# anyone have fussy dog feeding tricks?



## HarperTHEpoodle (Oct 24, 2012)

My standard poodle, Harper, is a VERY fussy eater. We have tried a major variety of dog foods, brands, and she has finally settled on Small breed puppy Eukanuba, and will not eat anything else, and even now she barely eats.

she is quite lithe, i wouldnt say skinny, and definately not malnourished, i'm just hoping to see if anyone knows of handy hints and tips to get dogs to eat :dance:

thanks


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

It took me a couple of years to formulate a dinner that Tonka would deign to accept on a regular basis. I became bald in the process... :banghead: lol

But now we've settled on two and a bit cups of kibble, 1/4 can of wet.... and an appetizer. I've found that something juicy, smelly and bloody will sort of whet his appetite. So I've been throwing a chicken back on top of the whole kibble and wet mix. The chicken back attracts him and gets the eating process started. 

Not to say that he doesn't still go sometimes two or three days without eating. 

Best of luck!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Swizzle is a selective eater. He is fed raw. He will only eat certain brands, even of raw. He is also very selective with treats. If it is a mass made dog treat he will either sniff and refuse it or take it and spit it out. He will accept expensive organic treats like buffalo liver and lung puffs. It is like he has a chemical detector. Have you ever tried raw? Give Swizzle a brand he likes and he will eat with gusto.


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

Oy picky eaters!! 
I am not a huge fan of this food, but I've never seen a dog turn down dry Bil-Jac. If they are to a point where they are way too thin, I give that a try from time to time.

It also helps to have another dog… Don't laugh, but they see the other dog eat the food and then they decide they'd better eat it so the other dog doesn't!

Every now and again with my young dogs, I've had to spend anywhere between 1-3 days 'starving out' a dog to get them to eat. This sounds really mean but if they don't eat when I put in front of them, they don't eat. 

I've done the dog food roller coaster, and unless the dog is having an obvious issue with the food (throwing up, diarrhea, gas ,burping, foot chewing), then I get to make the decision on what food is best.

Also, does she get the opportunity to really work up an appetite? Does she get a good, brisk walk and/or flat out full running once a day or so? That will also help.


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## RaviMom (Feb 7, 2013)

I have a picky eater too-have to constantly vary the wet food. He eats dry Nutro, and some mornings doesn't touch it. At night he gets same dry mixed with a can it pouch of something-loves Simply nourish and the Nutro pate! But I have to constantly change these up. Sometimes some beef stock or pork stock drizzled on the dry gets him going. Also would like Freshpet jerky or dried sweet potatoes chopped and mixed in. Good luck!!


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## Suddenly (Aug 8, 2013)

Brandon get differed t toppings on his food. We feed him natures variety with kibble with raw boost it comes that way. For topper she loves American cheese, cottage cheese, Stella and chewy, and twice a week we give him 1tsp of mayo. Plus 2 tablespoons of tripe, and evangers canned everything is grain free. He eats better then us lol!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Sophy had very decided ideas about kibble - it was fine until it began to sour after 4 or 5 days, and then she went off it. With a toy dog, that means throwing away an awful lot of kibble... Since I switched to raw/home cooked it's been very easy to pinpoint what she can't eat (turkey, too much liver, white fish) and what she doesn't like (anything with a sticky or gluey texture), and adapt her diet accordingly. And unless I inadvertently feed her something on the no-no list (usually things which give her diarrhoea) she bounces enthusiastically at the thought of a meal and licks the bowl clean every time!


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## LibertyH (Jun 9, 2013)

I have no advice but wanted to commiserate. I just spent the day making special turkeyliver treats out of the giblets from our Thanksgiving bird, only to have my toy sniff haughtily and turn on her heel when I offered her the first one. 

We also did the poodle rain dance multiple times today - the one where I walk her outside forever trying to convince her to walk on all fours and just-go-already and she keeps crying pathetically in the hopes that potty time is optional on rainy days.

