# Fussy Eater



## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

I don't know what you should feed, but I gotta say you really need to pick something and stick to it as much as possible! You're only going to encourage his fussy eating by switching his food every time he decides to hold out for something better...

I used to despair at Paris; she's a picky eater and she's skinny. I'd try all sorts, and she started being worse the lil toad. If she held out, she got something different. Ugh.

She now gets Orijen and ONLY Orijen. She gets her 2 cups worth, and she gets 10 mins to eat it (she is a slow eater and certainly doesn't wolf it down). If she finishes the plate she gets a lil treat, if she doesn't then she'll get less food tomorrow than she ate today.


----------



## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

Yeah, I want to but I worry as he is only a little puppy about him not eating. I didn't know if it was OK for him to not have a few meals until he is hungry enough to eat his kibble.


----------



## MericoX (Apr 19, 2009)

Since he is small, I would do what Paris suggested (its what I do with my own dogs as well, and they now gobble their food up quickly or tough cookies), but offer it to him multiple times a day (3-5 depending on your schedule). 

When Kiba, my first dog started doing that I would add anything to her food to get her to eat. After a few days, she wouldn't eat it and I'd have to try something new. About 8 months old it was getting old, and she went a few days without eating anything but a tiny bit of kibble before she started eating the plain kibble again. Stubborn schnauzers LOL


----------



## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

does that mean the tripe is too nice and that we shouldnt feed it to him as he wont eat anything else?


----------



## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Panda said:


> does that mean the tripe is too nice and that we shouldnt feed it to him as he wont eat anything else?


Exactly - puppies can be like this. Schedule the feedings, if he eats great if not pull it and place it at next feeding. He will not starve. I have 2 picky eaters and you have to be firm and consistent or like FD said you will enable this to become worse. Tkae this from someone that hand fed and done stupid tricks to get a dog to eat..........NOT SMART:doh: SHe eats much better now 

Save the tripe for treats.


----------



## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

Lucybug used to be rather picky, too. I didn't change foods, I tried to find something that would interest her in THAT food... I'd hand feed a few pieces until she'd realize that what was in the bowl was actually yummy, then she'd finish the bowl by herself... Or, I'd get our tap water warm and pour a small amount of water into her bowl (made the kibble smell a little stronger and provided a little "soupy" quality to it) and then she'd gobble it down!! My husband and daughter kept teasing me that I was catering to her pickiness and that I shouldn't do that anymore - but heck, it was easy and it made her enjoy her meal more (interestingly, it seemed as though it was only her breakfast that she was picky with - the later meals of the day weren't a problem...)

As we've evolved with her feeding regimen, I've started adding a teaspoon of fish oil to her breakfast every morning. I don't generally have to add the water anymore and she loves the fish oil!! 

Good luck and hopefully he'll catch on soon!


----------



## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

its hard because it is so lovely seeing him so excited about his dinner when its tripe, he really gets excited with his tail wiggling so much that when he sits, he still wiggles.


----------



## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

Panda said:


> its hard because it is so lovely seeing him so excited about his dinner when its tripe, he really gets excited with his tail wiggling so much that when he sits, he still wiggles.


I get that way about ice cream - but it's not good for me to eat it at every meal!! :lol:


----------



## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

good point!

I will get the free flow tripe next rather than the blocks so every now and again he can have it as a treat, maybe for training so I can get new people he meets to give him some in his bowl when he meets them as when he is being shy he wont take his treats but I am sure he wouldn't turn down some tripe even if he thought the person offering it was scary.


----------



## Evik (Sep 2, 2009)

plumcrazy said:


> I get that way about ice cream - but it's not good for me to eat it at every meal!! :lol:


I love this, you made me laugh so much ound:. Ditto. Thank you, I needed that this morning, after sleepless night (Monti has diarrhea) I feel better now thinking about ice cream. Thank God I don't have any in a freezer :scared:


----------



## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

Panda seems to have an iron stomach (touch wood) but just a fussy one hehe. I wont let him be fussy any more, he will get what he is given, hopefully he will learn to love it as much as he does for tripe, or at least get excited about it.


----------



## Evik (Sep 2, 2009)

I'm sorry Panda I didn't want to jump into your post, but I just loved the ice cream comment. I went thru the same with Monti. Trying to change his kibbles to the raw (from a pet store) after a spoiled batch I went to home cooking meals, I'm cooking for my family anyway. I feel it's better than kibble but I would like to go back to raw, but I will buy the meat myself, so I know what he is eating. I don't have trust in the prepare food even for us. I came from Europe, we had German shepherds and I remember to give them what ever and they were fine. Guess small breeds and puppies have more sensitive stomachs.


