8 month old rescue puppy hates dried meal

[shivvy]

I posted a question on here a couple of weeks ago asking about natural/homemade food for my pup. I have done a bit more research and still don't know whether commercial or homemade is best however I still need a bit more advice.
She will eat just about anything but she really doesn't like any commercial 'crunchy' dry meal (I have tried a few).
I thought that she maybe had sore teeth or didn't like the hard nature of the meal, but she will eat other crunchy foods eg treats, raw carrots etc.
I think it is important for her to have some hard food in her meals (for her teeth and for her digestion) but don't know how to give her it without using the commercial food or bones (I have read a few scary stories).
Any opinions or ideas would be very gratefully accepted.
Thanks

PS - Incase you think I have swapped her food too quickly in any of the changes, I have gently phased her from one meal to another.

[888sally888]

Hi
Pickles - my Bedlington wont eat the dried food on its own so I either mix in some cooked mince (fat drained off) or boil some chicken breasts and put a little bit mixed into the dried stuff.

She eats it no problem now. However, with ham she picks it out as it doesnt stick to the biscuits - shes no fool!!

Hope this may help Sally.

[shivvy]

Thanks Sally but I have tried that many times and she doesn't fall for it! I have even tried mixing it with pate but she either half-heartedly sucks them or she just doesn't eat anything.

[dot.hawkes]

Maybe she doesn;t like having to eat her food slowly, a healthy dog should wolf their food down and for a young dog with softer teeth she would have to work harder at crunching and she is probably just lazy!!

[ruthann58]

will she eat them soaked or is it the taste she doesnt like, have you tried her with a bit of wholemeal toast when we first had our pup she came on a complete puppy food from the breeder but after about 2 months she wouldnt eat it and worried the life out of me like you we tried all sorts of different ways to get her to eat it in the end i gave up with it and cooked her mince , chicken,veg, toast ,scrambled egg all sorts in fact the breeder said i couldnt go far wrong with what she was having then after a couple of months very slowly started adding a few of the dried bits soon she was back on to the complete diet and now 6 years on will eat anything . Ruth

[doglady]

To be honest, I would think she's being stubborn and has picked up on if she doesn't eat the food she'll get something nicer. Put the food down for her. Any she hasn't eaten within 15-20 minutes gets picked up and nothing till the next meal. She'll soon catch on, and will eventually be hungry enough to eat it.

I know that sounds harsh, but you need your dog to eat what's it's given, when you give it. No messing around allowed!!

[shivvy]

Hi doglady.
I have definately done the 10 minutes on the floor and then lift it. She was only offered food twice a day - morning and evening - and it was only set down for 10 - 15 minutes. I stuck it out for a fortnight but she started losing weight. The only food she was getting was her training treats.