[JakeN]

I have two german line GSD...one is 2 and the other is 3. I started them on Canidae about 7 months ago. The three year old male I just adopted at the beginning of january. The last week and a half they both seem kind of bored of their food and didn't finish their food. The male eats non-stop but now I have noticed that he plays with his food and doesn't finish it until I tell him to. The female would just walk away from it. I feed the male 4 cups a day and the female 3 cups. Do you guys think they are bored of their food and I should change it? If yes do you guys have any suggestion because they are on Canidae Lamb and Rice right now. I don't give them a lot of snacks either. Thanks !

 

[Liesje]

My dogs also eat Canidae Lamb and Rice. They get 2.5 cups a day (I have a 4 year old female GSD and a 2 year old mutt, larger than the GSD). If they do not eat their food in about 3 minutes, I take it away. They eat in the evening so if they didn't finish, I will put it in their crate when I go to work and then they finish it during the day. Usually they eat it all though. If you put a few spoonfuls of plain vanilla yogurt on it they might like it more and that's good for them.

 

[Elmo's Mom]

We mix in a few spoons of canned food into the kibble with a little bit of hot water to make some gravy. We get Merrick's Thanksgiving Dinner, French Country Cafe or Grammy's Pot Pie. Our dogs LOVE it! I think it makes their kibble a lot more exciting.

 

[dOg]

I also do the plain yogurt and a bit of canned and water in the evenings...
but also change up the kibble every 6 mos or so, usually switching back and forth between canidae and pinnacle, just to change protein source for awhile, hopefully preventing any allergies from developing.

 

[Shalimar]

Had one dog who was had an iron stomach. I rotated her between the various Pro Plan varieties, Sensible Choice, Nutro...basically any of the 6 - 7 food I could get really easily that I considered good foods.

My last dog was a finicky thing and once I got him on the Pro Plan performance he would eat but he was really lazy about and it was hard to keep weight on him. I started adding about 1/2 a 6oz can of the canned cat food I had (heck the cats were completely underwhelmed by it). He would clean it up quickly at that point. I was getting 2c in the AM and 4c in the PM down him and I was thrilled. Mind you I did try a can of canned dog food on there instead a few times but it just didn't stink enough and again he wasn't interested.

 

[hvaclu]

Brody and Greta also eat the lamb and rice canidae. Ive been thinking about changing also because Brody doesnt seem that interested in his dog food. I do add about 1tbsp of plain yogurt which helps and sometimes I'll add some boiled chicken to it. Brody 10 months gets 4 cups a day and Greta 4 months gets 3.25 cups a day.

 

[Cooper&me]

great question. I was wondering myself. I do raw for one feeding and Oriejn for the other. I like the quality of the kibble so much that I hate to switch but totally believe in the therory behind roatating.

I can see where rotating too frequently might create a picky eater. Mine are picky enough.

 

[Cooper&me]

great question. I was wondering myself. I do raw for one feeding and Oriejn for the other. I like the quality of the kibble so much that I hate to switch but totally believe in the therory behind roatating.

I can see where rotating too frequently might create a picky eater. Mine are picky enough.

 

[Sherush]

Jesse started on large breed puppy Science Diet, then to Canidea, then to Timber Wolf now on Orijen. Orijen is the winner he is doing amazing on it and his coat is in great shape and poops are better, itchy scratching have disappear, eye discharge has disappeared and he seems to have a bit more energy and he loves the food both for feeding and using as treats too. Timber Wolf was good too for above but he lost interest in it and it was costing us $25 more a bag then Orijen and Orijen ingredients are better.

 

[chevysmom]

I didn't know you were supposed to change food?

We've been feeding Chevy Canidae All Life Stages since we got him at 8 weeks old and we really have no plans on changing his food.

 

[artisgsd]

Well, you don't have to change food...but I think some of us figure "do they like eating the same crap 365 days a year for 12+ years?" If you have something that works, stick with it. I have one male (Brutus) who would eat the same stuff forever and then I have a pickier eater (Caesar) - he'll do about 9 bags of something (split with his brother) and then he's ready for a change - you know, just about when I'm ready to get my free bag. I choose to spend my time doing something other than begging him to eat, so I confess, I play his game. I feed Taste of the Wild and it comes in several different flavors. I rotate between them to keep things interesting. It works for us. I was also feeding raw for awhile so throwing some raw back in will usually spark interest again too. I also really like Merrick's BG canned food (in addition to the other Merrick canned) for additions to kibble.

