# How to deal with a picky eater



## pudelmann (Feb 29, 2012)

Hi again, 

Another question about my new poodle (15 month old mini). She is such a picky eater and I am having a hard time with her feeding. 

Back at the breeder's place, she's been given cooked meat (Nature's variety Instinct was one of them) and kibbles (Evo Red meat small bites). The breeder knew that she's not a good eater and let her eat in her crate otherwise the other dogs would finish her meal. 

While at my place, I gave her the same thing for a few days. She ate the meat but didn't touch kibbles. I gave the kibbles dry, soaked in cold water, soaked in warm water, soaked in broth, etc, but it was not successful. She ate some sometimes, but otherwise she just wouldn't eat them. I just can't see her pattern. 

I also cooked some meat based on the recipe I received from the breeder and gave her. She's usually eating them okay, but sometimes she just wouldn't eat them. Again, I don't know why and fail to see any patterns. 

I asked the breeder about this and she told me that she also tried different brands of kibbles and different way of feeding but it was not so successful for her, either.

Also, she's super picky on treats as well. She wouldn't even eat dried beef liver, which I was told most dogs love. Cheese didn't work either. She has taken some dried chicken but not always. Because of this, training with treats doesn't work out so far. I offer a treat, she sniffs and turns away. 

The vet said she's healthy but needs to gain weight. So I am quite frustrated now. I want her to eat more kibbles. Some people say that if she's hungry, she'd eat. Not sure if starving her is a good idea. Or is she really spoiled in terms of food? 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

My 17 week old mini girl wouldn't eat kibble either unless it was mixed w yogurt or canned and literally hand fed to her by me or my daughter. She's now on premade raw (natures variety) and is thriving!!! I heard from a lot of people here that their picky eaters love raw. I'm so glad I tried it!!!




Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I would try raw - and I would consider that it is possible that she has an intolerance for some foods, and that she has learned to avoid them. So I'd introduce one protein source at a time, and keep a note of which she enjoys for more than a day or two.


----------



## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

If you can handle raw, try raw. 
Otherwise, I would try waiting her out. Give her kibble, nothing else, and wait two or three days. After three days of not eating, I would probably be a little concerned and cave though.


----------



## pudelmann (Feb 29, 2012)

Thank you all for the great inputs. 

Sophiebonita, so are you not feeding kibbles anymore? My breeder recommends raw/cooked + kibbles, so I've been following that. Are many of you actually doing no kibble diet? 

I'll need to do some cost research for premade/homemade raw feeding.

Thanks!


----------



## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

Hi, yes I'm slowly fading out kibble. I had a small quantity in my canister so I'm mixing it half and half til kibble gone as not to waste. She's learning to eat around the kibble though!

When it's gone, I'm going 100% NV raw. I got the 8 oz patties she will eat 6 oz per day. It's more economical to get the patties than the medallions, but got the medallions first cuz they are in convenient 1 oz portions which she gets one of bfast, lunch, & dinner mixed with a small amt of kibble at each meal. she is 7 oz and 4 months. 


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


----------



## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

I meant 7 lbs!! Duh 


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I gave up on kibble when I realised how much I was throwing away - Sophy would only eat it, rather grudgingly, for the first few days the bag was open. As soon as it was no longer absolutely fresh she went off it. Now I get the very occasional sample bag of high quality kibble for treats - and of course she gobbles them because they are a rarity!

I feed raw chicken wings and other small raw meaty bones, raw green tripe, and cooked minced meats with ground bone offal and mixed veg (a variety of meats including chicken, turkey, lamb, rabbit and beef), with salmon or sardines once a week or so.


----------



## dogs123 (Jun 14, 2012)

I have a picky eater, too....and a mini. She came to me really, really, thin (more like skin and bones)......While today, she remains on the slender side, she has some 'fat' between her bones, and her backbone doesn't stand out like it did....

What I do, is she gets Taste of the Wild dry adult, and that is soaked in water and I do add some 'people' food mixed in....by 'people' food, I mean mashed potatoes, or cooked chicken, or cooked hamburger, cooked carrots, or whatever veggie we have left over....also she loves pasta....just plain... and rice...This helped her appetite a lot!

I feed her twice a day....and she also enjoys some bully sticks once in a while. 

I know some people are against giving a dog 'scraps', but mixed in with their kibble for a picky eater, I don't see the harm....


----------



## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

Beau hasn't eaten kibble for almost two years, except a few pieces as a treat. NV frozen raw does the trick for us. Beau will eat anything (and how!), but by all reports, even the pickiest eaters gobble NV down.


----------



## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

Cali eats a homemade cooked diet. She hasn't had any kibble for about a month now. She was always incredibly picky when I fed kibble, she'd often only eat about 1/3 of what she needed. If I mixed a bit of meat and some warm water with it, she'd eat a bit better but I still threw a lot away. Once when I went away for 3 days and sent kibble to the dog sitter's, Cali didn't eat for 3 days! 

I also strongly suspect she has food allergies so feeding a homemade diet allows me to control absolutely everything that goes into her mouth. The scratching is about half of what it was when she was eating kibble. She probably has some outdoor enviromental allergies as well so I don't expect the scratching to ever go away totally, but she's more comfortable than she was.

Since switching to a homemade diet, Cali is incredibly excited at meal times. She runs around the kitchen, jumping about 3 feet in the air and then runs to where the food bowl goes down and sits there quivering in excitement. LOL She eats every single scrap and licks the bowl clean. 

If you don't feel comfortable trying to balance a homemade diet yourself, you could try the premade raw as some suggested. If raw is not your thing, there are also base mixes for cooked diets (like The Honest Kitchen) that you can just add cooked meat to.

If you want to go homemade, there are qualified individuals who can formulate a balanced diet recipe for you. Sabine Contreras at Better Dog Care, Better Dog Nutrition - Creating Healthy Lifestyles for Canines: Main Page does a good job.


----------



## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

Commercial raw is an easy and convenient way to try out raw. If you are uncomfortable with raw, there are some partly-cooked or fully cooked foods that are nothing like kibble. 

Honest Kitchen offers some tasty dehydrated foods that you add water to rehydrate.

Grain-Free Dog Food | All Natural Dog Food | Dehydrated Dog Food | The Honest Kitchen

This one in particular is designed to add cooked or raw meat to: 

Grain Free Dog Food | Dehydrated Dog Food | Homemade | Preference | The Honest Kitchen

My Jäger really loves the food from these two companies. These are fully cooked and frozen, you must thaw them before serving. There are many other companies that offer diets like this; these are just the one's I've tried personally:

JustFoodForDogs: Cooked Fresh Dog Food
All Natural Human-Grade Food for Dogs | My Perfect Pet | Home 

Foods like these are a bit more expensive than feeding kibble, but luckily you have a small dog that doesn't eat a lot of food (me too!) so it's not too bad at all.


----------



## pudelmann (Feb 29, 2012)

Thank you. I bought some premade raw from a local pet food store. They have buy 3 get 4th free promotion, so I bought 1-2 from the following brands: Nature's variety, Primal, and Stella and Chewy's, to see what she likes the best and what doesn't work. They are expensive (everything is expensive here in norcal) but I am willing to try.

So I gave her S&C's lamb for dinner yesterday and it was ok. She ate 75% of the chunk (I gave her 2 oz). I put the leftover back to the fridge and placed it in her crate when I went to bed, and it was gone by the time I woke up this morning. I assume it is okay to leave it out for 6-8 hours? No?

I still want her to eat some kibbles, as I bought a big bag without knowing her eating habit.  We'll see. 

Thanks again.


----------

