Kibble mixed with water

[Mum of Ted]

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Our 9 month has eaten dry food since we had him..we've changed his food over to Harringtons and as we've gradually mixed old and new food hes been eating it all fine, even when he only had 1/4 of his old and 3/4 of his new together.
This week he has began completely just Harringtons after 2 months of changing over gradually.
He now doesn't touch it, or rather eats very little, grazes and doesn't always finish either breakfast or tea. Its been a few days..we mixed some warm water with one meal and he ate it all..but next time he didn't touch it...we are thinking it cant be the brand of food as he has been eating it and does eat sometimes.
Anyway the question is how can we mix gravy with it, can we just use gravy granuals, if so how much..or can you buy dog gravy.
We're trying to keep things as simple as possible but not sure how to get him to eat it...
Not keen on buying wet food in tins so thought adding water or gravy would be the mext best thing. Read that it's better than dry kibble.
He's absolutely fine in himself, a little live wire and the teenage times have arrived! Please advise!

 

[excuseme]

You may be offering him more food than he needs, and this is his way of limiting what he requires. At 9 months one feed a day should be enough. The guidelines on the bag are only a guideline, some need more and others much less.
Our dogs do not need to fill their tummies at each meal, what he doesn't eat straight away should be taken away completely and offered again at next meal time. Do not allow him to graze.

 

[JudyN]

Definitely not gravy granules - they're too salty for dogs. I would make some meaty stock, with no salt - my dog used to love chicken broth made by boiling a chicken carcasse for, say, an hour. If you do this you can then feed the meat separately as treats - though not the bones as cooked bones are dangerous.

Also consider whether he could still be teething, making his mouth uncomfortable.And, as excuseme says, whether you're offering him more than he needs.

 

[Mum of Ted]

So we feed him 120g each feed...he weighs 13.8g. I don't think we are feeding him too much as he is hardly eating enough to say he's had 1 meal let alone 2.

 

[Mum of Ted]

Sorry its Greenacres we've moved onto.

 

[Mum of Ted]

Think we may just move back to Harringtons, and the guide says we should be feeding him 371g which isnt near what we give him now. Its so difficult to know, he used to scoff his food down and he's only just come out of a slow feeder as he was eating calmly

 

[Mum of Ted]

Just putting it out there...what are you all feeding your furbabies?

 

[JudyN]

Looking at the Greenacres puppy food, it recommends 210-290g a day for his weight range, so you're within that range. Now, if he was adult - and he's not that far off - on their adult food, the recommendation would be 160-270g per day. And dogs can really vary in how much they actually need, so always go on the condition of your dog rather than what it says on the packet.

I'm not convinced Greenacres is a great food either - the meat content is low (under 30% for both adult and puppy food), and it's 'meat meal', which can be lower quality. If you want to compare different foods, the All About Dogfood website is great: AllAboutDogFood.co.uk

I fed my dog raw, as do several members here. As long as you have the freezer space (or can buy regularly), it's really not much more effort than kibble, and most dogs love it.

 

[excuseme]

Is Ted the dog in your avatar? Is he a Cockapoo?
240g looks like a HUGE meal, and that is in it's dry form, PHEW!.
At nine months he has finished his rapid growth and his growth will have slowed down. Take care to not to over feeding him.

 

[excuseme]

A quick reply to your question what do we feed our dogs.
We have fed raw for 40 years. A 12.5 kg Cocker has 1/2lb of raw a day.

 

[excuseme]

I have just had a quick look at the main ingredients of your 2 types of kibble and included an example of something better.

Harringtons Puppy; 26%Turkey and meat meals. 6.5% Dried Turkey.
Rice 20%, Maize, Oats, Beet pulp;

Greenacres Puppy; (Rice 22%, Brown Rice 4.5), Turkey Meal 26%. Pea protein, Oats 7.5% ,Barley 7.5%.

Example of Millies Wolfheart; Starting with their lowest protein;
Forerunner. 40/60;
40%, Trout, Turkey + Salmon. 60% vegetables/ Fruits/Herbs/Botanicals.

Fish 23% (13%Fresh Trout, 7% dried Salmon, 3% salmon oil) Sweet Potato and potato; Dried Turkey 13%.
Free from Synthetic ingredients. 21% crude protein.
The above is Millies lowest protein. Choices range up to a ; 40% crude protein 80/20.

Our dogs are natural meat eaters, they do not have natural teeth for eating grains, which are used as cheap fillers and are one of the causes of many allergies that our dogs suffer from.
And who knows what what is in a meat meal, probably the sweepings at the end of the day!

 

[JudyN]

Also note that the better the kibble, the less your dog will need as it's not full of filler (which will just result in bigger poos).

 

[Mum of Ted]

Thankyou for all replies...going to try adding veg to his dry kibble or making batches of minced chicken / turkey and adding veg.
Want to give him the best but in a busy household sometimes convenience wins and a bowl of dry kibble is quick, travels easy and has been so far ok. Until now, he's decided it's not for him probably. Making his mral times more appealing will hopefully be our best chance

 

[JudyN]

making batches of minced chicken / turkey and adding veg.

As a whole meal, or to add to his kibble? The former wouldn't be balanced, but the latter would be a good idea.

 

[Mum of Ted]

So we've just added some mixed veg, (carrot, peas, cauli and broccoli )and the liquid from it ( did it in microwave) to his kibble and he's scoffed the lot!
Was going to make homemade food batches if he really didnt entertain kibble anymore but if tonight is anything to go by it just needed to be more interesting for him.

 

[JudyN]

Excellent! There are a lot of suggestions online for home-prepping cooked dog food, but I believe the jury is still out on what the requirements are (raw food diets have been mainstream for much longer). So do do your research if you decide to go down that route.

 

[Hemlock]

That's such a good result - well done!

 

[Cath S]

You might want to consider butternut box. It’s human grade fresh food that is frozen in portions for convenience. My dog loved it when he went off his kibble but now can’t have it as it set off his various health issues. You can get a 14 day trial quite cheaply.