Most of you probably know a picky eater in your life—whether it’s a friend, a sibling, or you yourself—and there’s nothing wrong with that! Some foods just don’t sit well with us, while others we just can’t get enough of. Our parents have had to learn our preferences and adapt their grocery lists to accommodate us, but no one can truly appreciate the struggle our parents go through until they’ve experienced it themselves, either with children of their own or with their dogs.
My dogs have always been picky eaters. I remember having to hand feed my dog Emmie every morning, one Kibble at a time, or else she wouldn’t eat it. You can imagine how relieved I was when we switched all of our dogs to a raw diet and they became 100% obsessed with their food. Personally, we use Sojos for the wiener dogs, while our Great Dane eats Rocky Mountain raw patties and cubes for her meals. They also each get some barbecued meats like chicken breasts or thighs, pork chops or steak every now and then.
All of our dogs have maintained a healthy weight on this diet, with a healthy metabolism and no skin issues. However, one important thing to keep in mind is to make sure to feed your dogs some hard chews or give them chewing toys to keep their teeth working, as raw foods tend to be on the softer side.
There are many advantages and disadvantages cited for raw diets when compared to grain-based commercial pet foods. Your dog may exhibit healthier coats and skin, higher energy levels, cleaner teeth and/or smaller stools. However, some risks to consider with a raw dog food diet include a higher risk of harmful bacteria or choking on whole bones present in the meat. However, if your dogs are picky eaters, then a raw dog food diet might just be what they need to get them motivated to eat their food, which made the switch more than worth it for our family.