staffylovers Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 We are new staffy owners....our little man is almost 16 wks old and seems to be a fussy eater. We have had him for 8 weeks and we have tried Pro Plan biscuits, S/Diet and Eukanabu. Not keen on any dry food...we basically have to force feed him. He loves chicken wings (he eats them whole or sometimes chews them...is that normal?) So I don't think he's getting enough of the nutrients that he needs since he isn't eating enough biscuits (he is currently having an hypo moment) probably coz we're all busy doing something else) what should he be eating and how much? I have spoken to vets, trainers, pet shop owners and other dog owners and they all have something different to say...totally confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 If he loves raw foods do a search n this forum for BARF (Bones And Raw Food diet) Since he's not keen on the dry food this is probably the best option for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyking Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 (edited) There is no reason in the world in my opinion why your new pup needs to eat commercial or processed foods. Chicken wings, bone included are fine but they MUST only be given raw. I raise my litters on raw food and they have no dry food from the time they have been weened until they leave here. I used to feed some dry as I think most new owners are so conditioned to feeding that way but now I just explain to people what I feed and strongly recommend they feed the same. As kelpiecuddles says do a search for raw food or BARF diets and you will find a heap of information. Also check out this site www.barfworld.com.au As a guide to how much he should be eating I feed my pups about 10% of their expected adult weight per day. As adults I feed between 2 &4% of their weight depending on the dog's condition this may need to be varied Edited February 13, 2006 by curlyking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 What did the breeder suggest you feed??Have you discussed it with them?? At present the dog is training you,you have tried 3 different products & its turned its noise up so try something else. It will only make him more fussy ,raw is fine & maybe someone can assist you but whatever you feed you need to stick with it & you train the dog,that means no leaving food,down,no changing brands,no treats,nothing except what goes into its food bowl until it learns to eat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffy-Lover Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 if u want him to eat more of this dry food... try adding egg... or plain yoghurt (no sugary flavours), or adding a little water or puppy milk which u can get in the supermarket, or fish oil (which u can buy from a pet supply store in a skirt bottle or buy in capsules from a healthfood store and then squeeze from capsule or you can add the oil from sardine can etc. but like many others here i support a diet that includes meaty bones and vegetables (although unlike others i steam my veges). i hope this works for you - You have many years of HYPO moments ahead with a staffy hehehe especially when your attention is elsewhere - AND many years of joy. all my best wishes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staffylovers Posted February 13, 2006 Author Share Posted February 13, 2006 Thanks for the info....in addition to the raw meat...don't they also need veges? Is that what BARF is? Is it a sufficient diet for an American Staffy? I will look it up and do the research...thanks curlyking and kelpiecuddles. What he loves most is the aroma of human food...which we do not offer him. Some weeks ago, I lightly steamed chicken breast, veges and brown rice...he absolutely loved it, but he was acting a little looney when he needed to relief himself (motion 2). I mentioned this to the vet and she said I should just give him his dry biscuits and the raw chicken wings or necks. We bought him from a pet shop...so we had no contact with the breeder. We just want to do the right thing by our little man and make sure he remains healthy. He's not over or underweight but we just want to maintain his well being. He probably is a little spoilt...the bugger!! One other quick question...I have also been told by lots of people not to give him beef....is this another tale? Sorry to be such a pest...I do appreciate the feedback :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudgie Dog Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 I purchased my staffy from a breeder in Wangaratta and she put together a staffy care booklet, which was a great help. It had all tid bits of info about staffy personalities and there likes and dislikes etc.. Staffies want to be like us, they would eat anything that we eat - or at least that is what my boy tries! You can not let the dog dictate to you what he wants. If he is hungry, he will eat. I know that it sounds cruel, but the same principals apply to children - no dessert if you don't eat your dinner!!! Fudge was fussy when he was a pup, but this was becuase we were feeding him to much and he wasn't getting hungry and we then had to leave his feed there for 24 hours before he finally decided to eat. This process went on for a fortnight and now, he licks the bin out every night and then tries for more! I will try and scan the booklet I got and email it to you, so you can have a read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiffanyAmber Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 This is a PDF file. http://www.rawmeatybones.com/diet/exp-diet-guide.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staffylovers Posted February 14, 2006 Author Share Posted February 14, 2006 TiffanAmber thanks very much for the pdf and Fudgie Dog I would be really grateful if you could email me your booklet. Any bit of help would be valued. Many thanks to everyone for their valuable input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzieozzie Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Hello There is a product out, that we are going to try, cause our puppy (11 week old dogue de bordeaux) is a little fussy also, after his first meal of raw meat, he is now not happy with his proplan, and has appeared to have gone off it, in favour of the raw only. Iams Puppy Savory Sauce Country Style Chicken Flavor Has anyone tried this yet? cheers Jodie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staffylovers Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 Hi Jodie, Yes, we've tried it....we've mixed it with his biscuits, but he turns his nose up at it. Nothing like the real thing, he says. