Dog food

I've got two Shih-Tzu. My DH used to deal with feeding them but after his stroke it fell to me. He used to cook chicken breasts, sausages and bacon, mix it with a bit of kibble and they ate that. (Well, who wouldn't!)

One year on and I am still fighting to get them to eat dog food. They eat it when they are absolutely famished and not until, and then they leave meal after meal until they can't not eat any longer. I give them Lily's Kitchen mixed with Pooch & Mutt small bite kibble.

If anyone has any ideas as to how I get them to eat more regularly I'd be very grateful. I throw away far more dog food than they eat - a good two thirds of the dog food I buy goes on to the plate, and from there into the waste food bin. I tried them on Encore and it was just the same story. I haven't the time to cook for them and look after DH and the house so they have to get used to dog food!

It can't be good for them and it's such a waste of money!

Mine are Raw fed and would rather go hungry than eat kibble. If I need someone else to feed them for me they will eat Butchers tripe but that's it. They also have raw lamb ribs to chew on and keep their teeth clean. All my dogs have been raw fed for at least the last decade and probably longer.

My sheltie is thirteen and a half and I feed him on tinned Applaws, Encore and Barking Heads 'Golden Oldies', he only likes this flavour. I occasionally buy him raw tripe from PAH.

He suffers from colitis and seems happy on this diet, I looked the food up on the site and apparently it gives him 87% nutrition. He has never enjoyed 'chews' of any kind, and has had his teeth cleaned many times over the years.

Patsy70

For breakfast, our dog has a small helping of Harrington’s grain free chicken & sweet potato dried food with a splodge of plain yogurt and a few squirts of salmon oil. For dinner he has a third of a tray of Forthglade wet food (grain free) with a helping of steamed vegetables. He seems to thrive on this diet.

I think that's what DIL's dog has and seems much better than on that kibble which was recommended at first.

He does have some kind of biscuits in the mornings but not kibble.

Our last, small, dog used to enjoy flavoured cat biscuits for breakfast.

For breakfast, our dog has a small helping of Harrington’s grain free chicken & sweet potato dried food with a splodge of plain yogurt and a few squirts of salmon oil. For dinner he has a third of a tray of Forthglade wet food (grain free) with a helping of steamed vegetables. He seems to thrive on this diet.

Well done for giving them a good life.

My two Rommies have very delicate digestions - one because he was born on the streets, and grew up eating anything he could, and that's done damage; and the other because he's very old.
They're not at all fussy what they eat but lots of "good" dog food makes them ill, and I'm fussy about what I have to clean up afterwards.

We've settled on Co-op's own brand, grain-free kibble mixed with a little tinned, gravied dog food.

Previous dogs ate any dog food, also scrambled egg, fish skins, boiled chicken and rice, porridge, anything going,

What do you mean by ‘doesn’t eat anything’? If your dog ate nothing it would die. You can’t be serious.

My dog doesn't eat anything so can you recommend me the best dog food you know?

Blondiescot that's how we fed ours.
She was a pickie eater but always appreciated a smelly bone.
She lived to 15.

watermeadow - well said. Vets will often recommend a certain brand of dog food for various special diets - and there's a good reason for that, as you say. I worked in a vet's surgery for a short time and if clients ever asked about their dog's diet, we were told we had to recommend the particular brand which was sold in the surgery.

For years dogs have been fed dried kibble, like factory-farmed pigs. It’s junk food, full of cheap fillers including straw and minimal meat. Dogs were better off in the days when they were fed leftovers and bones.
Don’t ask a vet, they receive scant training on nutrition and are paid by manufacturers to sell their processed rubbish.

One of our previous dogs had terrible tum upsets until we changed to CSJ dog food. Tried different options but settled on CP21 which is salmon based plus a small amount of wet food. No more upset tum.

One of my dogs is exceptionally fussy. The others will eat anything. But this little madam will only eat pouches from Marks and Spencer. Which is ridiculous.

Chardy that is what my vet recommended for my cat and she loved it- not wasting anything. When she was alive I found the cheapest online and both of us were happy.

Our boy is raw fed and thriving on it.

We use Raw superfood natures menu for our dogs! Not the cheapest but no health issues with our dogs so far

Having kept dogs (10 at one time) for years, I can recommend Skinner’s too. We used Working23 - the 23 refers to the perception of protein.
I’ve recommended friends use it instead of wet food, which is generally low protein, full of water, ash and God knows what else, if you read the labels. Even DD2s little ones love their variety of it.

We had terrible problems with our puppy's digestion for over a year when we got her. Belonging to a large veterinary practice and hospital, we were given various advice, but nothing worked. Then one recommended something that did.
However my point is that just because it works for my dog, doesn't mean that's useful advice for anyone else. Or even that it'll work for her when she's older! It's Hills prescription z/d.

I feed mine steamed chicken breast and kibble, I soak the kibble when they get a bit older and their teeth aren’t so good.
I currently feed them Lily’s Kitchen, (I moved them onto this after I fed them it when on holiday and ran out of their normal brand and they both love it) but they both pass gas a lot, so looking to switch brands.

Georgijg, I changed my two from Origen to Skinners fish several months ago. It’s good is t it, I also feed butternut box - they love the combination.

I wish l knew which was the best dog food for my dog. I have tried many over the years. He has ibd, so we have a lot of stomach upsets.
At the moment he is on grain free chicken and sweet potato with fresh boiled chicken mixed in. He won't eat kibble by itself. The kibble has to be small otherwise he won't eat it, he is a big border collie.

Ok, I know this does not add to the sun if knowledge but I've had dogs who lived happily on the tinned dog food of the day, plus any leftovers going. I fed current dog kibble as I was told it was the best and later found a wet food that she loves. I still feel bad about those years I kept her on kibble.

Not quite on topic but I would love to know the calories in dog foods. It is required for humans and as I feed my two a combination of wet and dry food getting the balance right is trial and error. Incidentally it is much less than the guidelines on the packs.

Depends on age, breed, exercise and affordability and what suits each individual dog. For years ours have been on Skinners, works for all of ours