Hello, my name is Akasha, and I’m a picky eater!

Mom goes crazy trying to get me to be motivated to eat. The only thing I eat without a doubt is organic turkey breast, dry-roasted duck treats and Ark Naturals dental treats. Mom tells me I must live to reach at least 20 years old in hooman years. So we take this very seriously.

We have been through so MANY brands. The few listed below are just our most recent ones. We were doing Petcurean Now Fresh Small Breed. According to the PetsumerReport.com and DogFoodAdvisor.com this Petcurean kibble has 4 paws out of 5. Though there are a couple of questionable ingredients. So we have moved away from serving this.

Visit one of those websites I linked to and see how your current food rates. I also signed up to the Dog Food Advisor Recall alerts. It’s the easiest way to stay on top of the latest pet food recalls.

Until mom starts cooking for me (hint hint), we are trying some of the real food and delivered dog food services.

What pet food as a picky eater have I recently tried and how did that go?

All of these foods listed below are Love Akasha Approved. Because the ingredients and nutrients in them are legit. I may be the pickiest eater out there but mom does her research and only chooses the very best for me to try.

THE FARMER’S DOG:
The first one I tried was The Farmer’s Dog turkey recipe. We love the personalization that comes on their packaging. (Akasha’s Turkey Recipe) I did good on it for a while. Then I stopped eating it. So mom sprinkled in some organic turkey breast. That got me motivated again to eat it. So if you are picky like me, we suggest adding in another kind of food to get interest. But just make sure it’s not something that has a lot of ingredients you can’t pronounce. Minimal ingredients.  My friend Kimchee has a 50% discount code off your first order for you to try if you’re curious. (Delivery nation-wide.)

GROCERY PUP:
Next I tried Grocery Pup’s, Turkey Pawella recipe. We like this one because it has big chunks of turkey and is Texas-based. As it goes I needed a little motivation, so mom sprinkled it with my organic turkey and then I ate it. Why am I so particular? Halp! For some reason that turkey that mom buys at Whole Foods gets me going. Use code GP713 to get 25% off your first month of Grocery Pup. (Delivery in Texas only for now.)

LOLA & BAXTER:
The latest taste test has been with Lola + Baxter. (Delivery only in Houston, Texas for now.) The turkey recipe one I REALLY liked. Mom hand-fed me the first 4 bites to get me going, and then I ate the rest on my own. The good thing is that I didn’t need to sprinkle in any additional organic turkey breast. I’m trying the beef recipe right now (and I actually did request for the organic turkey to be added to this recipe). My next test will be their egg recipe. Stay tuned. We love supporting local so if you’re in Houston, follow their insta and visit them at one of their farmers market appearances.

THE SIMPLE FOOD PROJECT:
The Simple Food Project makes real food for dogs. No soy, wheat or corn which we def approve of. Their ingredients all look legit. You can feed dry or add water. If you like the texture of freeze-dried and dry-roasted, this is for you. Their process seals in all the nutrients and we are still trying different ways of serving it. I’ve eaten some of it with my organic turkey sprinkled on top. (Do you see a pattern?)

If sprinkling in some organic turkey breast gets me to eat then that’s what mom will do for now. As long as the main course is any one of these she is ok with it. 

SMILING DOG:
I eat real food pet treats by Herbsmith. The Smiling dog Dry Roasted Duck and the Dry Roasted Turkey treats are my faves. Minimal ingredients. The duck treat has duck and lemon juice. That’s it. The package says “Picky Eater Approved” and I have to say this is 100% correct. So if you’re looking for a healthy dog treat, this one is definitely “Love Akasha Approved”.

If you are a picky eater…tell me what you do. Have you tried any of those toppers? Do those work?

If you are not motivated to eat maybe you need a change, or ask your mom to try adding something that will get you interested. Try adding some veggies! That automatically bumps up the nutrients. I’ve also heard adding chicken or beef broth helps. It’s become an experiment. Mom is grateful that I don’t eat everything because then she would have to watch me even more closely. 

And if you haven’t already, watch Pet Fooled on Netflix, mmkay? It will give you some ideas on different foods to try that will benefit their health.

We love our pups, let’s do them a favor and watch this one-hour long documentary that can make their lives even better. People are amazed when they see this. I was too. Plus it took me two years to see it. It came out in 2016.

If you’re in Houston, Texas, this Sunday we are having a social with Iman of Lola & Baxter as our guest speaker. He will be teaching us how to read a pet food label. (So we can get past the marketing part of the packaging where they use words like natural, artisan, and healthy. Even though they are probably not any of those.)

Being able to understand the difference between chicken vs. chicken meal vs. chicken byproduct makes it easier to make better choices. Iman will also share with us easy ways we can upgrade the current food that we are feeding.

The event is listed in the Houston Shih Tzu Lovers Playgroup and the Facebook Event. You can RSVP on either. For those of you not able to attend, I’ll be sharing the highlights with you.