Hi Everyone,
I know there are a lot of threads out there on picky eaters. But what I am trying to figure out is - if Meenah has not finished a meal, is it still ok to give her treats with training practice? I know that giving her a lot of treats will fill her up and lessen the chance of her wanting to eat her next meal. But what about a few small treats, like pieces of kibble, given during training practice? She is food motivated and we practice training in like two or three short sessions a day. I am not sure if I should skip the training session until she has eaten a full meal, or if I should still do it as usual.
Just to give you background on her eating style... Meenah will go some days eating all of her food in a short amount of times. Other days, she will pick at her food and wander about sniffing the floors as if looking for something better. Then she may or may not come back to her food and nibble a little more, only to go off sniffing again or just laying in her bed. Occassionally, she'll end up finishing her food but will have wandered all over first and have me keep reminding her to eat. When I put her food down, I want her to be focussed and eat all of her food without contantly wandering off. From reading the threads, I know that I should put her food down, not make any fuss or communications with her, and take it away after 15 minutes. In a few days, she should be more focussed when her food is put down. So I am giving this a try. Once, I even tried throwing her food away as soon as she wandered off. But she was sniffing at the garbage can and I felt so bad that I ended up giving her some more food, and she ate it. But I hate to play those sort of games! I try to encourage her to finish all of her food by making a big deal when she has emptied her bowl and giving her a "dessert" like a few green peas or half a slice of cheese, and then doing training with treats immediately after.
I am feeding her Purina One for Puppies dry kibble with some Purina Pro Plan for Puppies canned food mixed in. This is what was recommended to my by the breeder so I didn't change her food at all. She has two meals a day.
Thanks!
I know there are a lot of threads out there on picky eaters. But what I am trying to figure out is - if Meenah has not finished a meal, is it still ok to give her treats with training practice? I know that giving her a lot of treats will fill her up and lessen the chance of her wanting to eat her next meal. But what about a few small treats, like pieces of kibble, given during training practice? She is food motivated and we practice training in like two or three short sessions a day. I am not sure if I should skip the training session until she has eaten a full meal, or if I should still do it as usual.
Just to give you background on her eating style... Meenah will go some days eating all of her food in a short amount of times. Other days, she will pick at her food and wander about sniffing the floors as if looking for something better. Then she may or may not come back to her food and nibble a little more, only to go off sniffing again or just laying in her bed. Occassionally, she'll end up finishing her food but will have wandered all over first and have me keep reminding her to eat. When I put her food down, I want her to be focussed and eat all of her food without contantly wandering off. From reading the threads, I know that I should put her food down, not make any fuss or communications with her, and take it away after 15 minutes. In a few days, she should be more focussed when her food is put down. So I am giving this a try. Once, I even tried throwing her food away as soon as she wandered off. But she was sniffing at the garbage can and I felt so bad that I ended up giving her some more food, and she ate it. But I hate to play those sort of games! I try to encourage her to finish all of her food by making a big deal when she has emptied her bowl and giving her a "dessert" like a few green peas or half a slice of cheese, and then doing training with treats immediately after.
I am feeding her Purina One for Puppies dry kibble with some Purina Pro Plan for Puppies canned food mixed in. This is what was recommended to my by the breeder so I didn't change her food at all. She has two meals a day.
Thanks!