# How to feed a picky eater?



## SadTales (Jul 20, 2016)

Hi all, I'm having trouble with my 1 year old Shepherd... He is the most pickiest eater ever and clearly hates all brands of dry foods. He's very thin because of his pickiness (which started since 8 weeks.) He didn't even like the raw food he was started on from his breeder.

Currently I am feeding him Orijen, our vet recommends 1 & a half cup ... of Orijen.. 3x a day. He only will eat once, at most, or twice and he starts spitting it out.

I noticed he LOVES meats (of course.) He will go crazy, whine, etc.. For chicken for e.g but when he comes to his dry food he sniffs it, and he's like meh.

He does this with treats too, if their not expensive brand treats, he is like meh, and walks away, but if their expensive brand he goes crazy.

He doesn't have worms according to our vet. Just... Fussy, doesn't like our vet's brand of food... 

Do you guys have any ideas on what to do? We were using fish oil (from our vet) with his kibble and he LOVED it and was always eating, now he's like meh, after people kept feeding him human scraps. During a month long vacation.. While staying with my sister he was always eating his kibble with the fish oil .. And nobody was feeding him human food but that was when he liked fish oil.

Even if we don't feed him anything other than his dry food he won't touch it... UNLESS only once midnight feeding because he's that fussy.

Any ideas? He use to love wet food with his food, but our trainer said that would be hard on his stomach (mixing wet with dry...) Plus.. He got sick of the brands.. He doesn't like Merrick dog food cans anymore, he doesn't like Blue Buff cans anymore. Some brands he LOVES... But most of the time he like meh now... He just wants chicken and other meats.

Edit: I also am thinking of swapping him to Acana.. Simply because it seems Orijen is way too rich for a Shepherd while Arcana is the lesser rich version of it. I am just worried he still won't touch it.


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## angelas (Aug 23, 2003)

A local trainer has a good program to train dogs to eat. Her name is Sue Ailsby and she has a blog. If you google her name and feeding her training plan comes right up.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Our female is the same way she knocks her bowl over if there is nothing mixed in her food. She does not like her Fromm can food either as I used it as another topper to put in the list. I usually add to her dry food either a raw egg or few tablespoons of plain yogurt, primal or Stella and chewies dehydrated beef- she only likes the beef, raw goats milk or fresh cooked food from our dinner like chicken or chop meat and has to be mixed in good.


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## SadTales (Jul 20, 2016)

Jenny720 said:


> Our female is the same way she knocks her bowl over if there is nothing mixed in her food. She does not like her Fromm can food either as I used it as another topper to put in the list. I usually add to her dry food either a raw egg or few tablespoons of plain yogurt, primal or Stella and chewies dehydrated beef- she only likes the beef, raw goats milk or fresh cooked food from our dinner like chicken or chop meat and has to be mixed in good.


Yeah he's the same, he loves beef. He loves goat cheese (haven't tried raw goats milk.) He likes fresh cooked food in his food too..

So frustrating isn't it!

We have his bowl in this stand so, he can't knock it, but I am sure if it was on the floor he'll wack it with his paw, usually he just spits it and is like; "Are you serious? You really think I'm gonna eat THIS... Ha, no, bye!"


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## SadTales (Jul 20, 2016)

Attempted to use a raw egg (have never given him one before.) No luck!


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

My girl has been a picky eater since she was a puppy also.The key to getting her to enjoy her food is variety.I mix in different toppings with her kibble to keep her interested.I put in a couple of tablespoons of whatever mixed with a little water to make a gravy and stir it up well.Boiled eggs are a favorite,chicken or beef broth,cheese,yogurt,etc.


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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

What works for my dog is mixing his kibble in: 
bone broth, or
k9 Natural Green Tripe, or
a can of sardines in oil, or
a tablespoon of grated parmessan cheese.


