Tips to make my dog eat his kibble?

I was feeding my dog James Wellbeloved and although he was never overly keen on it, he would eat it most days. However, we went to stay with my mum for a few days a couple of months ago and he started eating my mums cavvies food (Bakers meaty meals plus the veg kibble) He absolutely loved that food and wouldn't touch his, even when we got home, he wouldn't touch it at all for days so I cracked and bought him a box of the Bakers mighty meals, he's so skinny anyway, I didn't want him going hungry

Anyway before we went to my mums, I had stocked up on JW when on offer and i've got two 7.5kg bags of food not even opened and I just can't get him to eat the bag that is already opened.

I got him some doggy gravy and he ate a bit with that on but now he won't touch it again.

I've tried selling the bags of JW but nobody wants them even though i'm selling them cheaper than they cost in the shops so he's going to have to eat it because I can't waste all that money.

Does anybody have any tips on how I can get him to eat it? Anything I can mix it with?

I'm aware that this situation is my fault, I shouldn't have bought him any of the Bakers stuff but I am such a wuss

Thanks for any help

when i got peaches i got told put the food down for a certain amount of time then take it up, dont give in and give them something else, eventually they will eat.

also if you do end up having to get rid of the james food, why not give it to a local rescue?

A

I've got a small bag of puppy JW food i'm going to give away, i'd give the others away as a last resort, they cost me quite a bit so can't really afford to give them away if there is another option.

I think I am going to try that from now on, i'm just going to have to toughen up, if he's hungry enough, he'll eat right?

So from tonight, I will put his food down for 20 minutes (you think that's enough time?) if he doesn't eat it, i'll take it away. Same for tomorrow monring. Hopefully this will work.

I gave him a tin of mackerel the other day and he loved it, how often do you think he should have this? Once a week? I've heard that it's very good for his coat?

Thanks for your reply

to be honest i am going to pass this on to others with more experience. i feed peaches on chappie so kibble is a bit of a unknown thing to me.

Hi Paddysmum - I definately agree with the put meals down for a certain amount of time theory - only with my two fifteen seconds seems to be long enough!!

My two are now both on JWB and I've been buying the fish and turkey one for variety. Some days if there are veggies, chicken or fish lefovers they get a little of that mixed in and less kibble.

I have a friend with a fussy Cav who prefers human food, all of it!! They leave biscuits down all day too "in case she gets hungry" :huh: As a result at two she is 14 kilos!!!!!!

I've tried to give the same advice as people on here are giving you but it doesn't sink in unfortunately...

It feels hard at the beginning and you may feel mean but JWB is better for your dog that Bakers I think and I'm sure after a few days meal times will be better...xx

There's a post in the Caring for your Cavalier section of the LIbrary on dealing with fussy eaters. I bet if you follow that you will solve the problem. I think you'd find pretty soon he will also stop eating the Bakers and wait to see what else comes along and how much attention can be gained from holding out... :lol:

If there are no underlying health issues a few days of no food at all will not make any difference to your cavalier. Also: what does your vet say regarding your dog's weight? Many people now are so used to seeing fat dogs that they think a healthy weight is skinny. On the other hand for a few few dogs, they do have issues about eating.

For mine: they will eat anything and having more than one dog does tend to solve eating issues... :lol: But I do tend to mix in additions -- homemade stews for the dogs, leftovers that are safe for dogs, some tinned Butchers, some raw meat... tinned mackeral in brine, drained and rinsed (the salt is not healthy) is good too. You could give mackeral a couple times a week I'm sure.

Just plain kibble is a pretty dull daily meal. There are articles in the LIbrary on things to feed, recipes for homecooked meals, healthy treats etc.

I wouldn't get rid of the JWB quite yet -- but I know rescues or shelters would certainly appreciate unused or part-used bags.

As a general tip: I have found a zero tolerance approach tends to work best with feeding. If they don;t eat what is on offer, they don't get other alternatives. For 99.9% of dogs, this resolves feeding fussiness.

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

The vet said his weight is fine, he was there a couple of weeks ago and they weighed him then, said he is on the lean side but there are no problems. He's about 5.6kg now at 8 months.

He is a fussy eater, he used to love cheese but the last few days he's totally turned his nose up at it! Ah well, more for us!

The article on fussy eaters looks very interesting, i'll definitely read that properly in a minute and put it into action. The little terror won't be manipulating me anymore

You're right about them eating when there's more than one dog, my god he inhales his food when we're at my mums!

I'll go read some of those articles now, thanks very much

lol Barney's always been a complete foody!! He'd be the size of a hippo if I let him - funny thing is though when he's finished he never tries to pinch Cassies food but she would mug his in a second so I tend to feed them in different rooms

All dogs will eat if they are hungry and will manipulate you in every way they can- speaking from experience with my Ruby
But yes kibble is a bit boring for most dogs and it is what I feed my two- Ruby has raw veggies with hers.
Charlie came to me eating nothing but Webbox 'sausage meat'-- it took a couple of weeks to get him on a mixture of kibble and wet pouches. But now he eats kibble as well and due to the fact that he is still on the skinny side I buy raw frozen meat blocks that i defrost and mix in with his kibble 3 times a week. He also gets the veggies.
|Ruby being on a strict diet doesnt get the meat-however so she doesnt feel left out i pour the blood from the packet on to her food "ew" but she loves that.

Just follow the guidelines and you will be back on top in no time at all!!!!

I didn't feed him yesterday morning as he had a bit of diarrhea in the morning but he ate the kibble I gave him in the evening no problem and he's also eaten both meals i've given him today! cl*p

I've just been putting the food down and leaving him to it, lets hope it continues to work.

Must say though, his wind has been vile today I remember it being like this before when he had it all the time, urgh! I'll have to get him some charcoal biscuits, see if they help.