# Mr. Picky - A Rant



## Jamie Hein (Aug 17, 2013)

It seems like he loves the chicken backs. Why do you give the kibble at all? Just give him the raw meat? I blame Beneful for killing my first dog... and I don't see why your dog needs to die early because of Epilepsy. My dad has Epilepsy and takes medication and is fine, is it different with dogs?


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

I went thru the same thing with Indy; she turned up her nose at the good food and decided she liked iams, oh and compost! But for her it was a temporary thing; she eventually got her appetite back. Anyway I feel for you, I was worried sick too. What if you mix it up a bit and feed him all that stuff? Or what if you mix a little of your own dinner in with his, that's what Indy would eat. 


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## Pluto (Jul 8, 2012)

Our girl goes through phases and tends to like novel food. She started to get picky about "taste of the wild", so we bought her a bag of "wellness core" and she loved it for a few weeks and then tapered off again. So we have no issue switching back and forth or mixing the two, and I frequently pick up samples of various foods at the pet store.

If you are concerned about benefil, there are so many really decent kibbles. Why not grab some sample bags and see what he likes that also meets your standards?


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I can sympathize! Misha is super picky and LOVES the pill pockets that she gets every night when Pablo gets his pill. (Everyone including the cat have to get a bite of pill pocket!) The pill pockets are super low quality junk food, so they love them! 

Beneful has high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup and a lot of unidentifiable fat. I too love sugar and fat, lol. So it probably tastes incredible to them! 

I get it when you say let him eat what he wants if he's not gonna be here too long. Pablo does not have long for this earth and we pretty much let him have whatever the heck he wants!


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## Spoos+Ponies (Mar 26, 2014)

Poodles are picky - I kind of admire it - I like variety, too. When I got my first poodle I couldn't get her to eat - I took her to the vet, who was giving her those liver treats. She was hungry, but not for just anything. I was on my way to a picnic and stopped and got one of those cooked chickens and just tore off all the meat - she went to town. I'd been feeding her raw, but she preferred cooked at that time. The other dog I had at the time (Great Dane/GSD X) would eat anything, so it was a big adjustment for me. 

If you're in southern Ontario you must have a Superstore. I've started getting these bags of bone-in cubes of stewing goat or lamb there. If you want to stick with kibble, you could try mixing some of that in with it. My guy's on raw, but now I top dress his veg and other stuff with the cubes - he looooves it and it gives him some bone bits to chew, too.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Picky eating dogs is a huge pet peeve of mine. I find it so obnoxious to put down a bowl of food and have it ignored. I don't like to cater to such picky tendencies and so I typically will just pick up the food after 10-15 minutes and say "sorry, dude!" So, I empathize. I prefer to live with a dog who will and does eat anything!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Sigh - try combining two picky eaters with a puppy who will flit about like a mosquito trying to snatch anything that you offer the pickies. Not fun :-(


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Awww... thanx. all. I picked up some tins of corned beef on the way back from the dog park. The human food was on sale cheaper than the NB canned dog food. So I'll give that a try tonite. 

I tried raw once... but imagine you're someone who never buys beef, and all of a sudden there's BLOOD DRIPPING IN MY FRIDGE!! AAAAAACK!! I have no problem with the sight of blood... but not in my fridge! lol

And besides, he gobbled up the ground, mixed RAW for a few days then turned up his nose at it...  lol

Speaking of 'flitting about', having Spud around improved his appetite... but my defensive reflexes had to improve too. Dinners were chaos!


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## Pluto (Jul 8, 2012)

Countryboy said:


> Awww... thanx. all. I picked up some tins of corned beef on the way back from the dog park. The human food was on sale cheaper than the NB canned dog food. So I'll give that a try tonite.


I don't think I would do that on a regular basis. Human food is going to have a ton more salt then your pup should have (canned corned beef has a ton more then most people should have). It likely also has sugar and other crap he doesn't need. If he is really losing weight the extra fat and cholesterol are probably good, but I think there are far better choices (cottage cheese?).


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

I hear ya, Pluto. This won't be on any regular basis. 

But so far, he scoffed the Chicken back and walked away from the rest. So, as per CM, his dinner is now sitting in the fridge!


