# Got our ZP sample! But Gemma doesn't like it, lol.



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

So, as I assumed, Gemma does not like the Venison ZP sample we've received, just like she doesn't like any of the ZP treats.

I have replaced the Acana in her food bowl with ZP now and am just leaving it there for her to take or leave. Do you think she will eat it eventually when she's hungry enough or could she really possibly hate it so much that she will starve herself? How long should I hold out and wait for her to eat it? When I was getting her to eat her Acana when she first came home, I first had to mix it with canned ZP, then when I eliminated the canned ZP and just gave her Acana, she wouldn't eat it for about 36 hours. She finally gave in though and has been eating it regularly ever since. Do you think the same will happen with this dry ZP or could she just possibly hate it so much that she won't ever eat it? Also not sure if I should try mixing it with a little canned ZP first to see if that will warm her up to it.

Suggestions for me and this little diva?


----------



## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

LOL Gemma you are a very naughty little girl!
A healthy dog won't starve itself. She will eat when she is hungry.


----------



## Chihuahuasloveme (Jan 8, 2010)

I added water to it so it wasn't do dry maybe u can try adding a bit so it's moist. My dogs love zp any flavor! Shame she's so picky must be frustrating at least it was a free sample!


----------



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Let's see... (you already know this) first step is to stop thinking of her as a diva! She is beyond precious but she is a dog. 

At work, does the employee decide when it is lunch time or morning start time? Nope. The manager does. Even really compassionate, thoughtful managers. 

She will eat it. 

Oh! Did you add some water to it?


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

Wicked Pixie said:


> LOL Gemma you are a very naughty little girl!
> A healthy dog won't starve itself. She will eat when she is hungry.


Yeah, she is such a turd. Turns her nose up to the most expensive foods. :foxes15: I guess I will just wait her out and maybe give her a little Nutrical if she doesn't eat for more than a day.



Chihuahuasloveme said:


> I added water to it so it wasn't do dry maybe u can try adding a bit so it's moist. My dogs love zp any flavor! Shame she's so picky must be frustrating at least it was a free sample!


I was thinking about doing that, but the problem with Gemma is that she is free fed because when I tried a morning and evening meal schedule, she would only eat the evening one and I didn't want her only eating once a day. I just gave up and started free feeding her. So the ZP will probably go to waste if she won't eat it when I add the water to it.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

jesuschick said:


> Let's see... (you already know this) first step is to stop thinking of her as a diva! She is beyond precious but she is a dog.
> 
> At work, does the employee decide when it is lunch time or morning start time? Nope. The manager does. Even really compassionate, thoughtful managers.
> 
> ...


Haha, thank you, Karen. Okay, so I will just wait her out and not give into her demands. I have not tried adding water to it yet because of the reasoning in my above post. I just don't want it to go to waste since it's so expensive. I remember trying to do that with her Acana kibble when she wouldn't eat it and she still didn't touch it with the water and it just turned into mushy stuff for the garbage.


----------



## Zorana1125 (Oct 24, 2010)

I tried feeding ZP a while ago and la wouldn't touch it. I even let her miss breakfast once and she still wouldn't eat it. ZP just didn't work for us


----------



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

I would still add water and then refrigerate it if you need to. You may pitch a bit to start with until she adjusts. Make a tiny amount. A couple of squares in water.


----------



## DKT113 (Nov 26, 2011)

Two things come to mind:
A healthy dog will not starve itself.
A dog, if given the chance, will walk all over you like a rug if you let it 

She's training you so you just need to change the tables on her.
If it were me and I don't know if it's the right call or not but as you are home with her and can monitor her health and safety ~ I would do whatever needed to be done to let her get a taste of the moistened food. Once she tasted it I would mix a few squares and show her it's in her bowl ready to be eaten. After 20 minutes I would lift the bowl. At next feeding time, I would show her "here are your yummies, get your teeth in if you are hungry" and again leave it down for 20 minutes. (I know going from free feed to scheduled feed can be scary as I just had to do that with our recent guy).

