need advice with picky eater - Page 1

 My 6 month old girl has always been a picky eater.  We've tried everything to make her eat twice a day.  We've mixed her food with goodies, etc...  She really only eats when she wants to.  She has no problem with the other dogs food, but their food is for overweight small dogs.   Our trainer says she is way too skinny.  You can feel her hip bones very easily.  We feed her Royal Canin large breed puppy.  My concern is if she is getting all the good vitamins she needs to help bones and joints.  We do not do supplements. Should I start supplements?

only feed once a day put the food down for 10 mins max  then take it up and nothing until her next feed, if she is under weight put some yogurt and cottage cheese in the food.  you could try her on a different brand.

good luck

Stop adding anything extra to her food, feed her 2 a day at the same time, drop a bawl of food on the floor keep it there for 15 minutes if her nose by than didn't hit the bawl she is not eating during that feeding take it away and wait for the next feeding time. Next feeding time same thing drop the bawl for 15 her nose didn't hit the food take it away she is not eating that time either. Sooner or later she will understand that she eats when is given to her and if she choose not to sucks for her. Don't add antyhing, don't change foods all the time, dog will not starve him self, no treats in between, trust me she will get the point sooner or later. Supplements are overated IMO. You caused the situtation no one else. I had a female like that she would stay skinny (bonny like) till she got 2 guess what now she looks perfect and no problem eating. Skinny is better than fat, less stress on the joints and bones (that is why you wouldn't need to supplement lol). Picky eaters are caused by owners, not dogs.

Dont start supplements.

Put her food down give her 5 minutes and pick the bowl up, dont make a thing about her not eating it etc.  Put the bowl back down the next feeding time and again remove the bowl after 5 minutes.

She might be skinny but if you start messing with her she will get worse - I speak from experience.  The only time I would pander to a fussy eater is if they are in whelp or feeding pups.  My vet told me many years ago to abide by the above rule and the dog in question at the time had been extremely ill and was a walking skeleton.  However within 1 week of following the rule we had cracked the problem.  As for the 2 meals a day - maybe your girl doesnt want to eat twice.  Dogs in the wild dont have regimented eating patterns and dont eat every day.

What ever you do stop adding things to make her eat  and messing around with her food - if you continue you will never stop and you'll all but end up spoon feeding her for life.

for 6 month I would still stick to 2 a day. especially since she is a picky eater.

but 2 a day dosen't mean huge meals less but often and make surre that is just enough for her to want a bit more :) that will get her going :). Steve1 thats your idea I love what it dose to my dog :) lol

I quite recently posted here because of my "picky eater."  Long story short, he was sick when I got him, so I was mixing in cream cheese or yogurt to "hide" the meds he was having to take.  He was on antibiotics of nearly a month first round.  Of course, when I took away the goodies that I was mixing in (obviously he didn't know they were pill laced goodies), he didn't want to eat.  I tried different food, I begged, I praised him when he would eat.  Nothing was working.  All my other dogs have been hogs who will eat everything but their dog bowl so I was really stumped.  Finally, at the suggestion of several people here, I started putting his food down for 5 minutes, if he didn't touch it, I took it up.  This was very hard on me because he didn't eat for a day and a half and was already too thin.  After the day and half, he decided to eat.  He now eats every meal.  I feed him twice a day and there are no left overs.  He's also recovered to be a very thick, muscular dog.  Sometimes babying them makes us feel good, but it's not what's best for the dog.  Best wishes.

Nwilz you lucky, it took my dog 5 days lol hahahaahahaha, she would eat like few kibbles and show me a middle finger, but I showed back to her my middle finger and after 5 days she was ready to eat her metal bawl lol now she makes sure she eats everything and begs for more, so I just keep that middle finger up and tell her wait till next meal :) lol

so say a dog refuses to eat at all how long should you stick with this???

my girl is going through the same thing at the moment. she just will not eat. unless i put gravy on...i know

she whent 3 days!! and still not eating on the 4th so i gave in.

she has been to the vet nothing wrong bloods fine, teeth fine, no parasites, normal stool, bright and healthy

she just wont eat kibble without gravy!

What kinds of goodies have you been adding to her food? Is the basic food dry kibbles, what kind, what are the ingredients and crude analysis?

My girl was also finicky, likely because her breeder fed her raw diet for the first six month of her life, when I got her. And because she was finicky, for a year and a half I fed her food quite rich and high in fat. I started with a rich 30-22 food, avoiding the smallest amounts of corn, as advocated by many. I then added more goodies. Her food after the goodies was likely 33-25 or so.

Now I feed her with a food that is less rich, 24-18  to start with ,so that AFTER adding about three ounces of chicken meat it is about 30-22. It has corn as the fifth ingredient, not very much. I believe the value of the corn is as fiber only. Her stool has become softer and larger and she no longer shows any sign of constipation, with very firm and small stool. (When the stool has all dried up the size is about the same as before.)

She has been eating very well and gaining weight for  a year now. Interesting was that even when she was very skinny she was very healthy, fast trotting twice or three times a week for about 3.5 miles each time, and walk a couple of miles on her days off.

Another breeder, the stud's owner, does not fed raw and have raised countless AKC Champions. Fear of that one in a thousand chance of acute bacterial infection was one of two reasons for this breeder and me to not feed raw. I feed the chicken meat rare, I think, not raw.

About calcium and phosperous. Most dog food has more calcium that necessary. Ask the manufacturer for "as fed" (meaning actual/average, not minimum) calcium and phosperous concentration. Ideally a ratio of 1.2 to 1 Ca:P is said to be the best; but the addition of 3 pounces of phosperous rich food won't alter this ratio enough to be a concern. Many may have a calcium content of up top 1.5%, so if your girl gets 60% of her calories from the food there will still be enough calcium.