# Breakfast fuss



## Lilith (Jan 10, 2014)

I adopted my girl 3 weeks ago and for the first week we had her she absolutely demolished both her breakfast and dinner every day. 

The second week she didn't eat much because she was mid season but now in this third week I'm having trouble with her eating breakfast. Every day she takes a few bites then completely ignores it. At dinner, she eats is so fast she's been sick once or twice (don't want her to eat that fast but I'm glad she does). 

As a consequence, I'm having to give her more treats during the day so her blood sugar doesn't get too low. Does anyone know why she might barely be touching breakfast but fine at dinner? Could it be that she's still at the end of her season and just still not right? She eats Royal Canin Adult Chihuahua food.

Thanks for any suggestions.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

I posted on that other thread about the royal canin. I would change to a higher quality food as a first step, but it sounds like you are doing that anyway! Something with more meat is probably going to be more tasty.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

Try feeding her at lunchtime instead of in the morning perhaps? I agree with Annie about changing the food to a better quality one, it sounds like she doesn't like the RC much and only eats it when she is really hungry.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

Ill answer you on this thread about the raw. I do feed raw- and for me it is cheaper than a premium kibble, and you can get most everything you need at a people supermarket. I think home-made raw is best- but you do have to put in some research to do it. The main block is your time and willingness to research in my opinion. 

If you are ordering your food in and want a product you can just go out and buy then a pre-made raw (either frozen or dehydrated) would be a better choice than kibble in my opinion. Or you could feed part pre made raw and part home made. A few people on here do a raw meal in the morning then a pre-made meal at night. If you do that you don't have to worry as much about balancing your raw diet and you can make things work with less variety of meat.

I don't know what is available in the UK, but you could consider Stella & Chewys as a good pre made patty that comes frozen or dry. Or primal. Or ziwipeak.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

Stella would know what pre-made raw would be available to order in the UK  Wicked Pixie?? Come to my rescue.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

We don't have Stella & Chewys or Primal here (at least not as far as I know, you may be able to order in the dried versions) but we do have ZiwiPeak. The best pre-made UK raw IMO is Nutriment, (nutriment.co) but Honey's and Natural Instinct are also good.


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## Lilith (Jan 10, 2014)

Thanks for answering here, sorry for slightly hijacking that other thread. I was just looking at the Nutriment actually after it came out highly in whichdogfood.co.uk. 

Going to go look at Ziwipeak now too. I'm guessing I should stick to either raw or dried/kibble and not mix the two? If I bought Nutriment would I work out how much she needs in a similar way to now (33g per day is what she needs from dried food according to the calculator)? 

If I were to feed her a similar weight then it isn't all that expensive. I'd prefer that to home-prepared for the moment just so I know she's getting everything she needs. I can then research home prepared meals afterwards. I like that Nutriment offers a variety of meat types too.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

Lilith said:


> Going to go look at Ziwipeak now too. I'm guessing I should stick to either raw or dried/kibble and not mix the two? If I bought Nutriment would I work out how much she needs in a similar way to now (33g per day is what she needs from dried food according to the calculator)?
> 
> If I were to feed her a similar weight then it isn't all that expensive. I'd prefer that to home-prepared for the moment just so I know she's getting everything she needs. I can then research home prepared meals afterwards. I like that Nutriment offers a variety of meat types too.


You could feed one meal of raw and one meal of the pre-made or dried. A lot of people do that without a problem. You also can feed mostly pre-made or kibble and give raw bones a few times a week. You don't have to stick to just one thing for every meal if you don't want to.

I am not sure what form the nutriment takes so I don't know how much you would feed. Maybe they have feeding guidelines on their website to give you an idea.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

Nutriment is a great product at a very good price. I get the 1.4kg chubs, allow to defrost slightly and cut it into slices, re-freeze,then just defrost a slice when I need it. It works out even cheaper than the 500g tubs that way. You will need to feed approximately 3% of her body weight daily, depending on her activity level.
You can feed ZiwiPeak alongside raw without issues, if you want to feed a quality kibble I would feed raw at one meal and kibble at the other. Lots of people combine the two, it is up to you and what fits in the best with your routine.


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## Lilith (Jan 10, 2014)

I've decided I'm going to go with raw feed from now on, starting with pre-made frozen or dried meals. I'll look at both ZiwiPeak and Nutriment in detail and see what I think is best for us. Once my girl is settled on raw feed I do research on the forum here and start preparing my own for her evening meal.

Do you guys also avoid processed treats and chews? Right now I have 1-2 calorie training treats, as well as a bunch of (Pedigree) chews and biscuits. She gets half a biscuit a day and a little cooked chicken/beef for her other treat. I had it all worked out to ensure she didn't put on too much weight. 

If I swap to the raw diet, do you think I should be changing her treats and chews too? All of your opinions are hugely appreciated btw, my girl will thank you!


