# picky puppy



## stardoc (Jul 18, 2011)

I join the question. My parents' dog would go for days without food to the point that she will start throwing up from hunger instead of eating. Mom tried feeding her some raw beef, other tasty treats, kibble - nothing tempts her. Dog used to eat only roasted chicken and now she doesn't want that either. She will mostly only eat duck tenders willigly. The only weird thing is, when we babysit their dog for them and take her in with our menagerie she eats everything. Kibble, wet food, scraps from the table, dust from the floor, cat food nothing was an issue....


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## Qarza (Feb 23, 2013)

Try mixing the kibble with grated cheese or plain yoghurt. It might work.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

When I got Molly I thought she was a picky eater too and training was hard because she was not food motivated either! Well I found out it wasn't so much the food itself but the TEXTURE! Her mouth was sore because of teething! Once I starting soaking her kibble with a little chicken broth (unsalted) she ate more. also I made sure her kibble was really small. I also gave her an occasional raw chicken wing which she loved!
She just turned one and she eats her kibble happily (along with a little canned or raw) now!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Softening the kibble often helps with a pup, but I'm surprised you say you can't afford raw. I find it costs much less to feed my dogs a combination of raw/home cooked than to feed them a decent quality kibble.


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## MaryLynn (Sep 8, 2012)

If you want her to eat the kibble, then it sounds like you're gong to have to take the "other" stuff out. A good quality kibble will be enough, and the rest is just spoils for the taker. 

I have a little cousin who will only eat chicken fingers and mashed potatoes. Her parents make lovely nutritious food, but since they continue to supply her with chicken fingers and mashed potatoes, that's all she eats.

You need to take away the proverbial chicken fingers here, and un-spoil that child, or prepare to go full raw by the sounds of it!


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## Lea (Oct 20, 2012)

Maybe wet the kibble and wait until you can squish it up with the rest of the stuff. Or if the kibble has grains it may not be as tasty for her than without grains. If you keep adding yummy things you will have a picky poodle who will drive you bananas! Good luck. Maybe you need to switch to a different food and stick to it.


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## missmygirls (Jun 5, 2012)

*picky poodle*

Thank you all. I have done everything but stand on my head and put on a show lol. The first thing i did was soak the food. I thought about the teething thing too. That didnt work. She just looked at me like what is this crap. lol. And it is the exact same kibble that the breeder was feeding her. So I added in some cottage cheese, which she gladly picked out. Then followed by chicken, yogurt, and parm cheese all mixed very well. She refuses to eat the kibble. I then tried to wait her out. But after not eating for two days i gave in since she is only 8 pounds. I can afford the raw for one dog but not two. At least at this store. I will look around, maybe it is less expensive at another. I have a jack russel that eats like an elephant lol.


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## PammiPoodle (Jul 16, 2011)

Lumi was a picky eater as a puppy, too!! It was very stressful. It seemed whenever she tried something new, it ruined her for anything she'd had before! Eventually it got to the point that she'd only like the new thing for a few days or a week, and then she'd start refusing that, too, wanting a change! One of the causes, I think for this, was that I simply offered her too much food as a pup, so that she wasn't ever hungry, and food became more of a game/option to her. And, yes, she would also just not eat for a day or two if I withheld the "goodies". Again, I think it goes back to her original foundation of believing food is uber-plentiful and that she can just wait until something awesome comes around again. Lumi is no longer a "picky eater", so hopefully our experience can help you! : ) 

One technique I employed was to be *sure* she was hungry when I offered her food. If she looked/walked away from what I gave her, I took it away and offered her no more food for several hours (or longer, depending on what she had eaten and when I could expect her to be truly hungry again). I *did* give her special, yummy things, too. I didn't cut her off or starve her. It was more important to me that she ate a meal and enjoyed what I offered her, than was forced or starved into eating. So, the actual method I used was to hand feed her each meal for several weeks, and teach her to "eat it" on cue. I started by giving her a small bite of something delicious and cuing her to "eat it", which she happily did! As she scarfed it down I said "Yes!" (her reward marker) and gave her another delicious bite of the same thing or something better! Once she was really loving this game, I would try offering her less exciting things with the "eat it" cue, and as she took them I would reward mark and give her something better. Eventually we progressed to getting her to eat two "boring bites" for her reward, then three, four, and random reward intervals. She grew to really love eating anything, and meal times were super fun and rewarding for her. If she balked at anything I offered her, I put away all the food and ended the meal. Keep in mind, I wanted her to succeed so I purposely offered her things I expected her to take. Make the transitions to boring foods slight so that she can succeed and learn to anticipate wonderful things at meal time! : ) In the beginning, she did only have a few bites per meal of what she "should" have been eating, but I let her nutrition take a back burner for a few weeks at the trade off of a lifetime of healthy and stress-free meals. : ) She eagerly scarfs a full bowl of whatever I give her now. She does still get a bite of "dessert" after each meal, but she certainly doesn't need it anymore. I just love to reward her for emptying her bowl. : ) It took us several weeks (maybe even two months?), to go from one bite = one reward to the point we're at now of happily eating an entire meal without any reward. However, Lumi and I had been doing the "picky eater dance" for several months, so she was really set in her ways. You're pup's only been trying this out for a week now. She may be a quick convert. : )

Other things I've learned with Lumi is that sometimes they just don't like a particular food and that's okay. For Lumi it's carrots in any form and most raw veggies. She also loves some things very much and I use them to make the "boring" stuff more enjoyable for her. She loves a sprinkle of nutritional yeast on her food, and I think she'd eat anything if it were mixed with peanut butter! Also, Lumi wasn't into very much food at all the first few days I had her. I've been told that it's typical for puppies to go off their food right in the beginning because of all the big changes. So this may not even last for your girl! : ) Good luck!!


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