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Post by charlottte on May 29, 2013 18:06:26 GMT
I'm hoping people can shed some light on this. Jasper is a nightmare to feed. Sometimes he'll eat a full bowl of food but most times he'll eat a couple of mouthfuls and be done with it. He can go days on end with only a few mouthfuls of food a day but is completely active an healthy in himself. We end up wasting a lot of food and its not cheap stuff. The one thing I have considered is home cooking/preparing. He loves meat, fruit and veg so I was wondering what people's opinions of home cooking are? I'd just need to find a substitute for bone (we can't give him whole bones because of how he eats them). Obviously I'll have to look more into suitable fruits/veg etc. Just looking into the possibility of it at the minute and would be interested to hear opinions/experiences. He's due at the vets in June for his boosters so its something I'll bring up there too Thanks all
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Post by caz2golden on May 29, 2013 19:20:49 GMT
Egg shells can act as a calcium supplement!
Though I read it for raw feeding the 'Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals' by Lew Olson is a reasonably good read. It covers home cooked as well as raw.
It is a book which informs you what food contains what kinds of things for you to then decide what you want to feed.
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Post by caz2golden on May 29, 2013 19:28:41 GMT
My grandfathers old dachshund used to be similar. She could starve herself for a week! It was a bit of a joke that she was anorexic as she would starve and then binge! It was not really a laughing matter though!! One day she would eat chicken, next day she would not, then maybe she would eat a bit of turkey and then was off that! Considering she got to a ripe old age it did not really do her that much harm!! I think any move which you find suits your dog is the right one. If he enjoys home cooking then why not
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Post by charlottte on May 29, 2013 19:51:44 GMT
Thanks Caz! I'll have a look into that book That's exactly what he's like! He cleared a whole bowl of chicken earlier and just pestered me for a handful of his TOTW and polished that off. But he might not eat a proper meal until Sunday now. It depends how he's feeling. Ooh I never knew about egg shells. He loves egg songs be easy enough to smush some up into his food!
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Post by caz2golden on May 29, 2013 20:19:16 GMT
You will need to totally crush the egg shells (powder it) so that the shells are digested and not just roughage! Book implies dry shells out overnight and then use coffee grinder!! The book says 1/2 teaspoon of ground eggshell provides ~ 900 milligrams of calcium. The implication is for ever 1 lb (~454 grams) of meat you should give 900 milligrams of calcium. I am looking into this myself at the moment as part of the raw diet plans hence why it popped into my brain! lol Hopefully others can advise as I dont know all the details but its best to use eggs which are not waxed. HTH!!
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Post by charlottte on May 29, 2013 20:25:10 GMT
Very interesting! Is that all in the book you recommended in your post? You've helped a lot Caz! I seriously need to gen up on nutrition. It's an option in my 3rd year and one that I'll definitely be taking
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Post by julie72 on May 29, 2013 20:27:17 GMT
What's his weight like Charlotte? Just wondering if he's the right weight then maybe he's just trying to tell you that he doesn't need to eat that much?
Home cooking is interesting but will take a lot of work to get right especially the on the calcium side. Plus, how will you feel if he still leaves food and you've gone to all that time and effort preparing it? I would suggest raw but from memory I think you said before you didn't fancy it?
As for egg shell, unless its ground up its just fibre really. You could grind it up in a coffee grinder I think, or probably can buy it already done?
Or you could leave him on the same food he's on now and make him work for it (kong wobbler or similar) that may give him a bit more interest?
Maybe sometimes dogs are like humans and just don't eat much? I've got friends who eat like sparrows, actually my mums a bit like that too. Just thinking if he does eat his food in general then he must like it, perhaps he just doesn't need that much? I do sometimes raise my eyebrows when I read other forums and see the amounts they feed jack russells (on raw, so I can compare directly with dog and food) and I think my god is that all! Our JRT eats tons compared to most!
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Post by charlottte on May 29, 2013 20:43:07 GMT
He was 10kg last time we weighed him and he feels alright. The problem is, he will go days and days without eating. He's only fed on an evening so going up to 4 days with only a few mouthfuls doesn't really seem healthy.
Obviously some dogs will have less of an appetitie but I've never known anything like it! We literally couldn't feed him any less than we do without starving him.
Yeah we've tried him on raw and he didn't take to it. Which is a shame because it was something I really wanted to get into. The portions and calcium is something I'll speak to the vet about if I decide to go with it to see if they can advise amounts etc.
With the home cooking I thought about making a big batch and then freezing in small portions. If he didn't eat it, we'd be back to square one lol!
