My B's Pick & Choose Which Kibbles to Eat Out of Their Food! Grrrr!

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

@lvoss:

By catering to her, you are most likely only exasperating the problem. The recommendation I got when my male was being picky was to put the food down for 10-15 minutes, if it is not finished pick it up and then at dinner offer food for only 10-15 minutes. If they miss a meal or two that is okay, they may even choose to not eat for a day but if they are hungry they will eat, without all the special ingredients and fuss. Since not eating is one of the first clues to when a dog is not feeling well, catering to a picky eater makes that difficult to determine.

I am going to print your response out and show it to my husband! I just explained the same thing to him, Zahra has started not eating when her food is put down, he takes her upstairs and puts it into her cage with her locked inside. I don't want her to do that, she needs to eat when it is placed in front of her and if she doesn't do so in a certain time frame then it is going back into the food container. He tells me I am being mean, I tell him that I am not being pushed over by her. She has always been a slow eater, she eats a piece and then wanders away and comes back. As long as she is eating that is fine.

Zahra did not care for Blue Buffalo and when she did eat it she had very running poo :eek: ! I switched her to Eagle Pack Holistic but changed to Innova EVO over time and now when I tried to mix in the Eagle Pack she refused to eat it. Fussy little creatures, aren't they?!

[tanza]

@ChaseandZahrasmom:

I am going to print your response out and show it to my husband! I just explained the same thing to him, Zahra has started not eating when her food is put down, he takes her upstairs and puts it into her cage with her locked inside. I don't want her to do that, she needs to eat when it is placed in front of her and if she doesn't do so in a certain time frame then it is going back into the food container. He tells me I am being mean, I tell him that I am not being pushed over by her. She has always been a slow eater, she eats a piece and then wanders away and comes back. As long as she is eating that is fine.

Zahra did not care for Blue Buffalo and when she did eat it she had very running poo :eek: ! I switched her to Eagle Pack Holistic but changed to Innova EVO over time and now when I tried to mix in the Eagle Pack she refused to eat it. Fussy little creatures, aren't they?!

Again, as Lisa said, if you don't baby them, they will develop health eating habits… however there is nothing wrong with putting her in a crate to eat.. honestly, it is not necessary for them to carry the food around the house. By letting her wander away and come back and find the food is not building good eating habits. All mine eat in their kennels... of course with more then one it of course is necessary... but it is no different the kids... you don't (or you shouldn't) let them eat part of their dinner, wander around and then come back...

[JazzysMom]

Jazz is becoming increasingly fussy and not liking the kibble at all.
She seldom finishes her meals anymore, and really won't eat at all until Gypsy and Keoki have finished their food and start circling her feeding area, looking hopeful. Then she'll get all growly and eat {most of} her food.

This morning I put 1/2 TBSP of olive oil on her kibble, and she ate most of it. I put the other two outside though, so they wouldn't be intriqued by the smell.
She's a real PIA at meal times.

[Duke]

Wierd - As I mentioned in another post, Duke wouldn't eat his kibble either. At first I thought it was a game he made up so he would wait until Daisy was done with her food and when she would begin invading Dukes bowl, he'd jump in and growl at her as if to show her who the real boss is. Then it progressed to him not doing that either and she'd start eating his food. (She's a little piggy for food.) So I wouldn't have to babysit Duke's bowl, I started mixing in a little wet food in Dukes to get him to eat it when I fed him. (Just a little in Daisy's too since Daisy can smell Dukes food too.) I suppose dogs like change in foods as we do. I think I'll switch brands a few times a year. They both eat Canidae - one type of kibble in the bag.

[youngandtired]

Yea, these B's are pickey eaters. Sahara is pickey, but she loves the Merrick's dry and wet. I give her dry with little warm water, mix in some can Merrick's (heated just a bit in microwave) and she eats it up. She has been on Merrick's the longest and I am very happy with it. The vet says she is the perfect size and her coat is gorgeous, what else could I ask for. I did cut down on her treats, if she eats alot of treats she will not eat well at her meals.

[nala121498]

Nala has been doing that for years…UGH! I feel your pain!

[tanza]

My male was the only one that was a picky eater and that was for the first 3 yrs of his like…. I never caved or ever did anything different then the rest... if he didn't eat, he didn't eat.... pure and simple... and this was pretty tough since I was trying to show him also.... however when the brain finally turned on... unless he is sick, he have never missed a meal... and all the rest of mine have good healthly eating habits... Picky eaters are made... not born that way... honestly.... and they will not starve themselves....

[JazzysMom]

@tanza:

Picky eaters are made… not born that way... honestly.... and they will not starve themselves....

