Wet dog food advice

erica74

Hi all

I'm looking for some advice on changing my dog's wet food.
He's a 4 year old miniature dachshund weighing in at a very slim 6kg. He has always been a picky eater. He has never ever liked dry food. I have tried a variety of brands over the past 4 years but have mainly fed Naturo, Natures Menu and for the past year, he has been fed Real Nature, which I buy in Maxizoo.
Unfortunately, I was out of work for quite some time but am now back working and, as I now have the money, I would really like to get him settled on a better quality food.

I am interested in some products mentioned in another thread:

https://www.carnivorekellys.ie/products/small-1kg-box-of-chubs

http://www.slaneypetfoods.ie/index.php/products-prices/

However, I would be a bit clueless about how to feed these - for example, with the chubbs, is it just a case of lobbing off a set amount (determined by the dog breed and body weight etc) into the bowl or do you have to add other stuff as well?

The dog himself has never had any health issues. However, as I said, he's a picky eater, and sometimes he'll starve himself for 2 days, sometimes even 3, if he's having a strop over his food. I'd be very concerned about him when he's at that carry on. He's only 6kg and if he decides he's going to starve himself for 2 days, he drops weight very fast and it can take him a while to get back to where he was. He has always been very slim.

The reason why I'm thinking of a more natural diet is because I'm wondering if there is an allergen in the dog food that is upsetting him and that's why he starves himself? I've been reading about hypoallergenic dog food but I figure the more natural food is probably even better than that?

Anyway, I'd appreciate any help on this.

VonVix

Could it be that you're expecting him to eat more than he actually needs? Or does he literally not touch a single drop of his food over the space of two days? Does he hold out for the "good stuff" such as food you're eating? I meet a LOT of small breeds who are very casual eaters and only eat when they feel the need to, rather than whenever it's in front of them. 6kg also sounds like the right size for a Miniature Dachshund.

Some people here may be more experienced with regards raw diets and be able to advise you when it comes to their experiences, as I have never fed it myself. I have however, heard a lot of good things about it when it comes to a dog's physical condition (coat, teeth, etc.) but it does come up as a bit more expensive and certainly more messy than 'normal' diets.

Bells21

We had two very picky eaters also but since we've changed to raw that's all changed for ours. One/two sources of protein they're not too keen on but that's fine they still have a very varied diet.
If you are going to use completes(80% meat, 10% offal, 10% bone) which you can purchase from carnivore Kelly's or slaney pet foods then you feed 2-3% of your dog's ideal weight so for example mine weigh 7kg so are fed 140g per day or 70g each meal(that's based off 2%). If you go down this route it's advisable to have extra freezer space as you are buying in bulk as such so it needs to be frozen.

pawrick

Before you settle on the ones you mentioned get a sample pack to see if it suits. carnivore kellys does a sample for about 1.50.

I tried my dog out on the 1Kg chubs but had to give up as it became too messy, might have been less mess with the 500g ones in fairness. When defrosted the chubs leaked blood and they were arriving semi defrosted. So I gave up on it. My dog however loved them and her appetite was great when on raw albeit she had bad breath from the meat. I was using it as a complete food alternating between different types of chub selections each day but i did supplement it with a small amount of dry food also. I also had to buy a chest freezer for storage and to avoid contamination of our own food due to the leaking blood when defrosted. Arriving defosted might not be an issue though if you live closer than i do to their shop.

Now i'm back to mixing wet and dry food, rinti tins or wolf of the wilderness from zooplus.de along with a decent quality dry food and the odd bit of fish or cooked meat. I'd still recommend the raw diet as my own dog loved it but see if it works for you as well as the dog first as we also have to be practical.

