# Most delicious high-quality kibble?



## Kay8 (Jan 9, 2013)

My V-mix is very treat motivated but a picky eater when it comes to kibble. He won't eat it dry; there has to be a little chicken broth or dab of wet food mixed in. I've tried waiting him out, figuring he'll eat when he gets hungry enough, but at 36 hours of him not eating I broke down and put in the tiniest bit of chicken... and he scarfed the whole bowl down. : I don't mind putting in the bit of wet food, to be honest. But I'd like the option of serving his meals in puzzle toys to slow him down a bit and keep him mentally busy, as well as using the kibble as low-value training treats, and neither works right now.

Anyone have recommendations on irresistible, good quality kibble? I've been feeding him Merrick's regular (not grain-free) formula (his stool gets too loose on the grain free). He's not a huge fan until it's got something on it. I bought a small bag of Fromm "Game Bird Recipe" because it sounded pretty delicious and I figured I could mix in small amounts with his regular kibble and use it for toys and treats, but it's barely an improvement... he sniffs it, eats one piece, spits the rest out and gives me the pleading eyes of sadness. 

Rather than trying random foods that look tasty from the bag, does anyone have suggestions of kibble that their V really loves? Preferably the good stuff -- 4 or 5 stars at pet food advisor?

Thanks!


----------



## solefald (May 16, 2013)

Orijen and Acana are considered the best. May want to soak in some warm water for a couple of minutes to release the "flavor" if you could call it that. 

Are you free feeding or on a schedule?


----------



## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Sorry, but I don't have any one particular suggestion for tasty kibble. What I have found with Willie is that he enjoys a lot of variety. Changing brands has never upset his stomach at all. What he seems to crave is just something different. Your pooch might be the same way. You could try buying the smallest available bags of different kibble brands, store the kibble in freezer bags in your freezer so they don't go stale, and do a change-up pretty often. Willie has even enjoyed premium cat kibble (Heaven forbid) in his Kong wobbler. The pieces are very tiny, so they work well in the treat dispensing toy. If you end up with some kibble that he hates, feed it to the raccoon's! ;D


----------



## Kay8 (Jan 9, 2013)

We're on a schedule: half in the morning around 7:30 am, and half again at night around 6:00. If I put in the spoonful of wet food he eats it all immediately. The one time I tried out-stubborning him, I left the dry kibble out for the whole 36 hours. Maybe I should have picked it up after he ignored it, and not put it down again until the next meal? Either way, I caved first, which hadn't been the plan. Whoops.

Do you have an opinion on which of those two is tastier? I'd gone with Merrick partially because it had the same 5-star rating as Acana and Orijen, but was quite a bit cheaper than them at my local store. But at this point I'm ready to shell out the extra cash if there's reason to believe he'll actually eat the stuff as is. They should have taster sample packs. 

I'll try the soaking tonight, thanks! (That might be messy with using it in his toys or as treats, though!)


----------



## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Check with your local pet store. Some stores will let you buy a small bag and bring back the remaining food if your pup doesn't like it.


----------



## Kay8 (Jan 9, 2013)

Thanks! Maybe variety's the trick. I've tried a couple "flavors" in the 6 weeks I've had him, mostly to see which flavors agreed with his stomach (grain-free vs. grainy, etc), but perhaps just getting several brands will do it. Thank you!



mswhipple said:


> Sorry, but I don't have any one particular suggestion for tasty kibble. What I have found with Willie is that he enjoys a lot of variety. Changing brands has never upset his stomach at all. What he seems to crave is just something different. Your pooch might be the same way. You could try buying the smallest available bags of different kibble brands, store the kibble in freezer bags in your freezer so they don't go stale, and do a change-up pretty often. Willie has even enjoyed premium cat kibble (Heaven forbid) in his Kong wobbler. The pieces are very tiny, so they work well in the treat dispensing toy. If you end up with some kibble that he hates, feed it to the raccoon's! ;D


----------



## Kay8 (Jan 9, 2013)

jld640 said:


> Check with your local pet store. Some stores will let you buy a small bag and bring back the remaining food if your pup doesn't like it.


Oh! I didn't realize that! There's a super fru-fru shop nearby that I know takes back "opened" toys. Maybe they do the same with food. Thank you!


