Diary of A Picky Eater

Xator is now 4.5 years old and getting him to eat has been a struggle since day 1. He turns his nose up at everything - even an occasional special treat from my meal will get thoroughly evaluated and often times rejected. He doesn't eat with any consistancy - he may eat his entire meal 1 day, then skip the next three.

We 'brand hopped' for the first two years. Tried Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba...even went so far as to experiment with some supermarket brands - Alpo, Pedigree, and Purina. With all these foods, I never felt that Xator was achieving his full health potential. And, of course, getting him to just eat was still mission impossible. I could probably count on one hand the times he ever actually finished a meal.

In August of 2000, after much research, we started on B.A.R.F. (An all natural diet consisting only of raw meaty bones, veggies, and supplements.) I saw the improvements one will see when switching to high quality ingredients almost immediately, but his eating habits improved only slightly. I stuck with the diet because I felt (and still feel) that it was the way to go. I also figured 'if I'm not struggling to get him to eat this, I'll be struggling to get him to eat something else. So why not struggle with the best?"

I am a firm believer in feeding our pets a natural raw diet, but Xator was just not eating. He was always 5-12lbs underweight because of it. After feeding raw for over two years I stumbled into a FRR distributor.

Since B.A.R.F, I now feel funny...guilty even about giving Xator proccessed pet foods. Just the thought of buying a treat at the market is revolting...sounds drastic, but it's true. (Reading the suggested articles may help you understand why.) After reading about how FRR used only human (NOT pet) grade ingredients, no by-products, was oven-baked, and the raves about it's taste I felt comfortable enough to order a sample.


The Flint River Ranch Experience

Xator was on one of his famous hunger strikes when the FRR sample arrived. (Almost a week of eating only 0-40% of his meals) As soon as I picked up the envolope Xator expressed interest. He started acting very much the way he acts when he sees me approach his leash drawer. He was doing his happy dance and sniffing intensely at the envelope.

I opened the packet and he dove right in! I cannot stress enough how unusual that is. Opening the packet also eliminated any reservations I had. The way it looked and smelled alone were reassuring. And, of course, Xator's enthusiasm didn't hurt a bit.

After a few bites I took it away and decided to give him the rest from his bowl. (I was sure his enthusiam was due to the fact that I was feeding him from my 'hands.') I took his bowl out of the fridge and tossed the FRR in with 3 chicken parts left over from his pervious meal. Again he dove in as soon as I set the bowl down! (He usually sits by his bowl for a while, going over the days events in his mind I suppose, before SLOWLY getting up and proceeding with his sniffing routine and eventually picking something up.) He practically inhaled the FRR THEN looked at the chicken and after some time ate 2 pieces and left the other.

In my opinion, an all natural raw diet is the absolute best we can do for out pets. But no diet fares well with every pet. (Or the people that are in charge of feeding for that matter.) I believe that with Flint River Ranch, I can finally get my boy to eat...and NOT have to sacrifice quality to do it.