# picky eater



## Salt9 (Oct 10, 2008)

ok kane might be the pickiest eatier in the world! hand down lol i have tried it all to make him eat his food consistently yesterday i didnt fee him @ all and then gave him two heeping cups of kibble he smashed it but then when i feed him the second time he barley touches it! what should i do??!?!?!? should i just feed him once a day? or is tht being a bad owner?


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## koonce272 (Sep 16, 2008)

how much are you feeding total. He may be telling you its too much food. I had the same problem with my dog until i cut back on his food.

I recommend 1 cup in the am and 1 cup in the pm.

An easy trick is add a bit of hot water. The water makes a sort of gravy while the heat activates some of the smells in the kibble. Dont let the water sit in there or the food will get mooshy. I add the hot water, toss it around in the bowl and then feed.


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## joshelkins23wv (Jul 7, 2009)

If you are feeding your dog or pup and it like smells it and walks away or whatever, there could be a couple problems 
1.feeding to much.
2. you are feeding to many types of food.


Heres a solution for ya that might work, when its time to feed him, Dont! Just wait a few hours , when he gets hungry he will eat


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## Salt9 (Oct 10, 2008)

maybe its the many food changes i have been bouncing around! bc i was buying orijen and he wasnt eating then i went to merrick before grain he nibbles here and there so i switched to kibbles n bits b4 i go bankrupt from buying these expensive foods lol so ill jus try to cut back n see how it goes


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## jsgixxer (Mar 9, 2009)

try alittle bit of organic plain yogurt add with your dog food...my dogs love it


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## razors_edge (Jun 2, 2009)

i add a raw egg in there and she gobbles it up thats once a week or i just mix wet food with kibble and boil some rice and chicken


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## koonce272 (Sep 16, 2008)

how much do you feed and what does your dog currently weight, oh, can i get an age aswell


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## BmoreTrue (Jun 19, 2009)

sometimes (only during the day) max just doesnt want to eat esoecially in the morning. We just switched foods and he goes for it quicker but im sure the novelty of the new food will wear off haha...


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## SEO (Jul 7, 2009)

In my opinion, there are some of these answers that are good. If I feed my dog what the bag recomends he will eat it a few times (about 3) then he will skip a meal. I just take it after one 30 to 60 minutes. I just served him 1/2 a cup less per serving and that took care of the problem, don't leave it there all day, that will let him think he can eat when ever he wants (not good if you are on a scheedule) dogs find confort in routines. My dog is picky on the morning meals, so I just add a table spoon or so of some cooking oil or fish oil for dogs (follow instructions for the fish oil), and he usually devouers the dinner meal.

Hope I can help.

Good luck.


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## Proud Marine Dad (Apr 1, 2009)

Salt9 said:


> so i switched to kibbles n bits b4 i go bankrupt from buying these expensive foods lol so ill jus try to cut back n see how it goes


Kibbles n Bits? Please tell me you are joking? I wouldn't feed that stuff to the garden snails.


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## Proud Marine Dad (Apr 1, 2009)

Salt9 said:


> ok kane might be the pickiest eatier in the world! hand down lol i have tried it all to make him eat his food consistently yesterday i didnt fee him @ all and then gave him two heeping cups of kibble he smashed it but then when i feed him the second time he barley touches it! what should i do??!?!?!? should i just feed him once a day? or is tht being a bad owner?


A few questions:

1) What does he weigh?
2) When you say "two heeping cups" do you literally mean two heaping cups?

If so that is far more than most dogs need a day.


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

try some fish oil. The scent will attract your dog and it's good for coat, skin and nails. Also good for the heart. The yogurt helps with the digestion, but my boy thinks it's a treat, so that could intice him to eat. SOrry I'm so late in posting.

Add something that will benefit him that has a different aroma to it. Keep at it


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## Proud Marine Dad (Apr 1, 2009)

I have Tasha on a diet as she was too heavy and so I switched her from regular adult Innova to the Innova reduced fat kibble and added frozen, french cut green beans that I warm in the microwave as an additive to help fill her stomach and yet add very few calories. Now she doesn't want the kibble without the green beans.


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## BLUE PIT BULL MAN (May 22, 2009)

My blue is a picky eater i tried every thing so now the only way to get him to eat is to cook him a peice of bacon and break it up in little peices and put it in his food with the grease. I know the grease is bad but its just of one peice of bacon and he loves it. also i use a high protien low fat dog food!


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

Proud Marine Dad said:


> I have Tasha on a diet as she was too heavy and so I switched her from regular adult Innova to the Innova reduced fat kibble and added frozen, french cut green beans that I warm in the microwave as an additive to help fill her stomach and yet add very few calories. Now she doesn't want the kibble without the green beans.


woaaah green beans? REALLY?

You learn something new every day!


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## Proud Marine Dad (Apr 1, 2009)

StaffyDaddy said:


> woaaah green beans? REALLY?
> 
> You learn something new every day!


Oh yeah! I was told this trick by several people on another forum and they said it works wonders. The green beans fill up their stomach but they only are getting about 40 calories per cup so it keeps the weight down. 
I mean, dogs seem to love to eat grass for it's nutritional value so I can see why they love green beans.

Tasha has dropped from 76 to 66.6 lbs in the past several weeks. It's working.


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

Proud Marine Dad said:


> Oh yeah! I was told this trick by several people on another forum and they said it works wonders. The green beans fill up their stomach but they only are getting about 40 calories per cup so it keeps the weight down.
> I mean, dogs seem to love to eat grass for it's nutritional value so I can see why they love green beans.


