Moon's Graden

My family just adopted an adorable Bassett Hound.  She is 5yrs old.
Her previous owner informed us that her diet was strictly canned food.
We were also informed that an attempt was made once to switch her to
dry food that was disasterous.  The dog went six (6) days without
eating before the owner caved in and broke out the canned food.
Understanding the cost benefit and personal convenience to having a dry
food diet, I am interested in learning how to help our, what appears to
be, stubborn pet to switch from canned to dry.  However, the week long
struggle doesn't appeal to me.  I would appreciate any pointers.

their heels and said:

I would mix half and half for a bit, and wean from that by decreasing
the amount of canned food.  

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

I have tried this and she has the uncanny ability to seperate the dry
from the mixed, even when I've mixed them together quite thoroughly.  I
appreciate the quick response though.  Please know that I'm not giving
up on this little lady.  I just don't know which of us is going to be
more stubborn.

It's your job to be more stubborn.

A dog won't starve himself.  If you can stand it (and a lot
of people can't), start feeding her nothing but dry food.
She'll skip a meal or three but won't compromise her own
health.  I wouldn't do this with a puppy or senior dog, but
a healthy *** can do fine.

Somewhat less *** would be to get rid of the canned
food but soak the dry food in a low-sodium chicken or beef
broth.  I think you'll have trouble weaning her off that,
too.

Also, I'd make sure that you've got extra-delicious,
extra-stinky kibble.  
--

      Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

If it were me, I'd soak the kibble in hot water, until it softened and
the water cooled down to a reasonable temperature.  Then, if she didn't
eat it in five minutes, I'd take it up and not allow her *anything* but
water until the next meal.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

V is for Victor squashed under a train.
-- Edward Gorey, The Gashlycrumb Tinies

Yep.

I wouldn't use broth, but I would try warm water or possibly plain
yogurt, if I were really desperate.  *But*, I'd only use it until the dog
ate the first time.  After that, it'd be dry kibble all the way, bay-BEE.  
I don't have any kind of sense of humor about fussiness, though, so I'm a
bit of a heartless meanypants about it.

--
Shelly
http://www.moonsgarden.com/ (the Mother Ship)
http://www.moonsgarden.com/ (Letters to Esther)

Those who gave away their wings are sad not to see them fly.
-- Antonio Porchia, Voces

This is how the dogs are fed.  I substitute lukewarm water instead of hot,
let it sit for a bit, and then feed.  Since the dogs do get kibble + canned
for dinner, I do know that it would take extraordinary effort for a dog to
just*** off the canned and not eat any kibble this way.

Pretty much.  Other people's finicky eaters are healthy eaters around here.
I don't coddle them, and they learn that they're going to go hungry until
the next meal.  Plus, I am certainly mean enough that I give extra exercise
to dogs who are picky.  There is nothing like a day hike to stimulate the
appetite.

Suja

I second that advice.  I just recently had to teach my dog to eat her meals
in one sitting rather than grazing all day, due to adding a second dog into
our family.  I took her bowl up after 15 minutes no matter how much she
ate.  She completely missed/skipped 3 meals, and then picked up on it.  Now
she eats in under 10 minutes.  Make sure your new dog is getting adequate
daily exercise, too, and that will help with her appetite.

--
Lynne

http://www.moonsgarden.com/

===========
I give my dog mostly dry food with 1 - 2 Tablespoons of wet food on top
twice a day.  Maybe you could try that method out.  One can will last a week
doing it that way, and the Bassett won't be deprived of food he loves and
has eaten for five years.

  The dog went six (6) days without

Don't cave after 6 days.
--Lia

I thought of something else.  Are we certain that the dog doesn't have a
dental problem or some other sort of medical problem that makes him
especially reluctant to eat dry food?  I'm thinking of a sore tooth that
might hurt when chewing.  The original poster said "what appears to be
stubborn pet."  I'm going to take back my advice not to cave after 6
days until we're SURE it's a matter of stubborn pet.

--Lia

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 08:59:25 -0500, Julia Altshuler

good advice Lia.  

I admit, that even though I gave the half and half advice, *I* would
be a cold turkey type, with removing food after 15 minutes, no treats,
etc.

That is actually a good gauge - give the dog a hard dog treat and see
what happens.  If it's consumed easily, I'd say go for the dry food
regimen.  Offer 2x/day, nothing in between, put down for 15 minutes
and remove.  

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

===============
The dental problem is a good thought.  Maybe the dog should be examined by a
vet to see if there is a tooth or jaw problem.  My daughter's pugs cannot
eat certain hard foods because of their teeth.  But, I would never stop
feeding my dog for any amout of time.  That sounds cruel and abusive to me.
I know I wouldn't want to be without food for six days.
And, I can't see any reason not to give the dog some dry food and some wet
food all the time.  The dog is five years old and newly adopted; what is the
point of abruptly changing the dog's entire diet now.  Sure, if it was a
puppy, you could start the pup out eating anyway you wanted.  But I would
let this dog adjust and slowly wean the dog from eating entirely wet food by
adding little dry food while cutting back on the wet food and increasing the
dry food slowly.  Why make the dog miserable.

Bingo.

For those with reading skills approximating those of pfoley,
the suggestion is not to withhold food.  It's to put down
the food you want the dog to eat and give the dog the option
to eat or not.  A dog isn't going to starve itself and will
get the clue after refusing a meal or two.  It's not going
to go without food for six days.

Now, Karen Ramstead says that the first time a dog skips a
meal it's the dog's idea and the second time it's hers, and
the dogs get the picture the first time it happens and don't
refuse a meal again unless there's something else (health)
going on.  That's an example of withholding food from a dog,
but nobody here has recommended it that I've seen.  

Your advice is a recipe for creating fussy, demanding,
inflexible eaters.
--

      Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community