# Food question.



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

What have your concerns or issues been about? That would help with ideas (at least for me).


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## EVpoodle (Sep 25, 2018)

For all the food except Bill Jack, she would refuse eat them. Bill Jack makes her itchy.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Hmm, a healthy dog is not going to starve themselves. How long did you try with each of those foods? Could it be that she just was not convinced about the food in front of her and that you gave in before she decided she would give it a try? I understand being worried about having a dog that didn't want to eat. Lily was a very pilly eater as a pup as was my mom's mpoo. For Lily allowing her to free feed helped and it was workable as a plan since thankfully neither she nor Peeves was a glutton.


Even now, being meal fed home cooked food (that BF and I could readily eat too) Lily will skip meals sometimes. This morning she was very slow to start her breakfast and I think actually pushed Javelin off the end of his then ate her own, so clearly she was pretty hungry. Tonight for all I know she may decline dinner altogether. I don't know what she is thinking about food sometimes.


The only other dry food I've used was Fromm Puppy Gold for Javelin when we brought him home. We also fed Blue Buffalo for quite a long time before we switched to home cooking.


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## EVpoodle (Sep 25, 2018)

Thank you! 1 month each or so. I suppose that it is possible that she was not sure if she wanted to eat it. I tried free feeding, she would take a bite or two, once a day then be done the food. This reminds me so much of my mother's dog who would not eat she almost killed herself not eating. Is this not eating right a poodle thing? I have been thinking about changing her to a home cooked diet for a while but was not sure about what exactly she needed. Do you think that she would get enough calorie, and nutrients from a home cooked diet?


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## tammyw (May 7, 2018)

My guy was on Royal Canin kibble for the longest time (what his breeder had him on). Problem was he wasnt so keen on it. He would barely touch the bowl in the morning after a while and then not make up the difference at night either. Already a thin guy, I was concerned he just wasn’t eating enough. I tried another high quality kibble and he ate it but it didn’t really agree with his system (he’s got incredibly sensitive digestion, which makes it that much harder). Then I tried Fresh Pet, which I thought he would love due to the fresh texture. He liked it for a while but then suddenly wouldn’t touch it. In between I had to go back to the Royal Canin each time.

In prep for getting our new dog who ate frozen raw food, we decided to try him on that — five weeks he ate that (each time we did slow transitions of course). He devoured it. Loved it. But his body did not. We had several incidents of emergency poops on the floor (something he had never done before) and finally diarrhea and vomiting. After a vet visit and eating boiled chicken and steamed white rice, per the vet’s suggestion I tried lamb and rice canned food (limited ingredient). He loved it but again, it didn’t love him. Back to sludgy bowels and very unpleasant smell for the first time. Back on chicken and rice which always got him proper again.

I found a frozen “fresh” food recently at my pet store. It’s lightly cooked (raw was just too rich for him). It’s called My Perfect Pet. They have a simple chicken and rice version. I asked the vet and he said yes a lot of their dogs do well on it. So that’s what we are trying now and we are still doing the slow transition but fingers crossed as so far, so good. I’ll be nervous for a few more weeks but I’m hopeful. If this doesn’t work, I’m not sure what I’ll do. It’s been such a challenging road. There have been many times I wish I’d kept him on the Royal Canin because even though he wasn’t eating it enthusiastically, perhaps I could have doctored it up to make it more exciting for him. 

http://www.myperfectpetfood.com

Good luck and definitely take any change extremely slowly!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I don't have the right computer here at work to have my home cooked recipe, but I will post it for you later (if I forget don't hesitate to nudge me). It is chicken based since that is the most easily obtained protein source that all 3 of our dogs had no intolerances for. My recipe is based on body weight and the formula was just fine for Lily and Peeves, but low for Javelin who just seems to have a super high metabolism. My vet finds them all to be in excellent health and general condition and we cleared up some health issues like urinary crystals for Lily and Peeves and ear wax flowing like the Nile for Javelin.


The main ingredients are cooked skinless boneless legs and thighs, whole grain wheat pasta, chicken livers and then some smaller quantity add ins. I have developed a good system even though I am cooking for three large dogs (about 180 pounds of dogs) and so cooking a lot of food.


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## EVpoodle (Sep 25, 2018)

Awesome thank you!


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## thomask9deb (Feb 15, 2019)

*The Top 5 Foods for Toy, Miniature, and Standard Poodles*






EVpoodle said:


> Hello.
> I was wondering if you guys could recommend some good types of dog food? I have tried Victor, Blue Buffalo, Purina, Taste of the wild, Diamond, and Bil Jack.
> Thank you.


There are three sizes of Poodles: Toy, Miniature, and Standard. Toy Poodles stay under 10 pounds, Miniature Poodles range from 10-20 pounds at the most, and Standards are usually 45-70 pounds. As both Toy and Miniature are considered small breed, and Standards are usually considered large breed, they need different dietary needs. Here are the top five foods for all three sizes, starting with Toy.

Top 5 Best Dog Foods for Toy Poodles
1. Merrick Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
2. Instinct Raw Boost Grain Free Natural Dry Dog Food
3. Royal Canin Wet Dog Food for Poodle
4. Wellness Complete Natural Dry Small Breed Dog Food
5. Halo Natural Dry Dog Food, Small Breed Chicken

Top 5 Best Dog Foods Miniature Poodles
1. Tiki Dog Aloha Petites Chicken Luau Small Breed Dry Dog Food
2. Solid Gold Small & Toy Breed Wet & Dry Dog Food
3. Whole Earth Farms Grain-Free Pork, Beef & Lamb Recipe Dry Dog Food
4. Taste Of The Wild Grain Free Dog Food 
5. ACANA Adult Small Breed Dog Food

Top 5 Best Dog Foods Standard Poodles
1. Natural Balance Dry Dog Food
2. Blue Buffalo High Protein Grain Free Adult Large Breed Dry Dog Food
3. Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light Dog Food
4. Nutro Wholesome Essentials
5. Orijen Large Breed Dry Dog Food

Reference: (hotlink removed)


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I have two very, very finicky toy poodles and they both like Go! Salmon

https://www.petcurean.com/product/go-sensitivity-shine-salmon-dog-food-recipe-eu/

Just like you I tried dozens of other foods before sticking to this one. I have one dog who will eat at specific times, and one who won’t. If I try to feed her at breakfast, lunch and dinner, or any combination thereof, she barely touches her food. I’ve tried for almost a year before giving up.

Now I free feed and even though she doesn’t look like she is eating much, her weight is perfect. She nibbles a few times a day. That’s what she likes. Maybe your dog is the same. I never thought this was possible, had never seen a dog like that in my 40 years of dog ownership. But sometimes you need to go with the flow !


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