# my fussy chihuahua



## codyann (Sep 8, 2010)

hi i am feeding my 1 year old chihuahua on mince meat and buiscuits, as she is a very ussy eater i have tried loads of diferant foods and she normally turns her nose up at it and walks off. so i have started feeding her on mince meat and buiscuits is that ok for my chihuahua? or should i be mixing up up with something else? 

thanks


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## Natti (Jun 24, 2010)

Honestly, Id go for either a high-quality kibble or raw diet, and just give her some tough love - Eat It or Go Hungry. I know its hard, but its better for her as I highly doubt that meat and biscuits is a complete diet for her.


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

What sort of biscuits are you talking about?? Like a dry dog food??

Fussy dogs are caused buy their owners normally!! 

I'd put her on a good quality kibble like orijen or acana even better would be a dehydrated raw like ziwipeak (you can get samples sent) or even better a raw diet


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## codyann (Sep 8, 2010)

roxi has allways been a fussy eater since i had her of another family. i was feeding her beta puppy for a while and she was ok with it but afta a while she didnt eat it, before that i tried her on wagg for puppys also i have tried her on james well beloved and she didnt eat that either. ive never heard of orijen or acana and ive never heard of feeing a raw diet till i joined this forum. i have spoken to some other chihuahua owners and they said that there dog just eats what they give them.
i do stick to my guns and i have a set time for her meal and she has no treats in the day and she still didnt eat the food ive listed above, so i tried mince meat and TROPHY buiscuits and she seems to eat that. 

so is mince meat not good for her?


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## cherper (May 8, 2009)

I highly doubt it. if she doesn't like kibble then I would suggest what sarah did and say try the ziwipeak samples or raw. I bet she would like one of those. And they would have the nutrients she needs. You can find out about feeding those here from one of the many on this forum, i'm sure they could answer your ?s.
Good luck


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## codyann (Sep 8, 2010)

i have not seem ziwipeak in the shops in the uk can i get it here? what do you feed your dog on? i dont get the whole raw diet thing, ive never heard of anyone feeding there dog it. :S


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## *Chloe* (Feb 6, 2006)

yes u can buy ziwipeak in the uk i think mainly online but this website has a stockist locator Approved Stockists | Bern Pet Foods .co.uk


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## codyann (Sep 8, 2010)

ok thanks i will have a look  BTW your chis are stunning!


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

If you go on ziwipeaks website you can send a message asking for a sample and they will send you a couple

Tbh and I'm gonna be blunt you have been feeding the worse possible food for a dog anything you can buy in a supermarket (wagg, pedigree, butchers etc) is crap and probably doing more bad than good I wouldn't feed my dustbin wagg. The main ingredients are corn which are hard for dogs to digest, grains are not needed and are used as fillers dogs do not use carbohydrates for energy they use fats the meat in those products is not meat it's by products. 

I would do some research on dog nutrition and educate yourself on it. Mince isn't bad for her but it's not complete if you feed just that (and idk what trophy biscuits are but I assume they're along the wagg lines) she will become deficient in nutrients and get ill

Dogs descend from wolves, they have the digestive tract of wolves and wolves didn't use to walk into tesco pick up a bag of wagg and eat it they hunted their prey (say a deer) killed it and ate it bones and all!! Raw diets are based on that although it's not for everyone as some people can't handle raw meat and bones etc!!! Ziwipeak is the next best thing, also if you have freezer space natural instinct is good too!! It seems pricey (compared to the £2.99 wagg) but you feed less off it!!! 

Orijen and acana are the best kibble/dry food out there I personally don't like kibble for dogs but it's easily bought in the uk you can get it in a decent pet shop or they can order it for you (not talking about pets at home) 

But yes I would definitely do some research into dog nutrition


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## codyann (Sep 8, 2010)

ok thanks, i aint too boverd about the price i just want to give her the best food, i have been on Orijen and acana website and asked them if they will send me some samples. 

i will also look into natural instinct aswell 
i was thinking of maybe feeding her mince with rice or pasta? and peas or is that a big no no?