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

I couldn't deal with that, I don't have the patience for it, lol. I use the same pilosphy on my dog as I do on my kids... "you eat what I put in front of you or you eat nothing", I must have gotten lucky cos I've not had a problem with any of my pets or kids. Hats off to you guys who keep trying


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## montse (Jun 21, 2017)

I think you dog may be going through a picky-eater phase. I have a 1.5 year-old female GSD, and I remember that late last year or early this year the vet told us she might go through a phase where she'd get bored with her food and wouldn't eat. I think your dog may be going through that. We're lucky that Nis is a voracious eater and we've never had this problem.

Don't take this the wrong way, but have you considered that maybe he's just playing you? Maybe he's a thin dog by nature who's not very hungry, and he knows that if he holds long enough without eating he'll get something better to eat such as chicken. I've seen this kind of behaviour with my in-law's late dog. And with myself as well, as I kid I was very thin and I didn't eat much. I was also a picky eater (I still am, but not so much) so you can image the situation at home when I was given things to eat that I didn't like, such as veggies. Although I had to eat a little of whatever I didn't like before I was allowed to "move on".

I don't think a dog would starve itself to death, unless there was some kind of medical problem. So assuming there are no issues, what I would do is give him nothing other than his food. If he does not eat his food in about 1 hour (this is being generous), then the food bowl is gone until the next feeding time. My guess is that in 24/48 hours the dog will eat the kibble. You have to be very strict and resist the tempation to give him anything else, otherwise the whole effort will have gone to waste.

There's something I haven't asked... I guess he had no digestive problems with kibble, did he? If he did, maybe that's why he doesn't eat it. Then forget about what I said above.

I think both Acana and Orijen are great kibbles. But I guess you'll have the same problem with both, so I'd avoid switching for now.


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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

KaiserAus said:


> I couldn't deal with that, I don't have the patience for it, lol. I use the same pilosphy on my dog as I do on my kids... "you eat what I put in front of you or you eat nothing", I must have gotten lucky cos I've not had a problem with any of my pets or kids. Hats off to you guys who keep trying


I almost lost my dog to hemorrhagic gastroenteritis a couple of weeks ago, so I'm a bit of a softy regarding his food at the moment. Once he's back to normal weight I'll be less accommodating. :grin2:


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

Dunkirk said:


> I almost lost my dog to hemorrhagic gastroenteritis a couple of weeks ago, so I'm a bit of a softy regarding his food at the moment. Once he's back to normal weight I'll be less accommodating. :grin2:


Definitely don't blame you... health issues always trump food issues :smile2:


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## SadTales (Jul 20, 2016)

montse said:


> I think you dog may be going through a picky-eater phase. I have a 1.5 year-old female GSD, and I remember that late last year or early this year the vet told us she might go through a phase where she'd get bored with her food and wouldn't eat. I think your dog may be going through that. We're lucky that Nis is a voracious eater and we've never had this problem.
> 
> Don't take this the wrong way, but have you considered that maybe he's just playing you? Maybe he's a thin dog by nature who's not very hungry, and he knows that if he holds long enough without eating he'll get something better to eat such as chicken. I've seen this kind of behaviour with my in-law's late dog. And with myself as well, as I kid I was very thin and I didn't eat much. I was also a picky eater (I still am, but not so much) so you can image the situation at home when I was given things to eat that I didn't like, such as veggies. Although I had to eat a little of whatever I didn't like before I was allowed to "move on".
> 
> ...


I personally think he may have digestion problems, but our vet says he's healthy just underweight because he wouldn't eat! He is so fussy.

I think he might be playing me too but this started at when he was an 8 week old puppy. He didn't even want his raw food which the breeder recommended to us. So he's been fussy since day one.

I do still think he's playing me. He knows dry food is boring and he wants something more richer .. Aka, raw meats, or, cooked meats. All of that fancy stuff. Yesterday I couldn't take him not eating, so I cooked him too large bone less chicken breasts.. Just baked them plain in the oven, and then shredded it to pieces and threw it in his kibble, mixed it up.. He ate most of it, but he leaves left over kibble not that much and walks away. 