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

my guy has been super picky recently. to the point where he lost a lot of weight. i now have a collection of kibble in the refrigerator. one thing i realized is that unrefrigerated kibble oxidizes fairly quickly and gets old fast. the other thing is - how good does the kibble smell to you (as a human) when you dispense it? some has the nose appeal of a sheet of paper. some, when it gets old, has the appeal of rancid lamb oil. right now i'm trying castor and pollux on him topped with merrick senior medley canned. he loves the senior medley, will eat the castor and pollux, which actually smells "good" even to me. based on tiny poodle's feedback on merrick kibble, i will be trying that after we get through the c&p. 

when you see your aged and blind dog bounce toward his food dish because he smells steak, you have to know it may not be just pickiness (imo). dogs can and do differ on that, too, but a picky dog may well have the reasons a human may have for rejecting something as smelling "off." just my take after 16 years of being trained by a lowchen.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

patk said:


> my guy has been super picky recently. to the point where he lost a lot of weight. i now have a collection of kibble in the refrigerator. one thing i realized is that unrefrigerated kibble oxidizes fairly quickly and gets old fast. the other thing is - how good does the kibble smell to you (as a human) when you dispense it? some has the nose appeal of a sheet of paper. some, when it gets old, has the appeal of rancid lamb oil. right now i'm trying castor and pollux on him topped with merrick senior medley canned. he loves the senior medley, will eat the castor and pollux, which actually smells "good" even to me. based on tiny poodle's feedback on merrick kibble, i will be trying that after we get through the c&p.
> 
> when you see your aged and blind dog bounce toward his food dish because he smells steak, you have to know it may not be just pickiness (imo). dogs can and do differ on that, too, but a picky dog may well have the reasons a human may have for rejecting something as smelling "off." just my take after 16 years of being trained by a lowchen.



You might want to try the Merrick Grain free - I am shocked out of my mind that Tangee and Teaka are scarfing it up - they had not eaten kibble in many years before we won this in the contest. And I have tried to give them many kibble samples that I have picked up, but they looked at me like I was crazy - there really is something special about the Merrick Grain free!


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

patk said:


> bounce toward his food dish


Oh that's so funny in relation to Tonka! He approaches his food dish like it's gonna bite him. Creeps up on it, like. Before he finally eats he'll just stand there, staring into the dish... for maybe a full minute... 'til he finally scoops out the Chicken back. Weird dog, eh? lol

Looks like the on-sale human stuff wasn't much of a hit. I guess I'll be frying myself up some Spam sandwiches....


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

did you say tonka was a rescue? kind of wondering if he had a bad experience related to his food dish sometime in the past. 

when you choose an intelligent people dog, there are behaviors that can be surprisingly what we think of as "human." i remember when my female lowchen (a retired show dog) came to live with me and i offered her a chew stick. she took it, looked me in the eye and spat it out. think she was trying to tell me something? of course down the road i made it worse, as i used to offer each of my dogs a choice between two treats. they had to decide which one to take. usually it wasn't an easy choice, as over time i stopped buying things not at the top of the preference list. but here's where dogs outdo humans - they didn't really dither around over their choices! kind of refreshing, actually.


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## HerdingStdPoodle (Oct 17, 2012)

*Focus*

Hi Countryboy!

You are certainly not alone....
Like people, I think that some Poodles thrive on variety. For my Spoo---I mix it up! For my Spoo---food is an adventure! He absolutely loves Wellness Small Breed Dog Food but every meal is different! In other words, I put something different and fun on top of his favorite food like Havarti Cheese or Bologna or Chicken or Steak or Hamburger or ???.... The goal, for us, is to EAT!

Best to you and Tonka! HerdingStdPoodle


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## BeckyM (Nov 22, 2013)

I feel for you. After years of picky eaters (2 chi's and 1 greyhound), I'm so happy to have a puppy who will eat whatever I put in front of her. We went through years of worry with our other dogs. One of my Chihuahua's wouldn't eat when my husband would go out of town and I was reduced to forcing chicken broth down his throat to get his blood sugar up after 2 days of no eating. 
I also lost my dear "heart dog" to epilepsy when she was 9 years old so I'm so glad that Tonka is going strong at 10! That's great! 

I wish I had some good advice... but since I didn't have a magic fix with my past picky eaters, I can't offer much help... just sympathy! Good luck!


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

It seems like that's an awful lot of food, even for a standard poodle. He might just be full?

Instead of baneful, maybe pick up a bag of Purina One and see what he thinks about that. It's a definite step up from Beneful. It's the only thing my poodle's tummy tolerates (I get the beyond chicken). 

Of my 4 dogs (different breeds) my poodle is definitely the most picky, unless he's got his Purina One. <shrugs> he was getting So skinny that it wasn't worth worrying about Purina (supposedly) being a "garbage" brand. He's now got muscle on his skeleton instead of just bones.


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## Luce (Mar 4, 2013)

I call Luce a passive eater! She has never just gobbled her food! With all food, she would go to her bowl, look at it, walk away, then a minute or so latergo back and eat a few mouthfuls, then leave. ARRRGGGHHHH!

Now after her surgery it's worse!! She 11 lbs. the day of surgery, 2 weeks later when we went back to see the physical therapist she was down to 9.25 lbs.!! I know she's not active but she still needs to eat!

