Hi,

I have a 4 month old Bichon Frise who doesnt like dry food. I have
tried Science diet Natures best, Purina Puppy Chow and Wellness dry
foods and she barely ate them. Then I gave her some Science Diet
canned food and she ate it like she never ate before. I know dry is
supposed to be better for her, but It seemed like she wasnt eating
enough before. Any advise would be appreciated.

"Harry" wrote in message
om...
I know dry is
supposed to be better for her, but It seemed like she wasnt eating
enough before. Any advise would be appreciated.

.........Why do you think dry food is better? It doesn't really clean the
teeth, the dog has to wet it down in the stomach before it even starts to
digest and it's mostly cereal because the extruding process requires 40%
carbs so the kibble will stick together. Stick with the canned food - it's
more bioavailable. You've got a small dog so it shouldn't be too expensive.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 15:34:40 +0000, Harry wrote:

I have a 4 month old Bichon Frise who doesnt like dry food. I have tried
Science diet Natures best, Purina Puppy Chow and Wellness dry foods and
she barely ate them. Then I gave her some Science Diet canned food and
she ate it like she never ate before. I know dry is supposed to be
better for her, but It seemed like she wasnt eating enough before. Any
advise would be appreciated.

Where did you get the idea dry food is better than moist? It doesn't
clean their teeth (despite what some advertising implies). As buglady
pointed out it also has a significant grain (i.e., cereal) content which
many people feel is inappropriate for a canine. Would you enjoy eating
grape-nuts without milk every day?

I feed my pack of four equal amounts (by volume) of dry and canned
plus two ounces of pure protein (e.g., roasted chicken). Two of the
dogs have particularly sensitive stomach and tend to have seriously
nasty flatulance if I feed them the wrong thing (such as cheese). One
appears to be intolerant of wheat. Three of the four would ignore most
brands of dry food I tried. Late last year I switched to Solid Gold
dry and canned. All four bowls are now licked clean inside of three
minutes. They seem to have a slight preference for the Millenia over
the Hund-n-Flocken kibble.

Lastly, I would eat ramen soup every day before feeding any Purina
brand dog food to my dogs. If their food has any redeeming features
it's news to me.

On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 15:34:40 +0000, Harry wrote:

I have a 4 month old Bichon Frise who doesnt like dry food. I have tried
Science diet Natures best, Purina Puppy Chow and Wellness dry foods and
she barely ate them. Then I gave her some Science Diet canned food and
she ate it like she never ate before. I know dry is supposed to be
better for her, but It seemed like she wasnt eating enough before. Any
advise would be appreciated.

Where did you get the idea dry food is better than moist? It doesn't
clean their teeth (despite what some advertising implies). As buglady
pointed out it also has a significant grain (i.e., cereal) content which
many people feel is inappropriate for a canine. Would you enjoy eating
grape-nuts without milk every day?

I feed my pack of four equal amounts (by volume) of dry and canned
plus two ounces of pure protein (e.g., roasted chicken). Two of the
dogs have particularly sensitive stomach and tend to have seriously
nasty flatulance if I feed them the wrong thing (such as cheese). One
appears to be intolerant of wheat. Three of the four would ignore most
brands of dry food I tried. Late last year I switched to Solid Gold
dry and canned. All four bowls are now licked clean inside of three
minutes. They seem to have a slight preference for the Millenia over
the Hund-n-Flocken kibble.

Lastly, I would eat ramen soup every day before feeding any Purina
brand dog food to my dogs. If their food has any redeeming features
it's news to me.

Well, I'm not certain about the other breeds but I do not recommend canned
dog food to cockers. Canned food can lead to tartar build up on teeth,
unless of course you brush their teeth every day.
Dog do not need variety like humans do. A good quality kibble in warm water
should suffice.

I have found that puppies, at age 3-4 months, become finicky and by playing
with their diet at this time is not necessary and could cause problems. You
won't know which food did it. They will not starve to death if they don't
eat for a day or so, as long as they have water.
Give them one type of food, place it down for 20 mins. If is is still there
in 20 mins...remove it and do not give it back until the next feeding time.
You do this a few times and they clue in that you are not going to cater to
their whims. My first puppy clued in after 24 hours.

Good Luck
"Kurtis D. Rader" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 15:34:40 +0000, Harry wrote:

I have a 4 month old Bichon Frise who doesnt like dry food. I have
tried
Science diet Natures best, Purina Puppy Chow and Wellness dry foods and
she barely ate them. Then I gave her some Science Diet canned food and
she ate it like she never ate before. I know dry is supposed to be
better for her, but It seemed like she wasnt eating enough before. Any
advise would be appreciated.

Where did you get the idea dry food is better than moist? It doesn't
clean their teeth (despite what some advertising implies). As buglady
pointed out it also has a significant grain (i.e., cereal) content which
many people feel is inappropriate for a canine. Would you enjoy eating
grape-nuts without milk every day?

I feed my pack of four equal amounts (by volume) of dry and canned
plus two ounces of pure protein (e.g., roasted chicken). Two of the
dogs have particularly sensitive stomach and tend to have seriously
nasty flatulance if I feed them the wrong thing (such as cheese). One
appears to be intolerant of wheat. Three of the four would ignore most
brands of dry food I tried. Late last year I switched to Solid Gold
dry and canned. All four bowls are now licked clean inside of three
minutes. They seem to have a slight preference for the Millenia over
the Hund-n-Flocken kibble.

