# What to do with my picky eater?



## Dogs4Life (May 27, 2018)

I am just so frustrated right now. My dog Jasper loves food, and unfortunately he lives in a house where food sometimes gets drops on the floor, and he grabs it before the person can get to it first. I live with elderly family members, and there just is no preventing this. However, the issue is that I am back to struggling to get him to his regular food, and I honestly do not know if it's because he is waiting for something better. He now is even ignoring food that has food toppers on it. I finally gave up on the Farmina kibble (which he used steal from Miracle, so this is why I switched to it) because he just wasn't eating enough and he started vomiting bile. 

I want him to eat without a ton of coaxing so I have decided to go back to canned foods for dogs with sensitive stomaches. I bought the Purina chicken/carrots, turkey/sweet potato, and salmon/rice mixes. We are waiting on the chicken and turkey, so I started with the salmon and rice, but that didn't last long. Day 1, he was so very excited!! But day 3, he's done with eating that, too. I also ordered a box of Honest Kitchen, but he was not a fan of that a year ago, so I doubt he will go for that now either. 

I am just not sure what to do. He no longer has any teeth and with a sensitive stomach, his options are limited. Thoughts? Suggestions?


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## Michigan Gal (Jun 4, 2019)

If he has lost his teeth I am guessing that he is an old dog. Jasper might need some help. Amway sells probiotics that you just add to his food. I gave one of my fosters kefir. One tablespoon for a Boston terror.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Have you tried canned food for sensitive stomachs? Or home cooking, as a more economical alternative? Even making the kibble into a porridge with warm water may help.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

I'll second home cooking. Have you tried a simple recipe of boiled ground beef (aka mince) and rice?


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

How is Jasper feeling otherwise? Has he had a senior poodle evaluation at the vet?

What you describe sounds a lot like what I went through in Pogo's final months, and what some of my friends went through with their senior dogs. Pogo wasn't much interested in his kibble, he even went off the home cooked doggie stews I made him, but he'd steal food we left within reach. 

I have a theory, which I haven't run past anyone actually qualified to evaluate it, that his cancer gave him a tummy ache and made him nauseous. I think he started avoiding foods he had eaten prior to an episode of feeling unwell. Nausea is a powerful aversive. I still can't eat any kind of savory soup decades after being fed soup when ill as a small child. It seems reasonable to me that Pogo would have developed the same aversion to foods he ate while feeling ill. As I said, I haven't run this theory past anyone medically qualified; it might just be anthropomorphizing my dog's behavior.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I think you may well be right CowPony - not just cancer , but any of the diseases that can cause nausea can have that effect. It is well known that cats can easily develop aversions to certain foods - hence the advice not to syringe feed anything you plan on feeding long term. Poppy refused both the sensitivity diet she had been enjoying for months and the special hepatic food when they became associated with queasiness, but happily ate home made chicken porridge - fortunately the hunger pangs from the steroids soon had her licking her bowl clean no matter what I put in it.

I would certainly suggest a full exam and blood panel if Jasper has not had one recently.


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## Dogs4Life (May 27, 2018)

Well finally I see some success! He's been scarfing down the turkey/sweet potato canned food and he also likes the chicken/carrots mix. I don't know if I like all of the ingredients in the Purina canned food, so I might try something better, but at least he's eating again. No vomiting since he started eating normally again; although, he does not always have sold stool, either.

He had his dental surgery and bloodwork in May, and other than the extractions, everything checked out. Eating canned food actually seems to be more work for him than eating softened kibble, which is also why I went back to feeding him kibble not long after surgery. For a while he ate kibble soaked in goat's milk, but then got sick of that, but then was willing eat kibble soaked in water with toppers...but then got sick of that. I think he sometimes gets lazy and annoyed with how long it takes him to eat his food, and if he's bored with it, then he's just done. Trying to keep things interesting for him I guess....


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Perhaps several smaller meals a day?


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