Wet food or not

Hello,

I have been caring for a small Chihuahua dog for the past month or so, the little thing is about 8 months or so i think

Thing is this, my cousin is the owner of this little girl, but she's away due to some health issues so i took the beasty home with me. The day i had to go pick her up, went to look for her food i found like a month and a half worth of food stored away, but all of it is just wet food....

I'm pretty sure this is not right? So now it is almost gone and i have no idea if i should buy more of the same stuff or get some solid food. I always assumed dogs after a certain age must eat solid food, and that's like in the first 2/3 months of their lives?

The dog seems very healthy so far but i keep wondering why only wet food, i asked about it by got no answer so i'm not quite sure how to proceed from here

I never had a dog before so i'm clueless, do you think it's ok to keep feeding her the same or should i buy some solid food instead

Last thing would be to get the beasty to the vet but i was hoping it would not be necessary lol, i have a hard time keeping up with things right now but if it comes to it well i guess i should figure out a time slot for it

Just wanted to get some input in case someone can help. It will be really appreciated as i am clueless about dogs in general


Thank you

Most people will use dry food because it's cheaper, keeps well and dogs still like it plenty, and then use wet food for treats or to supplement.

a reply to: Malisa

Don't make any changes to his/her diet. Try to keep everything as normal. Poor thing probably is still dealing with the loss it's original owner. If the pup is handling the wet food fine, don't make any changes. If you do decide to go to dry food, try mixing a little bit at a time with the wet food. Small changes. Best wishes and thank you for caring for this pup.

We just have cats, and they usually eat mostly dry food, but we do treat them to wet food in the morning. I put some special minerals in the cats food for breakfast, they seem to do pretty well with what I give them.

The youngest cat, completely blind and about three years old, loves grassmilk and Bacon. That cat eats more bacon than the wife and I eat together, over half a pound winds up going to the cat spread out over a couple of days. But it's fir has got nice and soft now since it started to eat the bacon, it used to be really course. That blind cat will climb right into the refrigerator since we started giving him bacon, we have to watch that he is not in there before closing the door.

originally posted by: nightbringr
Most people will use dry food because it's cheaper, keeps well and dogs still like it plenty, and then use wet food for treats or to supplement.

Oh ok, i always assumed it was due to small dogs not being able to deal with the dry food, never thought it was a matter of choice or budget. I don't know anything about dogs lol. I guess it's time to learn

originally posted by: Justso
a reply to: Malisa

Don't make any changes to his/her diet. Try to keep everything as normal. Poor thing probably is still dealing with the loss it's original owner. If the pup is handling the wet food fine, don't make any changes. If you do decide to go to dry food, try mixing a little bit at a time with the wet food. Small changes. Best wishes and thank you for caring for this pup.

Got it, i just somehow assumed that constant wet food was not very healthy. Don't know where i got that from but that was my idea. The dog is a bit distressed for sure :/

I think i'll just keep her going the way she's used to, to avoid changing her world even more

Thanks

originally posted by: rickymouse
We just have cats, and they usually eat mostly dry food, but we do treat them to wet food in the morning. I put some special minerals in the cats food for breakfast, they seem to do pretty well with what I give them.

The youngest cat, completely blind and about three years old, loves grassmilk and Bacon. That cat eats more bacon than the wife and I eat together, over half a pound winds up going to the cat spread out over a couple of days. But it's fir has got nice and soft now since it started to eat the bacon, it used to be really course. That blind cat will climb right into the refrigerator since we started giving him bacon, we have to watch that he is not in there before closing the door.

LOL that sounds fun, i can't even imagine having a cat, much less a blind one

Did the cat learned the layout of the house and where everything is so he can move around on its own? That's awesome! I never had a pet before, but my cousin had plenty growing up so i got to have some fun through her, but i'm pretty sure is not the same thing, there must be some special intimacy between owners and pets than between pets and family of the owners, i think i have seen that

a reply to: Malisa
Had a cat that jumped in the dryer once. I was just about to go upstairs and I heard thud, thud. Thought one of the kids had put running shoes in there. I opened it and out jumped my cst! Poor thing, but it didn’t seem to do her any harm. It was only for two minutes. Cats jump into everything. Each day I’ll open my garage door to,put gsrbage in, my cat goes in, then it’s pick pick let me in. She still keeps on doing it though.

Funniest time was when she followed me out through the garage. It was really really cold out and she started to suffer and she goes to the front door to get let back in. Meowing like crazy. Except I’m obviously not on the the other side of the door inside to let her in. The front door was locked. I’m telling her I’m not behind the door, I’m here and the garage door is wide open, you’re not locked out, go in the garage to the kitchen! Suddenly she does this “oh yeah. I’m so dumb” thing and off she runs into the garage. Then she sits on the chair by the window watching me, sitting there all toasty and warm.


Anyways my cats mostly eat dry food. Wet food is a treat. I was told it wasn’t good to have all the time

Stay with the wet but buy a small bag of dry to try it on. Put the dry in a separate bowl and if he will eat it, great but don't go all dry on the little bugger. Just remember, a small dog needs a small dry food. Go to pets mart and talk to people there. Better yet, call a vet for advice.

