I would really appreciate anyone's advice for my super-picky, unpredictable 3-year-old female, Laina. I'll start out by saying she is perfectly healthy and active, playful, gets runs, walks, and vigorous play in our yard daily. She holds her weight at 53 pounds, no matter what amount she eats! Her coat is soft and shiny. I give her omega-3, probiotic and mulitvitamin daily.

First of all, she has been on a raw diet since being weaned. From puppy to about 1 1/2 years, Laina was a happy, voracious eater and it was easy for me to just buy up a ton of chicken, ground beef, pork with bones, lamb with bones, frozen fish, etc., mix it all together with a teeny bit of mixed vegs, (and cooked chicken or beef liver -- she would never ever eat raw liver) package it in individual 14oz portion bags, freeze, and thaw and serve, twice a day.

BUT, for about a year, or more, she would often pick out only the chicken from her mixture, sometimes eat a teeny bit of the other stuff, sometimes eat it all. But mostly all she was really getting is chicken.

This is what I have tried:
1. Feeding once a day, early evening, since she is often disinterested in breakfast. This didn't seem to make any difference at all in the amount she would consume.

2. Purchase pre-made raw food -- tried several brands/flavors -- she picks around at it, usually leaves most of it. Tried mixing it up with her beloved chicken leg or thigh, she picks out the chicken and leaves the rest.

I feel like I literally have taken hundreds of dollars and ground it up in my disposal from time after time cleaning her dog bowl of uneaten (expensive!) food.

Any suggestions?

Have you ever tried a partial raw diet? My girl is ubber picky, and prefers her chicken, but I also feed kibble. You could try a high end grain free kibble and then add in the raw and see if she will eat that way. If raw is under 20% of the total food fed per day it does not have to be balanced, so she can still get the benefits of raw, but get the balance thru the kibble. You could also try a freeze dried food, or Nature's variety actually has a kibble mixed with freeze dried. There is also the option of The honest kitchen, Grandma Lucy's or Sojo's that is dehydrated where you can get the base mix and then just add muscle meat to it. I do agree that when feeding primarily raw you need to mix proteins, chicken is on the lighter end of nutrients as compared to beef, most recommend feeding the majority of red meats for that reason. But if she is a chicken only eater, I would go to a different format of feeding, in order to get a good balance. many companies will give free samples, and others charge a small amount for their samples, I would try some samples of some that may interest you and see if she is more interested. If you have more questions, please ask. Happy to help

Hi MiyasMomma -- thanks so much for your reply!! Yes, I have occasionally considered adding kibble to the raw ... and it seems like I'm always putting it off because she goes back to liking her raw again. Perfect example is last night -- I mixed up a typical meal that I hadn't given her in about 3 months -- one she had originally eaten, then quit -- and she devoured it all! I'm going to get some kibble on hand and mix it in when she doesnt eat her raw. One of the comments on the feed has stuck with me -- I don't know why I never thought to do this -- I will give her 5 or 10 minutes to see if she'll eat, and if not, I'll wrap it and refrigerate it for the next meal. That would at least make me feel like I'm not spending all this money and time mixing my own raw for nothing!
Do you have a recommendation/advice on feeding once or twice a day? I really prefer to feed twice a day, it seems like 1) a huge amount to consume in one meal and 2) way too long to go 24 hours between feedings. What do you do for your picky girl?