I love poodles, but some days...


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Oh gosh, sorry I can't be of any help but this thread just convinces me that my next poodle will be on a dog food ONLY diet. I mean I would love to give them fresh protein, fruits and veggies, salmon, yogurt etc, but when you begin to do that, they just keep demanding more and more exciting things. At this point with my little old ladies I am spending a good $10 a day on fresh food, plus all of the highest end dog food and treats available - all to feed a total of ten pounds of poodle! And Tangee gets horribly sick if her stomach is empty for more then 5 hours and Teaka for 12 hours so there is no such thing as waiting them out - it seems lately like my whole life revolves around feeding these little girls!
Anyhow the only advice I can give you is avoid upping the anti - if you can wait it out without his getting sick, do that!
I'm not even sure if I will offer my next one fresh food as treats, I am so worried about getting back into this game!


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## LibertyH (Jun 9, 2013)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Oh gosh, sorry I can't be of any help but this thread just convinces me that my next poodle will be on a dog food ONLY diet. I mean I would love to give them fresh protein, fruits and veggies, salmon, yogurt etc, but when you begin to do that, they just keep demanding more and more exciting things. At this point with my little old ladies I am spending a good $10 a day on fresh food, plus all of the highest end dog food and treats available - all to feed a total of ten pounds of poodle! And Tangee gets horribly sick if her stomach is empty for more then 5 hours and Teaka for 12 hours so there is no such thing as waiting them out - it seems lately like my whole life revolves around feeding these little girls!
> Anyhow the only advice I can give you is avoid upping the anti - if you can wait it out without his getting sick, do that!
> I'm not even sure if I will offer my next one fresh food as treats, I am so worried about getting back into this game!
> 
> ...


Unfortunately, poodles can be picky regardless of what you offer. Pixie eats only kibble in small amounts twice a day. She shuns all treats. The turkey livers were my attempt to find something (anything) of high value to her for training. Epic fail.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

LibertyH said:


> Unfortunately, poodles can be picky regardless of what you offer. Pixie eats only kibble in small amounts twice a day. She shuns all treats. The turkey livers were my attempt to find something (anything) of high value to her for training. Epic fail.


I envy you that she eats dog food - at this point dog food is maybe 1/3 of my girls diet...


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Jazz isn't a particularly fussy eater, but I went through a time where I thought he was too thin. I have to be honest, I gave him whatever he wanted. I even roasted chickens for him (still do some) and put them in his kibble. I realized it was cheaper than canned dog food. Even now I don't give him plain kibble. His breakfast has crumbles of stella and chewies freezdried raw. His dinner has something mixed with his kibble most nights. If we're having meatballs - he gets several, for example. He's a good weight now.


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## TwirlAndTweak (Nov 11, 2013)

This is maybe not the "PC" way to handle a picky eater, but when I adopted my miniature poodle at 7, the ONLY thing she ate was bananas. No food. No treats. No meat. Bananas. That's not a very healthy or balanced diet. 

So! I put food down for her four times a day, for twenty minutes at a time, whatever she didn't eat (which, for the first few days, was NOTHING), went up until the next feeding time. It took about six different brands of food before we were able to settle on Natural Balance, and a solid month of that feeding schedule before she was reliably eating...but she eventually turned into a tiny little garbage disposal. She would eat anything...except French fries. 

Funny story about her, actually. It was about six weeks after I got her, I'd gone through a drivethru and got some fries. She was in the backseat. I was handing her the occasional fry while I drove home, which she would delicately take from me each time. When we got home and I went to let her out of the car, there was a tidy little pile of fries. She didn't want to be rude and offend me, but she just couldn't eat them. Too cute.

Anyway, back to the point. Dogs will NOT let themselves starve. It's all a matter of how elaborate, or straight-forward you want feeding time to be. Yes, it takes a bit of willpower on our part, and then it takes sticking to it, but there is no reason to be constantly trying to scrounge up a new "topper" for the food dish! That would just drive me crazy.