Once you get her a tad hungry she's going to be a bit more willing to "lower her standards" and eat something she hasn't quite learned is super desirable. She knows at this point if she holds firm, you'll cave and give into her. You just need to break that cycle and take the lead, and once she sees you mean business this time she'll learn if she doesn't eat she's going to be hungry. She should pick this up quickly. In saying that we have had some pretty headstrong, savvy dogs, that worked our heartstrings too ~ but Dad was always able to hold strong and get around feeding issues & I have been pretty lucky as well in the past. Even my new guy wasn't thrilled at first with new eating arrangements. A different brand and he now had meal time with a very active pup and scheduled feeds opposed to free feeding he had at his prior home ~ he wasn't used to any of that. I knew he was healthy, I knew he was getting a quality kibble & I knew he was working me ~ so I held strong and now you wouldn't know at all there was ever an issue/s.

They are so cute and can so easily be crafty. I would seriously hold strong and push with it and you should be able to get her to come around.


----------



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

dkt113 said:


> two things come to mind:
> A healthy dog will not starve itself.
> A dog, if given the chance, will walk all over you like a rug if you let it
> 
> ...


*YES! Every. Single. Word!!*


----------



## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

Don't worry, she will eat it. I battled with Lion for a while, but he gave in. Just stay strong! I know it is hard, but she isn't going to starve herself.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

DKT113 said:


> Two things come to mind:
> A healthy dog will not starve itself.
> A dog, if given the chance, will walk all over you like a rug if you let it
> 
> ...


THANK YOU! I will hold my ground. I was just worried she would like die and not eat if she really found it repulsive. But she is in good health as far as I know, so there should be no medical reason for her not to eat.

I think I will start by leaving the ZP down on its own, and once she starts eating it I am going to work her into a morning and evening feeding schedule since I intend to feed her fresh raw mixed with the ZP in half of her meals and that can't be left down freely.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

missy_r said:


> Don't worry, she will eat it. I battled with Lion for a while, but he gave in. Just stay strong! I know it is hard, but she isn't going to starve herself.


Thank you for the encouragement. You girls have made me believe she will eat it now, so I'm not going to give in unless she's not eating for several days, and then I would probably need to take her for a vet visit in that case anyways. Wish me luck!


----------



## Angel1210 (Mar 14, 2011)

YES - YES - YES!!!! I agree with karen and DKT113! You have to hold your ground. It's tough, but you will prevail!!

Our dogs tend to pick up on our preferences - you aren't a picky eater are you? lol.

She IS very hard to resist!!


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

Angel1210 said:


> YES - YES - YES!!!! I agree with karen and DKT113! You have to hold your ground. It's tough, but you will prevail!!
> 
> Our dogs tend to pick up on our preferences - you aren't a picky eater are you? lol.
> 
> She IS very hard to resist!!


LOL, I am a pretty picky eater. But once I'm hungry enough, I'll eat whatever I can find.


----------



## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

Good luck! It took Lion about a week of skipping every other meal before he gave in. Now, he eats what I put in front of him, no questions asked


----------



## BuddyAnLadyBug (Aug 13, 2012)

Good Luck! <3 You just have to play that tough love & hold your ground.

~Erica~


----------



## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Brody routinely skips meals, especially in the morning. Even if its something he usually really likes. I just stick it in the fridge and he gets it for dinner. Nothing else, no drama, just matter of fact. "You don't want to eat? Ok. You can try again later." No big deal.


----------



## pupluv168 (Mar 7, 2012)

I agree with the others. I can't believe she doesn't like it though. I thought Toby was picky, but he LOVED ZP. I hope she'll eat it with some tough love.


----------



## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Lol she might not eat it. When I tried to switch my Charm to Ziwipeak she went 6 days without taking a bite of food. Then she started to sugar crash so you know what, I had to give her what she was having before that she would eat lol.

A healthy dog will not starve itself, but chihuahuas do have hypoglycemia to contend with. I have no problem with tough love (obviously, I let my dog snub its food for 6 days) but we all should be aware there are extreme cases where a dog really, WONT, eat something lol.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

flippedstars said:


> Lol she might not eat it. When I tried to switch my Charm to Ziwipeak she went 6 days without taking a bite of food. Then she started to sugar crash so you know what, I had to give her what she was having before that she would eat lol.
> 
> A healthy dog will not starve itself, but chihuahuas do have hypoglycemia to contend with. I have no problem with tough love (obviously, I let my dog snub its food for 6 days) but we all should be aware there are extreme cases where a dog really, WONT, eat something lol.


