# suddenly pickey eater



## WINSTON'S MOM (May 14, 2000)

After several years of feeding raw breakfast/ kibble (Barking at the Moon from Solid Gold) for dinner, I made the switch to all raw. Mostly out of concern with the carbs in kibble being an inflamitory and Winston having arthritus in his 10 & 1/2 year old body. I did see a great improvement in his pain w/out meds.
The problem I have is he seems to be having terrible carb cravings and it's turning into a daily battle to get him to eat. This started about 5 weeks ago and there have been days when he ate almost nothing. I've tried putting his food away if he doesn't eat it and giving it back at the next meal time, but I am guessing that he has lost 10-15 lbs and he was on the thin side to start.
For the past week he has been eating chicken thighs, but that leaves me nothing to mix his supplements with. I would also like to give him something with more calories so he can gain some weight back. Today he had 2 in the morning, but would only eat1 this afternoon. 
I'm at a loss because he may like something today and not tomorrow. Feeding him is turning into a guessing game!:crazy:
I would appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks, Pam


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

What other variety is he eating? Maybe he's simply tired of eating chicken. Have you tried turkey, beef, lamb, bison, rabbit, etc.?


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## WINSTON'S MOM (May 14, 2000)

He just started eating chicken. He had been eating turkey, beef and lamb. He always ate the raw fine until I took away the kibble.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

If he's losing that much weight you might want to add back in the kibble - as long as it's high quality stuff.


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Lobo, our senior GSD/Malamute mix (RIP) who lived 14 years and 45 days was put on Kumpi. His health improved in 2007 when we get got him on that brand of food and he was able to maintain his weight and walk on his own again and we were able to stop his Rimadyll. As the years continued we did begin to add different arthritis meds as food alone is not always the answer. I would recommend looking for a food that has yucca in it (like the Kumpi or just try the Kumpi - you get a money back guarantee and you don't have to retun the bag)....not all Yucca is the same either in how it is prepared.

Something to keep in mind - even if a food has a high inflammatory response ingredient, as long as it is mixed with other ingredients that counters it, then you will not have an issue. It is balancing that out that is important. Also, keep in mind that not all ingredients are of the same grade - so one food with grains like corn, rice, barley, etc. in it may have no similarity whatsoever except for named ingredients. I would def. look for meat proteins and not the Gluten meals (that is protein from grains)...the keyword is Gluten though.

With Lobo there were some days he didn't want to eat either - and getting older sometimes they do lose their sense of taste and smell. Some days I put bacon in his food with some bacon grease - not too much. And there were days I added ground beef (cooked) and a little beef fat.

Do also make sure there is no health issues that could be going on too.

Best of luck w/your fella!


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## WINSTON'S MOM (May 14, 2000)

> _If he's losing that much weight you might want to add back in the kibble - as long as it's high quality stuff_


I was feeding him Barking at the Moon from Solid Gold which is the highest quality they make and relatively low carb. The holistique vet I take him to does not want me to put him back on the kibble. Even though raw is her 1st choice, she would prefer that I feed him home cooked than go back to kibble. I was just trying to avoid starting the cooked food because I'm thinking he will never go back to raw.

I think I'll try the bacon and bacon grease on the ground food.

Thanks for the ideas.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

I would try the cooking just to get him to eat. After a bit you can slowly cook the food less and less or mix in uncooked food with the cooked.


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## balakai (Feb 9, 2005)

What about a dehydrated raw product like Honest Kitchen?

~Kristin


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## WINSTON'S MOM (May 14, 2000)

I think I will try cooking the ground beef. He is eating the chicken thighs raw (he had 3 for breakfast). We have chickens so I can also cook some egg for him. I guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend  cooking for my boy!


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

Have you tried just putting raw egg on top of his food and seeing if that helps entice him? Might be worth a try before you go through the hassle of cooking them all.


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## WINSTON'S MOM (May 14, 2000)

I have tried the raw egg - he prefers it cooked (he had 4 scrambeled eggs for dinner yesterday). I cooked hamburger for him this morning and he likes that and ate about 1 lb. I'll have to get a part-time job to feed him


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