I agree. Feed'em raw! Meat and bones!
Kibble recommendations?
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@milena - If she doesn't eat, don't stress over it, if she is not ill (and doesn't sound like she is) just pick up the food till the next feeding time... I do like using small bites instead of the larger kibble. And I like and have used for years Fromm's small bites and same for Natural Balance or any that has small bites. How much are you feeding her? Maybe consider reducing the amount of kibble? Sounds to me like she is getting too much for a 4 month old...
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I'm personally not a fan of kibble. If you must use it, then moisten it or mix with wet food. I fed dehydrated for a long time. Once re hydrated it is like "real" food, and it keeps well, like kibble. That said, I agree with Tanza. If she doesn't eat, pick it up until the next feeding. Dogs are like kids. When they realize there will be no "short order" cooking, they learn to eat what is offered if the alternative is nothing. (children who grow up poor are seldom picky eaters!)
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In the "wild":
- eating is part of their socialization,
- the boss eats before the young,
- they seldom eat the same thing as the day before,
- they don't eat at the same time every day, and
- they don't get the same portion size (some days are a feast, some days are a fast).
Let your pup watch you eat a cracker (or whatever you want to eat). Then put their bowl down.
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I have been giving my dogs “Gentle Giants” for the last couple of years. They have never had any issues with digestion or diarrhea. I also give them some non flavored yogurt and will mix sweet potato into it and they love it.
It has gotten really good reviews.
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@elbrant - Disagree with that, mine has always in 35+ years for they most part eat at the same time every day, give or take a bit and as said I change up the kibble every couple of weeks. And yes the get the same every day, evening might have different veggies or a meat source but the same amount.. and if you feed in crates you have NO boss... so I go back to feeding twice a day and if they don't eat it, it is gone till the next feeding. That is how I have always raised our litters... and our Basenji are not in the wild, they adapt to feeding schedules that us humans give them... you need to feed them separate and NOT free feed so you know exactly what and how much they are eating
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I wrote on here a long time ago about my izzy having eating problems, he looked like a starved dog, the vet recommended wet food in morning and at night. The morning food would just sit in the bowl all day and get nasty looking. So I would have to throw it away. I didn't want him to go hungry so I started doing away with the morning wet food and sat a small bowl of kibbles out, then at night I put the wet food on the kibbles that way he always has a snack during the day, but come evening he eats the wet food and most of the kibbles. That is what worked for us anyway.
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I have never had a Basenji that was a fussy eater. I put the food down, it was gone in two or three minutes. If not, I knew I had a problem. The only time any of my dogs didn't gobble their food was when they weren't feeling well. My Border Collie, OTOH, would only eat if there were zero distractions. Forget about treat training him, he wouldn't take a treat if there was anything at all going on that interested him. Different dogs indeed!
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@eeeefarm I can totally understand wanting to avoid using kibble, but why do you recommend moistening it? I thought that eating kibble that was not mushy was good for their teeth (sort of like brushing them). My last dog died at 18.5 with every tooth intact, white, and sharp and I attributed that to his hard kibble (and veg, of course!) diet. Thanks for your thoughts!
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@tanza Yes, she's perfectly healthy I'm not worried that anything is wrong. I haven't had a puppy before and I expected a little more enthusiasm about eating since she's playing and growing so much. I'll check out Fromm's and Natural Balance small bites. She's been getting 1/3 - 1/2 cup dry kibble for each meal, but has never eaten it all in one go so I wasn't too concerned about her getting too much. Often times her breakfast is her snack and ends up being part of her dinner too...
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@elbrant It's funny that you say that--she won't touch her dinner until my family sits down at the table to eat our dinner. Then she starts picking though her dish. We try to mix up the fresh fruits and veggies or treats that she gets daily.
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@kittenishkat Thank you! I'll check and see if my local feed store carries that brand too! She does love plain yogurt but isn't so keen on sweet potato. Trying to expose her to many flavors so I'll definitely give it to her again
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@isabob Thank you! I'll keep that in mind!
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I would never give just dry kibble of any brand. Mix it with a portion of a good canned dog food and a very little water. Mine get a good quality grain free kibble mixed with the meat and have done for years. No point in naming them, different brands in different countries.
Puppies get whatever the breeder gave, I would expect you to have been given a supply for the first couple of days. Then a gradual changeover to the food of your choice. Or to a more adult menu.
It can be a mistake to continue with puppy food for too long. By 16 weeks mine have all been on the two meals a day routine which continues all their lives and on an adult diet
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Our 8 month old is still fed 4 x per day, which I time with our family meals. She prefers tinned and I either mix in a little kibble or save it for training sessions in between. I sometimes replace a meal with something we are eating if it's suitable for her to have i.e. a whole food without any additives or salt. To discourage begging we never give left overs directly from the table or kitchen.
