admin answers:

Ontario what Canada? Or California? Check the web.

admin answers:

Rather than switch his entire diet, you may actually be able to tweak it a bit so he’ll eat it – but also consider whether there is an underlying cause for his unwillingness to eat it.

Let the vet know what is happening, and ask them if there is anything they should check – this may just be a bad sense of taste in general, or perhaps he is having problems with his teeth – or is he on a medication such as antibiotics that could mess it up?

Whatever you do, keep in mind that raw meat can carry very bad illnesses that your dog can get in his compromised state, and can also pass on to you and your family. I would never feed any raw meat to an unwell dog.

If all else looks good, you can also speak to the vet about adding some fiber to his diet, but stay away from canned pumpkin pie filling that we usually use for this – it probably has too much sugar in it for him. You could add a small amount of fiber products made for humans after you discuss it with the vet and read the label – make absolutely sure it is only fiber, and no sweeteners, artificial or otherwise. You could also just give him some cooked green beans.

Speak to the vet about supporting his GI tract with probiotics – he may not have the right environment in his gut to support his own bacteria, and that is what breaks down his food so he can absorb it. That is why he is losing weight. Probiotics are usually in paste or powder form, and can be safely added to just about any dog’s diet – it’ll only help.

It may be that you need to add some fat to his diet, but disccus this with the vet before you do it – it may be that if you get the probiotics in him, he will absorb enough of his regular food to make the difference, and if it’s an absorption problem, the stuff in his bowl won’t translate into more weight, no matter what it is.

As for palatibility, or taste, you could store the food with some extra tasty stuff added, so it absorbs the new taste and makes it more interesting. Storing a cup of food overnight in the fridge with a teaspoon of tuna fish tossed around in it can make it much more intriguing!

A few drops of real cod liver oil will do the same thing, while adding virtually nothing to the food…you can also stick a strip of bacon in the plastic container overnight, as long as it is well drained, and discard it before feeding him the kibble.

You can always add some fat-free chicken or beef broth and soak the kibble overnight – anything to make it taste different. If you make up a few batches with different flavors, it may be more interesting than just doing one at a time.

It may be that a holistic vet can help you with his GI tract – there are many amino acids and other factors that can be balanced with supplements, and this particular problem can lend itself better to a vet who uses adjunct therapies rather than whatever a large manufacturer produces for XYZ problem – it isn’t the full picture. It’s amazing what they can do with a little glutamine and probiotic paste…

Anyway, it’s a tough problem you have and it will take some tweaking – good luck!

admin answers:

That depends:
What kinds are available in your area?
Are you willing to pay to have it shipped?
Do you know what meat proteins your looking for in it?

Add:
I have yet to see a TRULY all organic dog food available in my area. Every single one I have looked at has had organic chicken as the first ingredient and chicken meal as the next – that’s not all organic…it’s really pretty much a marketing trick. Karma, as far as I know, is at least all organic meat – but I’m not willing to pay to have it shipped to my house.