Butternut box tell me!

[hollybollyy]

Is it any good? I've got a very scrawny rescue border terrier who is 18 months old and 3.6 kg so very underweight. She's a failed foster in that we've adopted her ! She's been here 24 hours and oh my god I'm in love. I need to get her off the bakers she's been on since god knows when as her behaviour is appalling on it, I think it's full of shit frankly. Our other dog is raw fed but she's got no interest in it at all. Doesn't have a clue what to do.

I know she's been through a lot and needs love but I need to think about this long term, I know that she might not be eating because she's stressed, she's decided that DHs chest is the safest place to sleep, and I gave her some cold raw, warmed up? (Cooked)? Raw.. frozen entire fish and then finally the bakers that came with her out of desperation. She needs to eat and ate that. But not any more.

Please help ! Our last rescue ate anything and everything!!

Is she thin? I've added a photo

Aww, she looks so thin. :( Sorry, can't help with your enquiry but just wanted to say, what a lovely thing you are doing. I'm sure doggy will settle in soon. Thank you.

@73kittycat73 thanks. Poor thing has latched onto us, I 100% thought she wouldn't want to know us as she's been living kind of feral in a garden alone for months until some kind soul decided to hop over and grab her but nope she's obsessed with DH and I, need to sleep on us bless her. We need a name for her. Maybe I should start a new thread for that?

She answers to dickhead

To be honest I'd get as many different decent quality dog foods as you can... most of the good ones do free (or £1) samples to try.
Go on allaboutdogfood.com and have a look at their good rated stuff... wet and dry, and try a few . Contrary to popular belief most dogs don't need really slow adjustments to different foods if you try a little at a time.
Meantime... while not perfect, I'd be trying her on anything to tempt her appetite.. cheese... chicken slices...

I have a non eating dog.. orginally I wanted her to be raw fed but we wasted SO much expensive stuff..Paleo Ridge etc that she refused that in the end I had to compromise.. she now eats Wolfworthy kibble with a topping of chicken bits or ham (I know ) for breakfast and in the evening she has human mince..cooked.. or chicken, sometimes she will accept raw tripe, and the only raw she regularly likes is chicken wing tips.. just the tips, that our butcher saves for me. She will simply not eat if she doesnt like it.
She never turns down cheese so I use a little grated on foods if she hasn't eaten all day... yes she has me under her thumb but otherwise she's be very thin.

Have you joined the facebook 'Dog training advice and support' group? If not I REALLY reccomend it. The don't discuss food, but have a lot of help for rescue dogs... the basic advice is to not push anything at first. not too much attention even because the dog will need a lot of time to adjust even if she looks happy.

It sounds like she is very lucky to have found you :)

@StillMedusa thank you! It's been so long since we've had a dog who refuses food! Our other dog thought it was Christmas when she didn't eat any of the food today and has just hoovered it all up for her stupid dog! Going to join that group. I'm
Going to try some samples you're right I need to get a bloody ton of stuff in to see what she likes 🤦‍♀️

She answers to dickhead

:( I can't understand people sometimes...
Still, at least someone rescued her, and now you are giving her the lovely life she deserves. Good luck, and I'd start a new thread for a name too.

So far our best successes (with kibble type stuff) have been Wolfworthy ..smells strong, and Lily's kitchen. We also tried Orijen which is supposed to be the best but she refused outright . I don't like kibble,..I really wanted to raw feed but she just didnt like the texture of the complete stuff and was bemused by whole chunks of real meat. The wing tips are great..small, and she likes to hunt for them..so gross tho it sounds if I offer one she will ignore, but if I run and chuck it... oh yes.
I also find that scattering kibble and... pretending I want to eat it, makes mine keener to eat, but that might be a bit early in your relationship!

As your new girl is very thin I don't think cheese would hurt :) I know it's not good for them(like us!) in large amounts but mine is much more likely to try her food if it has a little layer of grated cheese on.

Mine also does not like bowls... and if your rescue has been living feral she might not either, try chucking food on the floor bit by bit.I spend a lot of time cleaning the kitchen floor afterwards but I'd rather than than a hungry dog.

