Almost never eats

[adas]

Nimai, one year old GS neutered male, not only is a picky eater, but eats very little and very irregularly.

I have read that owners put down dinner and if the dog does not eat within 15 minutes, they take it away. I don't see how this would ever work in my case.

I just basically fill a gallon bowl with kibble and spray it with olive oil and let him eat when he wants to.

Picky?? wow yes. we are talking about not touching a McDonalds hamburger if it is dropped on the ground (maybe he is smarter than I think?) or even a ham sandwich was dropped once it he finally ate it after a few minutes. He will eat at odd hours when he feels like it.
Dried duck from Petco, Maybe. Beggin strips-never.

Suggestions on feeding techniques or just live with it?

francis

[Emoore]

Is he underweight?

[ChancetheGSD]

Free feeding actually CAN create a picky eater because it's ALWAYS out. Whereas if you only give him 15min twice a day (Morning meal and dinner meal) then he learns "hey if I don't eat when they give it to me, I'm not going to be able to eat at all". You can also take it a step further and only give 1 meal a day, at least until the dog starts eating better. That way they're super hungry when the food is put down and much more likely to eat.

Would be interesting to know if he's underweight/get some pictures of him though.

Eevee is about the same way, she's pretty picky. Doesn't matter if it's plain food, canned food, raw food, whatever. Sometimes she eats, sometimes she doesn't. If she chooses not to eat it, she has to wait until the next meal. She maintains a good weight though so I don't worry over it. She's LEAN but she's not SKINNY. Zoey on the other hand will inhale anything you give her. LOL!

[adas]

Rasa was the same way of inhaling whatever. You announce dinner and she came and sat and waited and would not touch the food unless you very enthusiasticly said "go get it".

Nimai is a bit on the skinny side but his weight is 75#.

I guess try the leave the dinner for 15 minutes and take it away until the next feeding time. I know He can figure out this timing very quickly, but it may be a bit of a war.


Francis

[spidermilk]

1. In any case I would confirm with the vet that everything is okay health wise. No appetite is a sign of being sick for any animal.

2. If he is just picky, I would maybe try some different kibble flavors. My dog will refuse to eat certain ones and gobble up others.

3. I would put it down and then pick it up after 15 min. The other benefit of having scheduled meal times is that you can see if your dog ate (if you just keep topping off a bowl that is left out it can be hard to tell). I think that making it limited or making them work for it somehow makes it taste better. If I just pour the kibble in the bowl Dax saunters over and eats it. If I make him do tricks for every piece or hide it around the house- he is a LOT more enthusiastic/excited about eating it.

[doggiedad]

what are you feeding your dog? i use to drizzle a little
extra virgin oilve oil on my dogs food but he was
slow to eat it or he wouldn't eat it. he didn't like
the olive oil so i stopped
usuing it. you're filling a gallon bowl
with kibble. your dog eats when he wants to. is he being
picky or is he eating when he wants to because he has
food available. maybe he's not hungry when you fill his bowl.
maybe he doesn't like what you're feeding him.

Originally Posted by adas

I just basically fill a gallon bowl with kibble and spray it with olive oil and let him eat when he wants to.

francis

[rblanshan]

Have you tried raw hamburger meat? Different kibble? Mine is a picky eater. I went through a few different brands when I first got her, worrying that she was going to starve herself. Finally found ONE that she loves, and of course it's the expensive stuff. She also LOVES raw hamburger. I leave my kibble out all day, but I also keep an eye on how much she is eating. I know how much I put in and I keep an eye on how long it takes for her to empty it.