If you've ever seen what goes into the dry kibble and how its made you wouldn't feed it yer dustbin! Its worse than garbage. I feed my 2 chihuahuas raw from a specialist dog butcher, then lightly fry it as they won't touch it raw...it gives them all the roughage and nutriments they need. I fed them wet before and the amount of stomach upsets they had and poo parcels they left I won't even go into

But yup agree with the other poster don't change her diet if its what she's used to leave it at that

Please keep this animal on the same food. There is no way to know if they had problems with other food (allergies or GI upset, for example). Dogs have to be transitioned very slowly to new food anyway.

There have been MANY recalls on dry dog food. Try googling it, or looking at Truth in Pet Food truthaboutpetfood.com...

My guess is that if they went to this much trouble to stock up this much wet food, there was probably a very good reason. At the very least, the poor little dog deserves to keep as much of its routine the same as possible.

Thanks for taking on this dog.

Vets are, by and large, clueless about pet food nutrition and seem completely brainwashed by the pet food industry....they seem that way to me, personally, anyway. They are good for information like what not to feed an animal with pancreatitis, etc., but as to what constitutes good nutrition? Forget it.

originally posted by: PhyllidaDavenport
If you've ever seen what goes into the dry kibble and how its made you wouldn't feed it yer dustbin! Its worse than garbage. I feed my 2 chihuahuas raw from a specialist dog butcher, then lightly fry it as they won't touch it raw...it gives them all the roughage and nutriments they need. I fed them wet before and the amount of stomach upsets they had and poo parcels they left I won't even go into

But yup agree with the other poster don't change her diet if its what she's used to leave it at that

So far she had no issues at all with the wet food, i don't even know when or how i started believing a constant diet of wet food was wrong

But your story sounds horrible! Do you have any more input on what you said about lightly fried food?

As it is right now, i'm going to keep ahead with the food i know this dog likes, it doesn't seem to be a real issue for her. I was just hoping to be a better care taker since i don't have a real clue other than what i learned today

Thank you

originally posted by: drussell41
Please keep this animal on the same food. There is no way to know if they had problems with other food (allergies or GI upset, for example). Dogs have to be transitioned very slowly to new food anyway.

There have been MANY recalls on dry dog food. Try googling it, or looking at Truth in Pet Food truthaboutpetfood.com...

My guess is that if they went to this much trouble to stock up this much wet food, there was probably a very good reason. At the very least, the poor little dog deserves to keep as much of its routine the same as possible.

Thanks for taking on this dog.

Thanks for your input, i did decide to do this, i don't think i need to change her diet if the dog is healthy, i just wasn't sure before due to my lack of experience

Anyone can play with dogs and learn to understand how they act, even for years. But i never really thought about really taking care of one, i was and probably still am very ignorant about what a dog really requires to be healthy and happy other than play time :S

Sometimes, i feel like a new born kid regarding this situation lol..

But honestly, this is the first time in my life i get to have a dog and i'm feeling exited and weird, when on class i keep thinking if she's ok.. Did i leave enough water? Enough food? What if she goes out to the street through some means while i'm away and gets lost? What if she eats something bad and suffocates or gets poisoned and i get home too late? What if's lol

Omg I'm becoming a parent! LMFAO!

I never ever had a pet before, i think i'm going crazy overthinking this

a reply to: Malisa

I buy packs of what they call "complete raw" which is ratio of 80-10-10 meat bone tripe usually. Without ground bone ordinary wet food tends to give dogs runny poo & regular upset tums not to mention blocked anal glands especially on small dogs like chihuahuahs. Chi's are sensitive dogs and can get upset very easily and if they aren't fed a high roughage diet they need their glands doing regularly or they get compacted and quite painful.

All raw should be froze for a month to kill off bacteria then defrosted or in hot weather you can give them frozen like a meaty lollipop My 2 chi's refuse their food raw so I pan fry it till there's no blood then let it cool and give it them once a day occasionally for breakfast too. Dairy grapes and chocolate are very bad for dogs especially dark chocolate so avoid giving her such treats. The problem with dried dog "complete" meals is there's very little in them but filler, flavourings preservatives etc they makes dogs very thirsty and they are generally made with grains which many dogs are intolerant of.
Here in the UK this is one of the best known dog butcherers and the one I use. I get minces or completes which comes frozen already and its worked wonders for my chi's....no more vets bills for a start...1 poo a day which is firm and clears their glands...good stuff. Have a looksy for some ideas. You can't feed them raw from the supermarket however, as that is meant to be cooked for humans and will contain bacteria and zero roughage
The Dogs Butcher

For dogs, dry food and plenty of water on the side.... unless they have issues with their teeth.

Cats... no food.

if you change that dogs diet, your in for a crap storm!

Most dogs have sensitive stomachs.
You change their food, that gut gets upset... before you know it, youll walk into your home and there will be crap half a foot deep on the floor.

a reply to: Malisa

I mix mine, mostly contains spoiled poultry and chicken bones...........

originally posted by: Macenroe82
if you change that dogs diet, your in for a crap storm!

Most dogs have sensitive stomachs.
You change their food, that gut gets upset... before you know it, youll walk into your home and there will be crap half a foot deep on the floor.

Oh yeah.
I have a hell of a time with my kids giving our dog human food.
One time they left a half eaten bag of microwave popcorn sitting in the living room. The dog snatched it up and took it under the couch to have his way with it.
Later, he had his way with my carpet.
It was enough to make you puke.

originally posted by: Allaroundyou
a reply to: Malisa

I mix mine, mostly contains spoiled poultry and chicken bones...........

As long as the chicken bones are raw, they won’t hurt them.