[chloe920]

In my ongoing saga to try and get Chloe to eat, I have switched from Purina Pro Plan (she was starting to pull out her hair, head shake and bum scoot, so I was thinking maybe a food allergy)...to Wellness puppy large breed.

Well she won't touch a kibble of it unless I dress it up for her. And even then, she will only eat it once or twice with that something special on it and then turns her nose up to it until I find something else to suit her fancy.

I have tried the 10 minute feeding rule, but she just starves herself for days and to be completely honest, I give in and feed her.

My question is this....Is it possible that she really does not like the 2 brands I've tried, or is she playing me and if I continue to give in she'll have me dancing on my head at every meal?

I guess I just really need to know that by playing hard ball with her and waiting her out I'm not doing any physical harm to her and that ultimately it will work?

Or maybe I should only feed her once/day so she is really hungry and we she won't turn her nose up at whatever I give her. She is 8.5 months now.

Hope this makes sense
thanks
L.

 

[Sliver]

Have you seen a vet? I've never owned or met a dog that wasn't ravenous, so this sounds abnormal to me.

 

[fostermom]

I personally feel that twice a day is the best.

Have you talked to your vet to make sure that she is at a good weight? If she is a bit overweight (not saying she is), she may be self regulating with her food. In other words, she may just not be hungry. How much are you feeding her at a time? I would think that the most she would need is 1 cup morning and night. How many meals did she actually refuse before you gave in?

I have no problem adding a teaspoon of yogurt to my dogs' food. It's healthy for them and they like it. But they will eat their food without the yogurt. When we travel, we aren't always able to add the yogurt.

 

[Willow52]

When Hank had an intestinal bug, I was feeding him boiled chicken & rice. When it was time to ease him back to regular food he'd pick at it. I mixed in a little cottage cheese, or yogurt and some canned. Then I cut out the cottage cheese or yogurt while still mixing in the canned. Now he's just eating dry. He still eats 3x/day. I would think 2x is enough for a 8 m.o.

 

[chloe920]

she seems to be the perfect weight (has a nice tuck as well as a visible waist from above). The most that I have pushed the issue is about 36 hours that is to say that the second breakfast wasn't eaten so I did give in around lunch on day 2 and give her a "busybone" and then at dinner I dressed up her food so she would eat it.

When she was spayed at 6 months, I spoke to her vet about her lack of appetite and they said that she was in perfect health and was a good weight and size for her age. They just kinda smiled when I told them the lengths that I go to to get her to eat. I think they were trying to be polite and not come right out and say that she was playing me.

She has been a picky eater since the day we brought her home from the breeders. I think the lack of competition at the food bowl made eating less exciting for her. Even now, she will stop eating if I walk too far away from her while she is at the bowl. She wants me to stand right next to her while she eats.

Now that I read this post, I guess it seems more obvious as to what is really going on. So from those of you out there who have gone through this before, what's the longest your dog has held out before giving in to eating plain kibble?

L.
'

 

[sammydog]

We feed twice a day, and three times a day when they are puppies.

I like the idea of trying to put something healthy on the food like yogurt. You can also gets a bunch of different sample bags from the petstore and see what she likes best.

Good luck!

 

[chloe920]

the problem is that she will only eat it once or twice with the "something special" on top and then turn her nose up..and then I have to throw that kibble away whereas at least when it's plain, I can put it back down at the next feeding.

L.

 

[weedrea]

Never tried it to see how long he'll last, but Brodie will never eat dry kibble, it always has to have a spoonful or 2 of meat in it. We sometimes mix it up and give him kibble with a raw egg, or a couple of chunks of carrot, or some potatoes. But I don't think he'd bother eating it by itself (he'd just counter-surf more!).

 

[Tahnee GR]

I fought that fight with my Chinese Crested, and periodically still do. I feed twice a day, once they are 8 weeks of age or older.

Everyone eats well except for Cher. I was leaving her food down and letting the Pug and the other Goldens race for her food. which did bother her but did not seem to make her eat more. I had to stop because the other dogs were getting too fat!

Now, I put her food down dry, leave it for 10 minutes and then pick it up. She sometimes goes a meal or two without eating much but she does eat enough to keep herself in good weight. Oh, and if she is not eating her food, I don't give her treats either, and I never treat her within 2 hours of a meal.

Assuming the vet has checked her over and she is healthy, I think she is either playing you or just not that hungry.