I'm trying to keep up with comments directed towards me but I just want to thank everyone for your experiences and recommendations about food and everything else on this thread. I appreciate all of you!
My B's Pick & Choose Which Kibbles to Eat Out of Their Food! Grrrr!
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It seems no matter what brand of dog food I try, my dogs always pick out which kibbles they like best and then end of leaving a bowl full of "the yucky kibbles". It's that or they actually will take it out of the bowl and leave it on the living room carpet where it eventually finds itself inside the vacuum cleaner. I hate spending money on dog food when they only eat half of it! Ugh! Does anyone else's B's do this?? Right now we're on Blue Buffalo and they leave all the dark little kibbles….............
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Max was a very picky eater. But the dry food I used with him for years because of his IBD was all one type, and he liked it. But even when he liked his food–he would only pick up one kibble at a time, chew it thoroughly, and then swallow. Then he would pick up the next little piece, dhew it thoroughtly, swallow, and so on.... He did that from the time he was a pup. But whenever I had to feed him anything like chicken and rice--he would pick the chicken out and leave the rice. Before I had him on the prescription food, he would actually pick up a kibble and spit it out if he didn't like it. Well--I guess he was actually dropping it--but it seemed like he was going "phewey!!" My german shepherd mix inhaled anything I gave her--she barely chewed. My two Bs now don't quite inhale without chewing, but they get through all their food pretty quickly (mostly dry kibble with a little bit of canned and warm water) and don't seem to be picky at all.
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my Mica is a bit fussy. She has gone from science diet to eukanuba or iams to now working into eva innova - since I read this is good on this forum. She also likes the raw meat diet (little silver doller sized 1/2 high meat discs in venison/turkey,chicken/and yet to try other variety) which will be one meat disc per meal since they are a little pricey, along with some pedigree packets variety (about a tablespoon) - and sometimes that dog gravy, too - all mixed together. I will put a few teaspoons of yogurt on top in the morning sometimes, and than sometimes I also add cooked rice. It tends to vary every meal - no set formulae. I mean, I really prepare her meal and work to get her to eat. But she does wait patiently while I prepare it, most of the time, too. If she doesn't immediately eat - (sometimes) I pick the food up, put a celaphane (spelling?) wrap on top of the dog dish and than try feed it at the end of the day. Usually she does this. She has gone as long as a full day without eating so far. She can be picky. Like today she ate only the eva innova kibbles in the morning. She didn't want anything to do with the other moist food until evening. Sometimes I eat something along with her eating time, too - I don't know if this has to do with pack animal communication but may be so - since she follows me everywhere in the place where I live. She will also share a ball or a bone cooked and fished out from a soup and flavored with her favorite cocker spaniel friend, at her place. But the cocker is a good dog. She likes treats. All kinds of variety there. So I can never be sure that if I set this food down, this is the always what she will eat source of flavor. Sometimes I try to think that if I were a wild dog, since she appears to be just shy of a wild creature - what would be the yummy wild treat to eat this morning for breakfast? That seems to do the trick for hunger variety. But than, she is a wonderful little B - a creature all unto herself. BaMicas mom
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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.
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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?!
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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...
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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. -
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.
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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.
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Nala has been doing that for years…UGH! I feel your pain!
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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....
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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.
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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. -
Hiding pills is always a challenge…
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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.
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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. -
Boy, that is a small amount! Her thyroid is good, I imagine??
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Yeah, I had that tested when she went in for her spay.
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Dang!!! That really sucks that she can't eat a lot! I mean, I wouldn't want to eat cardboard either!!
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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}