Hmm, I hope that doesn't happen with Gemma. But if she's not eating for more than 2 or 3 days, I'm definitely going to give her something else, or try mixing the dry ZP with canned ZP since she likes the canned. I can be tough but I don't want to harm her in doing so.


----------



## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

You could mix the wet ZP with the dry if you want, since that worked for you the first time.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

missy_r said:


> You could mix the wet ZP with the dry if you want, since that worked for you the first time.


Yes, the only thing is I just don't want to make a habit out of it because the canned ZP is more expensive than the dry and unfortunately the dry is already pushing my budget. I have 2 cans of it leftover from when I was transitioning her on to Acana, so if she won't eat the dry on its own after a couple days, I'll try adding a teeny tiny bit of the canned to it.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

I just want to let everyone know that Gemma caved and ate a few squares of her ZP this morning.  It wasn't very much, but at least she ate it. She kept chewing them up and spitting half of them out, rofl. Then she'd run back and get another and repeat. But she did swallow most of it. I think she'll get used to it in a few days. I'm going to start schedule feeding her too because I notice the ZP dries out very quickly if I leave it down all day.


----------



## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

Yep, it dries out super quick. Maybe she just has an issue with the texture- it is a bit different than kibble. I am glad she finally ate some!


----------



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

I am confused. Are you not adding water??

Mine always get water added (not that it really mixes in, it sort of just sits in the water). That is not just something I did to get them used to it.

They will eat it dry and we offer it as treats because they love it so much but at her size I'd make it easier on her (and her kidneys) by adding water.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

missy_r said:


> Yep, it dries out super quick. Maybe she just has an issue with the texture- it is a bit different than kibble. I am glad she finally ate some!


Yeah, I think that was the issue to begin with. She looks absolutely hilarious when she's eating it the way she chews it. I've had to break it up into 1/4 size of the square pieces to get her used to it. She had no idea what to do with the full sized squares at first. She's eating it pretty well now. Not a ton, but she had a few bites for breakfast and a little bit more for dinner. Hopefully tomorrow she eats more of a full meal each time.



jesuschick said:


> I am confused. Are you not adding water??
> 
> Mine always get water added (not that it really mixes in, it sort of just sits in the water). That is not just something I did to get them used to it.
> 
> They will eat it dry and we offer it as treats because they love it so much but at her size I'd make it easier on her (and her kidneys) by adding water.


I did try adding water, actually. She wouldn't touch it with water.  She's eating it dry. First last night I made a little dish with a few broken pieces in water and she wouldn't touch it. So then this morning she staretd eating it dry, and I took the dry up and offered her a bowl with water and small pieces, and then she wouldn't eat it. I gave the dry bowl back and she ate some more. I then tried to sneak her a wet piece by hand while she was eating and she spit it out and left it on the floor.

I know it's better to add water to dry foods, but she never eats anything when I add water. I tried doing it with her Acana before too and she wouldn't touch it and I just threw away bowl after bowl of it like that. She's so ridiculously picky. I'm trying what I can. I'm just happy she's actually eating the ZP at all now because I really want to feed it to her. After I get her eating the ZP on its own well enough, she's going to start getting several fresh raw chicken and pork meals (most affordable meats we can find here) with a little ZP mixed in per week, so at least she will get good hydration with those meals.


----------



## Finn (Sep 14, 2010)

How did you receive a free sample? I went to the ZP website and couldn't locate anything. (Yeah, yeah gimme freebies.)

I am seriously thinking about bumping up my fur kids from Blue Buffalo to ZP or similar.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

Finn said:


> How did you receive a free sample? I went to the ZP website and couldn't locate anything. (Yeah, yeah gimme freebies.)
> 
> I am seriously thinking about bumping up my fur kids from Blue Buffalo to ZP or similar.


I used the contact form on the ZP website and just asked if I could receive a sample and selected to be contacted by a sales representative. A sales rep from the Swedish distributor then called us and said they would mail a sample to our local pet store for us to pick up. We got a 226g sample of the venison dry. Quite a nicely sized sample bag. It's going to last Gemma at least two weeks for sure. She doesn't eat very much.


----------



## Finn (Sep 14, 2010)

Wow. You're good. You ought to go into business!


----------



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Finn said:


> Wow. You're good. You ought to go into business!


It is easy to do, that is how I got started on ZP almost 2 years ago. It does not take anything special. The contact form is right on their site. Be certain to use the USA (perhaps North America) form rather than the one for all other countries.


