# Does Anyone Spoon Feed Their Dog?



## all that jazz (Feb 6, 2011)

Every other meal or so my puppy will eat about half of his food. I give him kibble and soft canned food, high quality. He spontaneously eats most of the soft food and leaves the kibble. I then go over and use a small teaspoon and hand feed him the rest and he eats it! I don't understand why he doesn't do this himself and why, if he is full or not hungry, my offering the spoon entices him to eat more. I wouldn't do this except that I want him to get all his kibble. I have added cottage cheese to the kibble and it worked wonderfully at first, but now he still doesn't eat it all unless I feed the balance to him. What do you think and how can I encourage him to eat the kibble on his own?


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## sschoe2 (Mar 16, 2011)

all that jazz said:


> how can I encourage him to eat the kibble on his own?


Sari is a nightmare. She walks away from food that most other dogs would kill for. She won't even eat hot dogs or peanut butter for pete's sake. We typically only get her to eat one small meal a day. Kibble mixed with roast chicken with pieces of sharp cheddar cheese on it and some treats. I take her for daily 2+ mile walks to get her appetite up. We also bought a tube of GNC vitamin/calorie supplement to giver her. It is a paste of sugar/vegetable oil and vitamins and we give her 1/4 teaspoon per day.


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## Poodle Lover (Mar 24, 2008)

all that jazz said:


> What do you think and how can I encourage him to eat the kibble on his own?


A little tough love.  It looks like your puppy is doing a great job training you. As long as the puppy is healthy and there is no medical reason for him not eating, he is just being a picky eater. 

He will always eat his food when you add something new and high value to it: like cottage cheese, chicken, beef, cheese, etc. After a while though, he will stop, and hold out for you to add something new and different. My havanese was really, really picky so I know where you are coming from. You have to options either do what he wants or do what you want him to do. I personally don't see anything wrong with adding human food, cooking for your dog or feeding him/her raw. I rotate my dogs' diet and they eat everything (kibble, high quality canned, home cooked and raw), but it's on my terms. My spoos are excellent eaters and eat more like labs than poodles, lol. My havanese was THE pickiest eater and did exactly what yours did. Here's what I did:

I put out his food (usually home cooked at the time) for 15 to 20 minutes and just let him be. If the food is not gone by the end of the time period, I picked up the food, refrigirated it and offered it again (warmed up) at his second meal. The trick is not to give them anything in between. You just have to be strong. My friend's dog held out for a day and a half before she started eating.

Good luck to you.


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## jasperspoo (Feb 25, 2011)

Jasper is the pickiest eater. We feed him good kibble and then rotate what he gets mixed in (various brands/varieties of canned, yogurt, chopped chicken etc.) Some days he'll eat it, some days he won't. The vet said that there's nothing wrong with him, just that he's picky. I do the same 15 mins of food and then refrigerating until the next meal. Other than the eating thing, he's healthy and super active (maybe a little on the skinny side, but generally proportional) so I'm not worried. I was at first though- I've only ever had labs and a sheltie that was a stomach on four legs. A young, healthy dog won't starve themselves.


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## lavillerose (Feb 16, 2011)

My puppy is confined in her x-pen for meals. She doesn't get to come out until she eats! Some days it takes a half hour of pacing the pen (and me ignoring), but eventually she'll eat. If she doesn't by the time we have to go the work, too bad (although she usually gets chewies while I'm working, but she has to wait for them later in the day).

Tough love is right, they eat what they're given or they go hungry. Don't feel bad about it. The more you cater to the pickiness, the worse they get.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

If he is teething, he may find the kibble uncomfortable to chew - try softening it with a drop of salt-free meat stock. Otherwise he just fancies something better, or the attention. Sophy was a fairly picky eater when I fed her kibble - she didn't like it when it became the least bit stale. She has not been the least bit difficult since I shifted to raw/home cooked.


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## Tnola (Jun 21, 2010)

Mine was doing something similar for a while. He would only eat a little bit of food then quit. But he would eat it if it was on the floor or out of your hand. For him, I think it was the bowl. I tried a couple of different bowls, but when I put the food on a paper plate, VIOLA! He eats his whole meal now. I know it may not be the same issue but wanted to share my experience.


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## littlestitches (Dec 28, 2009)

The more I read on this board, the more I am convinced that poodles are actually human children disguised as poodles.:cute:
Paula


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## momofthree (Apr 9, 2011)

littlestitches said:


> The more I read on this board, the more I am convinced that poodles are actually human children disguised as poodles.:cute:
> Paula


Exactly! This is reminding me of what I need to enforce with my human children!


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## Birdie (Jun 28, 2009)

Sometimes I will toss Des his kibble individually for him to catch, kind of like you spoon-feeding. Desmond generally doesn't eat his food right away, so if I do this it is either just for our own amusement (it's fun! He likes it, I like it, and we get to train while we do it) or if he is absolutely not eating. Sometimes when we go over to my dad's house for the weekend, he just refuses to eat, either out of stress (it's really busy over there, he may forget or be too busy to eat) or waiting on my dad to slip him treats (bad dad...). When it gets like this, I will hand feed him to get his appetite up. 

My mom will put cheese on his dinner, which I BEG her not to do (excluding once in a while as a treat) because Desmond will hold out on his dinner until she puts cheese on it. The only reason he doesn't eat is because he's waiting for something better- don't get caught up in that trap! Give the dog his normal food and that's it. Don't add special things to entice him to eat daily, it's just a surefire way to spoil your dog and get him fat. 

