Changing My Nearly 10yr Old Dog's Diet?

[jaxdar]

Hi,

I am new to DOL and can't believe how much i have learnt reading these forums over the last few weeks

I am getting my new pup this weekend , he's a rescue pup, i plan on feeding him a premium puppy kibble (probably eagle Pack Holistic) and raw meat bones until i read up more on the raw/BARF diet.At the moment he is on optimum and i plan on gradually getting him off it.

Now my main question is about my older dog, he has never been one for raw meat , has always turned his nose up at it and looked at me in disgust whenever i've fed him bones.

I have always cooked for my dogs, a blend of turkey mince, brown rice , wholemeal pasta and vegies, Up until now i have always thought i was doing the right thing, keeping him away from canned rubbish and feeding him home made fresh food...but like i said i have learnt alot from here and now realise how uneducated i was in thi area.

So the last few nights i have been offering him his dry biscuits with some lamb offcuts, diced lamb hearts and tonight offered him a chopped up chicken carcass.............well he pretty much hasn't eaten anything in two days

Even though i want whats best for him i feel terrible, i mean he's nearly 10, a large dog, so it's not like he has his whole life ahead of him, i feel guilty that i'm changing things on him now

Will he get used to it??

Oh and can anyone recommend a premium kibble for him??

Thanks

[persephone]

The turkey and some brown rice, with maybe some raw turkey mixed thru may be a good start

Just a little raw to begin with.. GRADUALLY (like teaspoon by teaspoon), change over to raw turkey.... then gradually mix in other foods.... maybe?

Otherwise, just cut out pasta ,and increase turkey....

[Echo]

At 10 years of age, if your dog is healthy and has done well on what he is used to, I would not bother making a change.

What you have been feeding him is not that bad and certainly better than canned rubbish, with low nutritional value.

Start your pup on raw and maybe the older dog will show some interest when he sees the pup eating it. Watching another dog eat can sometimes stimulate a dog to eat things they would normally turn their nose up at.

If he shows interest, fine. Give him a taste and take it from there.

If he doesn't, I wouldn't worry. Just let him eat what he is happy with.

Julie

[jaxdar]

Thanks....i will just keep going as i am and just feed him a premium kibble also. I'll keep offering him bones also and he might become interested eventually, lol!

[rijbiz]

I feed my old boy the Eagle Pack Holistic Salmon & Anchovy, some nights with a tin of sardines added, some nights he gets a raw egg and a bit of grated cheese. But he does have chicken carcusses and brisket bones.

If your dogs happy and seems healthy I wouldn't stress him out too much at that age.

[Sandra777]

Thanks....i will just keep going as i am and just feed him a premium kibble also. I'll keep offering him bones also and he might become interested eventually, lol!

You might well find that when the pup comes along your old dog will take more of an interest in things like bones. At the moment he doesn't have any competition for them when they're offered so probably doesn't really bother with them too much.

What you've been feeding has worked so stick with it if you want to.