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirra_Bomber_Zeus Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 Hi Jodie,Yes, we've tried it....we've mixed it with his biscuits, but he turns his nose up at it. Nothing like the real thing, he says. LOL and I think what your dog is saying is true! There is nothing like the real thing - in my opinion, health wise too. The suggestions to look up BARF diets are good suggestions. Oh and yes, BARF is definately a suitable diet for an Amstaff. Also, the only reason I could think of that people have said dont give beef is that is can be quite common for some dogs to be allergic to it (like mine is) but if your dog doesnt seem to have any allergies, then beef should be fine. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staffylovers Posted February 17, 2006 Author Share Posted February 17, 2006 I took our little man to the vet today and she told me definitely no more raw meat other than the raw chicken wings I have been feeding him. She claims that he will eventually come around and start to eat his biscuits.. Now I don't know what to do, she has confirmed that whatever we have been doing we should keep up b/c weight wise he is perfect and has a healthy coat. Jenny do you have an amstaff? Are you speaking from experience? It all gets quite confusing...wanting to do the right thing and not quite sure what the right thing is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottalovealab Posted February 17, 2006 Share Posted February 17, 2006 welll if the vet has told you not to give him raw food i would go with what staffy-lover said. My lab went off his dry food (hes such a fussy eater) and so i started mixing it with raw food and it still didn't work, he would eat the raw and leave the biscuits. I then decided to change to eagle pack. They are a much smaller biscuit to what he was used to and i usually mix it with youghurt or warm water to soften it and it has worked for me ever since. I even add raw food to his diet now and he will eat his biscuits with it, when youghurt is added. Just out of curiosity did the vet tell you why you should not give him raw food?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staffylovers Posted February 23, 2006 Author Share Posted February 23, 2006 i started mixing it with raw food and it still didn't work, he would eat the raw and leave the biscuits. I then decided to change to eagle pack. They are a much smaller biscuit to what he was used to and i usually mix it with youghurt or warm water to soften it and it has worked for me ever since. I even add raw food to his diet now and he will eat his biscuits with it, when youghurt is added. That's more or less our experience too. We're not supposed to fee our amstaff pup yoghurt or any other dairy products. I used to mix in a little low fat cottage cheese but was told not to do that either. He loved it!! Just out of curiosity did the vet tell you why you should not give him raw food?? Not a balanced diet. Nothing other than chicken wings or necks and the occassional meat bone. Apparently, the biscuits have all the necessary vitamins, etc that the pup needs...and this suffices (so I was told). And introducing him too other food types....spoils him..and he will not want anything other than the 'gourmet' meals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougie Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 That's more or less our experience too. We're not supposed to fee our amstaff pup yoghurt or any other dairy products. I used to mix in a little low fat cottage cheese but was told not to do that either. He loved it!! Some dogs are lactose intolerant. Stick with the dry.....mixed with kangaroo mince & occasionally mix in olive oil, sardines, cheese, veges....hard boiled eggs, mash them up shells & all.....with raw eggs you can run the risk of salmonella poisoning......raw chicken necks, wings & frames are good....table scraps are fine as long as there are no cooked bones......give him a meaty bone to go to bed with of a night. If he doesn't eat, pick the food up until the next feed time, keep this up until he realises if he doesn't eat when it's offered it will be withdraw. Just btw....your puppy is an Amstaff, not a Staffy.......the different names paint an entirely different picture of which is which. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 hard boiled eggs, mash them up shells & all.....with raw eggs you can run the risk of salmonella poisoning......raw chicken necks, wings & frames are good.... Salmonella is just as common on raw chicken as well as eggs Dougie...... so if you risk one you may as well risk the other and feed the eggs raw.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 The vets always tell you to give them dry, There are many debates about dry v's raw and I think it comes down to what you as thew owner decide you are more comfortable with We never gave our Stafford dry, he was weaned onto raw meat and veg, and he is extremely healthy but we have to fight with the vet everytime we go as they want to promote their dry food that they get commissioned for selling If the only reason the vet told you not to feed raw is that it is not balanced then in my opinion I would disregard the vets advice and look alot more into barf and raw feeding and make the decision once you feel you know abit more! Good luck and you should post some pics of your amstaff!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougie Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 so if you risk one you may as well risk the other and feed the eggs raw.... You think so? I don't agree....but hey....you do what ever you think is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I read once that dogs don't get salmonella from raw chicken as their bodies react differently to things like that than humans do, is this right? I didn't know raw eggs had that risk, people drink raw eggs - Well I don't but some shakes and egg nog have it!!! Is that a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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