Otherwise, definitely do what Poodlelover said: put the food out for a time period, then take it up at the end (eaten or not). Don't feed him between meals, and only offer him that 15-20 minute period at meal times to eat. Trust me, they will eventually give up on their game and eat their food.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

I suppose I'm in the minority, but I have never subscribed to the idea that dogs play games with regard to food, or don't eat to punish their owners.

Mine is a great eater, but he's had excellent quality commercial food mixed with table scraps, a bit of home cooking, a bit of raw, since he was tiny.

If he didn't eat, my first thought wouldn't be "ah hah! he's spoiled! I need to be firm until he eats the brown cardboard, dammit!" I'd be cooking him some scrambled eggs to go with the brown cardboard instead :smile:.

(Not that I consider his expensive Orijen kibble to be cardboard! I use it for training treats too, and all the dogs in the park mob me for their share.)


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Just occurred to me after I wrote the above, that I spent time yesterday boiling up a bunch of chicken for him .... the chicken will be used for training, the skin I microwave until crispy and use it for Kong stuffing, and the stock will go in his dinner for the next week. 

I make him watch Animal Cops sometimes and tell him how lucky he is.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I am rather with you on this one, JE - I spent a few minutes this morning pan frying Sophy's beef, when she showed she really did not like it raw. Mind you, at 7 weeks pregnant she is allowed to be picky! I have never really understood why dogs are expected to be grateful for a bowl of boring kibble once or twice a day - bit like me being fed nothing but salt-, sugar- and milk-free muesli! Why not feed them healthy meals that they really enjoy instead?


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

Poodle Lover said:


> A little tough love.  It looks like your puppy is doing a great job training you. As long as the puppy is healthy and there is no medical reason for him not eating, he is just being a picky eater.
> 
> He will always eat his food when you add something new and high value to it: like cottage cheese, chicken, beef, cheese, etc. After a while though, he will stop, and hold out for you to add something new and different. My havanese was really, really picky so I know where you are coming from. You have to options either do what he wants or do what you want him to do. I personally don't see anything wrong with adding human food, cooking for your dog or feeding him/her raw. I rotate my dogs' diet and they eat everything (kibble, high quality canned, home cooked and raw), but it's on my terms. My spoos are excellent eaters and eat more like labs than poodles, lol. My havanese was THE pickiest eater and did exactly what yours did. Here's what I did:
> 
> ...


x2, but I feed only high quality kibble. When they're hungry enough, they'll eat. I do agree with an earlier poster that you may want to add a little low-sodium chicken broth to soften it a little, if your pup is teething.

I read that dogs only have around 9000 or so taste receptors, compared to our 20,000 or so, so they don't need the variety that we expect in our diets. That's why many dogs gulp their food - they don't really care how it tastes! My lab and my cockapoo are this way.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

i have one super picky eater. Moving him to raw changed that. I don't know a lot of dogs who wouldn't pick canned over kibble either. 

That said i'm guessing he's FULL or he does not like that kibble/finds it hard with his shape of mouth. 

What i would do: 
1- feed the canned and kibble in separate meals 

2- try a different type of kibble/bowl etc to see if that makes an issue out of it

3- if he still isn't eating the kibble but is maintaining his weight i wouldn't worry too much 

4- try feeding kibble only- no canned 

I would give the above several days each before making a decision that they are not working and then if not and he was loosing weight i'd : 
5- IF he's not maintaining weight and i NEED to get those calories in him. I would feed the kibble as his treat for training- NOT hand feeding just to feed it to him. He'd need to do something either it be a sit or a down or a watch me what ever


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

georgiapeach said:


> I read that dogs only have around 9000 or so taste receptors, compared to our 20,000 or so, so they don't need the variety that we expect in our diets. That's why many dogs gulp their food - they don't really care how it tastes! My lab and my cockapoo are this way.


I've read that too, but on the other side, they have a bazillion (that's the technical term :smile more scent receptors. I am sure mine gets more enjoyment out of the smell of interesting things I put in his dinner than the taste.


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## Jessie's Mom (Mar 23, 2010)

all that jazz said:


> Every other meal or so my puppy will eat about half of his food. I give him kibble and soft canned food, high quality. He spontaneously eats most of the soft food and leaves the kibble. I then go over and use a small teaspoon and hand feed him the rest and he eats it! I don't understand why he doesn't do this himself and why, if he is full or not hungry, my offering the spoon entices him to eat more. I wouldn't do this except that I want him to get all his kibble. I have added cottage cheese to the kibble and it worked wonderfully at first, but now he still doesn't eat it all unless I feed the balance to him. What do you think and how can I encourage him to eat the kibble on his own?


i'm in the same boat. sometimes jessie will eat it all and lick the bowl. sometimes she couldn't care less. sometimes i let it go when she doesn't eat within the hour - i just pick it up, cover it and refrigerate it. other times, i sit on the floor and hand feed her. ugh :doh: i never realized that stds are such picky eaters. that being said, i am doing what my vet suggested: put it down for a specified period of time, pick it up, nothing else rest of the day until dinner time. her food base is high quality canned but i also add an assortment of stuff: raw, cooked organ meets, broiled chicken, etc etc. one thing i know for sure, sitting there and hand or spoon feeding them is definitely not in our best interest.


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## katbrat (May 8, 2011)

We have been mixing just a bit of wet food with Lexi's dry kibble. I incorporate it into the dry kibble, mixing it really good. She gets a bite of each when she eats and licks the bowl clean.


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