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Post by frenchie851 on Jun 15, 2014 12:20:29 GMT
My dogs started being really picky about 2 months ago and I have tried a lot to resolve this.
We have 2 Chihuahuas and a mongrel.
They had started going off the dry food they were eating and we bought a new flavour (same brand) which worked for only a week. They are now on a a completely different brand but still they are not eating/leaving most of it or all of their food.
I have been using the technique of giving them the food and only giving 20 mins for them to eat before removing their food. They do not get their food again untill next meal time and at this point I don't give them any extra, they also don't get treats inbetween.
The dogs are crate trained and are crated when being fed as in the past I have had issues with them fighting over who's is who's.
I think they are gwtting bored of kibble? But I do not want ro pander to my dogs, I don't want to feed wet food as dry is cheaper and easier to store.
Any ideas?
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Post by SarahHound on Jun 15, 2014 13:33:15 GMT
Are they a healthy weight, and in good health in themselves? If they are, then I wouldn't worry. If they are hungry, they will eat. I ahve the same problem with my dogs.
The other thing is the weather, I find my dogs always eat a lot less in the warmer months.
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Post by migsy on Jun 15, 2014 13:51:22 GMT
Skip is picky,and none of my dogs would eat kibble on its own,so have always added some moist food.I buy the packs of foil dishes of food,or pouches from Aldi which are very reasonable,or make batches of chicken stew and freeze when I have the time.With just having the one dog who often just picks,I can just put a plate over his bowl to stop it smelling or going off,or attracting flys.I was also going to suggest warm weather affects the dogs appetite too,so as S.H. has said,if the dogs seem o.k. I wouldn't worry.
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Post by caz2golden on Jun 15, 2014 17:24:26 GMT
I always think feeding a bowl of dry food must be like us being given the same bowl of dry cereal twice a day every day. i.e we would get bored!! When I fed dry I did use a topper (be it wet meat, leftovers, fruit, veg etc etc), one to give the food a little variety and two so that for them it smelled good (and probably tasted better too)  As others have said if they are healthy weight and are well in all other respects you probably dont have much to be worried about. |
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Post by BorderTerrier on Jun 15, 2014 19:23:41 GMT
My own dog, Earl, stopped eating a certain type of kibble when we tried him on it, however when we moved him back onto his old kibble he ate it again. It may just be a case of finding the right food that your dogs are happy and enjoy eating and is in your budget. And that is personal to you. Can't say anymore than what has already been said, and I also think adding tasty toppings to kibble is a good idea to entice the dogs to eat it more because of the increased flavour.
Good luck.
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Post by frenchie851 on Jun 15, 2014 19:55:50 GMT
They are in good health and good weight other than our mongrel who has recently (last 2 days) started throwing up bile. I have read she is probably doing this because there isn't anything in her stomach  |
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Post by alfiemummy on Jun 15, 2014 20:38:48 GMT
If I fed Alfie only dry kibble in his bowl he won't touch it at all. However he will eat the lot if I scatter feed him and he has to work to find it or if I put it in a Kong. Perhaps you could try something like that to make mealtimes a little more exciting? He seems to think it's great fun to push the toy about and get the food that way. I also sometimes turn dinner time into a training session and use his target stick. When I do something like this, he can't get enough of the dry food!
When I feed him in his bowl he will always have something else with it; either suitable leftovers, wet food, tinned fish or something else like that. It doesn't work out too expensive as I will always look for leftovers from our meals first (so no extra cost). Tinned fish is very cheap - I buy him sardines or pilchards. If he has wet dog food he only gets about a tablespoon to add a little flavour to his dry food.
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Post by frenchie851 on Jun 15, 2014 21:57:14 GMT
I will give it a go, mixing in other stuff but I have tried in the past and they tend to lick off what they want and leave the rest!
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Post by chantel on Jun 16, 2014 15:58:43 GMT
Well Riley is 17 months now and we fed him on James wellbeloved complete he was fine with that when he was younger but has he has got older he too has become picky, ideally i would have liked him just to have dry but riley stopped eating the dry which i can understand like caz said. I have recently switched him to Burns fishfor his skin which he loves and i mix a little of natures diet to it to give it a little more flavour and he just loves it now.although we have had to reduce his complete due to him having wet food as well .
