Fusspot dog refuses almost EVERYTHING!!

[bendyfoot]

Ok Gracie's starting to drive me nuts. For a dog who loves to eat garbage, cat poo, and dead animals, I can't figure out why she's being so gosh-darned fussy about different raw foods I'm offering her!!!

Liver. Wouldn't touch it. Finally got her to eat it if frozen. I'm hoping this will translate to the kidneys I picked up yesterday, which she's never tried before.

Fish. Gave the girls whole white fish yesterday, first time. Heidi showed 'em how it was done (crunch crunch crunch). Jaida fussed and played with it, making faces the whole time, but did eat it. Gracie? Nope. Wouldn't touch it. In fact backed AWAY from it when I tried to entice her. I tried freezing it in the same way as the liver...nope, Heidi ended up eating it (crunch crunch crunch). I picked up some tinned sardines and I'm hoping she'll eat those.

Other than chicken, beef and pork, she is being such a pain in the butt!!!

Has anyone else had this problem, and have some tips to help us overcome this hurdle? I need to make sure she's eating a balanced, varied diet!!!

[luckypenny]

Silly Gracie, start eating what mommy prepares or she'll have you making your own meals .

Lucky was a lot like that too when we started feeding raw, he only liked rabbit, chicken, and beef but turned his snout up at organs and fish. We used to rinse veal kidneys well and semi-freeze them before mixing it into his meals. That's one of the reasons why we started with "stew" type meals where the stuff he didn't like would be mixed in with the other meat. If he was hungry enough, he'd eat it all. Perhaps because he couldn't really smell the yucky things, he wouldn't just pick out all the yummy ones. It took several months before I was able to feed him all sorts of organs, perhaps he developed a taste for them ?

He still won't eat fish though...just frozen sardines and then only if I cut off the heads and tails .

[Frenchy]

Sam always ate his frozen sardines and then , one day , he stopped. Frozen , unfrozen , wouldn't touch it. So I would pour chicken broth on it and it worked .... for a while

[t.pettet]

Am considering raw but am concerned as 1 has a very sensitive stomach, anyone recommend how to start this feeding regime, thanks.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by t.pettet

Am considering raw but am concerned as 1 has a very sensitive stomach, anyone recommend how to start this feeding regime, thanks.

t.pettet , raw meat , any meat , use to totally gross me out but you get used to it , I started with making satin balls for Nelly , knowing how good they would be for her , I didn't mind and got use to mixing everything with my bare hands.

With the raw liver , I would try cutting it with a knife and fork so I wouldn't have to touch it but it's easier to just grab it and tear it with your teeth .... just kidding I can touch any raw food now , no biggie.

[bendyfoot]

Our GSD has a sensitive stomach too...she's been much better since starting raw and actually LIKES eating now...

We started doing raw in baby steps...first just feeding the odd raw scrap while preparing food and raw eggs as treats. Then we tried some raw pre-packaged medallions from the pet shop. Then we got REALLY brave and started adding actual peices of meat and fed raw on the weekends. Then we finally took the plunge and started feeding raw full time about, 3-4 weeks ago. There was no reason not to start right away, except for our own squidginess about the whole thing and our need to do more research.

Try starting with a single meat source (chicken's a pretty good one) and introduce different kinds after a week or so.

Generally, it's not unusual for a dog to get runny stool or some vomitting for a week or two when starting fulltime raw, because they're bodies are readjusting to the new food. We actually had no problems. Sometimes our dogs vomit after eating (rarely), but it's because they wolfed thier food down without chewing enough (and while it's gross, it's just as good for them the second time the eat it)

[luckypenny]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

With the raw liver , I would try cutting it with a knife and fork so I wouldn't have to touch it but it's easier to just grab it and tear it with your teeth ....

You're nuts !!

[mummummum]

Bendyfoot, if you haven't already you could try flash frying the meat to sear it on the outside before serving. This creates a very strong and enticing smell.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by bendyfoot

(and while it's gross, it's just as good for them the second time the eat it)

yummier pre chewed

Originally Posted by luckypenny

You're nuts !!

[Dracko]

What if you left it on a plate like it was YOUR food and walked away? Maybe she would think it was human food and gobble it down.


Dracko isn't overly picky but I've found he will not eat the raw ground chicken or rabbit.

[t.pettet]

HaHa I didn't mean I have a sensitive stomach, one of my dogs does, funny, after cleaning projectile diarrhea off the walls and sliding across the floor in it while doing a midnight potty or having puke vomited down my shirt front, nothing makes me queasy anymore. So If I start with some small pieces of raw chicken for breakfast and maybe some raw egg yolk that should work. Thanks for the info.

[bendyfoot]

Originally Posted by mummummum

Bendyfoot, if you haven't already you could try flash frying the meat to sear it on the outside before serving. This creates a very strong and enticing smell.

hmmm...don't think that would work with the fish...they're all scaley...but maybe if it was just a fish filet...? Worth a try.

Originally Posted by Dracko

What if you left it on a plate like it was YOUR food and walked away? Maybe she would think it was human food and gobble it down.


Dracko isn't overly picky but I've found he will not eat the raw ground chicken or rabbit.

She's pretty smart. She'd probably stare at it while it was "ours" then, turn away in disgust once she got to examine it.

Originally Posted by t.pettet

HaHa I didn't mean I have a sensitive stomach, one of my dogs does, funny, after cleaning projectile diarrhea off the walls and sliding across the floor in it while doing a midnight potty or having puke vomited down my shirt front, nothing makes me queasy anymore. So If I start with some small pieces of raw chicken for breakfast and maybe some raw egg yolk that should work. Thanks for the info.

Don't be afraid to try the whole egg...the protein is in the yolk, and the shell provides calcium. A favourite treat among our girls!