# Picky Skinny Poodle



## BellaPoodle

Hi there,
We got Bella a week ago. You can feel every bone in her body and we are feeding her Blue Buffalo Large Breed Adult Fish and Oatmeal but she just picks at it. I feel bad because she is so skinny and she won`t eat enough. People think we aren`t feeding her. She runs a lot and I just want her to eat, I have started mixing some wet food in it and she has started eating more which is good but I know wet food isn`t good for their teeth or stool. Also, we were looking after a puppy and he had blue large breed chicken and she seemed to really want that but she has a sensitive stomach. I have seen a lot of people at work keep switching their dogs food because their dog gets "bored" I don't want to have to mix the food every time she gets bored but I will if that is what she needs. Does anyone have any other options. I forgot to mention she loved the blue buffalo fish and oatmeal when we first got her. Oh, she is 37lbs and a bit more then a year old.


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## murieics

Poodles are notoriously picky eaters. If she isn't doing well on the Blue Buffalo, why not try something else? There are several great brands out there: Orijen, Taste of the Wild, and Innova, to name a few. 

It has taken a while for me to get Jake to a point where he eats enough that he is gaining weight appropriately for his size/growth. We feed him a combination of Evo Red Meat (Innova brand) and Ziwipeak (a dried raw food). I am planning to try to switch him over to Orijen when we finish up with the Evo (I prefer the Orijen brand, since Innova was bought out). 

Maybe get a small bag of something that will only last for a few weeks, and try it before buying a larger bag? Jake was originally on Solid Gold (the puppy variety) when he first came home. He hated it. Hated. I don't know how he managed to survive on it at the breeders- I couldn't get him to eat more than a few pieces at every meal (even feeding him by hand). I switched him over to the Evo almost immediately (it was what my other dog was eating), and he does OK on it- although he still would rather be doing other things than eating. 

Good luck!


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## fjm

I would give her a little bit longer to settle in, and then try other foods. Many poodle owners on here feed raw or home cooked - there never seems to be a problem with dogs not liking those!

Are there any problems with her teeth or mouth? Sore gums can make a dog unwilling to eat hard kibble.


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## Olie

Is adding raw into her diet an option for you?


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## CharismaticMillie

You say she is thin but remember you should be able to feel her ribs. Many people are accustomed to seeing overweight dogs. Now, if her hip bones are poking out, she's definitely too thin!

Regardless, she deserves to eat something she enjoys, right!  Henry was always a food picker too and we got him to eat by adding fish oil or pieces of Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw sprinkled on his kibble.

Now I feed 100% homemade raw and he practically lays on top of me in the morning to remind me it is breakfast time  If you are open to considering raw there are many raw feeders on this forum including myself, Olie, fjm, JE-UK, Persia, neVar and several others who would be glad to give you advice 

There are also some homecookers, like Plumcrazy, who could give you some help if you wanted to go that direction.

If you want to stay on kibble I would try adding a small amount of canned food, sardines, fish oil, meat or even some freeze dried raw to entice her. 

Good luck!


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## Fluffyspoos

I agree with what chocolatemillie says, but, also remember, poodles are thin, elegant dogs. There's a difference between a fit, healthy dog, and a skinny, underfed dog. I would rather see a dog that likes food, without indudling on it, than a dog that's overweight.. because fat standard poodles are no good.


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## flyingduster

Paris is skinny. Too skinny. She's a picky eater and incredibly energetic, so she's skinny. I've given up worrying about it though, I spent so much time and energy trying to get her to eat, but some days she's simply not interested in it and she's none the worse for wear so I've decided not to worry about it. I feed her as much as she'll eat, and leave it at that.


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## JE-UK

Bella's young yet, right?

When mine was a pup, he was super skinny. I tended to break his meals down into two or three small meals, and added high calorie toppers ... olive oil, sardines with the oil, cream (he ADORES cream).

As others have said, you don't want a fat poodle. If she's got lots of energy and eliminating okay, I wouldn't worry a whole lot, unless she's consistently uninterested in food.


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## poodleholic

Canned food isn't any worse than kibble with regard to their teeth, so don't let that be a factor in your decision to not feed wet food. Dry kibble alone really isn't an optimal diet, regardless of quality. 