DBB

I've had similar defrosting-during-delivery with both Slaney Pet Foods, and Carnivore Kelly's previous incarnation... Boy, does it smell rank
I know that the packaged food was fairly regularly spending an overnight or two with the courier company, slowly defrosting away in the packaging. I know this, because the couriers told me more than once.
In the past few months I've moved over to K9 Kitchen's complete mixes... Along the same lines as the chubs but in waxed cardboard boxes.
They are always frozen solid on delivery, and unless I leave them defrosting too long or out of the fridge, there's not much smell. They are delivered very quickly after ordering, even to me out in the sticks!
That said, I know 2 people whose dogs got loose stools and flatulence after eating K9 Kitchen food... But I've had absolutely no issue with it!

Bells21

Our dogs were ones who didn't do too well on the K9 kitchen completes and had runny poos on them. But I did like their packaging as it was less messy(that was when they were using the plastic containers). I had some issues with delivery from carnivore Kelly's where the food was arriving semi defrosted but have been fine with slaney pet foods but I'm guessing that that's because we're local enough to them.
In terms of it being messy, yes it can be. We have specific tubberware containers for the dogs food where we pop the chubbs/ bags into and into the fridge to defrost. I also buy disposable gloves to use when decanting the contents into the containers/dogs bowl(I also cut chicken fillets with a knife and fork lol). Freezer space is a must and ours have their own freezer, which we refill every 7-8 weeks or so.

aonb

I just going to add my usual vote for a home cooked diet. Once/week boil up a pan of chicken (or whatever), brown rice, whatever veg he'll eat - chopped small. Remove the bones, chop everything up nice and small. Store in the fridge, scoop a nice tasty bowlful, pop into the microwave for few seconds to warm and release yummy smells. I add a few supplementary bits and pieces. Healthy dogs, gobble it up, in fact even the fussiest of visiting dogs have never left a bit. I vary the choice with beef or frozen white fish or turkey. I also feed raw chicken wings, nice big raw bones, a bit of tuna or sardines etc, an egg. If hes a lightweight fussy boy, you could very well find tweeking and personalizing his diet dependant on his likes/dislikes makes all the difference. Home cooked is cheaper I find than the high quality dog foods. Takes me 10-15 mins once a week to prep.

I started home cooking when my oldest dog developed allergies, then his health started to deteriorate - age related - but he NEVER refused a meal, and the allergies were pretty much sorted.

tk123

I have an order coming from Nutriment Ireland tomorrow so will repot back on the frozen-ness! They do 200/500g plastic trays and 1.4kg chubbs - the 200g might be handy if you have mini dogs lol I had a few problems with Kellys and one ever with Slaney which was sorted straight away (when I had that same problem with Kelly's 'previous incarnation' they laughed it off and I had a stinking house! *puke*)...The only time I've had bloody/defrosted stuff from Slaney was when his refrigerated van broke down one Saturday and he had to rent one. Apart from that it's always frozen and sometimes he'd come after 6:00pm. Most of our deliveries are from Mark himself but the courier ones have been fine too - we're in Dublin though and by chance close enough to all the different courier's depots.

I don't find it that messy tbh minces, portioning up rabbits, hacking lamb necks up etc etc maybe I'm just used to it! I do most of the cooking for us too and no dogs or humans have been poisoned yet so I'm doing something right!

erica74

Wow thanks for all the replies and advice everybody, I really appreciate getting such varied feedback.

VonVix wrote: »

Could it be that you're expecting him to eat more than he actually needs? Or does he literally not touch a single drop of his food over the space of two days? Does he hold out for the "good stuff" such as food you're eating? I meet a LOT of small breeds who are very casual eaters and only eat when they feel the need to, rather than whenever it's in front of them. 6kg also sounds like the right size for a Miniature Dachshund.

Some people here may be more experienced with regards raw diets and be able to advise you when it comes to their experiences, as I have never fed it myself. I have however, heard a lot of good things about it when it comes to a dog's physical condition (coat, teeth, etc.) but it does come up as a bit more expensive and certainly more messy than 'normal' diets.

He literally does not touch a single morsel for the 2 days, sometimes 3 days he starves himself for, until eventually he'll come around and eat again.

I'm not really too concerned about the cost, he's only 6kg after all.