----------



## partial2poodles (Feb 11, 2010)

I wanted to address the dandruff first....have you considered chyatella mange? I'm not sure of the spelling....but I actually had 2 pups from the same breeder come home with it....Cooper and Ben. I was neurotic over it, sure it was horrible mange and all the dogs would get it and I would get it. Look it up,,,,its pretty common even with clean health practices.


----------



## partial2poodles (Feb 11, 2010)

My fussy eater dogs prefer very shallow bowls with that bowl being on a rug, towel or blanket. Their butts have to be on cloth, not bare floors and they seem to eat better.


----------



## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

how do you know if its mange? he doesn't have any bald patches or sores.


----------



## Jessie's Mom (Mar 23, 2010)

glad to read that jessie is not the only picky eater and glad to know she's not the only one that got worse as she got older. however, hard dose of reality realizing most of it is my fault. i too catered to her pickiness. to be honest, i completely regret doing this. she a tall, skinny girl - about 25" and only about 45 lbs. would love to put more meat on her so i gave into her pickiness. after hearing from all of you, i need to get tougher.


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

I know he's a cute fuzzy baby but you've got to take more charge of him. I want to give you a hug because you sound like how I did when I got Jasper. I was worried over everything. I worried more about doing something wrong with that dog than with any other dog I've ever owned. Thing is dogs need leadership. If you say it's meal time, he eats or doesn't because you take the food away when meal time is over. If you say a behavior is inappropriate, you are the leader to correct it. Please don't worry that he's going to hate you or despise you or not bond with you. It's actually quite the opposite. Dogs bond with their leader because the leader makes them feel safe. The person that is erratic and unpredictable is the person that makes them worry and the person they will avoid. When you decide upon something stick to it. Don't let HIM decide. He's a dog, he doesn't need options. Trust me when I say that he will be a lot happier with your choices and you enforcing them than you allowing him to choose. 

I speak from experience that you are less likely to create a bonded situation with a dog if you are fussing over it all the time.


----------



## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

I wanted to feed him a raw diet which is why we gave him some tripe (his dandruff has gone since he has been eating it) and it was great seeing him so enthusiastic over his food when he normally doesnt care. 

I guess we need to decide if we are going to continue with raw or stick with a kibble or wet food and then stick to what we have chosen.

He doesn't like fish though so the fish4dogs kibble we bought I guess we will have to throw away as he just licks the kibble then spits it out.


----------



## partial2poodles (Feb 11, 2010)

You sound like such a worried new mom. Is Panda your only dog? My little dog eat because they are afraid the bigger ones will steal their food. But my toy poodle really prefers eating off a fork so he doesn't get his whisker hair messy. He likes to drink out of my glass. He would eat nothing but steak and chicken...or salmon and shrimp if I would let him. So its all in what you decide. Its sooooo easy to spoil the little ones....and the big ones, and the elderly ones and the nursing one and the cute ones. Heck I spoil them all.


----------



## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

Yeah he is our first and only dog.

My boss said its fine to feed him tripe every meal with his kibble but I guess then if we ever have to go away taking raw tripe with us could be hard but we will need to decide what to do.

Will he ever get that excited and eat with such gusto for other food?


----------



## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

Panda said:


> Will he ever get that excited and eat with such gusto for other food?


Maybe not, but I'll bring up the ice cream reference again. I enjoy a nice dinner (soup, salad, entree, etc...) but I don't get EXCITED until the ice cream shows up!  and it's not healthy for me to eat ice cream at every meal or use it as bait so I'll eat the stuff that IS good for me. 

My non-poodle dogs eat their kibble with gusto - Lucy, on the other hand, isn't as excited to scarf her bowl of kibble. If I squirt fish oil on top, she'll eat it - but not with gusto... does it bother me? No - as long as she's eating and as long as she's eating a good quality food; I don't care if she's not drooling with every bite. 

Good luck with your journey!


----------



## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

He hasnt eaten since his 5pm feed yesterday so he has skipped 3 feeds now. He had one tiny bite of his kibble with the wet food at his lunch today. Maybe he will eat more at his 5pm feed later.


----------



## Jillian (Jan 26, 2010)

*Vet check?*

Have you had him checked out by a vet? You know in case there is an issue with his mouth or teeth that make eating painful?


----------



## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

we are going to the vet today but they checked his mouth last time. 

It is weird though as I woudln't of thought he didn't like fish as he eats the fish skin treats but then the kibble does smell very strongly of fish, more than the treats do.


----------

