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Do I have a picky eater?

4K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  LaylaGSD 
#1 ·
My girl Layla is 9 months old and weighs 52 pounds. We adopted her when she was 5 months old and she would eat everything. Now it seems as though she doesn't not really like kibble. We have tried different foods and different toppings. And sometimes we will add some raw food to help her get started on eating and then she will eat the rest of what's in her bowl. We have tried the whole 15 minutes then pick up and everything else. I have figured out that two things work the best. One if I put a lot of chicken broth or water in the food. It still takes a little coercing for her to start eating it.Or if my puppy gets around her she will eat her food so he doesn't. The second one I don't try to let happen but sometimes the puppy just doesn't want my attention anymore and smells the food. I thought since she would only eat food that was wetted down that maybe she had a mouth sore and a hurt tooth and I don't see anything. The food brands do not matter, we have tried "top of the line" kibble to the lower brands of kibble and she will be interested for about 3 days without problem then start this whole process over again. We decided after the third new bag of food that we weren't going to keep getting new food because we didn't want to put her digestive system through that. So as of right now we are just trying to figure out if there is a solution to get her just to eat the kibble without having to coax her into it.
 
#2 ·
My girl Misty has always been a picky eater.I started just putting a variety of toppings on her kibble to keep her interested.Egg,cheese,milk,broth,leftovers,etc.Mixed with a little water to make a "gravy" to coat the kibbles with flavor.Occasionally the Princess will still turn her nose up in which case I refrigerate it and give it to her for the next meal.She's never turned it down twice.
 
#3 ·
Hm....maybe not kibble at all! What about an alternative diet like The Honest Kitchen, Sojo's, Ziwi Peak, or commercial raw instead?

I no longer write off pickiness as just behavioral. I used to think it was until I went through major diet-induced health problems in my current dog.

I have a picky eater--severely so. He'll go many days without eating, starving himself, losing weight in the process. What eventually we learned though is that he has a major food allergy -- kibble was making him feel like crap, and he knew it. We went through many different kibbles (incl. Fromm Four Star, Acana, and others, including limited ingredient ones), and nothing worked for him. He didn't get healthy and display a normal appetite until he was taken off kibble and put on an alternative diet.

The food pickiness in my dog was an early warning sign that we didn't recognize for what it was. Eventually, other serious health problems manifested around 18 mo. old from the constant inflammation in his GI tract. Then we finally put it all together and realized he'd been trying to tell us something, and we just hadn't understood him: he needed different form of food.

He eats raw beef with gusto, usually, along with a base mix. It solved his health problems too.

Be alert to chronic digestive upset in your dog, and any irritation in the anal area (esp. butt licking). If you spot that, I would be very suspicious of a food allergy underlying the pickiness.
 
#4 ·
The food pickiness in my dog was an early warning sign that we didn't recognize for what it was. Eventually, other serious health problems manifested around 18 mo. old from the constant inflammation in his GI tract. Then we finally put it all together and realized he'd been trying to tell us something, and we just hadn't understood him: he needed different form of food.
If you don't mind me asking, what other health problems did he have?
 
#5 ·
I will definitely be looking out for any warning signs. Her behavior hasn't changed at all and she won't skip meals. It just takes her a little to start eating the kibble but she will eat all of it once she starts. We do try to give her some raw food every so often and she absolutely loves it. We are thinking about switching but we are wanting to do some more research and planning a little bit before switching to a raw diet.
 
#6 ·
I've had times of pickiness from my big-boy. First time I ever had a dog turn away from meals. Magwart may have a good point about watching out for food intolerance.

Sometimes it is just that your dog may want something else. Offering lots of different options may be part of the problem. It think it was part of mine. My dogs still get quite a bit of variety and occasionally turn their nose up at breakfast but seldom for dinner. Part of it might be the idea of doggy dessert. My big-boy gets a bully stick and my she-pup gets a big crunchy carrot when they finish their dinner. Also by dinner time they have worked and played and built an appetite. Breakfast is small, in my case a 1/2 or 1/4 cup of kibble and a hard boiled egg. They still get some small food rewards for behavior through out the day. There are so many ways to feed your dog, it will take some experimenting.

Another thing is the taste of the bowl. My big-boy doesn't like the taste of metal. I have a big ceramic pie plate that I put his food into now and he seems to like it better. My she-pup has a ceramic bowl as well. 
 
#9 ·
At 9mos she is ready for her first heat if she hasn't had it already. My girl got super picky eating before and during her heats, which she started having every 3months. So I had her fixed in 18mos old. Her eating habits changed for the better after that and while she is still more picky than my boy, she eats her dinner regularly without issues.
 
#10 ·
I'm going through the same thing with my 9 month old Scarlet. She's always been a good eater, and for the last 2 weeks it's been hit or miss. The only thing she'll eat right now is her kibble with goats milk. And sometimes she refuses that. We went through a few days of Honest Kitchen, but now she acts like I'm trying to poison her with it. I'm chalking it up to getting ready to come in heat. She's been blowing her coat, and is pretty naked, so that heat should be coming up now. Girls!
 
#11 ·
Little update for anyone still monitoring this post. I still use chicken broth to top her food but I started moving her bowl out of the stand while it is feeding time. It takes her about 30 seconds to smell it and decide to eat it but it's a lot better than trying to convince her to eat. She will eat it even quicker if I place the bowl in her crate. I think she may have just been a little self concious about eating because she feels as if she is in her safe place in her crate. (Joking about the last statement) but you guys can try moving the bowl around to find a more comfortable eating position for your doggos.
 
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