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

Yes, I don't let them have any grains, or processed sugary snacks. You will be surprised how much sugar they put in dog treats, even so called 'dental' chews lol. They are bad for their teeth, I like them to have snacks/chews that are good for their teeth and won't upset their tummies. There are loads of healthy dog treats available now, bully sticks/pizzles, dried tripe sticks, paddywack, trachea rings, chicken feet, tendons etc. I use broken up pieces of Ziwi or dried liver for training treats. Cooked meat is a great training treat too.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

I am the same as Stella as far as treats. I give "processed" treats- but only from companies I trust and I look out for ingredients like sugar and by-prodicts. I will give my dogs the occasional treat with grains because none of my dogs are sensitive, but there are no grains as part of their diet. I think I am probably a lot "looser" with treats than other raw feeders but I am very careful about only using trusted companies for anything processed.


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## Lilith (Jan 10, 2014)

Thanks Pixie, I'm going to order some stuff now. It's a shame ziwipeak is so expensive (About £27 for 1kg, eek!) since I'd prefer to not have to defrost the frozen stuff. 

I'll start with a few different flavours of the Nutriment chubs and buy a bag of Ziwi for treats (it's a bit too expensive for me to buy for meals at the moment). I'll then grab some bully sticks, etc for chews. Following that I'll research making my own.

Last question I promise (famous last words): if I go with the above plan, how do you suggest I go about changing from her existing food? Should I start mixing it with the current kibble or give her it for one meal initially, etc?

Oh, and I'll check the sugar content of the treats I do have. I think I'm going to be throwing away a lot of stuff I just bought!


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

If it is a frozen raw then I believe you should change cold turkey. Once you get it toss out the royal canin and just start up with the Nutriment. Stick to one "flavor" of the nutriment for a week or so at least until any digestive upset goes away. 

That's how i would go to frozen raw but wickedpixie is more familiar with that particular food so I bet she will chime in if I am wrong.


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## Lilith (Jan 10, 2014)

Everything is ordered and should be here in a couple of days. I'll let you know how it goes! Really, thank you both for being so patient and helpful.


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## I<3Charlie-chi (Feb 25, 2011)

I'm in uk and get my ziwipeak online from either petplanet or viovet, both charge £17.99 per 1kg bag. Free delivery if you spend £39 with petplanet or £29 with viovet. Hope this helps! X


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## Lilith (Jan 10, 2014)

Oh that's a whole £10 cheaper than Amazon! Thank you, I'll definitely grab some from there. Would be good to use ziwi in addition to nutriment.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

I feed raw, and found Ziwi Peak very handy to have in for the puppies. It is easier to take with you if you might be out at a mealtime, and you can leave it down overnight if you have a tiny puppy. It also makes great training treats, that are both tasty and nutritious.


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## Lilith (Jan 10, 2014)

Thought I'd leave an update on how Kali is getting on with her food. She's been eating the chicken Nutriment for about 5-6 days now and she loves it! The first day or so she sniffed it a lot and licked it but wouldn't eat it. After withholding a meal or two I managed to get her to eat it and I couldn't be happier.

Every meal she paces around in anticipation as I'm putting it in her bowl. Her stools are great, in so far as stools can be. I'll start her on beef and duck soon too. I also got a back of ziwipeak treats, some lamb and chicken necks and a small antler, though she's touched none of these unfortunately. The main this is that meals are sorted.

Thank you so much for all your help and advice!


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

Yay, that is great news  The beef variety is actually boneless, so you can feed alongside a meaty bone for dental health if you wish. Just keep offering new things she should change her mind. My mum feeds Nutriment, and it took months before her dogs would actually eat a bone lol.


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## Lilith (Jan 10, 2014)

I have a quick question for you Pixie if you don't mind. Yesterday and today I found a small poop in each of her beds. They were very little, about the size of a grape. Her stools are quite firm since this diet which I am pleased with, but could she be constipated?

She hasn't gone in either of her beds before, and since they're so small I'm wondering if she's having trouble going and they're getting stuck. Delightful topic I know! If she is a little constipated, is there anything else I can give her to make them a little softer?


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

It could be that her poos are too firm, the complete raw diets do tend to be bone-heavy. Are her poos dry, crumbly, or chalky looking? If it is too much bone, a little liver usually gets things moving and balances it out. It could be that she isn't fully digesting all the bone yet as she is new to raw. If so, it will improve over time, or she might need the complete food 'diluting' with some plain meat to lower the bone content. They really vary in how much bone they can tolerate.
As a raw feeder, I spend a lot of time looking at and analysing their poo lol. You know you are a raw feeder when you ask 'how were their poos?' and the answer is 'lovely!' lol


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## Lilith (Jan 10, 2014)

Actually, for the first 2-3 days I mixed a little cooked chicken in with her raw to get her to eat it. The last couple of days I've stopped so perhaps the reduced meat to bone ratio is the cause. They do seem a little dry and crumbly yes, the first one I picked up I thought it was a crumbled biscuit till I inspected it closer. 

I'll be starting to give her beef this week two which as you mentioned, has less bone. So hopefully she'll adjust soon and if not, I'll supplement a little liver. Thanks!


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

Sounds like a plan  With raw it is always a matter of watching the poo and adjusting the food accordingly.


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