# Canned food?



## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

I feel like I'm still trying to get into a set 'feeding' routine with Lucy and it's driving me bonkers!! Lucy is very picky and usually won't eat right away when I give her the canned food. One of my cats thinks it's 'her' food too so she helps herself if Lucy doesn't eat, so then I usually have to refill the bowl. 

So I guess my question is - do you feed wet food at different times and leave dry food down all the time (which is what I am doing now) or do you have set mealtimes for both wet and dry food? Do you mix it together? I've tried various brands of canned food to get one that Lucy likes and right now, I'm feeding her Solid Gold (the one in the puprle can) How much wet food should a 4 lb seven mos old maltese be eating? Or do they even need the wetfood?

I'm so confused.

I've tried feeding her outside so the cat doesn't eat it but the ants found it before the dog decided she was hungry. It's always gotta be something, LOL!


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

<span style="font-family:tempus sans itc">I've never fed wet food for some reason.....I'm thinking because its stinky and messy....







. I do have two cans of the turdurken that were given to me for free when I purchased the dry food....I may try them, but if I do, I'm going to mix it with the dry. My only fear is that they'll never go back to plain dry food if I do that, so I'm not sure yet. 

I feed dry food twice a day. I used to free feed, but with Cooper having a weight problem, I have to keep track now.







</span>


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## jude'n'jools (Apr 6, 2006)

Stacy, i dont feed the boys wet food. They get approx 1 small cup of dry food per day each, half about 9am & the rest at 5pm.

The only reason i don't use it cause i can't stand the smell 'pheeww'!

We have different foods from you over here so we cant compare brands!

The boys mostly always eat their food within 1 hour of me giving it to them.

They also get a few treats throughout the day when they have done something good









If you want to change her over completely to dry, mix it in with her wet for a few days decreasing the amount of wet you add each day. She will eat it when she is hungry & you will get her into a routine.

My vet told me to offer food for approx 20 minutes, if not eaten take it away and refrigerate then give it back to her next feeding time. She will soon get into the swing of things & know when it is feeding time


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## Bonnie's Mommie (Mar 2, 2006)

Stacy - Bonnie eats freeze dried patties that are 'refreshed' with warm water to soften. She used to be on dry Solid Gold exclusively. I still give her a little Solid Gold with her chicken pattie in the a.m., but she only gets a beef pattie at night. These patties are made by Stella and Chewy's. I never fed her wet food before, but was sold on this since it is all natural and freeze dried locks in the nutrients. BTW - Bonnie loves it and with changing over gradually, her poop has remained firm and practically odorless. (More than you needed to know?







)


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## Skippy4Us (Feb 20, 2006)

Skippy weighs 8 lbs and he's always hungry. I feed him at 7:30 Am about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of dry Natural balance food. For Dinner at 5:30 he gets a couple of spoonfuls of Benfeful beef stew mixed in with some dry food. He also gets 2 treats per day. Benful is the only wet food I've tried that I can tolerate smelling. It looks like real beef stew.


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## wagirl98665 (Jan 5, 2006)

I feed my dogs wet food twice a day about 1/4 of a can each time. 7:AM & 5M and leave dry food down 24/7. They love the wet food and never fail to gobble it up! If you have a picky eater you might want to change the food until you find what she likes and you could also cook her some chicken & rice with carrots and my dogs love it when I cook them chicken livers. I only do that once in a while, but it's a real treat for them. I hope you find a solution soon and get Lucy eating better.


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## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

I feed wet food and it is very messy and more expensive. I have to wash their faces after.

I leave out dry food all day long. At night, I will feed them one meal of wet food. Usually, they get about the equivalent of 3/4-1 package (ceasar package size - although I don't feed ceasers).

The result - I have 2 extremely over weight Malts. That is Cupcake and Jellybean because they love their dry food too and just eat way too much. Cookie is getting there too. Sparkle DOES NOT eat dry food at all. Waffle eats both as well. The little boy (Buttercup - don't worry it's changing) is eating wet right now. I am trying to fatten him up and he is a picky eater.


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

Thank you for all of these recommendations!! I was just feeding dry food but after having Lucy a few weeks, I realized she wasn't eating at ALL (refused treats, also) and I could hear her stomach making noise from all the way across the room. Knowing how quickly these little guys can get sick, I took her to the vet the next day when she still wouldn't eat. I thought there was something the matter. The vet asked me what I fed her and I said Eukanuba dry food (as the breeder recommened) She brings a can of wet food out and feeds it to her and Lucy gobbled it up. Boy, did I feel like the moronic new dog owner!! Symptoms - not eating and growling stomach Diagnosis? Hungry.

After that, she used to love the wet food now she could care less. I've switched brands trying to find one she likes (watching the constistancy of her stool, agian more info than neccessary!) and she just lets them sit. I think it's time to cut out out the wet and see if things pick up with the dry food. *sighs* 

*shakes fist at the picky eating of some maltese*

Thank you again for your responses!


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## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

Do try different wet foods! They must taste different. My kids don't like Natural Balance and won't eat it at all. The thing is .. they love ALL Caesars even though it's not as good for them. I switch around a lot and have been lucky that none of them have sensitive stomachs. I always keep the dry food consistent though.


