# Cottage cheese in food to entice to eat on schedule ok?



## Cobalt (Jul 27, 2007)

I am trying to get my 10 month old to eat on a schedule. If I put food down and take it up she doesn't eat at all until night time and then she eats half of what she could eat. She is not really food motivated and we do not feel scraps etc.

If I mix a few teaspoons of quality canned dog food in, she will eat it right away but I don't want to feed canned. 

I discovered that she will eat it if I put a few teaspoons of lowfat cottage cheese in her dry food. She is eating Fromms Surf and Turf.

Is this okay? I know that calcium is a concern when I look at dog foods so does this add too much?

I will also try unsweetened yogurt when I go to the grocery store tomorrow if that is better.

My plan is to do this until she adjusts and then back off so she eats dry on a schedule. She was self feeding, we left food in her dish, a measured amount and she ate here and there. We are getting a second dog and they need to eat on a schedule so we can avoid food aggression. 

Thanks!


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## bbdane12 (Mar 31, 2008)

We had the same problem, having to mix things with Maddie's food to get her to eat. I don't think cottage cheese is necessarily bad for your dog every once in a while. We just worried that we didn't want to be mixing something every single time she ate. (Sounds like you don't want to be doing that forever either.) After reading some other threads on this forum, we decided that Maddie may just not love her food. We switched the brand of her food and she seems to love the taste and is a much better eater. Dog food companies work very hard to make foods that taste good to dogs, and dogs, like people, have varying tastes. So, my suggestion would be to try to find a food that is still healthy, but your dog likes better.


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## Aggie (Mar 13, 2008)

You could lessen the amount you mix just a little bit every day, and try to eventually wean him to no cottage cheese. I think this would be a concern for throwing of calcium ratios.
I've used raw egg and yogurt (same Ca concerns) w/ new dogs so they'll keep eating while getting used to a new place.

Of course, you can also always put it down for 20m, take it up.. eventually she should be hungry enough she'll eat it right off the bat at one of the meals.


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## borzoimom (May 21, 2007)

If you add cottage cheese, I would not add the low fat kind. Yogurt would be better for her, and even has digestive enzymes. 
When was the last time the dog was wormed? Sometimes the presence of worms makes a dog feel " no hungry". Also, I have noticed a " picky eater" can be linked to low thyroid. You might want to have that checked. If so, its just a simple pill twice a day, but makes a big difference. It will raise the thyroid, helping the dog to feel more " hungry". 
Also moisting her food with hot water for a few seconds, will release the smells in the food. ( just a thought..) Not enough to soak the food, just enough to release the good smells in the food.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

> My plan is to do this until she adjusts and then back off so she eats dry on a schedule.


Well, don't be surprised if it just doesn't happen! Rare is the dog who goes back to plain, dry kibble after having fresh foods added to the diet! Let's face it - dry kibble isn't all that enticing! Since your dog eats well when you mix in a little canned, why deprive her of that? Adding wet food to the diet is a good thing. I add fresh fruits, fresh, steamed vegetables, fresh ground meats poached with garlic and celery stalk, sardines in olive oil, spinach and cheese omlettes, fresh tomatoes (they love the little grape tomatoes) - the list goes on! I feed twice a day, with snacks (like sardines or hard boiled egg, or green beans), making one meal very simple, and adding fresh meat/veggies to the other meal.

For simple variety, you could add: 

Grated parmesean cheese
Plain, live culture yogurt 
Cottage cheese 
Chopped, hard boiled egg 
Poached chicken, shredded


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

I always make sure my dogs will willingly eat dry kibble, before I start adding things in. I use tough love here. Put the bowl down for 15 mins, and then take it up, whether they have eaten or not. It only takes mine a day or so to understand that if they do not eat what I give them, they don't eat at all lol. 

That said, once I do have them eating what I give them, I do add things in, such as eggs, ground beef, chicken, cottage cheese, yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, etc. lol


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

I guarantee you that second dog will get the first to eat a lot quicker, too. Nothing like having a competitor hanging over your shoulder!


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## sn0fl8k3 (Oct 18, 2007)

We have the same problem. IMO i would not add anything to "entice" the dog to eat. 

I've done it. 

Because we added everything yogurt, cottage cheese, mixins, canned food, human scraps, ect. 

We essentially created a monster on on hands. She would get tired of something, we added cottage cheese for 2 weeks then she decided she didn't want to eat it and refused. We then we would panic and added something different, and the cycle went on. 

Finally after adding everything imaginable, switching 3 different dog foods. We went to the store to switch to a Evo from Innova thinking she would like it better. We picked the 2 flavors, red bits and regular. 

The owner at the counter asked why we were buying two of the small bags. We told her our problem. 

And she basically told us we created our own monster, which we did. and to put her on a strict schedule. Give her the food and pick it up after 30 min, if she eats it or not. Because bottom line, YOU feel bad because your dog isn't eating, but your dog with NEVER starve himself if he is healthy.

Also free feeding adds to the problem you are having, becuase your dog doens't SEE you as the food provider, because he can eat whenever he wants!

The dog is trying to control you, even at the smallest aspect of their life. What ever they can control they will do it. 

Can you see that your dog is training you to add better yummies, each time when he doesn't eat?

It's been 2 months of this schedule with out adding ANYTHING and its going really great. Sometimes she doesn't eat it we take it away, and the next time when she gets it she will defiantly eat. It is still an on going problem and we are still working on it. I always make sure she see's me take away her food too. 

Sorry for the long post i hope this helps.


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## polishbear78 (Apr 20, 2008)

Toast crumpled up and torn apart into very small pieces is very appealing to my dog for some reason so I just mix the food together with it. He is a weird dog because he loves my burnt toast.


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## whimsy (Aug 19, 2007)

Snofl8ke gave you the best advice that you can give. This is exactly the same thing a breeder or a vet will tell you. Been there done that, and it works. In general dogs were not made to eat kibble and most dogs don't like it but it eat to survive and out of habit.
After reading up on what goes into dry kibble and after visiting slaughter houses and after having vet bills for gastro issues I found a good breeder who taught me "raw". Have been feeding this way for years now and have never had a vet bill, never a sick tummy, and no picky eaters. The bonus is that most of the meat comes free from the butchers and private people during hunting season when they give me their bones and throw aways. I buy veggies on sale. Where it used to cost me $300.00 to feed 3 dogs per month plus the darn vet bills, it now costs me an average of $ 400.00 tops per year and no vet bills. And all my dogs are shepherds, big eaters.


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## MegaMuttMom (Sep 15, 2007)

My crazy dog gets going if I throw 2 pieces of kibble in his water bowl. He fishes them out and it gets his appetite going and finishes what's in his bowl. It's silly but simple.


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## Cobalt (Jul 27, 2007)

Thank you all for your great advice! 

The silly dog ate some Canidae yesterday. I tried it a few months ago and she didn't like it so I do think that she is being picky. I found a sample. She wants what she doesn't have at the moment. 

So, both dogs will go to Canidae this fall. It's the food that I picked after doing research. I got my sister to switch to it from Purina and my mom to switch from Little Cesar and Bill Jac so all of the family dogs could be on one food. That makes dog sitting so much easier. 

She can have other foods as treats but not in her food bowl! Can't do raw, my family is half vegetarian and it would be too much for them. But, I am glad that it works for those who can do it. Your dogs are lucky.


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