# picky eaters & delicate stomachs?



## mugsy & me (Feb 3, 2008)

mugsy was raised for the first 10 months of his life in the breeders kennel.
he ate orijin dry food only.

when i got him home he refused to eat it. i thought he was scared and nervous and just left it out, with water, for him to pick at if he chose to.
he would not eat it on his own but would if i hand fed him, kibble by kibble.
while this was a wonderful bonding moment it wasn't all that practical and i soon left him to eat alone. he stood firm to the point that i could hear his stomach growl with hunger pangs.
i tried another dry food...and then another, nothing worked.

i'm a believer in dry food and healthy human treats, like apples, carrots etc. and my last dog seemed to like that also.
mugsy will only eat wet food and so far i have only tried those beneful dinners, he loves them. he also likes biscuits/treats etc. i still leave the hard kibble out in hopes he will decide to try them again but so far no go.

as to his stomach...if i feed too much of the wet stuff he gets sick with runny stool so i have to hold back on that and make sure he gets hard treats to make up a days intake.

does this sound normal for a havanese?

joe


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## Guest (Feb 5, 2008)

Joe..

Is it puppy food you're feeding him? Have you tried mixing some dry with the wet?
He may be getting the runs if the food is too rich for him..

One other thing you may try is adding some small pieces of diced boiled chicken to his dry..

There was a thread that talked about food and alot of owners agree that YES, Hav's are picky eaters and can even go with out eating a day or so...


BTW..did you know that raisens, chocolate and onions are toxic to dogs?


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## Beamer (Jan 29, 2007)

Hi Joe,
My Beamer used to be the pickiest Hav in town.. He would only eat kibble out of my hand on a good day. Or if I drenched it with melted cheese.. lol He never liked any wet food either..
He is now on a Raw diet and has never missed a meal or not eaten 100% of his food.
There are some great raw dog food companies in Alberta.. maybe look into them and see how it goes?

Ryan


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## mugsy & me (Feb 3, 2008)

i knew about the chocolate, recently read (maybe here) about the onions but didn't know about the raisens.

with the dry food, i mixed it with wet, covered it in gravy and he would eat around it and lick off the gravy and leave the kibble.
he is very stubborn.

we seem ok now but it's my preference to feed dry but not his to eat it.

joe


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## mugsy & me (Feb 3, 2008)

Beamer said:


> Hi Joe,
> My Beamer used to be the pickiest Hav in town.. He would only eat kibble out of my hand on a good day. Or if I drenched it with melted cheese.. lol He never liked any wet food either..
> He is now on a Raw diet and has never missed a meal or not eaten 100% of his food.
> There are some great raw dog food companies in Alberta.. maybe look into them and see how it goes?
> ...


i need to do some research about raw.

joe


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## Moko (Dec 11, 2007)

Also make sure there are no apple seeds or cores within his reach...

Check out some of the other Threads...I learned so much about good nutrition for my Molly by reading those.

Hang in there!

Maureen and Molly


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## Beamer (Jan 29, 2007)

Hey Joe,

Here are some links to start you off with your research.. Alberta seems to have lots of raw food companies... I'm not surprised with all the Alberta livestock! 

http://www.pets4life.com/index.php?p=home

http://www.k9choicefoods.com/index.html

http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html

http://www.mountaindogfood.com/


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## mugsy & me (Feb 3, 2008)

thanks, i plan to.


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

My Bugsy used to be the pickiest eater. He never, ever, ever ate just dry food. I had to add wet food and also my own chicken, beef or fish and even then he was a picky eater. After the food scare (even though we only fed top quality food) we switched to home cooked. Bugsy is yet to miss or not finish a meal.


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## Alexa (Jun 17, 2007)

Marley doesn't love kibble, but he'll eat it it he gets hungry enough (Royal Canin puppy food, now starting to mix Innova EVO in slowly). He much prefers moist food and anything else over the kibble, though and I feed him a few slices of the Natural Balance Lamb roll as we go on our morning walk. He has never really had any negative reaction to food, but he does seem to have a tougher stomach than I've heard from other Hav owners. 

Alexa


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## brandy (Jun 12, 2007)

Hi. What a cutie! He reminds me a lot of my beloved black chow chow after basking in the summer sun. Especially that pic of him laying down and looking out of the corner of his eye. I miss him...
Anyhow be careful about changing his diet it can cause and upset tummy and loose stools. You should try to find a good quality food and stick to it for a while. His tummy needs some time to adjust to the new food so slowly add the new food in over about a weeks span until totoally on the new food then give him some time on the new food. If he wont eat try adding a little of the wet variety of the same brand but not too much. Also dont give him any treats while your testing out the food, you'll never know what's causing the loose stools that way. Good luck


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

I think when you switch from dry foods to wet foods there is a few weeks where they have to 'regulate' themselves on their water intake. Going back and forth doesn't really help them regulate their intake. I know when I switched Gucci from kibble to homecooked, we went through a few weeks of loose stools and then I noted that she quit drinking as much water, presumably because she was now getting water in her food, whereas before, she didn't. The stools firmed up. She's had kibble a few times since the switch and I do notice she doubles her water intake the next day to help it pass. Have you stuck with the same thing for 2-3 weeks? My girl isn't a big fan of dry foods either, can't really blame her. It would be like living off fortifed Fritos for the rest of my life. lol.

Kara


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## Donna Ryan (Nov 6, 2006)

Mr. Darcy has never been a fan of kibble, but when I gave him homemade food, he had constipation problems. AFter the food scare, we stopped using Natural Balance Duck and Potato, and then I was trying a little of everything. He didn't like anything but people food. He is now on Innovo Evo with about an ounce of meat added. He waits to eat the kibble till he is really hungry - picks out the meat - but he does eat it and this cures the constipation. The other thing he eats is an egg yolk in the a.m. - our breeder recommended it to prevent cataracts. I leave the kibble available for him any time.


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## mugsy & me (Feb 3, 2008)

thought i'd give the kibble another try and mixed some in with his wet dog food.
it started as normal with mugs picking the kibble out and putting it on the floor but then i heard a crunch and immediately praised him with a 'good boy'! darn, if he didn't eat all the food on his plate (did i mention he wont eat out of a bowl and prefers a flat plate?)
anyway, his past few meals has been a mix of wet & dry and he's eating it all!!
very pleased...


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

Awww, Mugsy the great eater!!!!


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## Lynn (Jan 2, 2007)

Mugsy sure is a cutely! He sounds just like a normal Hav with his eating habits...just want something a little special done with their food before he eat it.


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## mugsy & me (Feb 3, 2008)

and i thought cats were picky!?

joe


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