# My dog will only eat cheap kibble?



## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

My mini poodle is 3.5 months old. My breeder had her on Eukanuba and she didn't seem to like it and I wanted to change it anyway to a 'better' brand... Tried out a few premium brands of kibble that are oft mentioned here and an even more 'bleh' reaction (I've been mixing her food w yogurt or canned and then she eats SOME of it..). So today at my sister's house I gave her a bowl of Beneful and WOO-eee did she go to town. She scarfed down a bowl dry and asked for more. Her stool was better afterwards as well. I noticed the Beneful was much softer than the brands I've been trying. This is after going through a few days of feeding only canned food just to get her to eat SOMETHING but breeder and vet yelled at me haha. 

My vet is under the camp that a dog will thrive on anything and it's a human's personal preference more than anything, but, really, I wanted her on a better (hopefully grain-free) kibble. 

I know a lot of you feed raw and that's great but I'm not going to try that out yet. 

Any suggestions or advice or input on 'good' vs 'bad' kibble? Could it be the softer texture or the fact that Beneful puts sugar in their food or it's probably sprayed down with some gross but tasty ingredient to make dogs love it so?

I really wanted better for my pup. But I also want her to actually eat!!! I've tried the three meal/pick it up thing, the leave it out all day thing...

Please no offense to Beneful feeders out there... In fact if you DO feed Beneful or another supermarket brand please chime in 

--Frustrated--



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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

Of course the dog likes Beneful.

Imagine placing before a hungry child...a plate heaped with vegetables...and...a gooey ice cream sundae. Which will the vast majority of children immediately start scarfing down? 

Now imagine a child who has been allowed to have delicious ice cream sundaes every single day. You've been put in charge of their nutrition, so you start cold turkey with the veggies and lean chicken. How's little junior going to act? After a tantrum or two you get worried he's not enjoying his food, so reluctantly you break out the sundae. _Whoopee!_ cries little junior. _Good food at last!_

Okay, I'm being silly, but I think you get the point. Most dogs do seem to actually like the food that's good for them (I know mine devour their raw, but I know you're not ready for that so I won't push the diet  ), but yeah, the "bad" food is full of sugar and flavorings that make them very palatable and addictive to dogs. Just because the dogs *love* to eat them doesn't mean they're good for them.

I encourage you to keep up with feeding good quality food, whether the dog "likes" it or not. It's for their own good. Just my two cents. 

--Q


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Try a food with raw freeze dried coating on the kibble rather than the animal digest on cheap foods. Nature's Variety Instinct has it.

My dog is a grain-free kibble or raw fed guy. I switch the brand and variety of kibble every bag. I did notice a big difference in his interest in the Nature's VarietyInstinct, he wanted some as soon as I opened the bag. Normally he doesn't pay attention to me farting around with dog food bags.


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

Quossum said:


> Of course the dog likes Beneful.
> 
> Imagine placing before a hungry child...a plate heaped with vegetables...and...a gooey ice cream sundae. Which will the vast majority of children immediately start scarfing down?
> 
> ...


I always say it's like McDonalds - same idea.

I'd suggest trying a couple of different brands until you find a good quality food that your dog will eat. Many dog foods are available in a sample sized bag (sometimes you have to ask). Also, some better stores will take food back if it doesn't work out. If she likes softer food, you could try adding some warm water to the kibble and let it sit for a few minutes until the kibble softens.


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## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

Tortoise, this may be an extremely stupid question, but would the raw freeze dried coating on that food (just looked it up, looks great!) need to be handled carefully, ie, to prevent any kind of bacteria spreading? Like, should I not let the kids touch it and hose down all surfaces it's touched with bleach haha kind of kidding about that but you get the idea. 


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

sophiebonita said:


> Tortoise, this may be an extremely stupid question, but would the raw freeze dried coating on that food (just looked it up, looks great!) need to be handled carefully, ie, to prevent any kind of bacteria spreading? Like, should I not let the kids touch it and hose down all surfaces it's touched with bleach haha kind of kidding about that but you get the idea.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


There is no labeling for different handling than other kibble. I handle ALL kibble as if contaminated because of the frequent recalls for bacterial contamination (that usually do NOT "go viral" like the recent Diamond recalls)


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## Bunny (Jun 14, 2012)

sophie, when I adopted Cookie, she was eating Pedigree or something from the grocery store. I got some kind of better (nutritionally) kibble and gradually started adding it to what she came with, increasing the proportions over time. I think I started with something like 8-to-1.

It took a couple of week, but she eventually ended up on the new kibble totally.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

If you are not ready for raw, have you considered home cooked? I do a mix of ground meats with bone and offal and some vegetables, cooked overnight on low temperature in a slow cooker, then frozen in meal size portions. Mine get it alternating with raw, but I know it is balanced enough to feed just the cooked if necessary - and I know exactly what they are getting and how it has been prepared.


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## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

Thanks fjm, but it's just not feasible for me at this time, I can barely cook for my kids ?

Tortoise, is the NVI very hard in texture? I noticed that when I wet some of the types of kibble she ate a little better, maybe doesn't like a super hard kibble. But after looking into it Id really like to try it. 


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