk123

Another one similar to MM and Lukullus is Lupo Natural(Lupo make MM but not sure if they make Lukullus too) - I got a few free bags out of my reward points and have been using it as training treats and the dogs LOVE it.

DBB

Are the issues with his teeth as you've described from earlier in life OP, or has he a problem now?
Inflamed gums can be caused by vitamin deficiencies too, and I'll echo what others say here... I would not be relying on dry food to clean a dog's teeth. Some brands may keep teeth clean post-dental work with your vet, but there aren't many food items that will actively clean teeth that are already covered in plaque and tartar.
If he doesn't like dry food, why insist on him eating it? Why not give him soft food if he prefers it? Give him the odd chicken wing to keep them clean. Maybe hard food causes him discomfort?
I think owners tend to be easily convinced that they must make their dog eat dry food, even if they really don't like it.
Why? Why should we insist on it? What's wrong with feeding them a high quality soft food?
Nowt! That's what!
It's just clever programming on the part of the dry food manufacturers.

abutler101

He hasn't had teeth problems since he was about 18 months. We spent several hundred € on teeth cleanings while he was young and when we switched to the dry food we didn't have to get his teeth cleaned anymore. You do make good points though, it could have been a vitamin deficiency. I would prefer to keep him on dry food, but I might start mixing in some wet food with it if it will help him eat it. I don't think he is in discomfort when eating but I won't rule it out as a possibility. I will check that up to make sure.

I will have another look around through different foods before I make up my mind.

mymo

My two love the lukkulus tins, and I feed a bit of dry food too.
Smaller dog has teeth problems, other one has perfect teeth. I've tried many things and now just use plaque off added to food and brush her teeth as I can.