Gun Dog Forum

Has anyone found a kibble type food that the hard keepers really like to eat.

Gravy.

The wife does make some really good gravy.
Tried chicken broth that doesn't work well.

Topdress with canned dog food. I use the cheap stuff. For sick dogs or ones that refuse to eat on the road or whatever, canned cat food works great.

It may sound counter-productive, but for picky eater dogs, I've found they eat much better if they're kept a little bit hungry. I'll withhold food for a feeding, then feed somewhat less than the usual portion for another meal or two. Then the portion gets adjusted to however much they eat without leftovers.

But sometimes there isn't much to be done about hard keepers, especially young ones or old ones. IME the young ones more or less grow out of it. The old ones, I cater to

I do as Shags said. I have a very picky eater. I top dress good quality kibble with cheapo wet dog food. Solves the problem.

Can't argue with the wet food strategy. Worked for my old guy when nothing else would. Unfortunately, if I recall (couple years or more ago) the protein content of wet foods is pretty dismal so needs the kibble or some other supplement.

we had a finicky rescue dog a while ago, we started boiling dark chicken meat and putting that in the the kibble and some water. that has worked for us with every dog that is picky.

Pork fat from trimming, not bacon fat. Cut up and boil pork trimmings and put on top of or mix trimmings and broth with kibble.

greg jacobs wrote:Has anyone found a kibble type food that the hard keepers really like to eat.

A buddy with a dog that just didnt like to eat would buy boiled chicken breast. he could pick it up pretty cheap and mixed in it with the kibble and a little warm water made a broth. He also tried lots of different brands til he found one that she would even eat a little bit of by herself. But he always packed boiled chicken when we went on the road.

fishvik wrote:Pork fat from trimming, not bacon fat. Cut up and boil pork trimmings and put on top of or mix trimmings and broth with kibble.

Please don't tell my dog about this . I know how she would vote.

Been told many times over the years to never give a dog canned cat food, protien is super high and can cause many problems.

art hubbard wrote:Been told many times over the years to never give a dog canned cat food, protien is super high and can cause many problems.

The protein isn't any higher.

As far as food for picky eaters I use grease.

My order from Drs. Foster and Smith came yesterday with a free sample of Stella and Chewey's Meal Mixers. It's a kibble-looking additive to kibble, supposed to have the nutrition and taste of raw. Directions are to add a scoopful to regular kibble.
Don't know the price or any other details, but my dog liked it.

I have a very picky eater. Her GI gets upset very easily with a lot of foods to the point of giving her colitis and she will defecate almost completely blood. In addition she is very particular about dry kibbles and will often refuse to eat new ones for days at a time. I have tried foods from every price point imaginable. I have found Pioneer brand Grain-Free Whitefish - same thing as SportDog Elite Whitefish - works really well for her. They are both sub-$60 dollars for 30lb bags. Pioneer is hard to find by me, but you can order it of of Chewy.com. Sportdog ships regionally, but I am in Idaho - they are in New York - so I had to order off Amazon and shipping took ages - 18 days. It is a very basic for from an ingredient standpoint, but it avoids the vast majority of food items dogs might traditionally be unable to tolerate. The mix is 30/14. I always top it with a mixture of organ meats - which always includes a type of animal liver in the mix. I try to switch it up between chickens, cows, and pigs - and will throw in duck, upland bird, whole anchovies from the fish counter (not canned) and / or big game meat / organs when I have them. When I started adding this organ mixture there was a very noticeable change in the appearance and energy level of my dogs, so I have kept it this way for several months now.

Haven't had one yet that wouldn't eat with chicken broth over the kibble. I guess one day I probably will but haven't found one yet.

I doubt a dog would ever starve itself. If they don't eat I put it up and let them have at it next meal time. Never had one go more than a day before they realized it was time to eat. I did have all my dogs refuse a new bag once, but upon further inspection it had mold.

greg jacobs wrote:Has anyone found a kibble type food that the hard keepers really like to eat.

Try Bil-Jac Adult Select...easy to get and a great food. It is a pellet food with a lot of organ meat in it which helps with palatability. It is easy to find too.

I am like Garrison and have never found a dog that won't eat when it is hungry. I have never found a good reason a dog should eat what and how much I think it should rather than what it wants to eat. There have been several dogs that have rescued from homes that claimed they were picky eaters plus all kinds of digestive problems that weren't eating with gusto after a day or two of them deciding when they were hungry. I too am just amazed at all of the feeding and digestive problems people seem to have with their dogs compared to the fact that I have had dogs for almost 70 years including several years of having a boarding kennel and am yet to have a dog with a problem. But I have to admit I never tried to force feed any dog and I let them make the decision on how hungry they were.

ezzy333 wrote:I am like Garrison and have never found a dog that won't eat when it is hungry. I have never found a good reason a dog should eat what and how much I think it should rather than what it wants to eat. There have been several dogs that have rescued from homes that claimed they were picky eaters plus all kinds of digestive problems that weren't eating with gusto after a day or two of them deciding when they were hungry. I too am just amazed at all of the feeding and digestive problems people seem to have with their dogs compared to the fact that I have had dogs for almost 70 years including several years of having a boarding kennel and am yet to have a dog with a problem. But I have to admit I never tried to force feed any dog and I let them make the decision on how hungry they were.

I have had dogs with digestive problema and allergies who needed a special diet but those had nothing todo with being a picky eater they would just eat the food their bodies didn't agree with and have issues.

As far as a picky eater I'm in the camp of just waiting until they're hungry enough. Unless it's a malnourished dog that needs to put weight on or a pregnant/whelping bitch.