My Dog Refuse To Eat. Recommend Diet Please?

[asianpeach]

I labrador just came back from my partner's sister place. He stayed there for 1 week while i was away oversea visiting my sick father. I gave my p/s money to pay for his boarding. she also has a big dog. i told her what he eats at home, which is Aldi's can food or sometimes chump can food 1.2kg x 2, and a little bit of chump food,and thinking that she will be feeding him the same thing.

I went and pick him up yesterday and now he wont touch his food!! i rang her and ask her what she has been feeding him and she told me only dry dog food and treats.

i have told her before i left that i don't like feeding my dog alot of dry food. i believe its not good to feed a dog totally on that diet only, i know its cheap but dogs are suppose to eat meat only. i don't know why some dogs owners feed their dogs on entirely dog dry food???

when i took him out to go toilet at 5am he got hungry and started to eat this dinner that i made earlier, but he didnt eat much of it, which is totally out of character for him. He loves his food and usually eats it in 2 sec!! he doesn't seem to chew at all, just gup it all down! :rolleyes:

i am now very worried that he isnt eating.

I now want to change his diet.

Can anyone please recommend me a good diet? is an all raw meat diet good? i also want to give him yogurt but scare it might upset his tummy. He diarrhea when he was a pup on milk (made for puppy) so i haven't gave it to him since or give anything that has milk in it . Has any body ever brought pet food from WESTERN PET food store? do you recommend their raw meat? im looking for a place that has reasonable price and good quality meat. If you know of any store / suppliers in Sydney metro, please let me know. greatly appreciate it.

Does your dog have farting problems due to it's diet? my dog farts alot, i think its because of the can dog food. My partner usually have to kick him out of our bedroom because he stinks up the whole room and is unbearable to breath or sleep!!!

[Red Mal]

Your dog knows best in this case

Dogs are supposed to eat meat yes, but MOST canned food is 80% water and only contains animal derivatives, NOT meat. It's just processed to look like and have the consistency of meat.

Complete dry food is much better nutritionally for your dog than any canned food, and your dog knows this, which is why he is now refusing the canned food. The farting will be due to the canned food too.

A good quality dry complete food will have everything in it that your dog needs (vitamins minerals and the usual protein etc levels)

If you want to change to a BARF diet, you must research it properly first. You can give yoghurt fine, but not all the time, but it's very good for them.

[laffi]

I totally agree with Red Mal. Dry food is (much much) better than can food.

If you don't want to feed him commercial dog food you can look into BARF diet (just do a search).

[Scarlet]

Agree with the other posters. Can food is not very good.

A good quality dried food like Innova, Eagle pack, Nutro, Royal Canin. These are usually sold in pet or produce stores and are more expensive than the ones in supermarkets but you don't have to feed as much and the dogs don't poo as much either.

He won't fart much either.

Then you can also give RAW bones like chicken and turkey necks, chicken frames, brisket bones and because he is a lab you could get really big bones for him to chew on. He will love you.

I hope the treats aren't human treats as they are really bad for dogs. Also be careful of dog treats sold in supermarkets as too many will make him fat. Make him work for the treats - like sitting when he's told.

[persephone]

The canned food IS mostly water..with lots of flavour to make them gulp it down

A good quality dry food is a better choice for your dog....

and a diet based on fresh raw meat/bones and some vegetable etx is very good.

do a search on here for "Diet" , "BARF" or "feeding", and you will find that there are all sorts of combinations to suit your dog , and your budget!!!

[Mushaka]

I have 3 dogs ALL on different diets as they are all different ages. You didnt say how old ur dog is?

My puppy is on Science puppy food. It does cost a little more but it does last a long time. To make it go further i add in rice and chicken mince.

The 6yr old is on Science and he LOVES can food as well so i mix it in with his kibble,rice and chicken mince.

The old girl 15 is on Science senior,rice and chicken mince. She is allergic to canned food. Preservatives and all that junk makes he lips itch!!

Feeding time is FUN!!!!!

lol..

Im starting the older ones on a fish diet today actually,..keep them on what they have but adding tuna to the mix for the fish oils.

Its good for the older dogs.

So if ur worried about dry food only,there are plenty of ways to get around it.But its a MUST to get them on a good base such as the Innova,SD,Eukanuba etc..then work from there!! IMO anyway

[Golden Rules]

Im starting the older ones on a fish diet today actually,..keep them on what they have but adding tuna to the mix for the fish oils.

Just to note, tuna is a very low fat fish as it doesn't have a lot of oil in it.