 

[BlackGSD]

Originally Posted By: mjb03great question. I was wondering myself. I do raw for one feeding and Oriejn for the other. I like the quality of the kibble so much that I hate to switch but totally believe in the therory behind roatating.

I can see where rotating too frequently might create a picky eater. Mine are picky enough.

What about switching between the "regular" Orijen and the 6 Fresh Fish if you want to switch, but don't want to get away from Orijen.

 

[I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO]

Quote:Well, you don't have to change food...but I think some of us figure "do they like eating the same crap 365 days a year for 12+ years?" If you have something that works, stick with it.

well there is a philosophy behind rotating, and its not just that they don't like to eat the same food, its to create variety- not only to help prevent allergies, but to ensure the dog is getting all they need in their diet. the natural canine diet is filled with variety- they wouldn't just go out and eat chicken and rice every day. also, with all the recalls its good to rotate or mix kibbles as it lessens your chance of the dog getting sick from eating a tainted food.

we were rotating between NV and orijen 6 fish, but now we mix them and rotate varieties of NV- keeping the 6 fish as its an amzing food.

 

[jake]

Is a 'sensitve stomach'maybe due to owners training (encouraged by mainstream)NOT to change dog food?Are dogs SO different from humans who usually eat something different daily?Kinda think wild canids ate what they could get but modern dog owners are pushed to thinking change is dangerous/must be done carefully mindset.

 

[BrennasMom]

Originally Posted By: bsinghVAWe mix in a few spoons of canned food into the kibble with a little bit of hot water to make some gravy. We get Merrick's Thanksgiving Dinner, French Country Cafe or Grammy's Pot Pie. Our dogs LOVE it! I think it makes their kibble a lot more exciting.

I do the gravy thing as well except with the canned canidae food and it's made a huge difference in Brenna's eagerness for food. Now she is happy to eat, before she was just kind of blah about the whole needing food thing.

I wish I could afford to feed a larger percentage of canned food but making a gravy out of it stretches a can over several days.

 

[Barb E]

Dante I change only when I have to

but he's allergic to Barley so it's a tough one to find foods he can have.

I would do it differently now!
Now from the begining I would change foods at least every 2nd or 3rd month.

 

[JakeN]

my female is really picky and she is very lean....I guess I just have to mix it up a little...I will check into that Orijen brand.....Is anybody feeding that costco brand dog food?...I read the ingredient and it is great for the price....let me know if anybody have experience with the costco brand.

 

[kelso]

we used to do just raw, but now we do some raw and kibble. so we change up kibbles frequently (maybe once every 3-4 months or so)..just because I guess. I sortof thought that people would not think this is a good thing but we like to.. and our 2 luckily eat well and do well equally on all the kibbles we rotate (we mostly do wellness core, orijen, EVO) I like orijen the best, but really it seems it doesnt make a difference to them, or how they look or act on either one

Although it has grains, they have done equally well on Merrick.

Maybe this is something that would not be good for a dog with lots of sensitivities or stomach issues. But our dogs are both pretty young and seem to have stomachs of steel, so hopefully changing their foods will give them variety and keep their digestive systems used to different things. And we dont have a problem with picky eating at ALL!

 

[IsisUnselke]

I change foods quite often. I am sure I have contributed to my dogs' finickiness...she gets bored with kibble rather quickly. I am guilty, too, for giving in. If she stops eating a certain brand for moe than a few days, I'll buy something else. She does have an iron stomach, though, and I'm not sure if that is because of the frequent food changes or if that is just he way she is made?

I don't see anything wrong with giving her different brands of dog food as long as they are healthy for her. She has only had diarrhea once from the switching, and I think it was a reaction from a bad can of dog food.

I have heard that it is good to rotate feeds every few months. Some foods are higher in a certain nutrient that others and to keep a nutritional balance they (some people) suggest giving your dog a chance to get a broader range of nutrients.

 

[BowWowMeow]

I had to change Basu's food every 6 months or he had digestive issues. Chama has been on fish based food for many years because that's what she does best on. She has eaten at least 6 different brands though! She used to be a picky eater but loves her Orijen. She gets the Orijen Senior and the 6 fresh fish.