Bells21 wrote: »

We had two very picky eaters also but since we've changed to raw that's all changed for ours. One/two sources of protein they're not too keen on but that's fine they still have a very varied diet.
If you are going to use completes(80% meat, 10% offal, 10% bone) which you can purchase from carnivore Kelly's or slaney pet foods then you feed 2-3% of your dog's ideal weight so for example mine weigh 7kg so are fed 140g per day or 70g each meal(that's based off 2%). If you go down this route it's advisable to have extra freezer space as you are buying in bulk as such so it needs to be frozen.

So if you feed a "complete", that's all that goes into each meal?
I actually have a freezer that isn't used so I'm all set there.

pawrick wrote: »

Before you settle on the ones you mentioned get a sample pack to see if it suits. carnivore kellys does a sample for about 1.50.

I tried my dog out on the 1Kg chubs but had to give up as it became too messy, might have been less mess with the 500g ones in fairness. When defrosted the chubs leaked blood and they were arriving semi defrosted. So I gave up on it. My dog however loved them and her appetite was great when on raw albeit she had bad breath from the meat. I was using it as a complete food alternating between different types of chub selections each day but i did supplement it with a small amount of dry food also. I also had to buy a chest freezer for storage and to avoid contamination of our own food due to the leaking blood when defrosted. Arriving defosted might not be an issue though if you live closer than i do to their shop.

Now i'm back to mixing wet and dry food, rinti tins or wolf of the wilderness from zooplus.de along with a decent quality dry food and the odd bit of fish or cooked meat. I'd still recommend the raw diet as my own dog loved it but see if it works for you as well as the dog first as we also have to be practical.

Thanks for that, I've just ordered the sample pack. It's a good opportunity to test out the delivery service too.
I'd like to test it out anyway and see how he gets on.
At least once a week, he'll go "on strike" as I call it and refuse to eat a meal and then every couple of weeks, he won't eat for longer periods.
The vet has cleared him of any health issues and said some dogs are just fussy. She actually recommended looking into the different types of raw foods.

DBB wrote: »

I've had similar defrosting-during-delivery with both Slaney Pet Foods, and Carnivore Kelly's previous incarnation... Boy, does it smell rank
I know that the packaged food was fairly regularly spending an overnight or two with the courier company, slowly defrosting away in the packaging. I know this, because the couriers told me more than once.
In the past few months I've moved over to K9 Kitchen's complete mixes... Along the same lines as the chubs but in waxed cardboard boxes.
They are always frozen solid on delivery, and unless I leave them defrosting too long or out of the fridge, there's not much smell. They are delivered very quickly after ordering, even to me out in the sticks!
That said, I know 2 people whose dogs got loose stools and flatulence after eating K9 Kitchen food... But I've had absolutely no issue with it!

Thanks for that. I've ordered the sample pack to test out the food itself and the delivery service so hopefully it goes well.

Just having a look at K9 Kitchen now too.

Thanks again for all the replies everybody, much appreciated. I'll keep you posted on what we decide on.

Bells21

erica74 wrote:

So if you feed a "complete", that's all that goes into each meal? I actually have a freezer that isn't used so I'm all set there.

The completes have the ratio of meat, bone and offal already sorted for you and in the one pack. So all you need to do then is figure out what the ideal weight for your dog is and feed 2-3% of that weight in a day.
If your dog is looking underweight then perhaps starting off feeding at 3% might be an idea and the adjust down to 2.5/2% if needed to avoid becoming overweight.

CeilingFly

We've a fussy eater too.


After a couple of years chopping and changing, this is now the regular meal.

We add melted butter to dry nuts (royal canine), portion of fresh chicken (we freeze meal size portions) rice and a small sprinkling of cheese. (basic cheddar or mozzarella is fine for most dogs but not all).

Considering that a large 1.8kg chicken is about €4 (always an offer in tesco or aldi), and after my 2 days portion (herself is veggie) it leaves about 6 portions of chicken for the dog and works out cheaper (and better) than pouches.

DBB

CeilingFly wrote: »

We add melted butter to dry nuts (royal canine), portion of fresh chicken (we freeze meal size portions) rice and a small sprinkling of cheese. (basic cheddar or mozzarella is fine for most dogs but not all).