My current dogs get their dry food twice a day, one of them gets it topped in chicken broth (homemade, low sodium), the other gets chicken broth in the morning, yogurt in the evening (the first one has dairy allergies, unfortunately). They both get bites of lots of our food, lots of healthy, unprocessed chewies. They love fruits and veggies.

So, there's my two cents.


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## Carrie-e (Oct 23, 2012)

Tia my mpoo is very awkward with food. She just refuses to eat sometimes. She spent 2 days in kennels at the weekend and hasn't eaten properly since. She has very expensive fish4dogs kibble with fresh meat on and this morning she ate the natural yogurt I put on the plate and then walked off but then went out in the kitchen and tried to eat Billy's breakfast which he wasn't too impressed about! He has exactly the same food apart from his kibble is bigger obviously. Yesterday she wouldn't eat breakfast at 7,so after her long morning walk I tried again and she took absolutely ages to eat a bit of it. She refused tea which they have at 5, but while hubby was eating his tea she was fussing round him as though she was hungry. In the end she set her tea at 10pm,ridiculous! I've got Billy the greedy guts who eats as though every meal is his last and then her who just doesnt seem hungry. She is tiny for a miniature poodle,barely 10 inches tall and about 5kg in weight. She doesn't look thin I have to say,she has quite a round little solid middle and has two walks a day so is getting plenty of exercise. If she wasn't so small I wouldn't worry so much. The thing is she loves her biscuit treats so I've started giving her one of Billy's kibble as they are like a treat and the same food as hers at least she will be eating proper food that way. I've never owned a dog who hasn't wanted to eat before,and I think today I'm going to cook some white fish for her as she loves fish.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

It would be interesting to know how picky adults were fed when pups. We briefly discussed on another thread whether feeding puppies exclusively on one food could set them up to refuse all others - or even that food if it were reformulated. I have also read that the oils in kibble can quickly turn rancid - which I suspect was why Sophy would only eat kibble from recently opened bags (bits found under the fridge six months later are manna from heaven, of course!). Perhaps highly scented toppers disguise the smell of the food? Sophy is also very good at remembering foods that have made her unwell - if she refuses anything I have learned to trust her judgement and scramble her an egg instead!

I think there is a bit of a balancing act to be managed between being pushed into ever more complicated and expensive efforts to find a palatable food, and forcing the dog to eat something that they actively dislike, or that gives them stomach pains. I cannot eat onions, or garlic, or leeks, and I can see how if the only food available contained them I would avoid it as far as possible.


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

First and foremost, welcome to the club of fussy eating poodles. 

Ryker is by far the fussiest dog I've seen. He has walked away from fresh cooked chicken breast. Yeah, not fun.

He was fussy ever since he was a puppy. I had to hand feed him when I brought him home at 8 weeks. Normally, I know this would lead to bad adult behaviors - but he was my first poodle and I was so worried about hypoglycemia that I didn't mind letting him eat his softened kibble from my hand.

He's been on over 10 different kibbles since being a puppy. He is on Fromm Small Breed now and likes it. And he likes Wellness Core Puppy that he steals from Cash. I might try the adult version in that next.

Something appetizing is always mixed with his kibble - boiled beef, chicken, white meat turkey, scrambled eggs, fresh cooked veggies, etc.

I also put him on Famotidine. This is because when he would walk away from his meals, he would vomit bile. I figured out through this forum that he probably has too much acid in his stomach. I've been giving him the Famotidine for about 6 months and he has only walked away from a meal once.

My vet was really reassuring and told me that unless something is medically wrong, a dog is not going to starve itself. So that made me feel better - Ryker is also very lean and lithe, slightly underweight. 

I've also discovered that taking the dogs outside for a quick play and potty session is very helpful - especially in the morning. It wakes him up and starts his metabolism.

My vet also recommended giving him a few plain Cheerios before breakfast to start his appetite. Go figure, Ryker doesn't like them. But she also mentioned sprinkling some Parmesan cheese over his kibble. That did seem to help - but it gave Ryker tear stains.