Jane
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@jkent That is too often ! A dog is not like a human in its food requirements or its digestive system.
Many people feed their dogs just once a day. Not that many years ago it was the norm. I have always fed twice because then it is easier to control their weight.
I would worry that you are over feeding your 8 month old, and are heading towards a very over weight Basenji. Which on its own will cause problems for the animal.
Give him time to digest between meals and let his stomach rest. At 8 months old he should only be on 2 meals, probably 8 am and 6 pm or whatever suits you, but remember, he is a dog, not a human.
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@milena said in Kibble recommendations?:
@eeeefarm I can totally understand wanting to avoid using kibble, but why do you recommend moistening it? I thought that eating kibble that was not mushy was good for their teeth (sort of like brushing them). My last dog died at 18.5 with every tooth intact, white, and sharp and I attributed that to his hard kibble (and veg, of course!) diet. Thanks for your thoughts!
That's a fallacy as far as kibble being good for teeth. Bones, OTOH, will keep their teeth clean but the downside is that vigorous chewers can crack or break teeth on them. Your dog with the excellent teeth may well have benefitted from genetics. My niece had a cat with bad teeth. Fed exactly the same as her other cats, this one had perpetual problems.
Fresh food is best for their teeth, and of course these days we brush our dog's teeth. Interestingly, my two that lived the longest never saw a tooth brush and never had any extractions or mouth problems, despite having tartar build up. The ones I fussed over had whiter teeth but shorter lives. Go figure....
"In order to get along with a Basenji, you have to be at least half as smart as the dog!"
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@eeeefarm Kibble is a generic term, meaning dry food for dogs, as I understand it. All kinds of different shapes, sizes, hardness etc. All called kibble.
Mixing kibble with meat already gives it a bit of gravy and therefore flavour and will soften it, but kibble with just water ?? surely not.
You are absolutely right there is nothing in kibble for the teeth - But a good brushing can help.
Mine get fresh beef bones every Friday from the butcher and the Vets never stop remarking on how pristine their teeth are. Gums are fresh and healthy right up to the end.
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@zande she is normal weight at the moment and we monitor it. She seemed to weigh less than she should a couple of months ago so we increased her calories and will continue to monitor.
I find less frequent feedings result in her bringing up bile in the mornings, although this is getting less as her digestive system matures.
What sort of beef bones are suitable for older puppies. I gave her raw chicken wings a couple of times for teeth cleaning, but she swallowed them whole, which concerned me and defeated the point.
Jane
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@milena - Teeth brushing not kibble to keep the teeth and gums heathly.... I brush my Basenjis teeth about 3 to 4 times a week and also I give them Plaque Off, it is a powder that you put on their food. It is just a small amount. Has worked great. You don't really need to use a toothpaste (for dogs) to brush, just wet the brush.
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Hi Milena!
So I get the picky eater thing, my first basenji was very picky and if he didn't like it he wouldn't eat it. He also had a very touchy stomach so if I changed what I fed him, it would take forever for him not to have loose stool (sometimes he never adjusted). After many failed trials I ended up keeping him on the same food/portions because changing was bad. Also, being an only dog he didn't have to eat right away because no one was stealing it so from my experience its not too surprising that your pup is acting this way.For my two that I have now, I have a girl with a touchy stomach (she's the niece of my first one and just like him!) and one who has had bladder stones and cannot have a lot of foods because of the ingredients so they both stay on a consistent diet. I use a kibble brand called First Mate Australian Lamb. You can get it from Chewy. Its a high quality kibble with limited ingredients. I feed this to both and for my girl I mix in a tablespoon of wet food (with sweet potato, it seems to keep her belly happy) and for my boy I mix in a packet of Core Simply Shreds. The shreds come in 4 flavors, is limited ingredients, not a ton of calories and he loves it! I'm really happy with that combo. Its easy, and combines fresh and kibble. Because of the stones we like his food pretty wet to help with that. Since I've had him on this combo we have had no stone issues at all (and I test often to make sure). They both have great weight, coats and energy so I have been very happy with the results so far! Oh! I also feed twice a day and monitor, (with two I have to
but I find it keeps their weight right where I want them better and I can see if there are any problems easier (if something changes I know there could be a problem).I like the idea for changing things up but for me it just hasn't worked because of how my two are. I have found that a consistent kibble and subtle change with the wet food (same brand variety of flavor) keeps them interested but problem free.
