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12-07-2013, 10:06 PM | #1 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| Lola is driving me nuts, very picky eatter She's 9 months old and has been on quite a few dry foods and she won't eat much of any of them. She's also a pain with wet food. She's up to 5lb 11oz, feels a little thin but not overly, gorgeous hair, normal energy, no stomach or dental problems. When I got her she was eating natural balance, she wouldn't touch one piece, switched her to merrick puppy, ate somewhat ok for awhile then stopped, next I bought fromm surf & turf, ate it ok for a little in the beginning but quickly stopped. I currently have fromm chicken, the 4 star one. I just opened the bag and she's barely eatten any if it plain, but she has eatten a bit over a cup in a week mixed with wet. I've also tried giving her samples of wellness and natural balance. For wet food she was eating merrick for a few months then refused to touch it since then I've been trying different brands to find one she'll consistently eat. So far the only one she really likes is weruva. I threw out 2 almost full cans of wet food this week. I started mixing wet with the dry, some days she'll eat it, other days she snubs it all together or eats around it. I'm considering homecooking but I'm nervous about doing it wrong and spending so much on the vitamins and having her not eat it. A lot of days she only eats about 2oz of wet food 2 buddy biscuits. She gets people food some days but not much. I don't want her to just eat wet, it's too expensive and I don't think it's good for her. I know it's not good for her to eat so little. I'm not feeding her raw or freeze dried raw, I have my reasons. |
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12-07-2013, 11:01 PM | #2 |
Don't Litter Spay&Neuter Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal
Posts: 9,874
| Have you tried moistening the kibble? Some prefer it that way, like Mimi. For Momo, I had to moisten it bc he won't chew & I didn't want him getting tummy troubles from swallowing kibble whole. I use canned food to mix w/their moistened kibble. They loved weruva & now they're eating party animal, they have a lot of grain free selections w/different proteins. Canned food is superior to kibble bc of the moisture & protein content...the only down side is that their teeth will get tartar build up faster, so I brush their teeth every night.
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12-08-2013, 04:12 AM | #3 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: whitby, On, Canada
Posts: 1,129
| I also have a very pickey eater. In fact, he doesnt even lik any kind of treats..but...I did fnd a way to get him to eat his kibble. I bought a treat ball. He never eats much at a time, but having the ball out all the time, we will hear him push the ball around at random and eat the kibble as it drops. It took a few days for him to get used to using it. But he is now a whopping 15 lbs at amost 2 so I know he is eating enough. Also give him 2 oz of raw food at dinner time which he eats "most" days...yep...I still have those days too when he wont eat but I dont worry now as he has the kibble ball there and he obviousy has grown perfectly. |
12-08-2013, 05:02 AM | #4 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member | I hear you. Galen is a very picky eater too. They say that if you keep changing it can make them even more picky. Idk. . . My pet store by me has samples that I used to try out the food. And some places even have a return policy if the dog doesn't like it you can bring it back. I even bought two types of CC but he wasn't a fan. He did like TOTW Sierra. So that is what he is eating now. It seems like he is more picky in the morning. I started to take a little coconut oil and mixing it with his food. Making sure some stick to the bottom of the bowl. He seems to like it. Gets him to eat a little more. It seems like it takes him most of the day to eat his morning food before dinner. I figure if I can get him to eat 1/2 of it in the morning I am doing good. As long as he eats. I am happy.
__________________ Teri . . . Galen Jameson Frazier Seraphina Luna Rosencrantz, Saber Tooth Tiger, Pussy Willow Pandora Guildenstern |
12-08-2013, 12:23 PM | #5 | |||
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
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I can return her food, but I don't want to do it often. I'll try coconut oil, thanks. Quote:
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I know I can't afford to feed her just wet food. Thanks | |||
12-08-2013, 04:46 PM | #6 |
Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA., USA
Posts: 173
| Taffy can go from eating both of his morning & supper feedings of a mix of canned meat + the company's kibble one day to just eating one meal on another day. If he eats his a.m. feeding late, then he may not eat all or any of his p.m. feeding. However, he does love his pieces of Wellness meat Jerky after he goes outside to potty, so I remember to count those! I use the "Small Dog" Wellness Kibble, but I purposely buy several canned meats: chicken , turkey, whitefish, venison, and the Puppy blend (chicken & salmon). I have a friend who works at the pet store and raised his small terrior dogs on this brand, so I've used it for three years. Taff seems to always eagerly eat-up any newly opened canned meat...I think he loves the change of flavors! (My hubby also sneaks Taff pieces of cooked chicken or fish at our evening meals..which he loves. When we refuse to give him more than 2-3 nibbles of our meat, he then goes over to his dish and eats up his own food.) Twice I can remember him not eating his food all day long, and I finally thought the next day that he should not turn down his food again. After two hours the next a.m., I sat him in front of his bowl, opened his mouth, and put in 1/2" of a piece of the canned meat, then rubbed his throat. He swallowed it. I did this once more, and when I walked away, he looked at his bowl and then ate it all! I didn't want him skipping 3 meals! LOL, Sue /Taffy |
12-08-2013, 06:11 PM | #7 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| I've tried wellness dry and wet for puppies, Lola 100% snubs them. I wouldn't worry so much if she ate like Taffy, she eats much less than him. Thanks |
12-08-2013, 08:48 PM | #8 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,220
