Picky Pug

[RockysMom]

I'm very frustrated and need some expert advice.
Rocky has become increasingly picky when it comes to food.
He wont eat raw, now he wont eat kibble.
The only thing he will eat is canned.
His teeth are fine, he's bright and as spinny as always so I dont suspect that he is ill.

Is canned food exclusively healthy for him?
I'm buying only high quality canned such as Wellness (it has to be grain and chicken free), but it is nutritionally sound?

I'm very worried and need some advice!

[blanche]

Yes, canned is fine.  In fact, in terms of bio availability it's better than kibble.  I think Mark's boys eat mostly canned or used to.

[RockysMom]

Thanks Blanche!
Canned it is for the picky little rat....
Man he has me wrapped around his little paw!!   

[SpeedyPug]

..."picky little rat"...i love it!   

[lmcpug]

Cpl. Rocky gets a promotion and has decided that he has a taste for
the finer things in life

Along with Sarge it seems! who of late does not want anything to do with
my home made grd chicken, oh no, only the good chicken chunks that
Mom eats will do 
Thank goodness the other 2 haven't caught on

[LouiseJ]

I can't say I blame him for not wanting kibble... 

My pugs really like canned Call of the Wild fish/potato blend. It's grain free and they have no allergic reaction to it. I mix it with a vegetarian kibble and they never complain! I usually get trampled by a stampede of pugs when the bowls have been filled 

[serenpugity]

A Pug boy has got to have what he's got to have. Enjoy your new food Rocky and thank your Mom for being such a caring Mom.

[blanche]

My only caution, Angela, would be don't let him jerk your chain too much.  If he learns that refusing food will get you scrambling to find something he'll eat, you might create more of a monster than he already is (not that he's a monster, but you know what I mean).  We get a few picky eaters through the rescue and sometimes you just have to tough them out.

[lmcpug]

Louise,

What vegetarian kibble brand do you use??

Lori

[LouiseJ]

I like to give them Natural Balance, it's available at most pet stores (Pet Value, etc.)
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/Vegetarian.html

There's quite a few others on the market too, but this brand doesn't have corn, wheat in the ingredients. The canned is good too. I'm vegetarian (vegan actually) so it makes me feel good too that no animals are being harmed :-)

[RockysMom]

My only caution, Angela, would be don't let him jerk your chain too much.  If he learns that refusing food will get you scrambling to find something he'll eat, you might create more of a monster than he already is (not that he's a monster, but you know what I mean).  We get a few picky eaters through the rescue and sometimes you just have to tough them out.

Excellent advice Blanche! 
If he turns up his nose at this he's out of luck.  I'm out of options.  He'll have to eat it or go hungry I'm afraid.  I'm pretty sure he'll eat it after missing a meal or two!  He's just so NOT food motivated which is a blessing in some ways, but in others it's frustrating that he just doesn't care about food!

[SpeedyPug]

with respect to me, my brother, the dogs, the cats, my dad, my mother always said, "you'll eat it when you're hungry enough".  And she was right.  My cats are picky-pants and freak every time i switch foods on them.  They turn up theior noses for a couple of days but hunger always wins out.  Ghandi they are not- no hunger strike lasts long enough for for me to buckle under to cat-pressure...

[blanche]

with respect to me, my brother, the dogs, the cats, my dad, my mother always said, "you'll eat it when you're hungry enough".  And she was right.  My cats are picky-pants and freak every time i switch foods on them.  They turn up theior noses for a couple of days but hunger always wins out.  Ghandi they are not- no hunger strike lasts long enough for for me to buckle under to cat-pressure...

Yep.  When Huey first came to Kathy, he lasted a frighteningly long time on the "hunger Strike" and Maisie was not excited about eating DOG food.  But both of them eventually accepted the inevitable and chowed down.

[Sandy and Debbie]

I think that cats are a bit different from dogs in that if they don't eat for a relatively short period of time, they get quite sick very fast.  We once babysat a cat who didn't eat for three or four days; thought nothing of it until we noticed she was yellow; kidney failure.

[lmcpug]

WOW!
that's scary!!

poor kitty and I feel for you too during that!

never thought a cat had such a delicate system!
never had a cat to learn from, yet!
good to know!