Since he was a little pup, Herbie has been a picky eater - for more than one reason… first off, yes, he is way too spoilt (aren’t all our fur children, lol) but the other reason is because though he may be what we call here a “pavement special” - ie. although he is not a thoroughbred, his stomach certainly behaves like he is one.
Give him anything just a little out of the ordinary or even just pieces which are too large and it comes straight back out again. To give you an idea - he ended up at the vet once because of a vet approved dog bone that he had been chewing on.
Basically, I am very careful about what he eats and it has been quite an exhausting journey to where we are now - literally having tried every single vet bought dog food and grocery store dog food. The one we ended on - ie. the point where I simply threw my arms up in the air were vet bought pellets specifically labelled for “fussy eaters” haha - well, his lordship would not touch them, no matter HOW I tried to swing them, mix them disguise them, hide them, soften them - oh my hat, the list just goes on and on!!!
Also, I had noticed that for a long time his stools were not looking amazing… and it was actually this, that got me concerned… that - coupled with the fact that everytime he went outside to do his business, he was running around the garden as if he was in pain when trying to do the necessary.
Those two things were just the last straw for me… I mean, he is my little baby and now, literally my only companion haha! So, I decided to that I was going to start cooking his food for him. Sure, it is a little extra work - but seeing as there is an absence of the “other person” I used to look after meal wise, I figure… same same haha!
I am so pleased to say that now, after about a month or just longer of giving him his home cooked meals - his stools are looking healthy and he no longer seems scared of his own butt hole, lol. He also, finishes every single scrap of food in his bowl… vegetables included.
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I have messed around with a few combinations and he seems to love everything… except peas. Peas he definitely does not like, lol. Most weeks I mix up a combination of chicken breast (skin and bone included - come on… dogs eat far worse things than a little bit of fatty skin dispersed among a weeks worth of food). I boil the chicken, then afterward I remove the chicken and use that same water to cook his rice and veg. I generally throw in sweet potato - skin on, diced carrots, green beans sometimes, and then just before it is all done, I throw in a handful of freshly diced baby spinach, just to blanch it. Some weeks I add in lean mince meat. This week I added in some slow boiled gizzards which I very carefully chopped up into miniscule pieces and made sure I cooked long enough to get them nice and tender.
So all of that I toss together and that basically feeds him for a week. Now, I just give him a daily supplement, just to be certain that he is in fact getting all the nutrition he needs… but it makes my heart so happy to see him enjoying his food at the end of the day - and, it may not save me time, but it definitely saves me money… so there’s that!
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Until next time...
Much Love from Country Bumpkinland, South Africa xxx
Jaynielea
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