So, to summarize, what helped most was the Famotidine and play/fresh air before eating. I don't stress anymore about him walking away eating only half of what I give him. I've just accepted that he's full. 


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## Jamie Hein (Aug 17, 2013)

Have you tried raw yet? Kennedy was the pickiest eater... I would buy the fanciest wet dog foods and he would just stare at it. I would even heat it up and then sometimes he would eat, but only if I was sitting by him encouraging him. Now he whines for his food! I get the Nature's Variety raw bites out of the freezer and he cries as it thaws for about 10 minutes. When I put the bowl by him he scarfs it down very fast. I no longer need to encourage him to eat or put special treats on top of food. He would eat that food frozen if I let him. It has been a real time saver.. in the past I would be late for work because I was trying desperately to get him to eat his food. By the way, he wouldn't eat any kibble. I did try kibble and no matter what I soaked it in or put on it he wouldn't touch the stuff.... and I don't blame him.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

fjm said:


> It would be interesting to know how picky adults were fed when pups. We briefly discussed on another thread whether feeding puppies exclusively on one food could set them up to refuse all others - or even that food if it were reformulated. I have also read that the oils in kibble can quickly turn rancid - which I suspect was why Sophy would only eat kibble from recently opened bags (bits found under the fridge six months later are manna from heaven, of course!). Perhaps highly scented toppers disguise the smell of the food? Sophy is also very good at remembering foods that have made her unwell - if she refuses anything I have learned to trust her judgement and scramble her an egg instead!
> 
> I think there is a bit of a balancing act to be managed between being pushed into ever more complicated and expensive efforts to find a palatable food, and forcing the dog to eat something that they actively dislike, or that gives them stomach pains. I cannot eat onions, or garlic, or leeks, and I can see how if the only food available contained them I would avoid it as far as possible.


Actually when they were young, my girls free fed kibble and were fine with that. When dogs began dying from dog food and treats from china, I began cooking for them but I think the problem was that they were not accustomed to.having me pick their meal times- so then I started mixing in various things to get them to eat when served, and from there it just spiraled out of control. 
For sure, no more free feeding for my next one - I think mealtimes will help a lot !


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Just wanted to share our success story!!  
After months and months I figured out a way that they eat ALL their food!!
They are 18 months old now so... I started feeding only once a day!! They get hungry enough and finish their meal - clean their bowls!! And I have proof!! Hahaha I just took these pictures  hehehehe And also they eat this special mix of stuff that just finally works for them.
2.5 cups Blue Wilderness Salmon (because it's a 5star food) + 1/6 of a can of various dog foods + 1tbl spoon of canned pumpkin (good for tummies) + 2tbl spoons of plain yogurt (good to avoid ear infections) 

Whew! That's our recipe that finally works! I am soooooo happy 

Good luck to u all, hope you find your secrect magic recipe! 

Ps. Panoramic photos made the poodles look funny, but can u see those CLEAN BOWLS?! Yay!! 
























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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

Harper,

I feel for you. Charlie (picture below) is an extremely picky eater. I tried everything from kibble to can to raw to home-cooked food, nothing works. When Charlie turns 14 months old, I got my second puppy, Edison. Edison is not a pig but he will eat. Competition does wonder indeed. No more picky eater in our house now. Before Edison, Charlie was a mere 10 lbs, after Edison, Charlie is now 15-16 lbs. Edison is 5 lbs.

Also, I sprinkle Stella-Chewy on top of Charlie's kibble. I feed them Fromm. Edison loves it as is and Charlie loves it with Stella-Chewy sprinkled on top.


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## elem8886 (Sep 19, 2012)

Tika wasn't fussy so much as uninterested. She would eat but very slowly, picking up a few kibbles and crunching them, looking around, a few more kibbles, etc.