----------



## marathonman (Jan 15, 2013)

Each dog and brand is different. We feed our boy Taste of the Wild. For a long time we rotated between Pacific Salmon and Prairie flavors. One day I brought home a bag of boar and he went nuts for it. I'd say keep on trying different things and find something he likes. (When changing kibble, do it slow and supplement with canned pumpkin and/or oats to help keep things firm. It may take a week or two for some dogs to adjust.)
Just FYI, we always add chicken stock and chicken or scrambled eggs to our boys meals. Maybe just use the treat dispensing toys for actual treats for the moment until you can find a kibble he likes. 
I understand wanting to slow down your boy's eating. You could help slow him down by hand feeding. Another trick I read is to place an smaller upside down bowl in his bowl. He has to eat around it so it takes him a bit longer. 
The way we got our boy to slow down is to train a sit, wait, and release command for his food. I would then sit there after I released him. As he was eating. I would remove the food, have him sit, replace the food and release him again. Lots of repetitions, especially when he was inhaling the food got him to slow down. (It also helped take care of resource guarding i.e. growling when we went near the food)


----------



## Kay8 (Jan 9, 2013)

marathonman said:


> Another trick I read is to place an smaller upside down bowl in his bowl. He has to eat around it so it takes him a bit longer.


Smaller bowl -- great idea, thank you! I hand feed him a few times a week, but perhaps I should do it more often. I was doing it mostly because the books said it was good way to build trust and bond, but slowing him down is a nice bonus too.


----------



## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Nutro has a rebate right now for a free 15 lb bag. You can print it right from their website. Also, you can email dog food companies and request free samples. Wellness and Natural Balance I know will send you some.


----------



## Hbomb (Jan 24, 2012)

Vizslas can be so fussy! H was a terribly picky eater when he was a puppy. Then he went to stay with my in laws and their V Bruno. If H refused his food, Bruno would eat it. This went on for 4 days and H then became less picky and now he's a lot better. 

BTW I do not recommend this for fussy eaters and I was horrified to hear he'd had nothing to eat for 4 days !!!!


----------



## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Kay, we've been considering a switch from the norm recently with our boy. We feed Taste of the Wild and he does like it, but at this point he's used to getting some wet food mixed in or chicken broth on it so he knows better than to eat the nasty dey food. That being said, I went to Pet People (I'm in Ohio and they're around the Midwest) who is known for carrying higher quality foods. They were actually able to give me samples of dehydrated/raw to try, as well as a few other flavors of dry food. The woman I spoke with highly recommends Acana but I haven't tried it because at $75/bag it's a little chunk of change to waste. It turns out you can buy a small 1-2 lb bag of Acana and other high quality foods to try for about $5. Is suggest asking your pet food store if they have samples or recommendation or even go on and buy a small bag to try.


----------



## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Vizslas are picky. Miles is highly finicky, we feed TOTW. We went running with Kafka from the forum this weekend and he ate all her food, same kind. But of course extra special because it was hers, and then he didn't eat a thing the rest of the day.


----------



## MCD (May 4, 2013)

I went through a long period of digestive upset with Dharma. On top of that trying to get her to eat was horrible. Switched from all breed puppy to large breed puppy Oven Baked kibble. Holistic high quality not too expensive Canadian made. I tried feeding her in her crate but she would not eat unless I sat with her. We put Fortiflora on her food-no luck. I tried oatmeal-no luck. We had some luck with chicken broth. Have since given up on that and now are giving her Hounds & Gatos wet food mixed in with her kibble. She begs for it and no longer plays with her food. She stands at her dish and actually scarfs it down. The weather here has been so cold and we have had the heat on so it is dry. The vet recommended giving some wet food to both the dog and the cats for dry skin. You just need to find what works and stick to it.


----------



## Kay8 (Jan 9, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the responses! I hadn't realized that sample packets might be available. I stopped at the local store today and got ten or twelve small samples, so that should give us plenty for Red to turn his nose up at for the next week or two. :

If anyone else is looking for samples, I found this online -- click on the "enlarge" photo to see how much they send! Seems like a decent option if you've got a really picky eater:

http://www.lukesallnatural.com/premium-dry-dog-food-sampler-pack-p-2514.html


----------



## Dee72 (Dec 31, 2013)

I'd love to try Orijen but in Europe it's top $$$ trying Aren Grange at the moment and he loves it and they say it's healthy muesli for the dog.


----------

