# Help! My Spoo is making me into an overworked waitress!!



## LSK (Nov 27, 2012)

Reggie is loving one food for a couple of days then he completely turns up his nose at it. I have gone through Orijen, Lotus (still the one he seems to like best but is only a 4 star not a 5) taste of the wild, great life, Fromms, and I have gone through wet mixers in those brands like stella and chewy frozen, Merricks, and Ziwi. 
He is on the thin side these days and so I supplement him with vitamin drops in the mouth. He is 11 months old and not yet neutered. I walk him twice a day for about 30 mins a time. I know he has me wrapped around his finger and I'm lucky he has only had the runs one or two times from all this experimenting. Please someone give a plan of action before we both go nuts. I cannot do raw only do to our traveling this year and a half. 
Thank you in advance to those who respond to this.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

Beau was a picky eater but he never refused bacon. I don't either but that's another story. Saturday and Sunday mornings I would make breakfast for the whole family. My son Dylan always wants bacon. So I would save a few crispy strips and all the bacon grease. During the rest of the week I'd mix a couple of bacon bits and a couple table spoons of grease and he go to town on it. Do it true: Everything is better with bacon. 


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## Vanilla-Yazoo (Jun 2, 2013)

I hope that Reggie starts eating better soon  I have heard of adding warm water to kibble to make them moist or adding a dog gravy, might help encourage him to try.

poodleRick: I really like the bacon idea  I will be trying my puppy on raw food when i get him, so I might try that to get him started, who can resist the smell of bacon  yum!


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

Vanilla-Yazoo said:


> I hope that Reggie starts eating better soon  I have heard of adding warm water to kibble to make them moist or adding a dog gravy, might help encourage him to try.
> 
> poodleRick: I really like the bacon idea  I will be trying my puppy on raw food when i get him, so I might try that to get him started, *who can resist the smell of bacon*  yum!


I know I can't.


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

I've got a picky eater too. I was told that it was a training issue and I was pointed to this link on info on how to train your dog not to be a picky eater. Teaching Your Dog to Eat

It worked for me, but it takes time and you go through good and bad times with it. My little guy gets 3 meals a day plus a snack before bedtime. Using the method described, he has refused to eat for 2 meals before giving in and eating what is served. I've also stopped leaving kibble down for him to free feed. That way he is hungry at mealtime, and more inclined to eat what is fed. I think it was harder on me than him. He isn't completely "cured" and neither am I but things are getting better


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

Wow! First of all, quit being his waitress and start being the pack leader.

Charlie (my toy poodle) is so picky. He won't eat nothing except when my DH is cooking for him. So when business picking up, DH can no longer cook for him due to business demand so Charlie's care fell on my lap. He was young enough, around 8 months old. I trained him to eat kibble by giving him absolutely nothing else to eat, no treat, no bully stick, nothing except his fresh kibble. I tried all sorts kind of brand and threw away a lot of kibble.

Until I find Biscotti Liver Sprinkles, this comes highly recommended by the Centinela staff. I sprinkled on top of the kibble and also sprinkle some stella chewy freeze-dried duck or venison. Charlie cleans his bowl on daily basis now. Sometime he would refuse to eat even that but I'm not going to change the food just because he decide not to touch it. I just keep serving him the same kibble over and over and over and over again. I (mommy) win at the end. No more picky eater.

It also help to get another toy poodle. Competition among my dog is so rewarding for me. Edison eats whatever I put in his bowl. After he eats that, he'll go and check Charlie's bowl and eat those too. In learning this, Charlie eats his food before Edison get a sniff of it.

Please don't get me wrong with the tough love, I do love him (Charlie) so much. I make sure he gets what he needs and what he wants such as walking, socializing, day care time and a lot of hours of fetch play, also a clean wee wee pads. Bully sticks are also a must for Charlie. Treats only in training. He gets training 15 min a day. He is not into cuddling with me but he is only into cuddling with DH.


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

I had a boxer several years ago that pulled this on me, and fortunately, I took the advice of a wise member of a boxer forum member. The advice? Two words: Tough Love. Pick a good kibble. Put a little warm water (heck, I just put cold water on it now!) on the kibble and put it down for the dog. After 15 minutes, pick up the bowl, eaten or not. Since I feed twice daily, the dog would only have to wait 12 hours until the next meal if he refused the current meal. 

After 3 full days, the dog started eating like he'd never eaten before. He was much less picky after that, but occasionally, he'd try the same routine again, just to see if he could get me in "waitress" mode again. I would simply repeat the tough love again. I do rotate kibbles occasionally, but it's MY choice, not the dog's choice.

A healthy dog won't starve itself; at least not for long! All three of my current dogs do a happy dance at meal time. I think I could serve them cardboard and they'd be happy - jk! In fact, it's around that time now, and they're giving me the evil eye - time to feed the pack!


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## DavidT (Apr 15, 2010)

Hi,
I know how you feel as our 3 year old male spoo sounds like an identical eater. Our boy does maintain good weight however so I do not worry about his eating habits at all. He is kind of like a human as he likes variety in his meals (kibble plus cooked turkey or beef). He seems to eat every other day and never eats in a hurry. He may take all day to eat his breakfast, never eats before 10 a.m and may snack at 9 or 10 p.m. 

Seems to work for him although not what we were used to with Labs and German Shepherd Dogs. I just finally said " he will eat when he is hungry ", which seems to be the case.

I would say don't worry unless you suspect an ailment.

David


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## Luce (Mar 4, 2013)

Luce will go a day without eating! And she is a lot smaller then Reggie! I will give her training treats, she has real bones - smoked and sometimes raw marrow bones. I read a dog can go for up to 3 days without eating but MUST have water available all day. For now I leave the food down for her and whatever she doesn't eat before 2 hours before bedtime get picked up. 