When she was a puppy I fed raw which she still loves and would be more than happy to eat but I can't feed that right now. These days she eats Go! chicken kibble with a few different Fromm 4-star kibbles mixed in. That was one attempt to get her to eat quicker and she is more interested with the other flavours mixed in but she still never got excited about her food.

About a month ago I finally found the trick to getting her excited for food - hot water poured over to soggy up the kibble and melt the coconut oil that she needs to keep her nose from splitting (her nose and the pads on the back of her legs get really really dry). Now she is as excited for meals as our lab is!

There have been a few threads in recent months about poodles with acid reflux and that was part of Tika's reluctant eating too. I didn't have to give any famotidine or anything but I had to play around with the size and timing of her meals. She eats three meals, 6-7 hours apart, of 2/3 of a cup and she doesn't have any stomach troubles unless I get too far off schedule.


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## Siskojan (Mar 13, 2011)

I think Sisko agrees with FJM about the end of the bag being less fresh. He is always more avid when a new bag is opened. He nearly always dives in and scoffs his dinner to the point where his bowl is so shiny it looks like he wasn't fed. In the morning he needs some occasional tempting. I can hear his tummy rumbling and if he goes too long he gets hunger pukes, but I don't think he can distinguish between feeling hungry and being a bit nauseous and won't get on and eat. So, I feed him a few little nibbles of leftover meat or cheese or his lamb treats and like Countryboy says it whets his appetite and gets the juices flowing. I hand feed them to him and drop the last few bits on his bowl and 9 times out of 10 he goes on to chow down his breakfast and we can all relax.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

I cook for our dogs too! I have a 10-lb Hutterite chicken in the oven right now, ha,ha. Glad to read about dogs not letting themselves starve to death, I'm not used to feeding a picky dog until recently.


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## Poodlelvr (Mar 13, 2010)

I've done just about every way to keep my poodles happy with their food. My greatest success was with Canine Life from The Skye's the Limit--a premix from Canada to which I added ground meat of any variety, a few veggies, eggs, apple and safflower oil. I mixed it into a kind of meatloaf and baked it a 9x13 pan.

All was well until I had some health issues last summer. I couldn't tackle the mixing and baking. Family and friends weren't interested in taking on the task even though they willing to care for my dogs. I knew I had to find some commercially available food for them that they would eat.

I'll leave out my failures. I ordered Fromm's 4 star grain free tuna and salmon which they call tunalini. When it arrived Beau plastered his nose against the cardboard box. He was smelling it through the cardboard and a sealed bag. As soon as it was opened both dogs ate it from my hand as if it was a treat. First dishes of this kibble was scarfed down. Then boredom set it,

I got some other varieties of Fromm's 4 star grain free. My current best and easiest way to deal with this is to put 2 or 3 ounces of ground meat into a pan and cook it. Once it's cooked I add a small bit of water to scrape up the pan flavors and add a cup or so of an appropriate Fromm kibble flavor, stir, and let the kibble take on the flavor or the fresh meat. I feed the dogs this and they love it. Leftovers are stored in the refrigerator.  Dogs are happy and I am happy.


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## Pennysmama (Apr 23, 2013)

My fussy standard is driving me nuts and making me go broke! She seems to easily lose interest in kibble and really doesn't like wet food leftovers. I thought I had finally found gold with Go, shine and sensitivity, turkey. But, noooo. We have tried taste of the Wild, Merick grain free, other flavors of Go. Yesterday I bought a bag of Acana Grasslands and she ate a couple nibbles than started spitting it out. She seems to like the "stew-like" wet foods unless their leftover...ugh! The people at the pet food store say I should just wait her out...I couldn't go "cry it out" with my human babies either...


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

I never cried it out with my human babies either. They have a need t be close to their mommies. It's different when you have an older child or puppy or adult dog. You either eat what I make or you don't eat! (Or in my human kids case they are welcome to make their own sandwich). 
There comes a time when a little tough love is in order if you are offering a healthful food it's ok to wait her out.


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