Feeding issues for young dog

Having trouble with doggie and could use some advice. I've probably caused the problem and now can't get out of the cycle. Doggie is 8 months, adopted 5 months ago. She has always been a picky eater. You can tell that she is hungry -- follows you into the kitchen, tries to eat crumbs in kitchen tile, is insane to eat a "treat" -- but refuses to eat her food. She was always like this. She came from the rescue with a bag of Iams food, but when she wouldn't eat it we switched to a different brand. She would like it at first, but eventually stop so we switch again. She was always happy with a new food for a few days to a few weeks, then tired of it, switch and the cycle went on...

A few weeks ago she had a little acid reflux trouble -- she was not eating all day and would throw up some yellow foam, then would be fine (still not eating). Doctor said to stop switching foods and give her a little wet food with her kibble to entice her to eat, and we added a 1/2 Pepcid AC tablet. He sold us some fancy "Hills Diet" food cans, but said we could give her anything. That worked for two weeks, and I ran out of Hills and bought some Pedigree instead. Worked fine at first, but then I was switching formulas -- beef, chicken, lamb, etc. – and now we are back at square one. Food she liked on Wednesday, is not being eaten today. Not eating all day but is clearly very hungry. I just tried a new bowl from a new can and she is not interested. Since switching to Pedigree her potty visits have been much less pleasant too, like food is not agreeing with her, if you know what I mean...

I think I go back to serving the same food, every time?
Switch back to a Hills can that they have at Petsmart vs buying from doctor (there seems to be a similar formula).

Help? Thank you!!!

Pedigree is not a high quality dog food hence the unpleasant result. I'd find a quality food that dog seems to like and stick with it. If the dog stops eating for a period of time that is concerning I'd see another vet.

lulu,

We use Wellness Core Ocean for our 2, 2yr. old pups, and our 13 yr. old Westie.

I would recommend sticking to one food and staying on it! Try mixing a little cooked chicken into the kibble,

with a teaspoon of their wet food too. (We get both kibble & cans from Chewey.com as they have

free shipping and its more convenient! Check out Wellness for puppies (Grain free).

I think you could probably go to regular food after 9-10 months.

Poor pup! You're asking all the right questions. Has she been tested for pancreatitis? She's very young, but some breeds (terriers, for example) have much more susceptible tummies & do better on a low-fat diet. [The vomiting of yellow foam is a marker of pancreas sensitivity.] We cooked for our dogs -- a mix of brown rice, oatmeal, skinless chicken breast, sweet potato, broccoli, carrot, and brussels sprouts. Much less expensive than pet food. You could also try baby food from brands like Sprout and Ella's Kitchen (we relied on this after Hurricane Sandy). Good luck!

Did the vet tell you that the reason she is vomiting is because she is over-hungry and not getting enough to eat?(that yellow foam is her digestive juices) Take her off all treats and table food immediately. Make boiled chicken breast and bland, good old Minute Rice. Feed her 3 or 4 smaller meals a day. This will begin to stimulate her appetite. After about a week of the Chicken and Rice diet, gradually mix in a tablespoon or two (depending on her size and weight---she should still be getting 3 meals a day considering her age) of a good quality canned food. DO NOT FEED HER KIBBLE at this point. For the next 2 weeks, gradually increase the amount of canned food and decrease the chicken and rice (try throwing in some raw green beans, carrots and maybe broccoli if she will eat it) Decrease it until finally you only have a high quality canned food in the bowl.

Hills food is JUNK---it is a money-making scheme and is pushed by vets who know little about canine (and feline) nutrition.

My opinion on kibble is this: I won't feed it to my dog, any more----there have been too many recalls, even for high-end brands,and it is the equivalent of fast food for dogs:satisfying, but low nutritional value. There is no way to know the country of origin for all the various components. It is convenience food for humans--with no benefit to the dog. People may say the dog likes it, and is eager to eat it, and I say dogs do not have a discriminating palate--that is why many of them eat poop. There is no need for kibble if you offer your dog excellent sources for chewing, like raw marrow bones (never give your dog rawhide, and commercially processed bones have many of the same problems as kibble,plus salmonella, which may or may not have deleterious affects on your dog, but there is a good chance that you can contract it while handling the bones.

This is an excellent site to figure out how beneficial you rands are: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

And this site was updated as recently as this week : http://www.reviews.com/dog-food/

Many people rely on the BARF or variations of a raw diet--that is good too, and there are a number of people here (like @ffof) who are very knowledgeable.