Offer wholesome food treats that are nutricious, such as sardines, Wild Alaskan Salmon, hard boiled eggs, low fat cottage cheese, live culture plain yogurt, and so on. For picky eaters, I often give a small taste of something really yummy a few minutes before meals. It stimulates their appetite, so they feel hungry when their food is put in front of them.


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## BellaPoodle

You can feels her ribs but her hip bones are very prominant. We have trie Taste of the Wild, Acana, NOW, Blue, Nutro Ultra. She seems to have stuck with Blue the longest so we are trying to make that work. We are mixing it with a tiny bit of wet food and it seems to be working, the vet says her teeth are fine. We give her some yogurt on the side and she likes that but she doesn't like it mixed in her food. I was at work looking at different foods and ingredients and I was wondering if Blue Buffalo Healthy weight is only for over weight dogs or is it for underweight dogs too? Just a question.
She comes to work with me and everyone thinks we are starving her.


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## WeLoveBenji

Just wanted to add that our little Benji was extremely picky at first as well. We were feeding him Diamond Naturals Puppy kibble , after some tummy issues the Vet recommended EN canned food by Purina. Benji gulped that down faster than I've ever seen however the food did not sit well with him and he was not digesting the rice in it with his tummy not getting any better. We contacted our breeder instead and she recommended Life's Abundance. We ordered it (sold only online) and he enjoyed that! We are still feeding him Life's Abundance however the last two days he has not been finishing his food...leaves it then comes back or needs to be reminded to finish it. We are thinking of switching him to Orijen having heard good things about it. 

I would still suggest either of those (Life's Abundance or Orijen) if kibble is the way you'd like to go.


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## georgiapeach

A healthy dog won't let him/herself starve. I had a boxer (RIP, Duke!) that played the rotation game with me (hard to imagine a picky boxer, isn't it?). He'd go great guns on a food, then turn his nose up at it after a few days or weeks (if I was lucky). Finally, I got fed up, and decided to wait him out on a food that I knew was fine (TOTW). After 3 days, he decided that TOTW was pretty good stuff, and he ate well after that. He still had his days when he wouldn't eat, but don't we all? 

Potsie did the same thing when we got him a month ago, and he was really thin, too! He lasted 3 days without eating, then started eating much better. He still has his days when he tries turning up his nose at his food, so I simply take up the food, and he gets fed the next time. He now only lasts one feeding doing that! :wink: I add salmon oil to his food, which he didn't like at first, but he's eating that now, too. I also lightly wet the food, to bring out the aroma. Somtimes I'll also add green beans, which his "delicate" palate had to get used to, too. I like the sardine suggestion for extra protein and omegas. Maybe the Dollar Store has them cheap.


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## faerie

aahhh.... the picky poodle. i had one. 

for some reason she turned her nose up at so many different foods. when i brought her home i had her on wellness puppy. then i decided to try to find the best feed for them all ... what an adventure. we ended up back at wellness because it worked for everyone. now i have her and my others (my lab and my cairns who will eat anything) back at what i'd originally started out with!!!

as a puppy she'd eat the amount she wanted and sometiems it was nothing. if she had it left over, then i was oh noes. now she eats her ration (1.5-2 c in am and same in pm)

and the funny thing about miss picky poo? she'll eat socks and panties, sticks and rocks, lap up spilled coffee, run off with paper ... but turns her nose up at evo.

hrmph


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## curlysmama

I have a picky boy too. He loves my homemade treats though so I think I am going to do research and make food for him. He will eat Blue Buffalo but not happily.


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## star

Has she been de wormed? You might want to do that as well. My Lola was extremely underweight when I got her. She was being fed a poor diet and not enough of it. She was literally skin, fur and bones. It took a couple of weeks before I could notice her putting on weight. Now she is at a good weight but it has taken a good month. I put her on Natural Balance but it was too rich and she had the runs, she is on Wellness puppy now and seems to be doing better on it. I didn't like switching foods around either but sometimes I think you need to find a food that works for your dog. Not sure I will stay with Wellness (considering Orijen) but for now her stomach has settled, she has gained weight and seems content.


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## CoffeePoo

my poodle is a picky eater, but I taught her to eat his meal in 10 mins, or I'll take his food and he will be fed after 8 hours..


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## 2719

What is your method for feeding Bella? When you feed her do you put her food down and then remove it when she is done?...or do you let her free feed throughout the day?