----------



## Onyx (Nov 28, 2011)

A Chi that doesn't dive right in and love Ziwipeak? Shocker lol. My super picky girl LOOOVED Ziwipeak the moment I put it down.

Karen, if you don't mind me asking, how much water do you add to the Ziwipeak? I tried adding water before and Onyx didn't eat it either. I think I might have added too much water so she didn't see it as food ha.


----------



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Not much at all. A bit more than 1/3 cup divided by 3 dishes.


----------



## OzChi (Oct 26, 2011)

> I think I might have added too much water so she didn't see it as food


Weird, mine love it if I make it extra sloppy, they slurp down all the water first and then eat it, they make a mess though so I don't usually do it on purpose.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

Well, Gemma really wasn't eating anything since those last few bites she had yesterday, so I gave in and mixed a little spoon of the canned ZP into the dry. She wolfed it down that way, but she did leave several pieces of the dry behind after putting them in her mouth and spitting them out. I just wanted to get something into her because she had only had a few bites in the past 48 hours. She is still a small girl, only 2.6lbs. I don't want her becoming hypoglycemic. I gave her some nutrical this morning as well. Not really sure what to do. She was very lethargic this morning and had a huge diarrhea mess in our bed last night. I woke up this morning and was wondering where she was, then I found the mess on top of our blanket and she was laying in her bed looking very ashamed, and she NEVER sleeps in her own bed. She knew she had an accident and I felt bad for her because I'm the one forcing her to eat this food.


----------



## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

I would just keep mixing a little bit of the canned food in if it got her to eat a little. You can gradually reduce it like you did last time.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

missy_r said:


> I would just keep mixing a little bit of the canned food in if it got her to eat a little. You can gradually reduce it like you did last time.


I think that's what I'm going to do. Maaaaybe, if she really won't eat it without the canned, I will just buy the canned as well. I only use like a teaspoon each time so it wouldn't be too much more expensive than just buying the dry. I do hope she learns to just eat the dry, though.


----------



## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

You could also divide up the canned into plastic baggies and freeze it so it won't go to waste. An open can only lasts a week, and if you are only giving a tiny amount you won't go through it fast enough.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

missy_r said:


> You could also divide up the canned into plastic baggies and freeze it so it won't go to waste. An open can only lasts a week, and if you are only giving a tiny amount you won't go through it fast enough.


I actually always immediately put half of the can into an airtight container and freeze it for that reason.


----------



## Onyx (Nov 28, 2011)

LittleGemma said:


> I actually always immediately put half of the can into an airtight container and freeze it for that reason.


That's a great idea, I always just feed my dog big can food meals as not to waste it ha. Does the texture remain the same after freezing once it's thawed?

Also, anyone know if freezing will destroy any of the nutrients/vitamins?


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

Onyx said:


> That's a great idea, I always just feed my dog big can food meals as not to waste it ha. Does the texture remain the same after freezing once it's thawed?
> 
> Also, anyone know if freezing will destroy any of the nutrients/vitamins?


I have to admit, the texture seems a little drier and watery after freezing rather than moist and greasy like it is fresh. I would like to know if freezing destroys the nutrients also, though.


----------



## Jayar (Feb 6, 2012)

Have you checked her teeth? Sometimes if there is pain in the mouth, the dog does not like the jerkey texture. Kibble is different because it crunches relatively easily, and of course canned is soft and they like that... But the dry ZP causes the dog to really need to CHEW and if something is sore, the dog may not cave and eat.

Another suggestion is to cut the squares into 1/4's (I do it every day for using Epic's food as training treats) and if she eats those, you may certainly suspect pain when chewing. At that size, Epic just swallows and I don't think she chews at all.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

Well, I mixed a tiny bit of canned with her dry again for dinner and this time she spit out every single piece of the dry after putting it in her mouth and licking all the wet off of it. I even ripped every single square up into 1/4 pieces, so they were tiny. I tried giving her 1/8 of a square by hand and she put it in her mouth and spit it out. I don't think it is a pain problem in her teeth since she won't even swallow a spec of the dry. I am very frustrated. Feel like just giving up and putting her back on Acana.