Countryboy, have you tried moistening the kibble with water or broth?? That works with Luce sometimes "sigh".............


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Be careful what you wish for folks - after years of suffering with difficult eaters, I was so thrilled that Timi was a good eater - until I realized that includes things that can kill her! Got me wishing for picky again...


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Luce said:


> Countryboy, have you tried moistening the kibble with water or broth?? That works with Luce sometimes "sigh".............


Oh, ya... I gave up on hard, dry kibble years ago. Always water with the kibble, then 1/4 can of Natural Balance...  switching every fourth meal to another 'taste'. Fish and Potato, Lamb and Rice, Venison and something, Wild Boar and something else.

But now we're back to that... no Spam  ... and me sticking the bowl back in the fridge 'til he 'asks me' for more.

One of the issues is that the butchers seem to have gone wild and crazy with the chicken backs lately. They must have gotten some Grade A Large chickens 'coz the Backs are half again larger than my fist. This batch is less an appetizer than a meal in itself.

But he's eating some... and I haven't killed him yet. lol So all is good!


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

I am so lucky , both my girls will eat anything. 

As for your boy, try a few samples and see if he might like something a little better, maybe he just likes the change.

I do understand about a strong willed dog. Today, I took my girls for their daily walk, a friend was also getting out of her car, so while I was speaking to her, Stella jumps over my head and out of the SUV... if I turn my back on her for a moment she gets the best of me every time. I will admit my sister's words came back ..." A standard Poodle???? They are way smarter than you..."


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

Sunny's also a picky eater. He loves Zignature Turkey (grain free), and I'm currently switching to California Natural Salmon and Peas (in my rotation), and he's on a mini hunger strike. I'm hoping he'll get over it - I don't have the time or resources to cater to a picky eater. I leave the food down for 15-20 minutes, then take it up. Since I feed twice daily, he has the opportunity to eat 12 hours or less later.


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## kayfabulous6 (Nov 19, 2013)

I am having the same problem with Ruby! She is a small mpoo and could afford to gain a couple pounds, but it is hard because she is so selective with what she eats. We started her on blue buffalo small breed puppy kibble. She couldn't get enough of it when she was a young puppy, but now she's nearly 8 months old and turns her nose up at it. What I have tried was mixing it with some water to soften it so the smell is stronger, I've tried mixing in some cooked chicken or raw/cooked veggies (green beans, carrots) into the kibble, some cooked white rice, and even some of the blue pre packaged wet food of different meat varieties- but what she usually does is just pick all of the "different" food out and leaves the kibble to sit there. Just to get her to eat the kibble, I will shred up whatever type of meat I'm giving her so that it is so small that she can't pick it out- it sticks to the kibble so she has no choice but to Eat the kibble if she wants the tasty meat flavor. This pickiness sounds like a poodle thing!  

I think your best bet would be to keep switching it up in terms of the food you give him. Choose samples of a few different brands that are acceptable in terms of what you like to feed him (quality) and rotate so he isn't eating the same thing each night. I have been starting this with Ruby with rotating around what goes in her dish and she is more apt to try it if it is something she isn't getting each night! I fuss with her dinner a lot more than her breakfast, will usually just set out some kibble in the morning with a few Cheerios in it if she isn't eating it and then she usually will. The things we do for our pups!!! Good luck- and let us know if something starts working for Tonka!


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## Wild Kitten (Mar 13, 2014)

Countryboy said:


> Oh that's so funny in relation to Tonka! He approaches his food dish like it's gonna bite him. Creeps up on it, like. Before he finally eats *he'll just stand there, staring into the dish... for maybe a full minute...* 'til he finally scoops out the Chicken back. Weird dog, eh? lol
> 
> Looks like the on-sale human stuff wasn't much of a hit. I guess I'll be frying myself up some Spam sandwiches....


He got to say his prayers  

I had a poodle in the past, she was not picky, she ate her food alright but always ALWAYS she would stand by the dish for a minute or two just looking at the food before she ate it - then she licked the bowl clean ........... we always joked with my mom that she is saying her prayers.



kayfabulous6 said:


> I will shred up whatever type of meat I'm giving her so that it is so small that she can't pick it out- it sticks to the kibble so she has no choice but to Eat the kibble if she wants the tasty meat flavor.


My Tervueren was picky, I used to give him rice with minced meat....... he would pick out the meat and spit the rice.... lol 
It was so annoying.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Just thought I would report back with some good results from adjusting his diet.

I started out with one cup of 3 star kibble, one cup of Beneful, 1/4 can of wet, and chicken back. That went down well for a couple of days. So well that I'm now increasing the decent kibble to a cup and a half. The Beneful 'kernels' are so large that one cup of them is mostly air anyway...

I'd love to get him up to three cups of kibble a day... maybe put some weight on Mr. Lanky.


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