I think that a lot of dogs that free feed are on the slimmer side. They never really feel hungry because they can nibble whenever they want..there is always food.
But if they know they are only going to get a bowl of food for a set period of time and if they don't eat it someone will take it away they usually get hungry and will eat their meal.
I, too, have a picky eater. She just decides that today she doesn't want the food. I just give her 15 minutes and if she hasn't finished I take it away. All my other spoos gobble their food down..Lizette is just picky.

I put a bit of canned food in with the dry. Watch Bella, does she even chew her food? Some dogs just inhale it or gulp without chewing. Give Bella hard chewable treats to keep her teeth clean.


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## Bella's Momma

I don't have the picky dog problem, thank goodness, she will eat her same boring kibble every day for treats, too, like it's new and fantastic. But we did have to help her gain quite a bit of weight last year, due to illness, once she was better...I think she was down to 32 pounds, so I have some thoughts on that.

I know it's not good to switch foods too quickly, but I would say try something else if she doesn't like this kind, slowly mixing it in.

One suggestion someone gave me was to try feeding her later at night so she can't burn it right off. Of course I try to limit her immediate post-meal activity, but she still is super active and would burn it off. 

The other thing we do is feed three times per day. 1 cup. We don't free feed, but she's always been a snarf-er and we actually have to do things to slow her down.

If your Bella likes yogurt, how about freezing yogurt into a kong with kibble for an activity? Or just the kibble to plug the holes anyway. 

What about putting some kind of broth with her food to make it more appetizing?

And sadly...how about limiting her activity? I know that seems strange, but less activity would be less calories burned.


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## John Rambo

As everyone else has mentioned, POODLES are horribly picky eaters...my 6 month old Rambo is gaining weight nicely, but we have had a heck of a time feeding him. Some days he just pushes his food around with his nose, and says "Okay dad, Im done, lets go outside now"! My other dogs (giant and mini schnuazer ) have to be feed separetely from my std poodle as they surely would gobble down his food in seconds!! - it is very weird to have a dog that will not gobble down his food! i usually stay in the kitchen while john rambo is eating..and make sure he eats all his food...this might take 20 minutes!!!!! Things that have helped me are adding wet food to the top of his dry food (TOTW rotated with Chicken Soup), and/or some of the dog gravy...But yup, dont feel bad....poodles are EXTREMELY picky with dry kibble....the occasional table scraps (cooked chicken) he seems to like better.:amen:


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## cavon

Where are you located? I cook for Finnegan using the Hilary's Blend method/recipies, but this is only available in Canada.

HILARY'S BLEND (formerly THE BALANCER) supplement for home-made meals


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## all that jazz

I put the wet food UNDER the kibble and that has helped. After he is done with that, usualy 2/3 of the bowl, I add a small amount of cottage cheese to the rest of the kibble and that has helped.


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## Ann Mc Keon

*fussy eater*

Been there, tried all the foods, satin balls are good for weight gain, mine is still a little under weight at 14 months, but she loves my food and will eat anything I eat lol dry food is great for cleaning up after her, but if its raw she will eat, then thats what I am doing, AS it has been said they are lean active dogs, my vet said its not the ribs you go by but if you can feel their spine or hip bones then they might be under weight


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## Ms Stella

Stella gained 7 lbs in 4 months! She was too skinny and too picky. I started giving her instinct raw frozen medallions...she gets two twice a day with some kibble mixed into it. Id like her down a couple of pounds so we have cut down a little..but she is no longer a fussy eater


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## Jkline65

Unlike people dogs can be too thin:act-up:
Maggie doesn't finish her food all that often either. Then I discovered pumpkin.
I mix a couple spoonfuls of plain non spiced pumpkin from a can (not the pie stuff, only ingredient is pumpkin) in her food and she gobbles it all down pretty fast. The pumpkin really doesn't have a lot of calories for her, it just gets her to eat it all up. (Usually...)


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## BigRedDog

*skinny poodle*

Our puppy was skinny as well and after having Golden Retrievers, what I considered to be a poor eater.
The Vet agreed and suggested we mix her dry food with canned. I also added a bit of olive oil to the mix and now she eats very well. I will wean her off of the canned food after she is out of the puppy stage.:amen:


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