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## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

I have finally found a wet food that Scooby will eat







He eats Nutro Max lamb, rice and chicken and tonight he had chicken, rice and vegetables and ate that too








Scooby is 2 years and 9 months and has been so picky with wet foods that I usually end up throwing most of a can in the trash, but he actually finished a can of Nutro last week and we have bought more.
I also have given him Ceasar which he eats under sufferance, but never finished a can even though they are so tiny I only ever get a quarter of a cup into him per serve. Thankfully Nutro also has small cans.
He is also fussy about his dry kibble, I am trying the Natural Balance Duck and Potato and so far he is eating some of that too.








I have to say I have never ever had such a fussy, picky eater, although he will eat whatever we are eating in a heartbeat, but give him dog food and he walks off most of the time. We have to sit with him and make sure he eats it, then and only then will he finish a feed.


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## RexsMom (Jun 8, 2005)

Rex eats 1/3 can (the small can) of either Merrick or Solid Gold in the morning mixed with about 20 pieces of crunchy food. I also put a little water in it and stir it around and microwave it for a few seconds, he doesnt like it too thick. He is right under 6 pounds. That is all he can eat at one time. The rest of the day I leave out dry food for him. It took us awhile, but finally we have feeding time down to an art. Good luck in finding what works for you!


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## miko's mommy (Feb 8, 2005)

I have never fed wet food. Miko has gained plenty of weight on dry alone







... What can I say, he takes after his mommy!!!


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## Deanna (Jan 14, 2005)

Wilson gets 1/4 cup Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish kibble with 1 tablespoon of the wet mixed in, 2x a day.


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## kab (Apr 11, 2005)

> Wilson gets 1/4 cup Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish kibble with 1 tablespoon of the wet mixed in, 2x a day.[/B]


I am just trying the sweet potatoe and fish with mine and they love it. It may be only because it is new. I mixed it with the Merrick (which they used to love) and they picked out the Natural Balance and only ate it. 

In the morning I get 1 cup of dry and mix with 1 tablespoon of canned merrick plus a few green beans. I mix it all up really well and divide it between the 3 maltese. At night they snack on dry kibble.


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## brendaman (Mar 7, 2006)

> Thank you for all of these recommendations!! I was just feeding dry food but after having Lucy a few weeks, I realized she wasn't eating at ALL (refused treats, also) and I could hear her stomach making noise from all the way across the room. Knowing how quickly these little guys can get sick, I took her to the vet the next day when she still wouldn't eat. I thought there was something the matter. The vet asked me what I fed her and I said Eukanuba dry food (as the breeder recommened) She brings a can of wet food out and feeds it to her and Lucy gobbled it up. Boy, did I feel like the moronic new dog owner!! Symptoms - not eating and growling stomach Diagnosis? Hungry.
> 
> After that, she used to love the wet food now she could care less. I've switched brands trying to find one she likes (watching the constistancy of her stool, agian more info than neccessary!) and she just lets them sit. I think it's time to cut out out the wet and see if things pick up with the dry food. *sighs*
> 
> ...


It's funny, but the same thing happened to me. Shayna (who is now 6 months old and weighs 4.3 lbs.) was solely on dry food (Innova Puppy). Because she was teething, I started adding some water to make the dry food softer. Then, when she was about 5 months, she stopped eating dry or dry w/water. I was sooo worried about her and was glad that her next vaccine shot was scheduled. Of course, at the vet's office, she scarfed down the canned food they had (and it was canned cat food!). The vet said to try mixing about a tablespoon of wet with the dry, but to realize that the more canned food I gave her, the more I would have to be diligent with brushing her teeth. Also, the vet and our doggie trainer told me to leave the food down for her for only 30 minutes in order for her to learn that there is a feeding time where she should/has to eat. I don't leave out food for her 24/7, because then it would deter the lesson she needed to learn feeding time.

I then bought a can Innova Puppy. I used to mix it in and made sure the dry food bits are covered with wet which took some time to do with a spoon or fork. Of course, she ate this nicely. At the same time, I saw the DVD of Cesar Milan, "the Dog Whisperer", in which he talks about feeding his dogs and mixing wet/dry food with his hands which gets your smell in the kibble, thus, some kind of a bonding experience. Cesar also talked about only feeding a calm submissive dog, so I only feed Shayna after she sits for me. 

Fast forward a month later to Shayna now at 6 months, when I ask her if she's hungry, she will follow me. She knows or I tell her to sit down and she will sit down (on all 4s) to watch me make her food. I only feed her what she can finish and after some trial and error of the measurements, it's about 1/4 cup of dry mixed with about 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons of wet food. I do nuke/microwave it for a bit (8 seconds at 1/2 power), only when the wet food has been refrigerated. 

The canned food she likes are Innova Puppy, Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul, and any Merrick canned food. She seems to prefer the latter over all, and it actually is the one that looks and smells the best to me (I was told Merrick wet is like people food). She does not seem to eat it as fast when the food is cold. I never give her solely the wet food, unless I want to give her a little medicine, and even then, I would only give a tablespoon. I do brush her teeth, but not as often as I should (about twice a week).

I don't limit her treats (e.g. Cheerios, Pupperoni, etc.), as I don't think she has a weight problem. We do walk her at least a 1/2 mile a day. We live in a 4-story townhome, and Shayna does a lot of going up and down the stairs, following us around. Also, she's still a puppy and does the manic-puppy-running-around-in-a-circle quite well, burning more energy.

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