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Old 02-03-2007, 07:59 PM   #16
Suzy
2 Pups=Double Trouble!
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Iowa
Posts: 6,581
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How old is your baby?

Emma was on Eukunuba Puppy until I found out how bad of a food it was. Now she eats Blue Buffalo Puppy, which I will be changing to adult formula with the next bag since she's almost a year old. I feed her twice daily.

I had a hard time getting her to eat her food, and my vet (and behaviorist, but that's for other reasons ) both suggested a couple of things to help with this:

-It may not be the FOOD that you need to change, but the behaviors and habits surrounding mealtime and food.

-I was free feeding Emma too-putting food out and letting her eat when and what she wanted. Both doctors said to call her over, put the food down, and leave it for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, pick the food up. If she eats, great, and if not, oh well! After going hungry a couple times, she will learn to eat when there is food.

-Our behaviorist told us that dogs need to know who their "leader" is, and one of the best ways to demonstrate this is through providing food. Now, before Emma can eat, she has to "work" for her food, meaning do a trick before she can eat. This can be taught from puppyhood, with the simple "sit" and can get more complex as the dog learns new things. We mix it up, either doing a series of commands before the food gets set down, practicing her newest trick, and now we've advanced to having Emma sit, we put the food down, and walk away. She will stay put until we say, "Ok! Good Girl! Time to Eat!", and then she eats. That way, she knows WE provide the food, WE lead her as to WHEN to eat. She has fun doing her different tricks before mealtime-it's a game to her, and it's almost as if she is thinking "what do I get to do today!!??!!"

Now, Emma eats on a good schedule, and the right amount so that we know she is getting proper nutrition.

I hope this helps-maybe try it for a couple weeks, and see how your little one does.

Good luck!
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