good flavor food - Page 1

You know what I did with my finicky eater? I quit playing his games a long time ago.

Here's what I did.

I placed his food bowl on the floor for 15 mins and then I walk away. I generally feed him inside the bathroom with the door closed. After the 15 mins are up  I then come in the bathroom to check on Jake.. If I see that he didn't touch his food, guess what happens to it? It gets thrown out and he doesn't eat for that night. I generally don't bother feeding him the next day because I don't want to keep throwing out food, since its expensive. On the third day (sometimes 4 days) Jake finally realizing that his mom isn't going to play his game nor tolerate his finicky eating behaviors.

I use to by into his games by going out and getting turkey gravy and actual turkey plus other stuffs to get this dog to eat. I got tired of it because It was getting very expensive and Jake was not sick, not by the long shot.

Today Jake eats very good, no more of this finicky eating behaviors.

As harsh as this method may seem, it does indeed work and work well. A hungry dog will eat anything that is given to it. try it out and let us know what the results are. Don't let your emotions get the better of you.

I would give 5 minutes (which is more than enough time)..... and I would reduce portions quite a bit and use the food for training.. my dogs work for their food and unless its a young puppy, I would withold a meal or 2....

starve days work well. i agree with Brittany after 15 Min's take food up then nothing until the next day. if you let her know you are a soft touch she will play you like a fool. make sure she is in good health and free from parasites.

what food are you feeding her and how much? also how old is the dog? and do you work her?

medical conditions should be ruled out first.

dogs don't eat unless they are hungry, the most common problem is overfeeding esp in older dogs. my 7 year old boy is on one cup of good quality kibble per day as that is all he needs where as my 18 month old boy and girl are on 4 cups as they work. the amount between different dogs varies drastically dependant on the dogs lifestyle and age.

i do add yogurt to my dogs kibble and they seem to like that plus it is a pro biotic.   

how much does she weigh?

she is almost 1&half yrs old and weighs around 68lbs or 28 kgs. she hardly touches her food. I think Brittany is right, she is just pushing her luck with me.

unless she is losing weight i wouldn't worry. yoghurt is OK to mix in and is good for her too .

Keep in mind, depending on what you are feeding, some dogs just won't require as much food.

If the calorie content is high, then you may need to feed less of it.

Also, don't let her "play" you.  As others have said, if she doesn't eat, then she doesn't eat.  Period. 

When I was teaching my Rottie bitch to retrieve(inducive/food method), She didn't eat for 4 days before she finally decided that she was hungry enough to work for her food.

I have one dog here, my Finnish Spitz, that sometimes regulates himself, and won't eat for 2-3 days.

I had a Beauceron once that wouldn't eat but every 36 hours or so.

Each dog is different, and as long as they are otherwise healthy and happy, don't sweat not eating too much.

I do not understand how some of  your Dogs take so long to eat

Mine takes no more than two minutes at any time

If you have a finicy eater there is one sure way of stopping it

Simply miss a meal then give it a chance of half its food, should it play around take it away until the next feed half the food again and so on if it gibs at eating take it away

If a Dog does not eat after a couple of days then there is something amiss take it to the Vet, nothing is allowed to play around with food in my house Humans, Racing Pigeons, or Dogs,  if they play around with food then its taken away When a Dog is hungary it will eat regular ,if you overfeed it it will play around with the Food and you as well

there simply is no excuse for a Dog not to eat ifunless it is unwell

Steve

I agree with tigermouse and Steve about ruling out medical conditions. Many dogs will play on their owners emotions, but in some cases, there are legitimate reasons for a dog not to eat.

Soaking dry food in warm water until it is soft can often make a dog think it is getting a treat, but it can also help if a dog has a tooth related issue. I have had a few dogs here that stopped eating that required teeth care (root canals and removals). I also know dogs that had less that full bites on the sleeve improve after owners learned that cracked teeth needed repairing. If a dog will eat soft food but not dry food, I would have the teeth checked. 

Some dogs may also stop eating one food due to an allergy related issue. If you have tried a variety of bases in foods (beef, chicken, turkey, fish, etc.) with your dog, with no added treats, allergies can probably be ruled out.

If medical conditions have been ruled out, I agree with the above. Feed less per meal and only allow a small time frame for eating or the dog does not eat until the next feeding.

Wow 15 minuts? My dogs get 15 seconds if the nose won't hit the bawl and she won't start eating thats it for her. Once she start eating she has 5-15 minuts to finish, but if she walks away from food even for 10 seconds thats it she dose not get any more. Don't play games with your dog, they will use it against you. My GF female does that, but I have to say she is stubburn, she went without eating for 4 days lol, and than she just eat a bit.