Please, please educate yourself about canine nutrition. It is the second most important thing we can give our dogs (the first is love and training)

My two dogs love the Beneful I feed them. And these are small dogs who can be picky at times. If one gets an upset stomach I feed her/him chicken and rice. But thankfully they don't get sick often.

I'd get another vet opinion.

My cat had stomach issues and wasn't eating...even though he is older, I tried a kitten food and things cleared up. My vet also gave me an appetite stimulant to use before that.

And more recently, he had a behavior issue and refused to eat....back to the appetite stimulant...eventually he accepted hand feeding...so I stocked up on gloves, put the wet food in my hand and he ate....

I would assume there are appetite stimulants for dogs.

Maybe get a second opinion from a new vet, just to confirm no medical issue. Definitely do not keep changing food, that alone can make dog sick.Usually if a picky dog gets hungry enough they will eventually eat. Offering food out of hand can help.

I agree with the posters above that I would definitely get a second opinion and rule out any underlying medical condition first but it could just be that you have a picky eater on your hands. Our first dog was very "particular" about what she ate and although we did end up feeding her dry dog food, we always supplemented with something to "up" the flavor quotient such as boiled chicken, cottage cheese or pumpkin puree. It worked really well and she lived to 16. Our current dog will literally eat anything that you put in front of him however he actually has a more sensitive stomach than our previous dog. So after A LOT of trial and error we finally have a good routine that works for him and his digestive system. We feed him a combination of Natures Domain (grain free salmon) from Costco and Hills PRESCRIPTION diet (the one from the vet, not the one from the pet store) W/D weight management. I mix it with a healthy dollop of pumpkin puree.

So, please know that you are not alone in trying to figure out the diet that will work best for your dog! There are also a number of limited ingredient foods that you could try. Maybe your dog has an allergy or sensitivity that is causing them discomfort after they eat? Natures Variety Instinct is a good brand to try for limited ingredient options. There is also a product called IAMS Prostora which are these "yogurt" pills with good bacteria in them for dogs (you can't just feed them our yogurt since they have different bacteria in their system than we do). You can get them from your vet or on Amazon (of course!). If your dog's stomach is upset it will help get it back on track.

Thank you everyone! Such good advice and feedback, as always.

I returned all the Pedigree food last night and swapped for the Hills "Weight management" option, which seems very similar to the food we bought at the Vet's office and was a nice mix of chicken rice and veggies. Worked nicely last night but today has not touched it, but I topped it with a little Hills kibble before I read that we should stay away for a bit.

Will clear it and try again, and then maybe work on some chicken rice and pumpkin for a bit. Will try Levine again to see what he says (he had wanted to do a fecal sample test but I didn't have one with us last time) and maybe other vet for second opinion -- any suggestions?

Definitely have Levine do a fecal test, tomorrow if possible. That might give you an answer (could be a parasite etc.). That is where I would start. Also, note that the weight management Hills food from pet smart is actually different than the one that you buy at the vet. The one from the pet store did not agree with our dog's stomach while the prescription one works really well for him.

I don't think weight management food is the right call for a puppy. They need extra calories while they are still growing. I agree with the post above about feeding chicken and rice until her stomach gets settled and then slowly start to mix in kibble. If you don't have time to cook, in a pinch you can mix baby rice cereal, water and chicken, lamb or beef jarred baby food.

My dog has a sensitive stomach. We switched to Iams lamb and rice kibble and that works well for him.

I can't believe how many people feed their animals Rx diets. Because the vet always knows best? Nutritional training/education is not something that vets are taught in school, at least not to any reasonable degree.

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/why-your-dog-doesnt-need-that-expensive-prescription-diet/

Lots of good info here.

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/holistic-healthcare-library/food-diet---general/147/top-10-myths-about-pet-food-and-nutrition.aspx

used to put a few tablespoons of bacon grease on one my dogs food several years ago - the vet said scent, oils and fats were needed-- mix it in though or my dog would pick through the good nuggets

Do you leave his food out all day or only put out at eating times? if all day try to only make food available at meal time so he/she is hungry. Also our dogs have always been social eaters- will only eat when someone is with them - so they eat when we eat- so are you feeding dog and staying around?

Dogs are smart- maybe just like pediatricians tell us with picky eaters- the kids will eat when hungry

If the dog is vomiting yellow foam, she is hungry. I absolutely agree with @cats---vets have little formal education on nutrition, and they will push the prescription diets because they get nice benefits from the food companies. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! What passes as some pet food is, truly, manufacturing waste products. Would you feed your kids nothing but Baloney, Cheet-Os, and Froot-Loops? That is equivalent to what is in most kibble and canned food.

