Fussy Lhasa Abso male...

Question
Dear Susan,

I have a 9 month old Lhasa Abso puppy/teenager. Up until recently he's been eating dog food - Hills for dry food in between meals. And for his meals I've been giving him either cooked Turkey or Chicken, recently his not been eating this though as I expect it's too dry for him - or he is just being fussy.

He loves red meat and would gulf down a plate of mince meat or steak in a matter of seconds. I am scared to feed him too much of this though as I don't think it's too good for him and suspect that it's been making him slightly agro... I do try and mix in the red meat with some liver and sometimes even some wet pet food from Tesco.

I just want to find a healthy balance for my dog that he would actually eat :)

I do hope you'll be able to help me with this?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Kind Regards,

Rika Adam
England UK

Answer
I am scared to feed him too much of this though as I don't think it's too good for him and suspect that it's been making him slightly agro

Hi there Rika,
First of all, I do not know what the above means...'slightly agro"????????? Do you mean aggtessive? Ho, this could not be what you mean. So since I don't understand, I cannot respond.

As far as your feeding him? I certainly am not here to criticize anyone for what they feed their dogs so I hope you don't take anything I say as a personal criticism of you--I would never do that.

I am not happy with the Hill's food or the cooked turkey unless you tell me what kind of turkey (if it's from a deli or is lunchmeat, STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY AS THAT KIND OF TURKEY IS VERY, VERY BAD FOR DOGS). I think your dog is becoming fussy because he is not digesting nor absorbing your diet very well at this point. Too much red meat is too high in fat and down the road you could be risking pancreatitis if you keep this up...which you don't want to do anyway.

Now, here is how I feed my dogs and it has changed everything for them...for the better, I might add. First of all, I buy only ORGANIC. Sometimes the boneless, skinless breasts that I use are just too expensive to buy if they say "organic' on the package so I live with chicken or veal or lamb or someother meat that is simply hormone, steroid, antibiotic free!!! It may not have the organic LABEL but do I care? Nope. I lightly steam their chicken in a veggie steamer and let the fat drip out of the meat to the broth below. If the chicken I buy is truly low fat (and they do sell this) I can tell from the bouillion it makes when steaming and then I even give the dogs a little of this juice after they eat..they love it. You can lightly steam any of the meats I mentioned..I have a friend who even is able to find buffalo meat. By definition, since buffalo and rabbits are not raised on a farm, we KNOW the meat is ORGANIC--ON FARMS is where these animals are given the anitbiotics, hormones and steroids and you need to avoid this kind of meat at all costs.

I JUST GOT A PHONE CALL AND I MUST STOP THIS UNFINISHED LETTER NOW. i WILL COME BACK LATER AND ADD TO IT BUT RIGHT NOW I HAVE TO SHUT DOWN. I PROMISE I WILL RETURN THIS EVENING AND FINISH THIS LETTER, OK??  BYE, SUSAN

I am so sorry that I could not get back to you. Anyway, in addition to what I suggested above, you will need to supplement his diet if you decide to home cook (or even if you don't for that  matter). He will need a good digestive enzyme, vitamins and maybe even a probiotic. Please contact me if you want more info on how to do this. The healty balance you discuss means that yoiu need to balance the acid/alkaline in his system. This is done with organic meats, veggies and FRUITS. Surprised? There is so much more to this but as I say, I have more info if you are so inclined. Most importantly, for now, is cut out ALL SNACKS. try feeding him smaller meals more often (2 or 3 a day), and read up on REAL FOODS, not canned or kibble from the store. I have a wonderful woman for you who will set up a diet for you and explain everythiing better than I am doing...believe me. I have three dogs and I credit this lady with actually saving the digestive life of my male yorkie. Let me know if you want or need more info, ok?
Susan aka DazzlinDaawg@aol.com