Hi my 18 month old lab is a sensitive bunny and is a very fussy eater. I've had her on dry food since a puppy and every time she eats it for a little while and then gets bored (or the cat looks at her the wrong way etc) and she decides she doesn't like it and stops eating (only eating a bit when hunger gets the better of her). I've changed her food a number of times going from royal canine, track and field, step up to Naturals etc and always the same story, I've used a little wet food to entice her occasionally which works but generally she always goes off the dry after a few weeks. So I'm thinking of putting her on a combined wet and dry diet but worried about the problems with wet food such as teeth issues. Can anyone give me any advice on how to give a combined diet do you give it mixed with dry or at seperate feeds? Any advice on good brands for labs? Or suggestions on how to keep her engaged with her food? She is otherwise very fit and healthy.
Our 2 both get kibble & wet food together in the same feed, no problem. Any brand will do, depends on the quality/price you are looking for. And what your dog likes if she's fussy.
Add meat like tuna or canned chiken to their kibble. An egg once a week wouldn't hurt either. I never fooled with wet dog food with the labs I've had.
You could also try adding warm water to her kibble and let it soak for a few minutes. Also try adding canned sardines, my dogs love them!!
We feed ours wet and dry mixed - mix them up together and shove them in a Kong to make her mealtime last a bit longer. We’re actually thinking of moving her to just dry food now and using wet food for high value treats during training only. Luna’s tum is pretty sensitive too and we are currently on Hills prescription food. We used to be on Lily’s Kitchen wet and dry which is a great quality food but I think it was just too rich. We’re on the look out for a good alternative to move her on to, so I’m interested in what replies you get to this thread.
Have you considered raw? Best thing I've done for my dog. Kibble is pretty useless for cleaning teeth, there's no reason to feed it other than convenience as far as I can tell.
This is very true. If you're not feeding raw bones then you need to clean you dog's teeth with appropriate tooth paste.
We feed our lab, and two cats, dry food. We give them snacks between meals, but not a lot. Our lab likes milk bone. The last time we fed wet food from Walmart to our cat it nearly killed her and gave us a $ 700 vet bill.
We had a few problems with finding a good kibble for Bear........not that he wouldn't eat it (he eats ANYTHING) but his poo was always sift/runny. Met with another lab owner who has their girl on AVA from Pets at Home. It's honestly been brilliant and has a high percentage of meat. They do one for sensitive tummies too. They do small bags so you can try it out. Hope that helps xx
Hi I feed ours a mix too the wet food is wainwright’s chicken and turkey which my lab loves and sometimes I put a pilchard in it with the mixer and he loves it Or some white fish or chicken and mixer Hope this helps