What does your Akita Eat? Advice...?
Hello everyone. My new Akita puppy is doing very well, she is now 13 weeks old. I wanted some advice on food for her as she has gotten to be a picky eater when it comes to her food now, and its mostly because she enjoys the treats more and is picky about her dry little pebbles. Right now I am feeding her the Innova Large Breed Puppy food, its dry pebbles, not wet food. I have noticed if I mix in a small amount, maybe just 1 spoon of wet dog food with her pebbles she loves it and just swallows it.
Do you recommend me adding maybe 1/4 of her daily food with the Evo wet dog food? Also keep in mind that its crucial to feed large breed puppies "large breed puppy food" so they dont grow too fast, I want to make sure adding just 3 table spoons of wet Evo food will not effect that and allow her to grow too quickly.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
PJ
Do you recommend me adding maybe 1/4 of her daily food with the Evo wet dog food? Also keep in mind that its crucial to feed large breed puppies "large breed puppy food" so they dont grow too fast, I want to make sure adding just 3 table spoons of wet Evo food will not effect that and allow her to grow too quickly.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
PJ
Comments
The diet Aki's on for a long while is just Wellness Puppy Food for Large Breed.
We have just switch to regular Wellness Puppy Food at 7month-old recently because Aki doesn't seem to be a Large Breed.
We do cook up some group beef and mix in the kibbles for her.
Daily supplements are Solid Gold Seameal, Fish Oil, and milled Flax seed.
We got many Merrick treats for her that we got from Natural Pawz, like Lamb jerky, bully stick, some health bars, etc.
The reason dogs grow too fast is that they are eating too much food. If you cut the amount of food that your dog is eating, watching and feeling her every couple of days to see if her ribs are too bony, you'd do a lot better. Young puppies, especially at your dog's age, should be lean. You should feel some rib bone.
If you would teach your dog to clean her dish every meal, you'll have something you can use in the future in terms of how much you feed her because you weigh it. You do that by DECREASING the amount of a meal to the point that the dog gets a little more hungry for the NEXT meal. You leave it down for 10 minutes or so and if it's not gone, you pick it up, refrigerate it or throw it out, and start over again for the next meal.
Most of the time, the reason dogs refuse a meal is that they just aren't hungry. Usually they aren't hungry because they have eaten a big meal the previous time. I would much rather feed SMALLER amounts morning and evening, making it palatable enough (tasty enough) so that the dog will eat it, leaving them wanting more. And yes, there is nothing wrong with adding a little canned food of whatever variety to your dog's kibble to get them to eat it. In fact, the more variety you throw at them, the better off they are, because their stomachs can then tolerate different foods. If you do nothing except feed Brand A dog food for 5 years, you are risking allergies of one ingredient or another, and doG help you if he should get into something "different" all at once.
So, my advice is, try to figure out about how much you want to feed a day. Let's say it's one cup kibble. Divide into two meals (or if you're feeding 3 meals, divide into 3). Add a little canned food and a little hot water, let sit for 5 minutes, stir and feed. If your dog does not eat it all, take it away, feed LESS than 1/2 cup for dinner (with the canned food and water) and continue on that schedule until she finishes 2 meals a day. Then you will know that you can feed a little more on the second day -- let's say, 1 and 1/4 cup kibble, divided into 2 meals, and if she remains hungry and finishes everything, in a few days you can increase it again. If she refuses it, you decrease it again, but always making it a tasty meal. One can of dog food should last you several days so you're not breaking the bank.
If you're afraid the dog's teeth will rot if she isn't eating dry kibble, that's a feeding myth. Give her large raw bones and other things to chew on instead.
That's about it. Feeding doesn't have to be this hard, and a healthy dog should not be refusing meals unless s(he) is spoiled and/or eating too much at any one meal to begin with and it's not hungry. People panic and put a large bowl down, the dog eats 3 cups worth and then they wonder why they aren't hungry the next morning. Does this make sense?
Feed small, palatable, frequent meals. Dish down, dog is done in 30 seconds, dish comes back up. It's that simple.
http://www.dragonflyllama.com/ DOGS/Writing/TeachEat.html
I didn't know about raw feeding then....Maybe that would have worked with her.
In any case, seems to me if she'll eat her kibble with canned food then give it to her. Better to have her eat then not. And I'd really second the recommendation about Solid Gold seameal and fish oil....I give my dogs that too (with their raw chicken backs) and it is really good for their coats. And if your girl is not eating as well as she should, it certainly won't hurt to have some extra nutritional boosts.