10th month old Mini developed fussy eating

[Renerogers]

Good morning
My 10 month old puppy who has always loved her food has suddenly become very fussy.
She has been on Royal Canin Miniature Schnauzer puppy kibble since we got her, we decided to change so went for Millie’s Wolfheart, bought a small bag which we mixed in with her old food which she loved and preferred over the Royal Canin. So I went on and bought a big bag of Millie’s which she now won’t touch. She’s backing away from her food like it’s poison. I’ve tried softening it with water (doesn’t make a difference), adding a wet food topper (she just eats the wet and leaves the dry). I’m wondering whether I just succumb and give her wet food only or trial her on some other dry foods? I was keen for her to continue to have dry as I understood it was good for tooth health. She is absolutely fine in herself otherwise. Any advice would be gratefully received. X

[zeta1454]

Puppies can go through phases of turning up their noses at food they previously liked and, in the past, we have experienced this with some of ours. They can then often go back to accepting their food with no bother as they mature. However, after we changed to raw feeding 16 years ago now, we have rarely had any issues other than at times when a puppy is in pain from teething and can get a bit reluctant to eat some foods then. It is frustrating when you have bought a large bag and now cannot use it but it may be a chance to try some other kind of food.

There is no evidence to support dry food (kibble) being good for teeth although the manufacturers would like to persuade people that is the case. Royal Canin is owned by Mars the confectionery company and the food is really poor quality ultra-processed and of low nutritional value. Millie’s Wolfheart is a better basic food with named meat and added vegetables. If you wanted to keep her on their wet food it would be preferable to the kibble. The problem with all kibble is that it is ultra processed so that even when a brand has good ingredients the food is created at high temperatures destroying the natural benefits that can be found in fresh food. Dogs thrive best (as do people) on a minimally processed varied diet. Dogs need primarily meat with some added vegetables/herbs etc but either lightly cooked, dehydrated or, in my view preferably raw.

If you are concerned about dental health, giving a raw bone to chew on or a large dried fish skin twist which will scrape at the teeth will be better than kibble. Many dogs can swallow kibble anyway without chewing and even if they do chew the food it will do little for cleaning teeth - no-one has suggested eating hard biscuits helps clean people’s teeth.

https://naturalcornishpet.co.uk/collect ... twirl-chew

You might want to try some less processed foods with your puppy if she is reluctant to eat the kibble although you may also want to check with a vet that she has no dental issue currently that may be causing pain in her mouth which may have turned her off the harder food?

If you do want to try a different type of food altogether, there are other companies that produce dog food that is dehydrated or lightly cooked as well as those who offer raw food meals for dogs. Here are some links to non-raw but good quality dog food companies but there are others too:

https://www.purepetfood.com/

https://www.differentdog.com/

https://butternutbox.com/

The only downside to these is that they tend to be subscription based which could be more of a commitment than you would want to make while your puppy is being fussy with her food. If you are open to feeding raw food, there are many small companies in the U.K. who produce raw meals for dogs with balanced nutrition and available to order online as well as through some retail outlets. The meals are delivered frozen to be defrosted as needed. We currently use Naturaw Forage and Paleo Ridge Essentials but there are many other good brands too and these need not be ordered on subscription.

[KIPATEL]

We had a similar issue at around 11 months. Tried anything it seemed to get her to eat, putting different toppers, chicken, treats. I think we were making the problem worse. Spent about a month of frustration until I was told by my sister to stave her for 12-24 hours. Put food down, if no interest just take it away. Dogs do to get bored of the same food I’m sure, remember to transition them properly to any new food.