# Orijen Puppy



## Rayah-QualitySPs (Aug 31, 2010)

I think that your puppy has you well *trained*. What happens if you do not add anything?
You do not say the size of your puppy? The following advice is for a healthy poodle. Put 
her food down on the floor for her at your regular meal times. In my house this would be 7:30, 12:30 and 17:30.
After 15 minutes pick up the food and do not give it back until the next meal time.
A healthy poodle will eat enough to maintain themselves.
The one thing about Orijen is how *little* the *amount* puppies require to get enough calories. I have three adult standards and, although I free feed, they only eat approx. 2 level cups each day.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

How long have you had your puppy? Sometimes new puppies need some time to settle down before they get interested in their food.


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## iuhippiechick (Jun 9, 2012)

We picked up our pup in late June. She's been "eating" the Orijen for at least 6 weeks now. She is spoiled. However, I have given her just the food, not "giving in" to adding anything and she'll have a few bites and that's it. Just curious if anyone else's pup seemed to not like it. (Of course it's supposed to be very healthy. I guess I shouldn't expect my pup to be different from my human kids. They don't like the "healthy" food either.  )


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## MaryLynn (Sep 8, 2012)

I have honestly never seen a dog not eat what you've given it. I have seen my dogs get really excited at the addition of anything new to their food, but I think that's because it's new. 

For me with my poodle puppy I find that he is usually not interested in eating if there is anything more interesting happening then eating food. For this I remove the distractions, or pick the food up and work on getting him calm before I try again. 

I am guessing you put the lure in the food, and now she's not as interested in eating it as she is doing other things if there isn't a lure in her food?

I do think my boys liked the adult variety of orijen more than the puppy version, but then again, they go crazy any time I give them something new to eat. 

In general dogs like savory foods, and foods that are familiar, so if you've done a switch recently if just may be too different than her old kibble and she's not crazy about it yet. 

I wouldn't give up on it, they don't really have the same eating tendencies as human children (who will starve themselves if they're spoiled enough, I know because when my brother was little all he would eat was cold hotdogs, pickles, and cheese), and I don't think it's due to a preference for less nutritious food. 

Good luck with figuring it out!


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## iuhippiechick (Jun 9, 2012)

You're probably right. I've tried to keep her in the same eating schedule/routine/menu as possible as the breeder. It's just the previous kibble was only available online, so after doing a lot of research, I thought I'd try a nutritious food I could buy locally. It's probably just not as tasty as the online food and she's smart enough to know dinner time has the really yummy stuff included. Thanks for your thoughts!


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## frankgrimes (Nov 28, 2011)

Ralph was on Orijen puppy. He'd pick at his food. Eat a few bites then wander away. An hour or two later he'd come back and eat a few more. He'd do this for a couple of days and then the next day he'd scarf down the entire thing. Then repeat the whole cycle.


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

My toy poodle was a picky eater when she was young, but I free fed her then I resorted to adding tid bits. What worked for me was teaching her that food wasnt always going to be there. I set the food down towards meal time as soon as I put it down Id give her enough time to inspect the food. Soon as that nose went up so did the food till next meal time. Took a few days for her to realize that she should better eat or go hungry. Now she eats like a cocker lol. I can give her tidbits or not she will still lick the plate and floor the same lol. 

Of course this is for a healthy dog. I know somethings wrong when she wont eat or not be as enthusiastic about it. Some illnesses cause them not to want to eat their foods as they feel its what causing them to feel ill. My girl was sick,.. didnt want to eat like normal, but was still bright eyed and happy otherwise, for a whole month till she started to go downhill. 

Unless they are ill they wont starve themselves.. I should mention that my girl wont eat her food unless I add water to it. Kibble doesnt tend to have a lot of moisture in it, but I wouldnt waste food. I would only put down what I know she would eat and the add water.


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## iuhippiechick (Jun 9, 2012)

Ok, so our pup is 4 days shy of a year old. She's still hating her Orijen food! I've tried only giving her the Orijen, thinking she's like a child and when she gets hungry enough, she'll eat it. She'll go a couple of days and barely eat a few bites. I've tried mixing it with Evo brand dry kibble and you guessed it, she picks the Evo out and only eats the Evo. I've also tried mixing the Orijen with yogurt. She eats the yogurt/spits out the kibble. I've read so many great things about Orijen, it seems like it's the best. However, I'm wondering if I should give up if she hates it this much!? Anyone else have a poodle this picky?


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## pgr8dnlvr (Aug 7, 2011)

Yup, I DEFINITELY have a toy poodle that was/is as picky as yours! She even went hypoglycemic and needed to be on IV fluids due to her (and I) being too stubborn, leading to her not eating enough. She HATED the Origen, I never did succeed in getting her to take that. I saved it for a while figuring I'd give her just a single kibble as a treat every now and then, but eventually I even gave up on that.  

We have fought in to keep every gram of weight on her. Once she got big enough that hypoglycemia wasn't as big a risk for her (4 1/2 lbs) I went back to being stubborn and only putting food down twice a day for 15 minutes at a time and you guessed it, she went almost three days without eating and then lost 150 to 200 grams before I started again with the moistening food etc. This dog would even turn down people food every now and then....

We plug along though and I keep her nice thick coat so people don't acuse me of animal abuse, and now I've found a raw brand I have a little bit more confidence in. She's gained 100 grams in 4 days and actually feels like she might be coming close to a "normal" weight, the best thing is that she has been taking "meals" and going on a more normal bathroom schedule! The one thing that scares me a bit is that every day she's going at the food just a little bit slower.. PLEASE don't change your mind again about the food Lucy!! lol 

I feel for you and understand what you are going through! GOOD LUCK!

Rebecca


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