Many of our GSD's are picky eaters. And it's not so much that grazing is specifically a bad thing........... it's more that a dog that grazes may be hard to keep weight on and (even worse) hard to tell 'normal' appetite from a sick dog so we are late in getting a sick dog to the vet in time.
My picky eater was a huge worry until I just figured out best way to get her to eat. I found a good kibble she liked but still had to make it more yummy to get her eating. Most human leftovers mixed with water to gravy it and coat the kibble assured the food got eaten. Main amount of calories was from the kibble and I only used enough leftover to keep her interested (1/4 cup? 1/3 cup of left over for 1 cup or more kibble).
Best 'go to' that I always had around the house was canned CAT food. The tuna fish can size (6 oz?)
They have tons of different flavors, cat food is always on sale (brand didn't matter, variety did). And I only had to use 1/4 or 1/3 of the can each meal to the kibble (with water to gravy) and she'd always finish her meal. Just use the plastic pet food lids to put the rest in the fridge until the next meal.
People always say our dogs won't starve to death and wait them out. I did this for THREE days and she just wouldn't eat her food and actually lost 5 pounds. And she was slender to start with. So while indeed, she didn't DIE, it wasn't worth waiting her out. Too much stress for me, so I fed her.