I've started him on some Malted Kelp tablets yesterday which are meant to kick in in half an hour, which they didn't but today he's been ravenous. He cleared a bowl of chicken and rice earlier and then was looking later on. It works for the minute but I'd rather get him onto a healthy diet and not have to rely on tablets.
Flipping dogs!
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Post by julie72 on May 29, 2013 21:06:54 GMT
Yeah, does seem strange. I suppose really we kind of expect all dogs to naturally want to eat whatever they can! I can't imagine our two leaving food I know that much, lol.
But, if his weight is correct I'm not too sure I'd worry. If he starts to eat more with these tablets but his activity levels remain the same, then surely he will start to put weight on! In which case he's probably better off as he is?
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Post by BorderTerrier on May 30, 2013 9:29:23 GMT
Home cooking sounds like a good idea for a dog like Jasper. You'll get used to it in no time and it will hopefully solve the problems you are currently experiencing. There are many healthy recipes out there that you could prepare for Jasper, in amounts that you think he could eat up when you give it to him (if that is how you would like it to be). Good luck
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Post by teegiebear on May 30, 2013 9:30:03 GMT
@charlotte my dexter done the same just around his first birthday. I was pulling out my hair. Being a Labrador I was expecting him to be like his brother and eat everything. Worried me as he used to Woolf it down. I tried different foods, wet, dry, non dog, cost me a small fortune and more often than not he'd just walk away. Same as you would eat fine one day and not touch it the next. I got desperate and was spoon feeding him. Was suggested at the time as he was growing up his tastebuds were changing? I'm not sure how old jasper is. Definitely do a lot of research like caz2golden says about nutrition. It's crazy but notice how we all pay more attention to our dogs meals and Heath than our own!
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Post by charlottte on May 30, 2013 17:08:16 GMT
It's just so odd because he always looks for food but when you offer him, he never eats it Julie! And yeah that's something we'd have to keep an eye on...
I think technically he's a bit over ideal (vets have said he's fine but I'm convinced he's getting podgey lol) but short of starving him there's not much else I can do. We've cut training down to one short session on a morning so it's not like treats are filling him up.
Teegiebear, never heard that one before. That's interesting, but I bet it was bloody annoying at the time! I don't think I've ever heard of. Labrador not eating. Before jasper we had buddy who used to inhale anything so it was like a culture shock! Also, Jaspers 7 next month but he's been the same since we got him at 5 year old -.-
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Post by SarahHound on May 30, 2013 18:07:57 GMT
Mine eat home cooked food. They don't like raw, but I can't face giving them tinned food all the time (nor afford it!).
I buy chicken and beef mince. Chicken mince from 'They love it!' (at £21 per 20kg) and beef mince from my local Butcher (its £3 per 5kg). I also buy lambs hearts and kidneys, again from my butcher. I use chicken one month and beef the next. Whatever mince I use, I cook it, along with pasta, carrots, peas, and anything else I find lying around that's worth adding in.
I make a big stew of that, pop it into freezer bags, and they get their own portion each day. I also give them some dried food, they will eat it when its covered in my stew.
They all do really well on it, and always clean the bowl!
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Post by migsy on May 30, 2013 21:24:50 GMT
Skip has j.w.b.veg kibble,but will only eat it if it has some moist food mixed in,so I cook batches of stew,much like sarahhound,with various meat and veg,and a couple of oxos crumbled into the mix.I divide it into plastic containers saved from the Chinese meals we've had and freeze them.He also likes the little trays of Butchers mixed into his dry food for a change until I cook a fresh batch of stew.At least you know what has gone into something you have cooked your self.
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Post by charlottte on May 31, 2013 6:28:45 GMT
Corr, I think I might send him to live with you two! Your dogs eat better than I do Haha! I didn't know anyone else home cooked, it's not something I've ever thought about until recently. And Sarah, glad Jaspers not the only one that doesn't like raw, I was starting to worry lol! Adding dry could be an idea as well. Ooh I'm excited!
That was what I thought about doing, just making loads and freezing it. Fruit and veg is pretty inexpensive and we always have mince or chicken in.
Migsy, jasper sounds a bit like Skip! He likes a change, but if he gets exactly the same stuff every day he gets bored and then won't eat it again. That's also a very good point about knowing what goes in. He's on Lily's Kitchen wet at TOTW dry (when he eats it!) so not bad stuff, but still but as TOTW has had numerous recalls, I'm a bit sketchy about feeding it. It would be nice to know exactly what he's getting!
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