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Finnicky Eater


Bronxie

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:o Elle's driving me crazy. Ever since her puppy stage, she's been a very fussy eater. She ended up liking Mighty Dog after trying all types of dog food. Now she won't eat her Mighty Dog but she'll eat the cats hard food. So I figured she wanted hard food of her own, so I bought her some. She won't eat that neither. She's quick to eat human food and cooked meats. I would like to start her on BARF but I'll ask her vet what she thinks. What should I do in the mean time? She'll eat her Mighty Dog if I hand feed it to her. She's already a priss as it is and I don't want to get her used to hand feeding :x

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Hi Bronxie
My Ellie was a picky eater when she waslittle and even now she doesn't eat much but she will finish her meals now .
Do you leave her food down all day ?
I found that taking it away after 20 minutes or so each meal worked for us,she soon learned that her food was not on tap and if she didn't eat it there and then she wouldn't be able to pick later.
Also remember she won't starve herself her instincts won't let her.

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Colby is the same way. She either wants me to feed her by hand or put a handful on the floor and she will eat it out of there.

We bought her very nice and expensive stainless steel bowls and she hates them. I tried something new this morning and put down old tupperware plastic container and she loves it.
I also think she doesn't like her food because it takes her 3 hours to eat her breakfast.

Would that mean she doesn't like her food?

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[quote name='stacer126']Colby is the same way. I also think she doesn't like her food because it takes her 3 hours to eat her breakfast.

Would that mean she doesn't like her food?[/quote]

That's how I see it.
To answer your question Ellie We take her bowl away after 8pm. But the bowl stays on the floor all day whether she eats her food or not. It usually takes her all day to eat one can. But the cat food and human food she gulps down :roll:

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We had the same problem with Macy when we first brought her home. I knew it wasn't the food, as it was what she'd been eating her whole life. (I did later change it for other reasons, though.) We set the timer for 30 minutes each time we put her food down; if she didn't eat it, we took it away. She started eating like a normal dog after about a week :)

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Should I be putting a time on when Colby eats?
I don't think she likes her food. How can I tell? She has a vet appointment on friday but i'm worried the vet will say that I should buy their brand of food.
We feed her Pro Plan and the vet sells Science Diet.

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Bronxie, Ellie isn't silly she has learnt that if she holds out and doesn't eat her dog food you will give her nice yummy cooked meat - so of course she waits.

I agree with Ellieangel and Sanvean set a time and if the food is not eaten take it away.

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Good choice if you do decide to feed her BARF, my sisters mini poodle cross would always turn her nose up at food until we started feeding her BARF. She just loves her chicken wings and looks like a puppy again, its like she's found a new "glow" :lol:

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By trying so hard to accommodate her you are making things worse. You have to teach her to eat what you give her when you give it to her.

Dont change foods so often that makes it worse. Find the food you want her to eat and stick too it. Dont add anything to the food to entice her, only add to reward her after she starts eating the way you want her too. Put the food down, set the timer for 20 minutes and set it near the bowl. When the timer goes off pick up the bowl. She may miss a meal or two but she will get hungry enough eventually to eat what you give her. And she will learn when she sees the timer, that it will beep and the food will be gone. During this time you have to be sure to give no treats. Do this now before she gets much older.

It's like my mom did with me as a kid, if I didn't eat my dinner I didn't get a bed time snack. My dinner would go in the fridge and if I got hungry before bed I had to finish it first before I got a cookie or whatever. I do this with my dogs regularly. Both my dogs have days that they want to eat more than usual and/or less than usual. She'll be okay.

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Kato wasn't really picky, but he wouldn't eat unless he was hungry. The kibble might sit there all day until he got around to eating it. He was even doing it when I started feeding him the prepackaged raw beef patties. I switched to chicken and it's gone in 10 seconds. If I tell him to sit before I put the bowl down, his butt hits the floor before I've finished giving him the command - and he's a stubborn dog with selective hearing when it comes to being obedient. He loves his raw chicken.

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I agree wholeheartedly with Mary's Mama's advice. I have a stubborn Toy Poodle who may only eat every couple of days. She's healthy and would eat ALL day long if I'd hand feed her, but it ain't gonna happen. I used to worry and go ahead and hand feed her just because I was sure she would starve to death otherwise. Our dogs typically eat twice a day (sometimes only once for the smaller dogs). They have half an hour to eat and that's it. The kitchen is closed. This little knucklehead DOES miss mealtimes pretty regularly, but she sure enjoys it the next. I know it's not the brand of food that has her turned off. She's like this with ANY kibble (and I will never BARF another dog of mine). Sometimes it still does bug me when she goes all day without eating, but I know that if I beg, plead, treat, whatever, it's only going to create a worse problem (actually, I created this monster by stopping after work for doughnuts or chicken and feeding them to her and Perry while going down the road :oops: ). I figure she'll eat when she's hungry.

Anyway, I agree that you shouldn't try so hard. If dogs are healthy, they won't starve themselves to death when food is available, no matter whether they like it or not.

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