# Picky eater: Barely eating his dry food.



## H15A5H1 (Dec 14, 2009)

Otto is 9mo and along with the whole butthead stage has come the "picky eater" phase as well. I feed him Innova Large Breed Puppy kibble two times a day (2cups each feeding). For the past two weeks, he has started to become a VERY picky eater. But only with his dry food.

Before he had this behavior, we would give him a kong with treats to keep him busy in the afternoon. But we soon realized that he is now refusing to eat the dry food and waiting on the Kong. So we took away the Kong until we see him finish his meal like he always does. Even with that, he barely touches his food. Now, we have taken away all his treats.. even training treats. For his first meal, sometimes he doesnt eat it at all. Sometimes the most he eats is 1cup. Then when we bring out dinner, he barely eats it again. Because of this, he's only eating 2cups a day instead of the 4cups recommended for his age/weight. We have even tried setting the food down for an hour, and taking it away. Most of the time he just eats a few bites and goes to take a nap.

For the past week he has been doing this.

I know he is definitely not sick since he gladly wolfs down 2cups of dog food with the addition of canned food mixed with it. And, he takes treats and snacks with no problem.

What is the best way to solve this behavior? Its very irritating because sometimes he will purposely not eat his meal, and if we take him out to the dogpark or other adventures he acts all lethargic because he's hungry. My girlfriend suggested starving him for an entire day, and feeding him the food the next day. Not sure if this method is a little too devastating for him or not. But I'm willing to try anything.


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## Jessica H (Mar 14, 2009)

Dozer goes through phases all the time with the picky eating, the only way I get him to eat it is by adding some wet food, cottage cheese, applesauce... Even now he is picking at his food (I mean at this moment). The only yhing that makes him eat it is if he thinks Scooter is going to eat it. Sometimes when he is like this I with hold one of his meals and he usually eats it at the next. Sometimes I figure he just isn't hungry. 

I usally only give him his food for a certain amount of time and I pick it up. I did have one issue that he refused to eat at all and I switched foods and he ate it. So you pup may not like the food, you could try switching.

He is NOT going to starve himself so when he gets hungry enough he will eat. When Doze had the runs I had fasted him for 24 hours and he was just fine. Dogs will not die without food for a day. I would try to cut out one meal and see how he reacts or try different foods. Sometimes I think Doze just isn't hungry. I do not always feel like eating at certain times. The first food he was on made his belly rumble (I could hear it) and I think it didn't agree with him so I switched foods.

As long as you know he is not sick. When Dozer did this the first time he ended up having giardia so make sure he really isn't sick. 

My Cairn Terrier is almost 7 years old and is the SAME exact way.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

don't switch the food if he has been eating it all this time. Then, he will get into the habit every few weeks/months of "I don't like this" 

I agree, he won't starve himself. As long as he's had a checkup to make sure he isn't sick, just keep offering him the same food and then pulling it up. If even once you cave and add canned or something "special" then he knows that if he picks long enough you will cave. 
My kids have done the exact same thing and I got the same advice from their DR. "They'll eat when they are hungry"

ETA: regarding your GF's advice. You don't have to "starve" him for a day. When you get up in the morning, offer him his dry kibble at the usual time. What he hasn't eaten in 30 mins, pick up (If he is eating at the moment, obviously leave it. but if he picks and walks away, remove it after the 30 mins). That evening, offer the same bowl again at the usual time. 

Repeat day after day after day until he figures out the chef has quit. Otherwise, he will hold out until you cave. Again, first be sure there is no medical reason that he isn't eating. For training treats, use pieces of his dry kibble.


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

Something else to try: Trying reducing the amount you feed. This seems counter productive, but it really isn't. Put down only 1 1/2 cups, or 1 cup down in the morning, don't leave it down for a whole hour, only 10-15 minutes. Whatever he eats is fine. Wait until dinner. If he only ate 1 cup of the breakfast, only put one cup down. Leave it down for 10-15 minutes and then take away. Sometimes when you have down so much food at once it seems overwhelming to a pup.
Also if you want to feed him a kong, put his meals into it. if you soak his kibble in warm water for 10-15 minutes it will get mushy and then you can mash it up and stick it into the kong.


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## ShepherdHeaven (Feb 12, 2010)

My GSD is the same way with her dry food. We have had her a little over a month and she is very picky. I talked with her previous owner and switched her eating around a bit. Biggest thing is to not leave his bowl out all day like said before pick two feeding times. I have mine on a mix diet. I feed her 1/4 of steak 1/4 of chicken thighs cut off bone(I put bones on top of dish to help keep her teeth clean and has good protien), 1/4 27% fat hamburger,and 1/4 kibble with 3 tsp of fish oil for coat and fur. I feed her that 2x per day and when she is finished always remove the bowl and hide from her till next time. Best of luck. 

ShepherHeaven


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

I promise you, a healthy dog will not starve themselves. I know it's hard to have a picky eater, but in my house when one comes through as a picky eater (we foster quite a bit) or in the past when one of mine tried this tactic, they just missed meals until they gave in. They all eat immediately now when bowls are placed down.

It may take more than a day, but he will eat when he's hungry enough.


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## lovemybuddy (Oct 26, 2009)

Buddy goes through phases of eating a lot and then not much at all. Puppies go through different growth stages where they will need more and less calories. Buddy is also a grazer. When we first got him, we fed him his food, then picked it up after a few minutes and took it away. I realized pretty quickly that this just doesn't work for him. Buddy will eat when he's hungry, but he's not always hungry the moment his bowl gets filled.

So, here's what we do ~~ (Bud is 10 months old.) We feed him 2 cups in the morning (he is fed Royal Canine, they recommend a puppy his age getting a little less than 6 cups a day.) When he finishes those 2 cups, I wait about an hour and give him another 2 cups. When he finishes those two cups, I wait another hour and give him his last 1.75 cups of food. Sometimes he eats it all in a day, sometimes he doesn't. Some days he's ravenously hungry and he'll get a little more than 6 cups. Some days he doesn't even finish the first 2 cups that he got in the morning. I know now that that is just how he is. I learned to put down the books and read my dog instead. 

Now, Bud did go through a 2.5 week period where he was battling with pano. It was so sad to see. The pano was in both his left front and hind legs. He didn't want to eat or drink during that 2.5 week period, so I did hand feed him whatever he would take, and I would bring a mug to him so he could lap up his water. But as soon as the pano got better, he went right back to eating and drinking just fine.

Good luck!!!!!!!!


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