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## Natti (Jun 24, 2010)

Meat, rice/pasta and veg wouldn't be a complete meal - You'd need to have her on goodness knows how many supplements otherwise she could end up very ill from a nutrient deficiency. 

We chose raw after seeing how healthy the dogs here were, and have only been on it a week but I can already see a huge improvement in my two! Their coats are shinier, my crossbreeds allergies have almost gone, and there is no more "doggy" smell - Its brilliant! 

If you go into the smaller (not chain-owned) pet stores you're a lot more likely to find high quality foods. Places like Pets At Home are great for buying toys, collars and treats, but really not good for food!


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

Nope Rice/pasta are carbohydrates and not needed neither is veg their is no calcium or zinc in those meals over a long period of time your dog would get very very ill

Have a look at ziwipeaks website ask for samples of that too tbh it's a better food and is all natural ingredients isn't chemically processed. And try both the orijen and the ziwi and see what she goes for I think ziwi will excite her more. You'll get some of the same benefits with ziwi as you would with prey model with orijen you're likely to still get a doggy smell.

Like nat said independent pet shops are prob best


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

If she's a healthy body weight maybe she is trying to tell you you are giving her TOO MUCH FOOD? I firmly believe picky eaters are made, not born. So keep sticking to your guns, and as long as she's a healthy weight, I wouldn't stress over it. Offer food twice a day for 15 minutes and then pick it up til the next meal.


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## codyann (Sep 8, 2010)

ok thanks Daisydoo i have contacted the pet stores directly and asked for samples.
flippedstars, roxi seems to be a healthy weight she is tiny so i dont feed her a lot at all. i leave her food down for 15-20mins and is she dosnt eat i take it back up. 
i will try a few samples that was suggested on here and hopefully ill get somewhere with that. if not i guess ill just pick one and stick to it. and do the tough love.
im moveing out very soon with roxi and my hubby so i can control what she eats ALL the time


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## cprcheetah (May 4, 2009)

My pomeranian was super picky when I first got him, he wouldn't hardly eat, he was on Nature's Recipe (which I later learned wasn't such a good food) so I switched him to Wellness Core and would mix a little canned with it and he ate with gusto. In July I switched my dogs to a raw diet and Georgie hasn't missed a meal since, he loves it!


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## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

Ok, it must just be me, but when I saw mince meat, all I could think of was mince meat pie! lol These are all good suggestions, I am lucky as I only had one picky girl, but she got over that once I didn't change the food and it was eat or starve. Now she eats like a champ. Good luck on getting her to eat.


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## Ren (Oct 19, 2010)

I would definitly try another food or Raw!!! If your a bit iffy about Raw a great new kibble has come out, Wysong Epigen (it's the first and only starch free kibble, Wysong Epigen™ Starch Free™ Dog Food, Cat Food, Pet Food ) I feed this stuff to my cats along with wet food and to my dogs as treats, they all love it.
Another thing could be, that even if your dog is not 'fat' you still could be feeding it a bit too much. I was overfeeding my shitzu/bichon (who was not overweight by any means, and people were astounded by how much food I was feeding him daily and how skinny he was. He was getting enough food to feed a 40 pound dog, and he is only 14 pounds) Once I started to feed him less food in a day his is soo less picky with his food and will eat whatever I put in front of him. So perhaps you are feeding you chi a bit too much.


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

Pam do u mean a mince pie as in Christmas?? Lol in the uk we call mince what you guys call grind but we also call mince pies mince les at Christmas but they have no meat in them lol


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## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

Yeah, that's what sprung to my mind. I thought, she's feeding her dogs pie?? lol


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## codyann (Sep 8, 2010)

svdreamer lol! no i wasnt feeding her mince pies i hate them things they are horrid. i feeed her minced up beef i thaught it was ok buut i guess not :/ i am looking into new food for her as i am typing


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## codyann (Sep 8, 2010)

Ren, thanks i will have a look and i will weigh her again and work out if i am feeding her to much. 
thanksn for the link btw ill check it out now


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