A developing puppy can not sustain itself on a hunger strike for very long,without it leading to liver,kidney and sometimes brain problems. The key, if she checks out medically OK, is to get her back in the habit of eating.

Baby food is good too. My dogs like Gerber Chicken and Rice mixed with a little kibble and they love it.

I want to underscore the importance of being consistent with the brand you feed them. I have tried mixing it up across brands for the cats because they get bored with having the same stuff all the time, until I realized it was having disastrous consequences to their gastro systems, as evidenced by the litter box results.

Now, I stick to one brand that seems to keep them happy and healthy, but I change the flavors daily. I try to notice which ones they are tired of, and rotate them out of my shopping for awhile, then bring them back in. As long as I stick to the same brand, they seem to be okay.

Have you tried limited ingredient foods, or foods that are formulated for sensitive stomachs? That might help with the gastro issues. It costs more, but it's worth it.

My Mom always bought the cheapest brands she could find at the supermarket for her cat, Tigger, and Tigger had terrible gastro issues for as long as I could remember. When we adopted her after Mom went into assisted living, I put her on the same diet as my other three. Her health issues lessened dramatically, and her coat is nice and glossy now (when she's not licking it off from stress). Buying the better brands can make a huge difference to their health.

Adding to others’s suggestions: take a look at dogfoodadvisor online, and Whole Dog Journal. Both are very clear in rating foods. Not all dogs do well on very high protein or grain-free foods such as Blue Wilderness--you can get good made-in-America dog food witih varying percentages of fat and protein depending on what works best for your dog. We do give our dog little bits of fresh food as a treat (Swiss cheese, cheddar, chicken breast or raw carrot) but he seems to thrive on dried food of the kind you can buy in specialty pet stores. There are a lot of brands out there that meet the various sourcing criteria and aren’t loaded with filler.

puppy was not interested in the canned food so I've started making food for her to get her in the habit of eating regularly. We'll see how long this goes on, enough time at least to give me a chance to do more research at dogfoodadvisor and others. She is really enjoying her poached chicken thighs, brown rice and sweet potato! Added some scrambled egg too for breakfast. Thanks for your good ideas and helpful suggestions!!!

Glad to hear she is eating while you continue to look into the problem.

Good going. I think you're on the right track.

good! I am glad she is eating! That is the most important thing!

Preparing fresh food is a great way to feed your pup. If you are not sure what the correct calcium to phosphorus ratio is or the appropriate fatty acid profile is we can help here at Zen Pet

My puppy is now 8 months old, and the first few weeks were hell trying to get him to eat. After calling the person i got him from I found out a few things and was able to adjust his diet.

-He and his littermates were grazing all day long with dry food from paper plates. He did not understand or know how to eat from a bowl or set feeding times. He was also fed by hand by breeders 'cause he was so cute', so I had to wean him from hand feeding.

-There were puppy pee pads that smelled of 'baby powder/fresh scent' in the play/eat/food/sleep area. If he even smells any of that he will not eat and goes into a funk! Needless to say, puppy pads were banned form the house.

-He did not understand that any other food item except for kibble could be eaten.

So.. I had to teach him how to eat out of a bowl: put paper plate in bottom of big flatish soup bowl, then removed paper plate, then bought shallow metal bowls from Kam Man and he eats our of those. He does not like to eat out of a deep bowl.

He eats on a placemat, the same as the other dogs-all messy eaters. He wants to be part of the pack and do as they do!

He wanted ot eat the same food as the older dogs, so I adjusted his diet. He got puppy and adult kibble mixed together and extra protein.

The things I still have a bit of issues with are his eating schedule, if he is very active he will eat 2 times a day, if not, maybe once. He is not food driven at all, EXCEPT for BACON!! He could make that a staple of his diet. Yelling BACON is the best way to get him to Come! So I add some bacon grease to his food-sometimes successful, sometimes not. If there is a piece of bacon in his food, he will pick it out and walk away. He eats last, when all the other dogs are done, unless he is starving.

So basically, keep trying to figure out his triggers-good and bad and work with that. Use your gut, you know your little guy.

Good Luck!

EDIT TO ADD~

I have discovered if I leave a small piece of protein outside the food bowl, he eats that first and then will eat his meal. He is the 2nd dog I have had to do this.