What CAN he eat?

[Tommysmom]

As some of you guys may know from my other posts, we've had a bit of a feeding problem with my 3 month JRT. He's back to eating now, although we are working on eating out of a bowl instead of kibble by kibble off the floor, lol... and he really seems to like Canidae (although I'm worried because it's not a puppy food - please tell me that's ok!).

I'm trying to keep snacks and mealtimes interesting for him without spoiling him, just to keep him eating. He really likes a bit of a snack around 10:30 at night, but I don't want to feed him more dog food or milkbones or anything too heavy that late! I've found that he likes cottage cheese and canned tuna chunks and he realllllllly likes baby carrots. Is it ok to keep feeding him those things on a regular basis?

What else can he eat? I know from reading the threads here that fruit pits and seeds and grapes and raisins are all no-no's... what are other good things to feed him though, either with his meals or as snacks and treats? His protein levels were testing very, very low, so is there anything that he can snack on that would help with that, too?

[Prin]

Carrots are ok, as long as you don't feed too many (they can cause gas, and gas can cause bloat). I don't feed too many veggies, but I'm sure Technodoll and the raw crew would be able to help a ton with that.

Canidae is great food. They have an "all life stages" one that might be best though.

[Tommysmom]

Thanks Prin! I was worried about the Canidae not being a puppy food specifically, but he really has taken to it very well and I figured eating something was better than nothing! We've got the all life stages one with multiple protein sources. The kibble pieces are a bit bigger than what he was used to, it's so funny to hear him go crunch, crunch, crunch on each piece!

[technodoll]

that's good news about your boy! raw carrots are harmless (although like prin said, they can cause gas in large quantities). the thing is, the carrots exit your dog's body pretty much the same way they went in: little orange undigested chunks. dogs lack the ability to digest raw plant matter unless it is crushed or juiced to break down the cellulose walls. would he eat cooked carrots as a treat? also i would prefer seeing your little canine fill his tummy with protein-rich foods instead of useless fibrous bulk... give him a frozen raw egg for fun (you can remove or leave the shell), it's fun and nutritious! ;or let him chew on raw chicken necks or raw recreational bones... tuna should not be fed more than once per week due to the high mercury content, cottage cheese is wonderful (as is plain yogurt), try canned salmon or sardines instead of tuna, or mackeral... or a whole raw fish!

[Tommysmom]

Awesome ideas, thanks Technodoll! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he tries to stalk a sardine treat, hehehe... that will be a bit different from his other stuff!

[technodoll]

did you see scott's boy Roscoe chase down the raw frozen mackeral before finally chomping down on it? hilarious video in the raw feeding forum

[Twisted_Angel]

I wouldn't worry too much about it not being puppy food. I mean think about it, would dogs naturally be able to choose between an adult, puppy, and senior form of prey? I have even heard that "puppy food" isn't good for puppies because the extra stuff added makes them grow much more quickly than would be natural. Extra protein, however, is just fine.

Like everyone else said, the carrots are fine if he likes them, but unless there are broken down he probably won't get much from it.

[mummummum]

And if you are feeling ambitious you could also bake him some peanie-butter hard cookies or liver snacks. If you have a dehydrator you can also make him some dried jerky. If he really loves carrots... (and yes, I know this is gross ) when the grrrls were puppies and I was in a hurry, I would chew up some carrot and then give it to them. You could, on the other hand, just run some through the grater on your food processor. Red peppers are also a favourite here.