Well, that may be true, but I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to find foods that are palatable to the dogs either.

Jazz liked the puppy chow, but had a tendency to gain weight so fast on a very small amount of food so we switched her to a light food. We are on our second brand of light food, and she just doesn't like it. I imagine, as with light people foods, it just doesn't taste great. {I know she's wondering why Keoki is eating that good stuff}
I plan to hunt around to find a food she likes to eat, and I don't have a problem doing that. I'm not going to make her eat food she doesn't like just because I can.

I know if all that was available to me was dry old whole wheat bran muffins, I'd eventually eat enough to stay alive. I won't starve myself either. But I'd prefer to eat something that has some degree of good taste to it.

[jys1011]

Topaz is just as picky so when she's in a "mood" I'll throw in a table spoon of wet food & just mix it all up so she can't really pick through it & all of the kibble is nicely coated I also have to do this when I have to give her meds. It's the only way she'll eat it.

[tanza]

Hiding pills is always a challenge…

[nomrbddgs]

@JazzysMom:

Well, that may be true, but I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to find foods that are palatable to the dogs either.

Jazz liked the puppy chow, but had a tendency to gain weight so fast on a very small amount of food so we switched her to a light food. We are on our second brand of light food, and she just doesn't like it. I imagine, as with light people foods, it just doesn't taste great. {I know she's wondering why Keoki is eating that good stuff}
I plan to hunt around to find a food she likes to eat, and I don't have a problem doing that. I'm not going to make her eat food she doesn't like just because I can.

I don't know that you would have to use 'lite' food. A higher end product-even adult food-is better that a lower end food. You will naturally need to use less, but it may be better for her in the long run. Shadow tends to gain weight-he only gets about 2/3-1 cup a day total. But since it;s higher end, he looks good, has a good coat and health and poops less. And he'll eat it, too! Damisi eats adult food-higher end as well-and her coat is fabulous. She's good healthwise, and is better looking than some of the other pups from her litter.

[JazzysMom]

Jazzy was getting 1/2 cup of food a day and barely maintaining a good weight. I don't feel that is sufficient to maintain good nutrition–she may be getting the calories she needs to get by each day, but not, IMO, the vitamins and minerals she'll need.

Jazz eats Nutro Natural Choice Lite at this time. She is only getting 1 cup a day, and maintaining her weight.
She is a good-looking dog, has a great coat and poops three times a day generally, so none of those have ever been issues for me. That much was the same even on the puppy food. She is a good looking dog, and healthy. And I want to make sure she gets the nutrition she needs to stay that way for another 13 yrs or so.

[nomrbddgs]

Boy, that is a small amount! Her thyroid is good, I imagine??

[JazzysMom]

Yeah, I had that tested when she went in for her spay.

[nomrbddgs]

Dang!!! That really sucks that she can't eat a lot! I mean, I wouldn't want to eat cardboard either!!

[JazzysMom]

Okay, so tonight I mixed a little Pedigree Lean Lamb and Rice canned food in w/Jazzy Nutro kibble and she ate it all up. It was 1/2 cup kibble with maybe 1/4 cup canned. Ahh, I think I may have solved my "problem".
If I do this twice a day, and if she doesn't start gaining weight on it, I'll feel much better about her eating habit.

{Had to put Keoki outside while she ate because he was VERY put out that she got the canned stuff, LOL}

[tanza]

My girls only eat 1 cup a day?…. mixed with some veggies or some other stuff, but not very much of it..., have ever since they were just past puppy stage.....

[JazzysMom]

Well, when I say Jazzy "eats" a cup a day, it's really that she is "given" a cup a day. She only eats about half of her food.

With the canned mixed in, she is eating her entire meal and so will be eating maybe 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups a day. I don't mix veggies and stuff in her food; those are given as occasional snacks. So probably, Jazzy gets about as much food in her meals as your girls do. I'm comfortable with something in the area of 1 - 1/2 cups of food, but not less than that.

[Quercus]

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[JazzysMom]

The issue w/Jazz was that when she was eating puppy chow she was only eating 1/2 cup a day and barely maintaining weight {she gains weight easily}.
That was just not enough food, so we switched to a light food, and were putting 1 cup out a day for her, but she doesn't like it and so would not eat it. It was really an issue of self-regulating for sufficient intake, but a LACK of intake!
She'd pick a bit and leave the rest. I started adding a bit of lean canned food so that she will eat. She's currently eating about 1 cup of kibble w/2 large TBSP of canned food mixed in – she gets 1/2 cup + 1 heaping TBSP twice a day.
If she starts putting on weight {she's currently a nice 21 lbs}, then I'll cut a bit back on the kibble.

I'm good w/that.