lola wont eat please help

[Eeva]

Hello, here's another 'sufferer'. My girls are still (at 13 months)very poor eaters, never realised dogs could be so fussy! We've tried adding a various things on the kibble but nothing helps. And if I put moist food with it and they decide to eat something, it won't be the kibble, they are very agile in picking out the moist stuff and leaving all the kibble. I would prefer them to eat kibble, it would be better for their teeth as well, but... Now I'm planning a tough campaign: no treats and mostly kibble, let's see who caves in first! I think I'm going to try kibble with tripe like someone suggested. They seem to dislike all kibble, so I don't suppose it makes a big difference what kibble I choose.
They will be boarding in April for 11 days, I can't leave them with other people when their feeding is so difficult.

[niki]

The kennels may be the making of them with their diet, i've never kennelled mine but i would have thought they have a strict regime where by the food on offer would be all thats available and probably at set times - it might show the girls that if they don't eat when the food is down they will go hungry

Keep up with the food you want to give, i found mixing a little tripe in with the kibble worked really well but you have to make sure that you mix it really well so that the kibble is well coated and that there are no lumps of tripe else they will just pick out the bits they want.

i tried grated cheese on sukis food for a little while but she even managed to pick just that out even when i thought i'd mixed it in really well

Good luck

[Eeva]

Thanks, Niki! I did my shopping today, chose Royal Canin Mini Adult in the end and mixed some with tripe. They ate all of the tripe but left some kibble, so I'm going to take your advice and try to mix it really well. They are so clever picking out the bits they want! I'm determined to do this now. They are going to be home boarding with a family who do that sort of thing and they'll need to take their own food there. That's why I want it to be clear and easy - for everybody!

[Cathy Moon]

If a dog will eat soft food but not kibble or biscuits, it could be a dental problem. My sister has a rescue dog who wouldn't eat anything but soft food when she first brought him home, and she found out he had an abscessed tooth. He was not interested in treats or chewing on rawhide, etc. He was much improved after his root canal. Now he is fine.

[Eeva]

Maija and Hermie love biscuits, tripe sticks, fish rolls etc, so that's not a problem. I gave them their evening meal, just small portions, and mixed the tripe well with the kibble. They cleared their bowls! They then went back to the bowls and started licking the empty bowls so I gave them some more. Everything went again, kibble and all. I know I should't get too excited yet as they can go off it after a couple of days, but this time I'll stick to it no matter what!

[Cathy Moon]

Yayy! Good luck!

[Karlin]

One of the real telltale signs on whether food 'pickiness' is a behaviour issue or not is what the dog does when minded by someone else -- eg either in kennels or home boarding or by a relative. In 99% of cases such dogs magically eat anything and all of it, when fed by someone else. Then they resume their picky eating when back home. A sure sign the issue is all down to behaviour -- they know who they can train. That's why it is so important not to make a big deal out of meals and turn them into attention time for the dog.

Leo came from a kenneling background (eg a breeder's potential breeding dog) and like most dogs in a kennelling situation, wolfs his food down. Jaspar has never been fussy since Leo arrived and he realised he'd have competition for his meals.

[lolas mum]

Hi eveyone,just thought id drop a quick line to update you on Lolas eating habits.
I took some of your great advice and decided to just choose a food that i liked and stick to it. I found a Royal canin for cavaliers,i have been feeding her in the morning and then again about 5 in the evening and so far she has been eating it all up,even licking the bowl for every scrap. I have chose a meat food too called Natural Lifestage that has rice,chicken and tripe init and mixed about a dessert spoon in with the royal canin.
She loves it so fingers croosed eveyone i will be able to stop worring.

Thanks again
sharon & Lola

[Shug]

My pup had the same problem until my boyfriend started picking up Shug's food bowl and pretending to eat his food. He would get so jealous that once the bowl was put back down, he'd gobble it all up! Shug eats Holistic Blends by Solid Gold and loves it. I've had him on it for several years, and he never seems to get tired of it. They have great soft food too which I buy occasionally. I mix a spoonful of the soft in with his kibble and a little water.

[simonrickell]

When we had Tarmac - both he and Guinness had Pedigree Chum. And slowly they were needing more coaxing to eat up.

Since changing to raw - we rarely have any problem. Chicken wings and chicken necks are chopped into 3 pieces - they all sit around ready, and tuck in no problem at all.
I try to keep Willow, Bailey and Guinness to their own plates; but Guin will try to steal if given the chance.
I keep him off a bit, but if the others leave it too long then I let him in for seconds.
If anyone does not feel like eating then thats ok with me. If they choose to pig out on biscuits then those come up till they eat their main meal.

Mush day (offal, veggies and mince with oils and supplements) have cooked chicken breast finely chopped and sprinkled ontop. This usually does the job. Again, if they choose not to finish it off one day, then they will probably get it the next. It is important that they get their mush day to ensure a balanced diet.

As the wings and necks take a bit more eating, I think that it does add interest to their meal times.