Sophia only wants to eat cat food

[Tambrey]

okay...what is a good food to get her to eat that will be more nutritious for her?...Mom said she has not touched any of the 3 kinds she has at home (I do not know what they are) but Sophia, her adopted daschshund only wants to eat the indoor cat food...grrrrrr...

Sooo...we are going to Petco tomorrow to get a harness for her and some various foods in small quantities...any suggestions?!
I have only ever had BIg dogs, so get BIg dog foods...this little thing needs tiny kibbles, and even though the ones mom has are tiny, I guess the cat food is tinier...

thanks

[Marty]

I wonder if she might be used to canned food? Anyway, Nutro Natural makes a small bite formula (I know Traci doesn't think much of Nutro). Royal Canin also has a line for small dogs. It is always possoble to chop it up for a bit in a blender or food processer.

I always wondered why most food is so large also.

edited to say that I know you probably know that cat food is not appropriate for a dog.

[CrystalsMom]

Maybe adding a small amount of canned food to the kibble will be more appetizing for Sophia. My last dog Shelby would never touch kibble alone.....she turned her nose up at it.
You can try a canned dog food that contains fish like Wellness Whitefish and Sweet Potato and mix it with the kibble your mother is using now. It's like $1.50 a can, but if you only used a small amount each day, it wouldn't be so ridiculously expensive.

[Tambrey]

oh most definitely we know the cat food is not appropriate...I should also mention that the people who had fostered her also noticed that she wanted cat food, so figured as long as she was eating, that was good enough, so did not bother to try, and she was with them for about a week...grrrrr....

I also know it is not good to mix or change foods too fast or too much, but we need to find something appropriate that this little girl will eat...*sighs*...and that is the only thing I can think, to get small sample bags/cans or whatever and keep trying until she eats one and does not turn up her nose at it...

She is not hurting for food yet, I cannot feel ribs, but we want to get the proper nutrients into her the sooner the better to help keep her healthy...who knows what she ate while she was wandering the streets...

[Traci]

It could also be that she is spoiled (common for the breed), so whatever food you choose, don't change it often, and try to stick with it, so that she is not prone to food aversions, which if ever there is an illness to contend with, it would be difficult to get her eating appropriately.

I would recommend any adult maintenance, small breed formula.

[Marty]

Maybe try moistening the food first? Your Mom might try addingf some yogurt or cottage cheese to the the food.

[Tambrey]

Mini daschshunds spoiled?!?!

Oh I am sure of that one...Mom has her spoiled already...but with lots of love and hugs and kisses...

We will look for some at Petco tomorrow and see waht they have for her to try...
and of course, Mom has to get her a harness that is more feminine...right now, she is still wearing the collar she came with...a leather Harley Davidson with little rounded spikes on it...at least we have a matching HD leash she can use

[k9Karen]

I agree with what the others have said - maybe moisten the food with something. Cottage cheese and yogurt are both good suggestions, as is mixing in a little canned food. Low salt chicken or beef broth might work too. I've also seen dog 'gravy' in bottles at PetSupermarket. They claim to have vitamins, etc, but I really don't know if there is anything good or bad about them (I did get a good laugh the first time I saw them though). I know the size of the kibble can make a big difference. Angel is much larger than your mom's mini doxie, but she will not eat a large kibble or one that is exceptionally hard. Both Angel and Foxy are a bit fussy about what they eat but Allie will eat anything that falls on the kitchen floor or you put in her bowl. Some dogs just won't eat the hard kibble, so you may need to find a good canned food for her.

[CrystalsMom]

If she likes the fishy taste of cat food, there are a few types of dog food that have Salmon as the main protein.

[Tambrey]

SUCCESS....we went to some friend's visit today, and introduce Sophia to their Cuddles, and they had a bag of Science Diet that Cuddles did not like, but Sophia did So...Science Diet it is...I hope

Thanks for the suggestions, and if she begins to balk at eating this after a while, we will try some of the other ideas mentioned...