Fussy eater DDB is slowly killing me

[CaseyW19]

Hi everyone!
Hugo my 17 week DDB is an extremly fussy eater, especially regarding kibble of any kind. He recently went to the vet for his Rabies vacc and weighed in at 41.3lbs and is very healthy with no worms or parasites detected in his fecal float. He weighed in at 38.6 at 16weeks and i believe around 35 at 15 wks. I have exhausted myself trying to get him to eat dry kibble, ive tried Orijen LBP, Acana Pacifica, Grasslands, Earthborn Hollistics Coastal catch and others with very limited success. Also, i have tried heating up warm water with the kibble, goats milk (he loves it but has since become hesitant towards it and licks it up but wont touch the kibble), goats milk yogurt (same results as goats milk). I have tried to get him on a feeding schedule of 2x a day and keeping the bowl out for max 20mins and limiting treats but no real success thus far. So in a last ditch effort I bought Nature Valley's Instinct Raw boost chicken meal formula kibble and used Primal freeze dried raw formula bites as a topper and he loved it..atleast for a day but still wont finish the required serving amount the following days. His stools have been loose for a few days and will put canned pumpkin in his meal tonight and will stick to the instinct for now because i fear the constant switching of foods is to blame for recent diarrhea.. any ideas of ways to get this booger eating more or suggestions/concerns about anything i have done so far would be greatly appreciated!! I just want my boy to be as happy and healthy as possible and provide my bank account some relief from the various food experiments etc. Thanks!

-Casey

 

[musicdeb]

Hugo is extremely handsome and I love his eyes.

Hugo looks very healthy so my only recommendation is that he will eat when he's hungry. Do as you are doing, put the food down for 20 minutes and pick it up. Give him the food again at his second meal with the his usual meal. For example, he eats all but 1/2 cup of his morning meal. At the evening meal, give him his regular amount of food plus the 1/2 cup he didn't eat.

He probably has diarrhea due to the new additions to the food. When you try to many types of food at once or one after another without slow transition, their system becomes confused and they will have diarrhea. If he diarrhea persists, reset his system. To do that, feed him boiled white or brown rice with boiled chicken or hamburger for about 3-4 days. No kibble during that time.

When changing food, it should be a slow transition. For example, for 3-4 days feed 75% of old food with 25% of new food. The next 3-4 days, feed 50% old food with 50% new food. The next 3-4 days, feed 75% new food with 25% old food. Then start all new food. If the diarrhea, starts go back to the previous feeding schedule until diarrhea stops.

As I'm sure you've read on the forum, generally mastiffs are allergic to chicken and grain in kibble. Try to avoid chicken and grain kibbles.

Hope that helps. Keep us posted on his progress.

 

[CaseyW19]

Thanks so much for your advice, it is truly appreciated! Just fed Hugo dinner, only 1 scoop of instinct raw boost with 2 cubes of primal dry freeze, 1 tbsp of goat milk yogurt and 1 tbsp of canned pumpkin for recent diarrhea. He really only paid attention to any kibble with the yogurt on it and did not make much effort for the pumpkin. He ate approx. half of the meal. I saved the remaining portion and will try again in the morning. When i first got him i did the slow transition off the puppy food his breeder was using but because of his eating habits i was never able to find a dry food he enjoyed before the breeders food ran out and was sent scrambling for options. Also, i have read about mastiffs and the allergy to chicken and originally wanted to find a fish based food but he hasn't really responded to any and the sample i was given of Instinct was the chicken and he liked it THAT day lol. I guess the plan will be to tough it out and hopefully he will come around. Again, thanks!

 

[Roansdad]

Nutra source heartland. Grain free buffalo based. Knox more or less free eats and is still not overweight or a pig. We aim for. 4c a day but somedays he will only eat 2-3. He was 42 lbs at 16w and has steadily held a 1/2lb a day growth since we got him at 8w.

