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chicken soup for the puppy lovers soul?

samsmom

Member
Is this an ok food? This is what I got for our puppy because the breeder didn't know what she fed him.

He doesn't seem to like it at all, yesterday I finally mixed in a little Cesar Just For Puppies wet food (like half a spoonful) and a half spoonful of canned pumpkin (the 100% pumpkin not the pumpkin pie filling) and he ate about 1/4 cup of dry food along with the canned and pumpkin but that was all that he ate. The bag said he's age and weight should eat 1 and a 1/4 cup of food, and I know they tell you to feed more than neccasary as well.

Is this a good food for him to continue on with the price is really good so hopefully he'll learn to like it better (he's very picky). There are a lot of other brands like canidae, innova, EVO and eagle pack.
 
What is the name of the food you are giving him now? Surely not "chicken soup for the puppy lovers soul"? Whatever next! ;) I have never heard of it so can't help you out there.

What country are you from? I'm assuming the USA but it's hard to recommend a brand available to you locally when we don't know where you are from.

I am shocked the breeder doesn't know what she/he gave the pup to eat. :confused:
 
oops yes I am from the United States. Here is the link to the food I picked up for him at the store: http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/products/puppies/dry_food/puppy_formula/

I know that Eagle Pack small and medium breed puppy was the same price but they had lots of stuff like Innova and Merricks and stuff but he needs something with really tiny pieces his mouth is SO small and he HATES to chew. He LOVES his Bil Jac training treats (their soft) but I have to rip them into TEENY chunks or he just spits them out.

I was told this food is good but I never used it for my dog we had before our cavalier, and we still have him. We feed our other dog Healthwise, by Innova, but Sam hated it and won't eat the bigger chunks like the healthwise is.
 
I know a lot of people in the US who feed Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul. I think it is a good food. Shame the puppy won't eat it though.

That said, I know you mentioned you are giving treats. I'd lay off the treats all together and feed the kibble as treats ... he may be holding out on you until you feed her something tastier. MIne ONLY get kibble - even as treats, since a lot of treats are not that good for them. You mentioned Bil-Jac treats, IMO, I think those are a poor quality as treats go.

Also, I think 1 1/4 cups of food is too much but he is a growing puppy so probably fine. Most people feed their cavaliers under one cup of quality food when full grown. Poor quality foods have fillers so you have to feed more. I think Chicken Soup is good though ... so you are probably feeding too much. Hopefully someone who actually feeds that food will see this and chime in.

Other quality US brands to try are Innova, Royal Canin, Wellness, Natural Balance.
 
I have tried the kibble as treats but he doesn't like them so doesn't want to eat them. I don't know if he likes the food or doesn't like to chew. Like I said he likes things that are soft that he doesn't have to chew. I even have to rip up the bil jac treats in order for him to eat those but I KNOW he loves them he gets so excited when I grab the bag.

I do not want to feed him strictly canned food and even the Cesar food (which is suppose to be for finicky eaters) he snubs his nose at unless I mix and smash it up really well. He will, however, eat the canned pumpkin up really good because he can just lap it up. My vet said it is a myth that it is bad for their teeth if you are using a good quality canned food. He actually encourages a canned diet of GOOD QUALITY canned food (no crap canned food).

I think the feed store has samples of good quality dog food I'll have my husband pick some up and let him try a few to see which he will eat, if any. I don't want to baby him but he has barely eaten since I got him monday. He ate about 1/4 cup maybe a tad more yesterday and he ate less than 1/4 cup and he isn't even showing interest in eating anymore. He still has a lot of energy and is drinking ok (he's petrified of water bowls and I have tried quite a few sizes and different types). I know he's trying to hold out for something because he goes crazy now when we eat he tries getting in our laps and in our plates and when we crate him he goes crazy! So I know he is hungry but just doesn't want to adhere to my schedule just yet so I have to be stubborn I guess.
 
If he finds dry food difficult to chew, why not soften it by soaking in a bit of water - just add it to the bowl of food and wait a few minutes for the water to be absorbed. Or you could use gravy. My rescue had problems with dry food when I first had him - he'd just had 4 teeth removed and was still a bit sore, I think; now he manages dry fine, at top speed!

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Samsmom, if it's a problem with chewing, I think you should get him to the vet. He's 10 months old, so he should have all his teeth in, but too young to have any serious tooth decay problems, so could it be something else?
 
If you haven't taken Sam to the vet yet, you probably should anyway just to get them introduced and have Sam checked over.

One thing to consider - it could be that Sam just doesn't have a big appetite right now. Lucky went through a stage at about 10 months where he'd finished a big growth spurt and just didn't have a big appetite. Now he eats fine. That could be the case with Sam, but if you continue to be concerned you might want to consult your vet.
 
He is going to the vet this evening so I can ask my vet then when he goes, he'll get an exam so he'll get his teeth looked at anyways.

I have tried moistening it with warm water, I do that with our other dog too, and he wouldn't even consider eating. He sniffed and walked away.

I told my husband to get more samples and we'll ask the vet today too.
 
Royal Canin makes a very small, easy to eat kibble. Our breeder told us to feed our pups Royal Canin Adult 27.

Depending on the number of calories per cup of food and the size of his frame, I'd think a 10 month old cavalier would only need 1/3 cup twice daily. How much does he weigh? And can you feel his hip bones and/or spine bones?

I've known several people who have fed the Chicken Soup for the pet lover's soul brand dog food.
 
We alternate Royal Canin 27 and Halo for Rudy. Both do have the smaller size kibble which does seem to be more appealing to a finicky eater. We also had a slow spot with Rudy where he didn't seem to eat much...around 9 mos. Didn't last long!
 
well actually when we returned the Chicken Soup For the Puppy Lover's Soul I swapped it for a bag of this stuff: http://www.holisticselect.com/HS_SMAdult.html

Sam LOVES it! He ate 1/4 cup of it last night, mixed with some canned food and canned pumpkin. I fed him like half of 1/4 cup too after he polished that off and he ate all of that and wanted MORE too! This morning I gave him 1/8 cup mixed with some canned and canned pumpkin and with no enticing (last night I did hand feed some) he finished it all within 20 minutes. His poop is starting to form as well so hopefully in a couple days he will actually pooping and not having diarrhea.

The woman at the store suggested Merricks next if he still wouldn't eat the Eagle Pack because Merricks is designed for picky eaters but hopefully he'll keep with the Eagle Pack because I used to use their Holistic line on our golden and he always did really well on it.
 
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