What do you mean about making a picky eater? I guess I don't understand how adding a little canned food is going to make her picky. If I shouldn't do it, I won't, I guess I'd just prefer a little more explanation so I can understand.
By trying to make a dog eat a food you want it to eat by putting treats in it (like wet canned dog food) you are training it to not eat food given to it until it tastes like the treats you trained it to eat.
Wet dog food also causes less formed stools than I care to pick up, it is not as nutricious as high quality kibble, it causes greater amounts of plaque and tartar on the dog's teeth.
If your dog is very very ill, it may be appropriate upon the vets directives to do that to enhance the number of calories it ingests per meal/day.
I have fed Diamond Dog Food products for 18 years with a variety of breeds and working dogs. They have a vet on staff that honestly answers phone questions about their foods. (Not like Purina which denies they use slurry from rendering plants in their dog foods - I know different because as a trucker I have hauled slurry from rendering plants in AR to Purina pet food processing plants, as has my former son in law)
For my dogs, I like Taste of The Wild, 4 Health, and Diamond Naturals Adult Lamb and Rice. Tay is allergic to chicken (loose stool). I like the percent fat and protein in these products as my dogs all have fantastic coats, perfect weight, excellent teeth, great energy, very small and compact stools.
If I were you, I would more deeply study just how dog food is manufactured, talk to your vet about what nutrients - fats - proteins - calories your dog requires. If your vet doesn't seem confident... ask a breed specific professional breeder exhibtor what they feed their dogs. If you don't like or trust the responses we give you here in the group.
It is my opinion that feeding any food that contains unspecified animal digest or unspecified animal fat should not be fed to any dog.... because of from whence those things come from.
One last thing: when your dog is hungry enough, it will eat what you choose to feed it..... without "jazzing it up". You can try scheduled feeding in your dog's crate. Give the amount in a dish. 45 minutes later remove the dish whether the dog ate it or not. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Like my little kids.... they were served their meals. I eat sloooow. When I was through eatting, the table was cleared: including their dishes of their uneatten food (that was thrownout). They were allowed no snacking, treat beverages or dessert at all for any reason if they did not eat their meal.
No dog, horse, kid I ever raised starved to death.
Roxie