 

[calabriabordeaux]

i have a fussy eater too.. he is 22 weeks (5.5 months) and is just tipping the scales at 55lb. i had an insane time getting him to eat for the longest.. he finally jjust started to get into it with twice a day feeding natures variety instinct. not my first choice but its what hell eat with a little canned (all kinds) and some animal naturals supplements mixed in.. his whole spine still shows as well as the last 4 ribs.. nothing i can do but continue to feed him.. i also tried a raw diet but he lost interest in that fast.



-HA! didnt see you post that u tried the instinct.. hope it worked well!! ur boy is taller than mine

 

[Bloke]

Ive had lots of dogs and they always eat what i give them, it might take them a few days to get used to it but they chow it down, some of the foods available are just to poncy and i guess the dogs just like it, purina one? my dogs eat that faster than anything else we give them and after they are finished they clean the floor and keep looking for more

the poncy stuff we feed them they are not to keen on, im sure there's an expert out there will tell me purina one is terrible food for dogs and i should be spending 200 bucs a 12lbs bag on some yuppie nosh that's great for them that they just don't like and i change their food often with no 25 percent this 63 percent that and a spoonful of unicorn sperm i just change it and they do fine and they eat it

but maybe im worng :razzberry:

 

[chinabelle]

Don't worry too much about his food intake, he will eat when he's hungry enough to do so. All dogs will differ on this. My new girl is not terribly interested in food. She is so different from my last pup who never could get enough, she'd eat till she got sick if I would let her. My new one will nibble then walk away and come back later for a few more bites. Your boy is obviously getting enough as he looks really good. Gorgeous boy btw!

 

[Dogue]

Bloke you're hilarious! LMFAO

 

[CaseyW19]

Thanks so much!

 

[AKBull]

but maybe im worng :razzberry:

My boy loves to eat wood more than anything else. Like a damn beaver he is. I half expect him to crap a damn dam anytime he goes. Someone has to be the adult and provide food that is adequate and nutritious for them.
Just like a child. What would they rather eat, ice cream or a salad? You don't let them decide, you know what is best.

 

[DennasMom]

When we were feeding kibble, we just portioned out each meal, and if the previous meal wasn't finished yet... we only added a little more to bring the next meal up to a full portion size. That way we kept track of how much was being eaten, but otherwise it was basically a 'free-feeding' model. We at least knew she wasn't eating too much. We never worried when she didn't finish a meal... she'd get to it later.

We started putting nature's variety raw chicken medallions with some water on her kibble as 'raw gravy'... once we started doing that, she finished every meal. Now we feed 100% raw, and we're doing good to not let her eat too much. She'll eat anything and everything you put in her bowl. SO... we now have the opposite problem.

And... she'll still eat wood, too... and dirt, and all my garden plants... and...

 

[Bloke]

My boy loves to eat wood more than anything else. .

yep my 8 month old is a bugger for firewood and the bits that he can pull off drives me mad, as for the food im still not fooled by all the holistic horse sh!t pure grain no corn extra crispy with or without fries food thats 50 bucs a pound, i have 5 full size dogs we have been thru the poncy foods before and theres no change, no more poop no more smell (they always stink) and i pick the poop up everyday in a bag so i now weather or not their poop is softer or harder with different foods lol

like i said right now they are loving purina one, im not saying old roy will be on the menu anytime soon but im not fallin for every poser dog food maker telling me their food is best with the little charts and % rates im just not falling for it, seems to me the more charts they have the more their foods costs lol

 

[musicdeb]

That is true Bloke and I agree with you. My previous 3 dogs ate Purina One, Beneful, Pedigree and they all lived to age 13. I made a decision to feed Titan raw because of his allergies.

 

[Gypsy Moon's mama]

You can try canned chicken in water...human food. It's just chicken boiled and packed in water...it is pretty bland and easy to pick up at any grocery store. Just mix a Tbsp. or so in with the kibble...maybe a little warm water...it's pretty easy on the digestive system...more so then a new canned food.

 

[voidecho]

I've decided to switch Lincoln to Purina One.

 

[Atlas_Mama]

Try Taste of the Wild brand. DDB's are notorious for being picky eaters, and this is the only kibble my dog will eat. Give it a shot. You wont regret it.