Help me feed my dog!

[nigellas]

We've had Milton (cocker spaniel/poodle) since December and have had feeding issues from the start.  He has a very sensitive stomach - definitely no wheat, corn, etc...  However, now that we have found a food that will stay down, he won't eat it, lol.  He will literally go over a week without touching his bowl.  We have two young boys, so he scavenges a lot, so he's not starving, but frequently (of course) has an upset stomach from it and I know it really can't be a good long term diet solution...  

I'm moderately open to making him food, however - with two young boys and another baby non the way, I am VERY short on time.  I absolutely can not be cooking Milton dinner every night.  If there were a fridge stable recipe I could make in mass, I might be up for it.  The other problem is that aside from bone broth, I've actually never cooked meat...  We don't eat it, so I have no idea what I'm doing...  lol.  

Any suggestions at all?  It doesn't have to be a home made option - I'd actually prefer if there was another way - I just kind of figured that was the point we had hit...

[greenmagick]

What food is he currently on?  Can you add any toppers to encourage him?

Are you leaving the bowl out at all times or just giving him a set amount of time to eat and if he doesnt, the bowl goes away?

Personally I always advocate for a raw diet....no worry about cooking the meat there;)  

[Casha'sMommy]

I'll second the suggestion for raw meat. Talk about no prep time! You pull a bone in piece of chicken out of the frige and hand it over. VIOLA! There's the dogs meal for the day. lol

I'd recommend spending a little time researching a raw meaty bones raw diet for your dog and decide if it sounds appropriate. OH! You might consider looking into some raw feeding yahoo groups, they've been incredibly helpful to me.

GL

Cate

[elsie]

Well the nice thing about preparing food for a dog, is that they are less fussy about flavor than humans and certainly do not need added seasonings and spice. Raw is rather easy, you make a big batch and freeze it. I'm sure doing that every two weeks or so won't be too difficult. Even raw/cooked combos can be done in big batches, though I'd make sure he eats it before spending too much time freezing stuff. We have a nice pet food store here that carries raw food for dogs in the freezer and they look like meatballs you defrost.

[nigellas]

Thanks for the thoughts so far...  Raw.   Hmmmm....  So many questions, I have some studying to do, lol.   Anyone have good links to share on the subject?    

My biggest concern that I can think of with raw, is that we have egg-laying hens that free range our yard.  Milton is currently totally awesome with them and can be trusted to not try and eat them.  If I switch him to raw, will he start looking at them as food?

[greenmagick]

Nope....no dangers there.  They either have the drive to chase and pounce or not (or are conditioned not to etc).

My lab mix has eaten raw for a good 8-9 years now...we have had chickens for 4.  Actually for awhile I had to separate them during feeding times because the chickens would steal his food while he sat there and cried lol

[Casha'sMommy]

Originally Posted by nigellas 

Thanks for the thoughts so far...  Raw.   Hmmmm....  So many questions, I have some studying to do, lol.   Anyone have good links to share on the subject?    

My biggest concern that I can think of with raw, is that we have egg-laying hens that free range our yard.  Milton is currently totally awesome with them and can be trusted to not try and eat them.  If I switch him to raw, will he start looking at them as food?

I think a lot of people think eating raw will turn their dog into a "hunter" that he/she has never been before. It's just food being given to him that happens to not be dried or cooked. Now, if all of a sudden you stopped feeding Milton and he hadn't eaten for days and days then he may look at those hens as a possible meal. lol

You can google "Raw feeding for dogs" and "Prey Model for dogs" and you'll get a lot of good matches and do join a yahoo group about rawk9's.

Some of the things we read that made us go raw were explanations about; kibble: how long it's been around and when certain diseases in canines started surging, teeth: what dogs teeth look like and are designed for and what they're not designed for, digestion: how canines digest their food.

For my family, gut health played a big roll in our decisions regarding kibble vs raw and how certain foods can impact gut health.

fwiw, the first time I watched my dog eat a raw bone-in chicken breast I thought, "huh. Well yeah. That makes perfect sense."

HTH GL

[nigellas]

So, I think my dog may be weird.  I went and bought him a chicken breast from the deli and cubed it for him, left it raw.  Just did a small bit because I didn't want to shock his system and I wanted to see how he would do bfore I went out and bought him a bunch...  Well, He didn't like it!  lol.  He slowly tried one small piece and then left the rest there.   I tried again later and he just left it again.

Soooo... now what?  lol

[greenmagick]

It can take them awhile to get used to raw;)  Some dogs you have to quickly sear the outside of it to get it to smell more like what they are used to.

[ReadingMama]

Have you tried the limited ingredient diets by Natural Balance?

Here's a list of suggested hypoallergenic foods from a really good review website:  Dog Food Advisor