She is 6 months now, about a month ago when she wasn't eating much, I figured out it might have been her baby teeth getting loose and uncomfortable. I add water to her kibble and she gobbled it up - yes I felt guilty for a few minutes or so then got over it. There were days when she didn't eat it when moistened either. 

I think all of her baby teeth have fallen out by now ( I found about 7 of them!!) so, it's back to the dry kibble.


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

Stella was under weight and picky when I first got her. She has put on 5lbs in 9 months. I walk her 4 miles every morning. I feed her Wellness Core Grain free. It is a 5 star food. If she did not eat her food as soon as I gave it to her, I took it up until the next feeding. She learned to eat when food was offered. I also feed a lot of raw meals. She was even picky with those at first, now she is finished before Carley...lol


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

Seelie is the bane if my existence. He's sooo slender and sooo picky and will self fast too. It drives me batty. 

I've been known to hand feed him. He will refuse food, but I will offer it to him in my hand and he will eat then. (I wear rubber gloves lol). So the few times I've done that I realized he's just being a brat. 

so now I've learned, put it down. Feed everyone. If he doesn't eat it during the time I've allotted everyone, then put it in fridge and offer at next meal. If he doesn't eat it, he's self fasting. Usually he won't miss more than 24 hours.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Lou is very picky. Apollo is not.
I feed blue wilderness kibble mixed with 1/3 of a can of blue wilderness canned food (chicken/turkey) + 1 table spoon if canned pumpkin + a little bit of warm water to blend it all in. It takes a little bit of preparing and I mix the food with my hand to get my smell in it, and they eat a little bit and come thank me (a lick/kiss) and go back to eating the rest. 
Lou will skip meals sometimes and I have to do like u do with children , act like I'm eating it and go "yum!" LOL and tell her "eat your food" or she will forget the food is even there. But both my poodles are 26" and weigh aprox 58 lbs so I don't worry too much.
I do feel like I spoil them though their food even smell good to me !! LOL Like pate or something hahahaha


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

I raw feed my dogs and hand feeding them is a bit gross. 

Seelie's a bit less of a picky eater now, but omg he's driven me nuts.


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## Ciscley (Jul 16, 2013)

*Training issue vs health issue*

Since he's tolerating the food well and continues to eat as long as he has variety, I agree it's probably a training issue and "leading the dance" or other protocols will work well.

There's also nothing totally wrong with scheduling in the variety if you don't mind offering it. Rotating between two or three flavors of dry dog food with various easy to make from scratch or buy mixers is a lot better "treat" for your dog than commercial treats. But usually people who do kibble like the consistency and ease of feeding along with the reliable bowel results.

I do disagree that all picky eaters are trainable. My Spoo would self fast because his IBS acted up and then the empty stomach would cause his acid reflux to induce bile vomiting and other unpleasantness. 

At the end of any feeding training protocol the dog should be happily eating all the food offered at each reasonably spaced meal. It's not just a resigned, oh well, I have to eat this, response that we're looking for. Especially since food is the primary tool we use for training other things.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

LSK said:


> Reggie is loving one food for a couple of days then he completely turns up his nose at it.
> 
> I cannot do raw only do to our traveling this year and a half.


My spoo suddenly was no longer able to eat kibble, and I tried $$$$ worth including everything the vet suggested. He lost 1/4 of his body weight in a period of 2 months, got lethargic, dehydrated to the point of having to have fluids shot into him. His vet didn't approve of raw but I went against that and after 4 days of raw he perked up, started drinking water again, walking, then running and gained his body weight back in a month. He is in great shape, lots of energy, beautiful coat. I add high quality omega 3's to his diet. His favorite way to eat it is to lick it from a bit poured in the palm of my hand.

I travel a lot and still feed him raw. Here's how I do it: freeze individual portions in plastic bags; carry a couple on my carry on, and some in my checked bag; all double plastic bagged and wrapped towel for insulation. (If traveling by car I use a cooler rather than my suitcase!) I ask for a fridge/freezer in my hotel room, or stick it in my hosts freezer. If I will be somewhere a few days I buy more meat and use that. If I run out I carry Honest Kitchen dry mix in individual sandwich bags and mix up a portion. I guess I have gotten so used to it I don't even think twice. I say go raw all you picky eaters :angel:


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

My poodles are very eaters but I can't feed raw, just can't do it LOL... 
But I add canned food meat and also a little pumpkin and I give them a little taste in my hand than I sit down near the area where their bowls are and say "eat your food! Good boy/girl" it may not work immediately but it works. Their weight is perfect the vet said. But if I don't encourage them to eat they would probably go days without it, they couldn't care less about food! :-/ 
The vet told me yesterday, that they just eat when they are hungry and need nutrition, they are just not food driven or something like that. 
As long as my dogs are not losing weight I'm ok with them skipping a meal here and there like they do. But it annoys me that they don't want to eat their meal lol
Ps. I have also been rotating canned food flavors. Seems to help

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## Siskojan (Mar 13, 2011)

Sisko has been known to be a picky eater as well, especially in his younger years. Late last year he had a tummy upset and bloodwork showed his creatinine too high and the vet suggested switching him off Orijen to something with a bit less protein. He went on to Now Fresh and absolutely loves it, day in day out, and his bloodwork went back to normal. It comes in large or small kibble but he doesn't like the big ones. He gets 1/4 can of Evo with it at each meal and rotates through beef,venison,turkey,duck,salmon and herring and tripette. I have never seen a shinier food bowl after he has done, the poops are "lovely" and his coat is great.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Yay too lovely poops and shinny clean bowls hahahahahaha


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