Then again I may just be a sucker... :)

@StillMedusa yes I think that might be one of her issues, the collar she wears hits the bowl and makes a noise which scares her so she'll eat a bit out of a plastic bowl but not much but was eating loads in the garden when I threw it out of the door in desperation. She was happier with frozen raw than defrosted tbh.

Hmm lots to think about. I think I might have some Millie's Wolfheart in the cupboard from when we had another foster a while ago might try her with that in the morning.

It's almost like she wants to save it all for later? We have french doors onto the garden and when she was given food earlier she took it out into the garden and buried it. Then in the house she hid the fish under the other dog whilst he was asleep .

Should I post a photo of her face? Help me think of a name for her :)

Oh please :) (I'm still up cos my DD1 is a young doctor on a coronavirus ward and oddly enough sleep doesn't come easily...)
Pics are always essential :)

I'd take the collar off... mine doesn't wear one. My girl wears a harness outside with the tag on that but nothing in the house... she's a mega fluffy Eurasier so no one could see her collar anyway!

She answers to dickhead

I think I’m a bit emotional tonight but that’s really broke my heart. I’ve read that on here once before. What’s wrong with people?

It sounds like she has found a lovely home with you.

Should I post a photo of her face?

Do you really need to ask? I already know she’s going to be beautiful.

Butternut is amazing! My dog is the pickiest dog in the world but she scoffs it. It’s literally the only dog food that I’ve ever persuaded her to eat regularly. It’s excellent quality and is actually human grade food, you could eat it yourself if you wanted to. Definitely give it a go!

Look at that face! I think bramble as it's nice and strong. DH was very much of the opinion 'one more foster but we're not adopting!' Then she fell asleep on his chest and he conceded maybe she'd picked us! So she's ours for the next 18 or so years through thick and thin

This may get slated here, but... my DS has a rescue and had been struggling to get him to eat. My dog went to stay on holiday when we went away, packed his biscuits and meat for the stay. DS dog ate well the whole time we were away and put on some weight and is now eating regular

Wasn’t an expensive choice though, Langhams grain free biscuits from Aldi

@hollybollyy he’s gorgeous! No wonder you couldn’t help but adopt him!

She sorry

I knew it. She is absolutely beautiful. She sounds very special and clever knowing just how to get your DH on side

Bramble suits her perfectly. I’m going to stop reading Mumsnet for the night, this was just what I needed to send me off to sleep feeling happy after some not so pleasant threads. So thank you. She really is lovely. ❤️

Bramble is a lovely name! I do love border terriers, they are the most loving dogs and amazing characters. Have one asleep on my feet right now 🥰

Bramble is a lovely name for a lovely dog. She's definitely landed on her paws with you and your DH, though I think you guys may be the luckier ones!

I had a rescue cat who had issues with food. Instead of hiding it she'd always leave a few biscuits in her bowl, so that she knew there'd be some let when she went back. It took many years until she emptied her bowl and even then it was a rarity.

She'd also rake through piles of dirt (when sweeping up) and look through plastic bags for anything that might be edible. It was heartbreaking!

Oh what a dear little face! Bramble is perfect!

If Tesco basic dog food is good enough for the Queen's corgis....

I really like butternut box, and have had a subscription for about a year. The only thing I would say is minimum order is a months supply which takes up an entire drawer of our freezer... so consider if you have the space first?

My mum's Romanian rescue dog gets Butternut Box food and she's certainly filled out now! She was also very thin and has clearly been mistreated. So glad Bramble has a good home now We feed Lukullus tins, which are not quite as expensive but DDog really likes them. I think the wet is a bit more appetising when they're not great eaters or reluctant.

Hello OP. Just wondered how you were all getting on :) has she settled in? Did you go for butternut box?

Oh can you move this to the doggy section, so we can find it and stay updated easily, pretty please OP

Been using Butternut for a few months now and DDogs LOVE it! They absolutely cannot get enough of it. It's frozen ( my DSis didn't realize that ) so make sure you have the freezer space.

Bramble is an epic name!!!!

Re. Butternut - I really rate them. When my old girl was still with us, I switched her to butternut when she lost her appetite. She absolutely adored the stuff and it suited her very well and I definitely think it helped us massively in those last months.