That is why I love yogurt. It adds so much to the digestive tract. Since I started, Chino lost his interest in eating grass...

If your dog was overweight, I could see your concern... Chino is very active and gets a lot of activity, and I think the mix of enzymes and far in the yogurt is perfect for maintaining a healthy weight. Is Innova grain free? I thnk removing some of the grain from a diet might help too


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## Proud Marine Dad (Apr 1, 2009)

StaffyDaddy said:


> Is Innova grain free? I thnk removing some of the grain from a diet might help too


Yes! In my opinion Innova is one of the best kibbles money can buy.

Here is the link:

Pet Products - Healthy Dog Food, Natural Cat Food, Gourmet Dog Biscuits ? Innova Holistic Pet Food

Click on the "Ingredients" tab


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

It's not grain free, and it's got a lower protein count. Sounds good for a dog who doesn't get worked as much. Only reason my boy gets so much protein is because he's off the walls lol. How old is Tasha? j/c


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## Proud Marine Dad (Apr 1, 2009)

StaffyDaddy said:


> It's not grain free, and it's got a lower protein count. Sounds good for a dog who doesn't get worked as much. Only reason my boy gets so much protein is because he's off the walls lol. How old is Tasha? j/c


Why is it not grain free? It does have Barley and rice but I see no reason why those are bad. They are great sources of carbs and carbs are what is needed for extended energy not protein. 
Lower protein count you say? Lower than what?

Tasha is 6 years old by the way.


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

Proud Marine Dad said:


> Why is it not grain free? It does have Barley and rice but I see no reason why those are bad. They are great sources of carbs and carbs are what is needed for extended energy not protein.
> Lower protein count you say? Lower than what?
> 
> Tasha is 6 years old by the way.


I'm not knocking the food, I'm trying to break it down. Dogs in the wild dont consume rice or barley, their bodies actually cannot break down grain. And carbs for HUMANS are used for extended energy, but meat, vegetables, fruits and fatty oils are what a dog's body was made to process.

grain is not really BAD, but it is unecessary. It is used as a filler, and reduces the cost of the food. INNOVA doesn't use it as a primary ingredient, like a low cost food would (Hills, Pedigree, Purina). the more grain, usually the bigger the stool size will be. It's easier on the stomach, so it is used with dogs that have sensitive digestive tracts and dogs that aren't as active.

Protein does provide energy for our dogs. It provides amino acids and the omega's in the higher quality protein (chicken, fish) promote healthy skin, coat and heart.


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## Proud Marine Dad (Apr 1, 2009)

StaffyDaddy said:


> I'm not knocking the food, I'm trying to break it down. Dogs in the wild dont consume rice or barley, their bodies actually cannot break down grain.


True, but guess what? Our dogs are not in the wild they are domesticated and in my opinion some carbs is actually better for them than a strict carnivore diet like their wolf ancestors. 
Also, I don't think you could make dry kibble without grain as there would be nothing to bond it together.


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

This is just an example of what grain free looks like...


Fresh salmon (includes chinook. coho and sockeye species), salmon meal, russet potato, herring meal, fresh lake whitefish, sweet potato, fresh lake trout, fresh Northern walleye, freshwater cod, fresh herring, sunflower oil, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherals, a natural source of vitamin E), sun-cured alfalfa, dried sea vegetables (brown kelp, Irish moss, dulse and bladder wrack), leeks, psyllium, crab shell, rosemary, lecithin, apples, black currants..

TONIC HERBS AND BOTANICALS

Chicory root (FOS), licorice root, fennel seed, zea mays, peppermint leaf, marigold flowers, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, rosehips.

ORGANIC MINERALS

Iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate.

PROBIOTIC MICROORGANISMS

Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Enterococcus faecium fermentation product..

PREMIUM VITAMINS

Mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E), choline chloride, vitamin A, vitamin D3, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B12, folic acid, biotin, pyridoxine (source of vitamin B6).


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

if the ingredients list any sort of fruit, there are carbs right there.

The only things that added grains do is make it easier on a sensitve stomach. Domesticated or not.


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## Proud Marine Dad (Apr 1, 2009)

StaffyDaddy said:


> This is just an example of what grain free looks like...
> 
> Fresh salmon (includes chinook. coho and sockeye species), salmon meal, russet potato, herring meal, fresh lake whitefish, sweet potato, fresh lake trout, fresh Northern walleye, freshwater cod, fresh herring, sunflower oil, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherals, a natural source of vitamin E), sun-cured alfalfa, dried sea vegetables (brown kelp, Irish moss, dulse and bladder wrack), leeks, psyllium, crab shell, rosemary, lecithin, apples, black currants..
> 
> ...


And what kibble would this be? The protein is all fish? Why?


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## thaim (Feb 6, 2009)

i had the same problem. NUETER HIM. problem solved. they eat huge amounts of food after being nuetered. or maybe hes just not feelin well. take him tot he vet and see whats wrong. i would NOT add anything to the food because then its just going to make him an even pickyer eater. stick to one food for him to get used to it. it took me about... the 4 bag of TOTW before my boy started eating like a pig. he used to be just as picky as ur boy. i switched from many foods and i find that switching all the time upsets the stomach and makes them feel not hungry. once the food settles in with his body he'll start to eat more. feed 2 cups per serving not 2 HEEPING cups. and when i mean cups. im talkin about the actual 1 cup not just a drinking cup from home.


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