| I went thru that too, changing dog food and all..".she is more willing to eat Orijen but still has her picky days so I give her a taste of a few peas she likes and add a few....or cooked sweet potatoe too , or yogurt . Is there a vegetable or shredded white chicken she likes you can a little to the. Kibble? My best find is the bottom of the bag ( crumbs) of my Bravo freeze dried trail mix treats! Just a pinch I let her smell and head for the doggy bowl to top her kibble...man she is on the run and gobbles it down! Silly fur baby... Now I need to start shredding! Lol |
12-08-2013, 09:11 PM | #9 | |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| Quote:
I've tried putting stuff she loves with her dry food, she just eats around it even if I mix wet food really well with it. Thanks for the suggestion | |
12-10-2013, 09:13 AM | #10 |
Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA., USA
Posts: 173
| Hi, I forgot to ask, but at just 9 months old I'm sure Lola is getting plenty of exercise, which helps build up an appetite. (We have had sleet and snow here for the last two days, so Taffy's bringing me his 'fetching toys' to throw--over & over. By around throw #12, he's finally curled back up on his fleece blanket at end of sofa while I'm typing to you on Yorkie Talk. The bad weather really makes him want to 'snooze' more, rather than eat. I've already had him sit and sniff his 'warmed dog food' -only about 9 seconds in microwave in the winter-so he knows his food is in kitchen. Looks like today will be one of his eating @ 2-3 p.m. days. How big is Lola? Taff ranges between 5 to 5 1/2 pounds. I looked up the directions on the Bottom of the Wellness Kibble bag, which says that (of course) all dogs are different in food needs due to breed, size, age, etc. They gave the following as recommendations for just feeding 'dry kibble': a 2-4 lb. small dog would get 1/4 - 1/2 cup per day; a 5-8 lb. sm. dog gets 1/2 - 3/4 cup per day; a 9-12 lb sm. dog gets 3/4 - 1 cup. (It goes on up to a 25 lb. sm. dog.) Now, if you are mixing in some "wet" (canned) food with their dry kibble, they add this: If feeding with wet food, then reduce the dry kibble amount by 1/8 cup for every 2 Tablespoons of wet food put in the dish. The total recommended amount per day should be divided in half if you are giving two feedings, in a.m. and afternoon. Then, of course plenty of water hould always be available, especially if only feeding dry kibble! (The company adds the note that they believe a combination of wet & dry food is best feeding method to increase the amount of water in your dog's digestive tract. (Otherwise, dog's stools could be to hard and cause constipation.) *I saw their note that says it's important to "slowly transition" your dog from one diet to a new one since the dog's body has to adapt to a newer nutrition level. The new food should be mixed in over 5-7 days. Of course, Taff loves his l", flat meat jerky treat for going potty, so that's an extra tidbit 4-5 times a day, too. I would say he eats a total of 3/4 cup of his regular mixed dog food a day. If he lets it "sit", and it looks drier on top, I can stir in a little trickle of warm water...or he may eat it as is. |
12-10-2013, 10:08 AM | #11 | |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| Quote:
She's 5lb 11oz, so she'd need 1/2 cup by those guidelines. If I give her 4T of wet she'd need 1/4 cup of dry food. Given that she's an unspayed puppy I'm going to ignore her treats because she probably needs more than those guidelines. The problem is she barely touches the dry food at all. If she gets desperate she'll grudgingly eat a few pieces but that's it. | |
12-10-2013, 10:19 AM | #12 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: A little town south of Chicago
Posts: 4,525
| My Cassie was such a picky eater that I honestly had to feed her bite by bite. One day my vet finally scolded me and told me to put her food down and leave it down for an hour. If she doesn't eat she doesn't eat. Offer her the same food again later on and again remove it after an hour. A dog will not refuse to eat until it starves. A cat will but not a dog. That was the best advise I eve got. She soon started eating when the food was put down and would clean out her bowl. I have treated every dog that way unless they were sick and needed special food. It has worked all the time. |
12-10-2013, 12:29 PM | #13 | |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Sparks, NV, USA
Posts: 81
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12-10-2013, 12:35 PM | #14 | |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Sparks, NV, USA
Posts: 81
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12-10-2013, 12:45 PM | #15 |
Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA., USA
Posts: 173
| Well, I admit any dry kibble is not Taffy's favorite either! I would start with more meat and slowly work up on the amount of kibble. I always put a nice little 1/2 tsp of pure meat on the top and if I see the cooked, 'jelled meat broth' along edges of the can, I set a little bit near top, too, he loves that--takes me @ 6-7 feedings to use a can, I believe. (Now, my husband mixes Taffy's food once in a while, and he wants to put in the same 'size amount' in the dish, but he wants to use more kibble--almost 1/2 and 1/2--to save money. I wet some pieces of kibble to let Mike see how much bigger the kibble 'puffs up', so he could imagine it inside Taffy's stomach. I think he's finally figured out he was giving him too much dry kibble...and Taffy had left most of the food there. If Mike uses a little bit more kibble, he cuts back to 1/2 cup total, not 3/4, and Not 1/2 a cup of pure kibble or Taffy will not eat it as it's too different.) I still like their 'Puppy' canned blend (chicken & salmon meat with veggies & some fruit), and then the canned chicken or turkey, he sometimes seems to be slower about eating the last of the canned duck or venison. (Well, I just see he ate his a.m. food around 2:30 today, and is back asleep since it's snowing again.) P.S. - DOES your Yorkie do this? Taffy will be eating and then rub his beard & both sides of his mouth on edges of his cloth dog-dish placemat! Once, I got a stiff, plastic dish mat; he realized the edges wouldn't give. So, after one meal I saw him rubbing his mouth against the den sofa's cushion backs! Augh! I found two, old nubby cotton placemats and put one of those down instead of the plastic mat. HAPPY DOG! He is back to wiping on the cotton mat! I wash his beard and the two mats. My husband thinks it's funny. Realign the edges of the mat daily! |
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