----------



## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

This thread is interesting to me. I posted something yesterday about possibly switching to Ziwipeak. I didn't realize it is so tough to switch them over. Since Lady is 4, I wonder if it is worth it to even try. She seems to be doing well on her 4health dry and that food is $7.00 for a 5 pound bag.....hmmmm. Good luck on switching over Gemma.


----------



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

It is a VERY easy food to switch to! I switched 3 dogs very easily. One with chronic colitis. 

After the Diamond Food recalls, I no longer suggest 4health as I did previous.


----------



## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

Jayda said:


> This thread is interesting to me. I posted something yesterday about possibly switching to Ziwipeak. I didn't realize it is so tough to switch them over. Since Lady is 4, I wonder if it is worth it to even try. She seems to be doing well on her 4health dry and that food is $7.00 for a 5 pound bag.....hmmmm. Good luck on switching over Gemma.


I use ZP as a fill in when traveling and for emergencies (I usually feed raw) and also for fosters sometimes and have never had a dog refuse to eat it. To most dogs it is a very palatable food and super easy to get them on (I had a 14 year old foster chi on it once). Don't let this thread scare you away.

I did have one suggestion. If you put water in it and let it sit for like a few hours it really turns into mush, that would solve any texture issues you are having right? Cause if you put water in it and feed it right away it is just jerkey floating in water, I can see how it would seem the same to her as just jerkey.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

Jayda said:


> This thread is interesting to me. I posted something yesterday about possibly switching to Ziwipeak. I didn't realize it is so tough to switch them over. Since Lady is 4, I wonder if it is worth it to even try. She seems to be doing well on her 4health dry and that food is $7.00 for a 5 pound bag.....hmmmm. Good luck on switching over Gemma.


Don't be worried, Gemma is just unusually picky. I'm 95% sure Lady will love it, like almost every other dog in the world.

I actually gave up. She's just back to eating her Acana now. After 3 days of eating maybe ike 7 or 8 ZP squares and two tablespoons of ZP wet total, she was getting very lethargic and she even looked like she lost some weight. I can't believe she was starving herself over just eating the damn ZP.

Perhaps we will just be able to switch her to fresh raw soon. She really loves any fresh raw. I just need to convince my boyfriend that it's not that expensive. I think ZP is possibly even more expensive than just feeding fresh raw. Going to have to talk to local butchers and see if they have any decently priced cuts for raw feeding.


----------



## LittleGemma (Apr 1, 2012)

doginthedesert said:


> I did have one suggestion. If you put water in it and let it sit for like a few hours it really turns into mush, that would solve any texture issues you are having right? Cause if you put water in it and feed it right away it is just jerkey floating in water, I can see how it would seem the same to her as just jerkey.


Oh, I did let a bowl of it sit in water overnight, and she still refused to touch it. It didn't really seem like mush to me, just more like soggy jerky. I really tried absolutely everything with her. It's back to Acana for now, but hopefully I'll be able to replace that with fresh raw in the near future. We need to see what's available from butchers aside from what is put out for sale in the grocery store. So far we've only found affordable cuts of chicken and pork, but everything else is way too expensive. Maybe 20% fat ground hamburger isn't too bad, but is that okay to feed? I just need to find more affordable red meats, and then we can make the switch.


----------



## Rocky (Jan 25, 2010)

I honestly wouldnt do such a big fuzz about it. The more you are modifying in order to make her like it the pikier shes gonna get. Rocky is like that sometimes and I find that the more I try to make him eat his food the more difficult he is getting about his food. If i however just leave it how it is and don't give him another option he will eat it eventually when he is really hungry.

So I would just leave it as it is and if she is not eating it than leave it for the next meal. I am sure she will eat it eventually once really hungry.


----------



## KayC (May 3, 2005)

I have to break up the ZP into 4 pieces for Chloe then she will gobble it up.


----------



## bella2013 (Aug 10, 2012)

This is interesting to me, too. I've been trying off and on for the past week to get Bella on to the ZP. She will literally not eat for three days. She will not even put the tiny pieces of ZP in her mouth to taste. I'm not going to risk my TINY girl going into a hypoglycemic episode. It's not worth it to me to force something on her. However, I am switching her kibble to something that's much better for her than what she's on now. I'm switching her to Nutro Ultra Small Breed and for a topper I'm using a grain free canned food. Some dogs just are very picky eaters and I don't necessarily agree with forcing something on them.


----------

