[sp464]

I have an 8 old Great Dane who refuses to eat unless there’s lots of special treats in it – chicken breast, peanut butter, treats, etc. She’s on the skinnier side of healthy, getting too close to underweight for my taste and her refusal to eat is not helping! We use a glucosamine joint powder that mixes with water, so if she doesn’t eat her food within 20 minutes, it becomes soggy cereal. I’ve tried giving her dry kibble and using the joint powder separately and she still won’t eat the kibble unless she’s starving. She never says no to treats and will walk around sniffing things like she’s hungry but really waits for desperation to set in before she goes for the bowl.

I had her on Canidae, as that’s what she was fed in foster care (I’ve only had her 4 months) and she was fine, though never food motivated. She was also fine staying with my sister for a few weeks. In both places, she had another dog who would gladly eat her food if she left it so I think competition played a big role there.

I recently switched her to Taste of the Wild, as I thought the different flavors might be enticing and I’ve tried two different TOTW flavors but she’s had the same reaction as with Canidae.

Any suggestions of other foods in a similar price range to try? Apart from joint stiffness, she’s got no health issues or allergies that I’m aware of. I’m going crazy trying to please this stubborn old lady!

[suztzu]

No finicky eater ever turns down canned food. My previous dog a border mix was very finicky to the point of anorexia and would only eat kibble if nothing better turned up. I started to mix in a couple of tablespoons of canned food per meal and it worked great never had an issue from then on. I would always try to give a quality canned food. Wellness core EVO there are so many to choose from it really made a difference. Good luck

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi sp464 –

I would check out Earthborn – it’s similar in price and rating to TOTW and Canidae but it’s not made by Diamond.

suztzu had a great suggestion with the canned food. Tripett is one food in particular that dogs love – I’ve never heard of a dog that turned their nose up to green tripe. Tripett is just plain canned green tripe so it’s to be used as a topper only, not a complete food. You can take some and mash it up with warm water to make a gravy and completely coat the kibble.

There’s also the option of feeding only canned or a fresh cooked food (such as Freshpet or use a Premix – such as THK’s Preference or Sojo’s) and adding your own fresh meat – dogs seem to prefer these types of foods to dry food, however it could get costly with a larger dog like a great dane.

Are you giving her anything for her joint stiffness? Wysong makes a great supplement called “Arthegic” that has boswellia, sea cucumber, turmeric, ginger, devil’s claw, yucca, red pepper and cetyl myristoleate – all powerful natural anti-inflammatories. I use it occasionally for my senior after he’s had some heavy exercise. You may also want to give her some fish oil daily, the omega 3’s act as a natural inflammatory and seniors can benefit from additional DHA in the diet.

[Author]

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