Puppy refusing Kibble

[Brazilianut]

I carried on the breeders brand of Kibble which was fine until yesterday - he sees it and turns his nose up and walks away.

He ate a bowl this morning and half his portion at lunch but nothing since then but is begging from the family having supper. Treats also welcome.

I’m worried about him not having an evening meal with only having had half of lunch too.

Is this a phase?

What do you all feed your pup?

What should I do, let him go without or cook some protein?

Have you added a bit of hot water to it to make it easier for him to eat?( Slightly mush it up with a fork after its softened with hot water. )

@bungleZippy12 he did have it like that before but progressed to dry

Perhaps I’ll try that and see

Kibble is really boring though so I can totally understand why dogs often turn their noses up at it.

Compare that to wet, cooked or raw which is smellier and tastier. I think dogs eat with their noses in terms of smell taste.

Some people hold out in the opinion that if they are hungry enough they will eat it.

Others use toppers so kibble sprinkled with something smellier to make it tastier.

Yes, are you wetting it down?

Our dog went through this as a puppy, pestering for food but not eating what was offered. After many months of this it turned out she had multiple dietary intolerances, and somehow she knew it! She's still allergic to life in general but she wolfs her, enormously expensive specialist brand food these days.

@BiteyShark agree it must be so boring!

What cooked foods do you give to your dog? Looking for inspiration...

@FurrySlipperBoots I was wetting it down before then went dry, I’m wetting some now to see if it makes a difference.

I’m worried now as he was sniffing around the garden...I hope he didn’t eat anything untoward.

I give mine cooked chicken in the morning and wet tinned food in the evening.

However, he is an adult now so I don't worry too much but when he was a puppy I moved from kibble to complete wet foods to make sure he had all the nutrients he needed.

Just give him some wet food or buy him some mince or chicken.
When I had my first dog in the 80’s the breeder insisted on feeding him this horrible dry food called eubacanooba ( forgotten how to spell it).
Utter rubbish. Give your dog real food 🥘 Dogs have been sharing our leftovers for thousands of years. The pet food industry is comparatively recent.

A bit of warm water will bring out the flavour.
Or you could make some very weak gravy/stock and pour that over.

Otherwise for a bit of variety I occasionally mix in some grated cheese, some tinned tuna/sardines in oil, some yoghurt etc Just to make it more interesting.

It is fairly normal. Is the kibble high quality? Not all kibble is equal, we went through 2or 3 before finding one the dpup likes and we think meets her dietary requirements. She also gets one of her meals as kibble mixed with canned dog food.

I feel awful, I wet the kibble and he’s devouring it. He’s extra bitey so I wondered if he was teething but it’s too early for that apparently.

Thank you all for your suggestions and tips. Sardines, eggs, beef chicken I am going to be introducing and I know he’ll love that.

@Frenchfancy it’s called Natures Range a Puppy Starter - it’s what his breeder said she used. Not sure if that’s any good?

My dog is 7years old and still likes his kibble with a bit of water. It releases the flavour.

Kibble is boring. We popped tripe in his as he was used to it from breeder then some wet meat mixed gently through now we don’t bowl feed at all. He eats too fast and I use his kibble for training. Same he’d get in a bowl measured for the day abs used all sorts of ways - kong, licky mat, scatter feeds, i hide in cardboard boxes and he searches for it, he’s much more settled and it’s good fun.
You can still give some in the bowl we did until we fed completely elsewhere. He’s got a play ball too that’s great fun. Keeps him busy if I need to see to the kids/eat/on the phone or whatever or even just if he’s a bit overwhelmed, the kong and licky mat settle him lovely. He’s a big dog so wasn’t keen on the speed he ate. A lot of our training is play based so kibble is ideal for that.

If you’re not keen on kongs etc I added meat to his food then gradually weaned it down and stopped it and he just ate - or inhaled then puked that’s the main reason we changed it up, he’s got a puzzle feeder too to slow things down. I’m sure you’ll find a way for him to enjoy his kibble again, we changed food as our original had chicken protein in and he’s allergic to that so is on fish/potato/asparagus - the wind is gross though but do overlap slowly as their tummies are quite delicate. We did it quickly as old food was making his tummy upset.

Thanks so much, really appreciate your replies and advice.

I’ll change it up slowly for him.

My dog mostly eats raw - it’s not for everyone but she literally dances when she sees it coming whereas kibble was just “meh”. However at daycare or when she’s with my sister (you don’t kids) I give her forthglade wet food which is very high quality and she loves that too. Also loves bits of veg and fruit (carrots, apples, blueberries, frozen peas and roasted butternut squash are favourites) - might be worth a try?

That should say “young kids”

That sounds really good @Cripesalive

So you combine wet food with raw?

I might give either wet food or cook my own proteins a go combined with raw. He loves food so I think he’ll like everything.

Yes - I know some raw purists say you shouldn’t mix but my pup is in great health and her digestion has improved massively since I moved her off kibble. The wet allows me to be a lot more flexible than just feeding raw whilst I know it’s good quality stuff. I don’t give her a lot of leftovers because I tend to cook with quite a bit of salt/spices etc but if I’m cooking eg salmon I’ll cook a little plain bit separately for her. She’s probably a bit spoilt

@Cripesalive sounds spoilt but that’s part and parcel of having a gorgeous pup, I am planning on sardines with boiled egg for his lunch today. I have boiled egg once and it was wolfed down in record time but boy, the amount of poo after it