[Kaitadog]

My dogs have been on raw (Oma's Pride) for at least a year now. They went through 1 hunger strike on me, where I ended up going back to kibble for a month or so, then back to raw.

Things were going fine, Braskie is still eating all of his food. Roxy is not eating again. She was having some issues swallowing, and the vet believes there could have been something caught in there at one point, and it was just inflamed. She's on meds now, so she shouldn't be feeling poorly, but she's not eating her raw. She'll eat a little off the top, and then nothing.

I can get her to take treats, so it's not like her throat is hurting. Biscuits, frozen sardines, turkey necks, etc, all good. It's just her main meals that she won't eat. (I won't give her lots of treats either, just a small cookie to make sure she doesn't throw up, and she still won't eat). She gets a cheese-based supplement on top, as well as a digestive supplement, and occasionally fish oil on top. We've tried warming it, pouring hot water on it, ice cold, etc.

I'm getting frustrated. We're wasting money, and also she's too thin. My vet wants her to gain back a few pounds, and she even prefers her dogs lean. Do I go back to kibble because I'm sure she'll eat it? I like the health benefits of raw, but don't want her not eating, either.

Or should I try more of a whole food approach instead of the ground mixes?

 

[Brightelf]

I know people who's love the Oma's Pride products, but, those mixtures are not for every dog's palate. Think about it-- if there is something in the mixes that she does NOT like, specificly, she can't tell you, and you really can't guess, because it's all mixed in there. In a way, with raw prepared mixes, an owner loses control of ingredients. If you switched brands to, say, Bravo or K9Kraving, you keep the convienience, but may also be running into a meat, a veggie, or ingredient she doesn't care for... same with kibble.

Why not try her with whole fresh food, some chicken legs? The real raw experts will chime in. I just wonder with some of the Oma's Pride stuff, about the squash or broccoli or kale.. some stuff she may find sour or offensive to her tastes.

 

[Kaitadog]

True. She was going along fine, gobbling it up, and then poof. Just stopped. Maybe the batches taste different? You're right. Could be anything.

I'll see what I can do about working on the whole food. Someone had a great calculator spreadsheet. I'll see what I can find.

 

[Brightelf]

To be honest, I love salads-- and cucumber in them. But twice in the last 3 months I have gotten really sour, vinagar-y cukes.. I almost didn't want my nice, big, mixed salads that I normally love!

Couldn't this happen to your dog, too, maybe?

Good luck to you and your dogs!

 

[natalie559]

Originally Posted By: KaitadogShe gets a cheese-based supplement on top, as well as a digestive supplement

One of the above, likely the digestive supplement, may taste bitter and make her not want to eat the food. Have you tried feeding it without any supplements? Is the digestive supplement necessary for your dogs digestion or are you throwing it in just in case?

 

[Kaitadog]

Thanks. I'll try again without the digestive supp. She was doing a lot of grass eating and had thrown up a few times, so we put her on the digestive supp. We usually only put it on top, so there is room to eat around it, and she still doesn't come close to finishing her food.

Sigh, my little princess....

 

[3K9Mom]

Whole Dog Journal recommends (and I agree) that if a dog that has been eating food without issue just suddenly stops eating that food, that we first need to look at the food.

They suggest that maybe that batch is actually bad (tainted, contaminated, etc) and that we should toss the entire bag/case whatever. Yes, even if the other dogs are eating it because one dog may be more sensitive than the others. I know, this food is expensive. At the very least, I would buy a new batch and see if she eats that. If she does, then I would most certainly throw away the other.

There are times when my GSD will stand in front of a bowl of fresh meat and he might lick it, or he'll take a bite then spit it out. I just dump out the bowl and start with another batch of meat. (I feed fresh meat). Maybe something happened to the meat at the store, or in my kitchen (there are a lot of steps the meat goes through from arrival in my kitchen til it ends up in his bowl), or even before it got to the store.

But when my dog, who will eat almost anything just won't touch his meat, I don't push it. I just give him something else for that meal. Sometimes, it's one particular chicken leg he won't touch. Sometimes, it's a whole bowl of beef.

If it's fresh meat straight from the store and I honestly can't figure out why he's not eating it, I'll try once more. If he refuses (which has happened more than once), I'll boil it til it's well cooked (which presumably will get rid of many of the issues that might be bothering him).

But often, he's refused THAT as well. Our dogs have better sniffers than we do. I trust them to know what they shouldn't be eating.