I had an incredibly fussy eater too, but aged about 8 or so, she was diagnosed with intermittent pancreatitis, she was a cocker x, apparently cockers are prone to a hereditary pancreatitis. Trouble is... It didn't really show up on blood tests until she was having an episode... So we can't rule this out with the op's dog. An episode was pretty much marked by her stopping eating, and maybe being a bit off form. Nothing more dramatic than that.
There isn't a hope I could've fed her all that fatty stuff to promote eating during these spells... It'd have made her really sick. Active dogs tend to deal with fat wayyyyy better than humans, but until the op is certain there isn't an underlying problem, I'd avoid high fat.
So... My little one was constantly chopping and changing what she'd eat Chicken and veg stew would be devoured for a few weeks, then she'd stop eating it, but might only eat kibble (even at that, she'd vary in what kibble she'd eat... James Wellbeloved grain-free, Barking Heads, Purizon... Even Pedigree at one stage!)
Then she'd go off the kibble, and only eat raw.
I learned to just roll with it, the one rule being to keep fat below 8-10%
Jimf on here often posts about one of the B vitamins being a great appetite stimulant..
I can't remember which one it is, have never tried it but often meant to... Jimf, if you're reading this, help!

boomerang

B12

tk123

Ok the Nutriment arrived bright and early this morning at 7:15 - I'd just left with the dogs but my mum was there to get it -assuming he would have left it there for me in the garden otherwise. Everything still frozen and no blood leaking etc. All very neat and tidy - boxes and polyboxes inside perfect. They had low stock on the chubbs so had asked if I'd mind taking the trays instead - otherwise I would have had the jumbo chicken and turkey chubbs and just the low purine mix in the trays. I'd only defrosted a bulk slab from slaney so taste test for the doggies once that's gone lol!

erica74

DBB wrote: »

I had an incredibly fussy eater too, but aged about 8 or so, she was diagnosed with intermittent pancreatitis, she was a cocker x, apparently cockers are prone to a hereditary pancreatitis. Trouble is... It didn't really show up on blood tests until she was having an episode... So we can't rule this out with the op's dog. An episode was pretty much marked by her stopping eating, and maybe being a bit off form. Nothing more dramatic than that.
There isn't a hope I could've fed her all that fatty stuff to promote eating during these spells... It'd have made her really sick. Active dogs tend to deal with fat wayyyyy better than humans, but until the op is certain there isn't an underlying problem, I'd avoid high fat.
So... My little one was constantly chopping and changing what she'd eat Chicken and veg stew would be devoured for a few weeks, then she'd stop eating it, but might only eat kibble (even at that, she'd vary in what kibble she'd eat... James Wellbeloved grain-free, Barking Heads, Purizon... Even Pedigree at one stage!)
Then she'd go off the kibble, and only eat raw.
I learned to just roll with it, the one rule being to keep fat below 8-10%
Jimf on here often posts about one of the B vitamins being a great appetite stimulant..
I can't remember which one it is, have never tried it but often meant to... Jimf, if you're reading this, help!

We have discussed pancreatitis, but, like you say, it's hard to pin down.
Like you, we have tried every brand but have been consistent with what he has been eating for the past year, as we have been trying not to "give in" to his carry on.

I'm waiting on the sample pack from Carnivore Kellys and my hope is that, if he likes it, it'll help get him on track.

Again, thanks for all the advice.

erica74

Thank you thank you thank you boards!!
I think I've just won the battle. When I was unpacking the box, unwrapping the chub and mashing it in his bowl, I had a very interested young pup following my every move - literally NEVER happens, he NEVER takes any interest in food. Then when I put the bowl down, he jumped straight in, no sniffing, no pottering around the bowl, no thinking about life, just straight in! He then ate the whole thing and licked his bowl. He has literally NEVER licked his bowl and would often leave quite a bit of his food behind, and usually at least a mouthful left behind.
I'm so happy! Thank you boards