Mowgli

I've had my dog Mowgli, an eight year old golden doodle, since he was a puppy. Although I could not imagine life without him, he may be the most stubborn dog I've ever met in my life. He gave us a run for our money in all categories: training, eating socks, but especially with diet. After we were done with his puppy food phase, he decided that he DID NOT like dog food. We tried literally everything. We never fed him human food. We tried various toppings such as pumpkin, peanut butter, broth, white meat chicken, and coconut oil. He took a mouthful and then spit out kibble one by one. We tried wet dog food. We tried mixing foods. We tried making meal time fun with puzzle bowls and Kongs as recommended by our vet. (Ha! the only thing this did was make him pickier. For several years, when he did eat, he would only eat out of a kong...a 70 lb dog eating piece by piece out of a kong?! I imagine it being similar to a human sustaining off of eating one piece of popcorn at a time!) But anyway, we tried to get him to eat regular kibble for years. Our vet continued to say he will have to eat eventually! and did not show concern because his weight did not fluctuate. I'll admit, I still don't understand this...was he just sustaining off of treats ( a bad habit we later kicked), crumbs, a few pieces of kibble from the kong, chews, and the occasional sock?! I'm not sure, but I can say for certain that it was stressful and unhealthy for the both of us. Over the past 6ish years, I've probably tried at least 25+ dog foods. Every once in awhile, he would find one that he would eat for a week max, and then decide he didn't like that one either. I came across honest kitchen dog food from a dog page I follow on social media. The dogs were eating the dehydrated food, and the owners were speaking highly of it. Since the company offers a coupon for first time purchasers, I figured what the heck? Might as well add this brand to the list of those that I've tried. I originally just planned on adding this as a topping, because as a recent college graduate, I would have never imagined investing this much in dog food, but I figured I would try the whole food clusters also. He LOVES ALL OF IT. I honestly couldn't believe it. Not only have I found most likely the ONLY dog food that my dog will enjoy and eat, but his health improved in ways I never expected. He lost 10 lbs (he was 80lbs), improved immensely with his joint issues (maybe had to do with weight also?), has not had an ear infection since we changed diets, and a fatty tumor under his armpit has stopped growing. Does all of this have to do with his new diet? I am not sure, but I can surely say that the Honest Kitchen dog food has been life changing. I can't exactly consider it affordable, but if its the dog food I've been searching for for years, and it improves Mowgli's health as much as it has so far, I accept the re-budgeting challenge, even if it comes out of my own food budget. (More coupons and sales will be appreciated, haha!) Overall, I can't say enough good about these results, and I am so incredibly happy that Mowgli is happy and enjoying food again.