Hi Gina! I didn't go into my whole, huskies tend to eat 20-25% less than most breeds and rarely eat what is recommended on a package of food, but many huskies are like that. Thru their dna they have just been a breed that can go a day or two not eating or want to eat 1 meal a day. My preference is to feed twice a day, but neither one of mine will eat breakfast, they do however eat a protein based snack in the morning and a hearty dinner at night of kibble and raw. I also think that many huskies need the variety. So I have been known to feed kibble and raw one day, kibble and lightly cooked another, and then I have also done Nutrisca freeze dried, kibble and raw when I have been low on kibble, and I also have grandma Lucy's on hand in case as well. It takes math sometimes to figure every thing out. I do give muscle meat only and stick to 20-25% raw muscle meat, so 4-6 ounces is typically what I feed meat wise, I give raw meaty bones something like 3-4 times a week, sometimes more, depends, and then the balanced other stuff, lol, kibble, freeze dried, etc. So back to your question, I will give 1/2 ration of kibble in the morning, typically 1 cup of kibble and leave it for her, I also give her a happy hip but you could also make your own dehydrated chicken breast strip and give that instead. The big meal is at night. 1 cup kibble and then around 6 ounces of meat. Miya is an exceptionally healthy animal, she maintains weight quite well, has energy for days The main thing is making the food balanced. I would love to feed 100% raw, but like yours I would have an endless supply stocking up because she would be in a mood. I also just do not have enough freezer space to DIY. I feel that her meals are balanced, and she benefits from the raw I feed. I do it this way for both of my girls, and seriously I see the difference in feeding the partial raw. I hope that helped more, and again please ask questions, that's what we are all here for helping each other with this wonderful breed. Renee

That is a fantastically helpful reply! I might print it and tape it to my cabinet lol! I'm not too active on this site but every time I have had a question, I get great, practical advice. Thanks so much!

So, I have run the gamut with playing the feeding game with Zhukov. Between loose poop, refusing to eat, picking his food out of his bowl and depositing it around the house, and just being a pain in the rear, I finally found his routine.

I, also, make his food. 1 week it will be a mix of rice, ground beef and pork, spinach, lima beans, peas and carrots, and the next week I will switch out the beef and pork with chicken. I found that he DESPISES fruits mixed in and it will result in a weeks worth of food being thrown out. Sometimes I will throw in some mashed up sweet potato or pumpkin in there and less frequently, some chicken or beef liver.

I also, through trial and error, found that I have to switch up his kibble every once in a while. Guess he has a refined palate.....

I have to say, with all the different breeds of dogs I have had, he is the most picky (and spoiled) dog I have ever had. Good luck!

That's helpful info -- mine, also, despises fruit and any raw vegetable I've ever offered. She will, however, eat a tiny bit of cooked veggies. I'm now realizing that it's no big deal to just switch it up a bit for her now and then, makes me feel a lot better to see that many of you out there have to do the same thing. Thanks for chiming in!

Mark, please make sure that the majority of his food is kibble or balance premade, the foods that you cook do not have organ and calcium which is very much needed, on the outside looking into the meals you mention they are not considered balanced.

Gina you can also make shakes or freeze up a treat type item for breakfast and totally forgot to list some ideas for you.......you can blend yogurt/pure can pumpkin/goat milk/kefir then add in peanut butter/raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, banana, if you want to use garden style vegies pumpkin/sweet potato/yam/carrots make sure to cook them first or puree (dogs can not break down those items and goes in and out the same way so either bake/boil or puree them), you can also add in coconut oil and organ meat. By adding in the organ meat into a slushy or a freeze dried treat (mix together some items and freeze, dispense for a treat or for breakfast, they do make molds), then add muscle meat to the kibble and then feed raw meaty bones you can actually balance daily, just split up the balance throughout the day. And I also totally forgot about raw eggs, can feed about 5 eggs a week, you can feed shell as well, you can also lightly scramble or do a soft hard boiled leave shell on (shell will give calcium, however it is not as significant as bones, so you can not rely on egg shells for all of the 10% bone). I hope I gave you some more ideas!

I'll try the treats! She just may go for that, because she does love her treats! I've tried eggs in the past very unsuccessfully, unless they are leftover from our breakfast plates ... but I'll try again. I like the softboiled idea. Of course, I'm remembering when she was a 4-10 month old puppy and she devoured anything I put in front of her. I always felt like the whole, uncracked raw eggs were very healthy. Same with the coconut oil, pumpkin and peanut butter; now they are a no go. She does like baked sweet potatoes and I have made strips of dried sweet potatoes for snacks that were a hit. I'll stay patient and keep trying! You are super helpful!!