Sardines and mackeral are oily fish along with salmon.

I find sardines the least expensive.

[Mushaka]

I will be using all of the above to mix it up a bit...! I shldve been more specific,but im lazy ..lol

[sandgrubber]

Labrador not eating is an abnormal situation. Labrador too fat is all to common. How old is he or she? How long will he be staying there? How lean or fat was he when you left? Is he showing any signs of distress or ill health. If if it's a stay of a few weeks and he's otherwise well, I wouldn't worry; if he's got a bit of fat on him, a period of not eating may do some good. He'll eventually eat whatever.

I agree with others about canned food vs dry food vs wholistic diet.

[asianpeach]

My lab is turning 2yr this month. i sometimes feed him chicken carcass , i get a box full or $5 at my butcher. He also gets drumsticks, wings and neck. Every Saturday when i do my weekly shopping i buy him a big pork leg, he loves it!! these are all given raw.

thanks for the info. i didnt know that can food was bad for a dog. what i feed him i always buy from the supermarkets.

He is a big boy and loves his food. he chows it down very very fast! doesnt look like he even take time to chew!

He was only there for 1 week. and didn't look any difference in weight when i went to pick him up, so i couldn't tell, maybe its because i wasn't away for that long.

what is the recommend daily intake for a large dog his size? i feed him 2 x 1.2kg can and a bit of dry food. once a day. if he doesnt have the can food then its raw meat. Is that too much to feed him? i see he is beginning to look fat now!

yesterday afternoon we went for our walk and when we got to the park and i was running around with him, he looked so tired and looked as if he was skipping instead of running!

[tramissa]

Please do a google search on BARF - biologically appropriate raw food (or bones and raw food) diet.

Pork is not good for them - too much salt and fat. The chicken carcasses are good.

Leave the cans - it's like feeding your dog mcdonalds every meal. Buy a good quality dry food (as good as you can afford - you feed less of the really good quality so it usually works out cheaper - look at Nutro, Royal Canin or EaglePack etc). Use the feeding guide on the packet. Give 1 or 2 chicken frames per day, but cut down the amount of dry you're giving him.

This will be a good diet to start with until you can get your head around BARF if that is the way you want to go.

Remember that you should be able to feel the last 3 ribs easily on your dog and there should be no 'rolls' - you should also see his tummy tucking up after the rib cage - if you can't, he's too fat and he needs to eat less and exercise more (but if he's really big, take the exercise easy as it will be hard on his joints).

[Static'sMum]

It seems to me that 2.4kg plus of dog food is a lot to feed a Labrador. My 40kg Rotti doesn't eat that much, and he is a growing 9 month old pup!!

I agree with the previous posters - I would move onto a premium brand complete diet - definitely stop feeding supermarket brand canned food.

If you decide that you don't want to feed him on completely dry food - add some extras with each meal. Human grade beef mince / chicken mince is good.

Sardines are quite cheap if you buy them in the bulk packs. We also give Static lamb shanks once a week - but always ensure we give him less Eagle Pack to make up for the extra he receives from the lamb shank.

We also give for treats - carrots/green beans/apple/watermelon/banana. He eats brocolli, cauliflower, peas, snow peas, tomato, lettuce - just to add variety sometimes.

Definitely try out Eagle Pack, Royal Canin, Nutro if you can come by them. Your dog will thrive and poo heaps less!!!!

According to the Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken that we have here for Static, a 45kg adult dog needs up to 473g per day. Which is a LOT less than the two tins of food you are currently feeding. However, I think you should possibly visit your vet, and get them to check out your dog first, as you seem to believe he is somewhat overweight, and get them to devise a nutritional plan. That way you can slowly reduce the amount you are feeding, without leaving him too hungry.

Good luck!!

[sandgrubber]

I worry more about what shape the dog is in than about how much I feed them. If the ribs and waistline have disappeared, you're feeding too much. Labbies, if allowed to call the shots at mealtime, tend to become blimp-shaped. This is not good for their health. If you can see the individual ribs, a bit more food wouldn't hurt.

My big Labbie boy gets one and a half largish chicken carcasses a day, plus two carrots or equivalent fruit/veg, plus a handful of dry biskets (soaked in chicken blood) plus some nutritional supplement -- and if he's lucky a small oily fish or some yoghurt or an egg. The chicken may be swapped for some other raw meat with bone.

Your boy may require more or less food than this . . . but it may give you an idea of how much should you move to a BARF-style diet.