Lastly, I would eat ramen soup every day before feeding any Purina
brand dog food to my dogs. If their food has any redeeming features
it's news to me.

Well, I'm not certain about the other breeds but I do not recommend canned
dog food to cockers. Canned food can lead to tartar build up on teeth,
unless of course you brush their teeth every day.
Dog do not need variety like humans do. A good quality kibble in warm water
should suffice.

I have found that puppies, at age 3-4 months, become finicky and by playing
with their diet at this time is not necessary and could cause problems. You
won't know which food did it. They will not starve to death if they don't
eat for a day or so, as long as they have water.
Give them one type of food, place it down for 20 mins. If is is still there
in 20 mins...remove it and do not give it back until the next feeding time.
You do this a few times and they clue in that you are not going to cater to
their whims. My first puppy clued in after 24 hours.

Good Luck
"Kurtis D. Rader" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 15:34:40 +0000, Harry wrote:

I have a 4 month old Bichon Frise who doesnt like dry food. I have
tried
Science diet Natures best, Purina Puppy Chow and Wellness dry foods and
she barely ate them. Then I gave her some Science Diet canned food and
she ate it like she never ate before. I know dry is supposed to be
better for her, but It seemed like she wasnt eating enough before. Any
advise would be appreciated.

Where did you get the idea dry food is better than moist? It doesn't
clean their teeth (despite what some advertising implies). As buglady
pointed out it also has a significant grain (i.e., cereal) content which
many people feel is inappropriate for a canine. Would you enjoy eating
grape-nuts without milk every day?

I feed my pack of four equal amounts (by volume) of dry and canned
plus two ounces of pure protein (e.g., roasted chicken). Two of the
dogs have particularly sensitive stomach and tend to have seriously
nasty flatulance if I feed them the wrong thing (such as cheese). One
appears to be intolerant of wheat. Three of the four would ignore most
brands of dry food I tried. Late last year I switched to Solid Gold
dry and canned. All four bowls are now licked clean inside of three
minutes. They seem to have a slight preference for the Millenia over
the Hund-n-Flocken kibble.

Lastly, I would eat ramen soup every day before feeding any Purina
brand dog food to my dogs. If their food has any redeeming features
it's news to me.

"Kurtis D. Rader" wrote:

Lastly, I would eat ramen soup every day before feeding any Purina
brand dog food to my dogs. If their food has any redeeming features
it's news to me.

Everyone is entitled to their preferences, but note that many top
competitive canine athletes, including National Field Champion
retrievers, are fed Purina. Unlikely they could have such winning
records if anything was wrong with their health, especially since
stamina, willingness to repeatedly plunge into cold water, and
great overall vitality is needed to be competitive.

Purina feeds are proven in feeding trials and supported by
research on nutrition, its effects on injury prevention, and
many other aspects of the role of feed formulation on health.

I personally feed Diamond, but surely don't know of anything
wrong with Purina.

Amy Dahl

"Kurtis D. Rader" wrote:

Lastly, I would eat ramen soup every day before feeding any Purina
brand dog food to my dogs. If their food has any redeeming features
it's news to me.

Everyone is entitled to their preferences, but note that many top
competitive canine athletes, including National Field Champion
retrievers, are fed Purina. Unlikely they could have such winning
records if anything was wrong with their health, especially since
stamina, willingness to repeatedly plunge into cold water, and
great overall vitality is needed to be competitive.

Purina feeds are proven in feeding trials and supported by
research on nutrition, its effects on injury prevention, and
many other aspects of the role of feed formulation on health.

I personally feed Diamond, but surely don't know of anything
wrong with Purina.

Amy Dahl

In article (Harry) writes:
Hi,

I have a 4 month old Bichon Frise who doesnt like dry food. I have
tried Science diet Natures best, Purina Puppy Chow and Wellness dry
foods and she barely ate them. Then I gave her some Science Diet
canned food and she ate it like she never ate before. I know dry is
supposed to be better for her, but It seemed like she wasnt eating
enough before. Any advise would be appreciated.

1. It is true that Bichon's easily develop tartar. It is
best to address this by brushing your dog's teeth every
other day with doggy toothpaste.

2. As for dry dog food being better, you should know that
the incidence of bladder stones is higher for dogs fed
kibble than those fed dry dog food.

You should also consider that Bichons are prone to bladder
stones as you will discover he

http://www.bichon.org/stonestable1.htm


I know all this because my beloved Max is a Havanese, a Bichon
cousin, who has had bladder stones is on a special diet.

Best wishes for success.

--Marshall

In article (Harry) writes:
Hi,

I have a 4 month old Bichon Frise who doesnt like dry food. I have
tried Science diet Natures best, Purina Puppy Chow and Wellness dry
foods and she barely ate them. Then I gave her some Science Diet
canned food and she ate it like she never ate before. I know dry is
supposed to be better for her, but It seemed like she wasnt eating
enough before. Any advise would be appreciated.

1. It is true that Bichon's easily develop tartar. It is
best to address this by brushing your dog's teeth every
other day with doggy toothpaste.

2. As for dry dog food being better, you should know that
the incidence of bladder stones is higher for dogs fed
kibble than those fed dry dog food.

You should also consider that Bichons are prone to bladder
stones as you will discover he

http://www.bichon.org/stonestable1.htm


I know all this because my beloved Max is a Havanese, a Bichon
cousin, who has had bladder stones is on a special diet.

Best wishes for success.

--Marshall