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Post by BorderTerrier on Jun 16, 2014 17:38:14 GMT
Frenchie, I have another idea!
Try soaking the dry kibble with warm water (once you've dished it up into the dog's bowl) and swirl it round, or mash it all up. The water brings the flavour out in the food.
HTH
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Post by alfiemummy on Jun 16, 2014 21:22:53 GMT
Frenchie, I have another idea! Try soaking the dry kibble with warm water (once you've dished it up into the dog's bowl) and swirl it round, or mash it all up. The water brings the flavour out in the food. HTH I agree with this, I do it for Alfie sometimes. Just a little dash of boiling water to bring out the smell and flavour - I don't put too much in though as he doesn't like it too soggy! |
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Post by smilesbetter on Jun 16, 2014 22:19:26 GMT
Frenchie, I have another idea! Try soaking the dry kibble with warm water (once you've dished it up into the dog's bowl) and swirl it round, or mash it all up. The water brings the flavour out in the food. HTH Yup this is what I'd suggest, as it makes the food smell stronger and brings out the flavour as BT says. However if they are healthy, then perhaps you're over feeding a little and they are just eating what they need? It's actually quite a good trait with dogs, if they've learned to only eat what they need, as it prevents obesity. Remember that dogs won't let themselves starve, and shouldn't have any issues from not eating like cats do. Also dogs can fast for a while quite happily, so if they eat it all on some days and not on others, they may just be fasting. Dogs in the wild wouldn't eat at certain times every day and some dogs just don't adjust to that very human way of eating. However if they are not eating much there may also be a health issue that you haven't noticed and I'd recommend consulting a vet for advice. It is odd that all of your dogs seem to be doing this though, what food are you feeding? I know you said you changed brands, but some brands are practically the same food really so that doesn't always make a huge difference. |
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Post by charlottte on Jul 7, 2014 0:03:36 GMT
I have this problem with my boy. Everyone tells me to starve him until the next meal but like your dog, he makes himself sick if he doesn't eat. And he will go days without eating. Have you tried using activity toys to feed them their food? Things like Kongs or treat balls? You'll have to be careful if any of your dogs are possessive about food as you don't want any scraps but I find jasper takes more to his dry food if it is in the treat ball or in a kong mixed with some yogurt or wet food. Also bear in mind that the weather has been quite warm recently and some dogs go off their food in the heat. You could try feeding them later on in the evening when it's cooled off slightly, just in case it's that |
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Post by Jessie99 on Aug 1, 2014 20:25:02 GMT
It is probably that your dogs are bored of the food they are receiving. But of course, as SarahHound said, it could just be that, they are eating less because of the warmer weather. I wouldn't worry too much, they won't starve their selves and if they are hungry, they will eat it. You can add hot water so that the flavour sort of goes like gravy, just to moist it up a bit. Or, like said in previous comments, you can add meat with the dry food. Unlucky for me, my three dogs are pretty much on different diets and it costs us a fortune, especially with the cats food on top. But they're worth it. My dog's diets: Brooke, Shih Tzu : Royal Canin Shih Tzu food with James Well - Beloved pouches of meat for more flavour and variety (she gets different flavours to keep interest! She gets one pouch a day. Most of it is given on her last feed. Charlie Boy, Westie: James Well Beloved dry food (different flavours keeping interest/variety) with the James Well-Beloved pouches of meat. However, we are trying out the Wainwrights food trays and I must say, I am impressed. Roman, English Cocker Spaniel: He is more complicated due to his digestive problems. He receives different food which needs to be cooked with the excess fat drained and so on! He gets chicken&rice with veg. Now and then he will have an egg for breakfast. He can have bran, rice, oatmeal, pasta, lean beef mince and some fruit such as banana, apple. NEVER FEED GRAPE OR BERRY!  Hope this gives you more ideas of keeping your dog interest and excited for dinner time! Good luck! |
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