Today, he only ate once again, maybe twice, when he's suppose to eat 3 times. This time the food was just plain kibble and fish oil... I had to force him to eat it, by pulling him to his bowl and harassing him for 5 minutes. Like a stubborn child he didn't want it, I tried hand feeding it to him THEN he decided he wanted it and ate the entire thing.

He's just so fussy.

Edit: I also realize he's not a fan of eggs he sometimes will eat a boil egg but doesn't care for him, he just wants chicken, beef, etc.

Do any of you guys have any ideas what I can mix in his kibble that will not be hard on his stomach and what your dogs find incredibly appetizing in their kibble?

I would LOVE to put him on a raw diet which I've seen from here: 




But blah meats are so expensive, a pack of chicken is like $30 here, and for $11 for two small breasts.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

My dog was hard to feed on kibble. He'd go several days without eating. His stool was soft, then diarrhea, then bloody over time -- worsening, and eventually, he developed anal gland problems. The first sign of trouble was not wanting to eat his kibble.

He turned out to have a bad food allergy. He _knew _the kibble made him feel ill. I no longer assume these dogs are being spoiled brats -- sometimes it's the only way they can try to tell us the food is making them feel sick.

If he likes eating raw meat, perhaps he _feels better _eating real food. I'd put him on a complete raw diet (frozen), or meat with a dehydrated base mix (The Honest Kitchen, Dr. Harvey's or Sojo's, all of which reconstitute into a porridge that goes with the meat, to balance it out and make it complete). It probably won't cost much more than Orijen. If you're already spending that much to feed, I'd take the next step and get him off kibble, and see if he thrives with a good appetite.


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

I have a fussy eater as well. She also has many food sensitivities and as Magwart said my dog seems to know what upsets her tummy and won't eat it. I tried the tough love once and my dog didn't eat for 5 days until I caved when she lost weight and began hunger puking. She was trying to tell me the food at the time was making her feel sick. So I feel your pain. 

Things I've learned:

1. A one year old dog my not need or want to eat 3 times a day. At one year my dog by her choice was only eating once a day. Usually at night. 

2. My stress about her eating caused her stress about eating. Now if she eats...good. If she doesn't ...oh well maybe later. If she skips a meal then hours later goes to her eating area and asks for food I feed her. Seems she likes to eat when she's hungry. Not when I think she should eat. We do have days when she wants eats two or three times a day (full days portion divided). Those are often days after she has skipped meals or has been very, very active. She catching up I guess. Then back to normal for a bit until the cycle starts again.

One year old GSD's are often seen as too thin when they are not really. This breed fills out more slowly than others. My girl was thin until about two. Then she suddenly picked up several pounds and filled out. From three to four years she managed to gain another 10 lbs we are struggling to take off as she is now over weight at 77 lbs. And yes she is still a fussy eater but she still managed to get fat. So now when she skips a meal I don't stress as it isn't hurting any...lol!

I personally don't see anything wrong with table scrap toppers to keep things interesting as long as those calories are accounted for and care is taken not to give a lot of cooked fat, onions or other dangerous foods. 

I should say that I do raw feed 90% of the time. To mix things up I home cook some of her meals and other times she just seems to want the only kibble she will eat. A kibble that isn't the greatest in the grand scheme of things but one she wants when she won't eat her raw. 

I know many won't agree with the way we approach our fussy eater but it is what works for us. 

If you could post some pictures of you dog from above over his back and a side view in a standing position we can get get a better idea if he is really too thin as well.


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## VickyNero (Nov 8, 2017)

I am so happy to read this thread.

My intact 17 month old has also been a very picky eater, he still wont eat his Orijen kibble without added meat or fish and also a bit wet. I normally blend chicken or liver or fish to mix with kibble.
Also in the past I have added salmon oil as he has also had a skin problem.

Hes not allergic to anything we know of and the vet agrees as his skin only flares up about twice a month.
Currently he gets dry patches up each arm pit, the skin flakes its a bit red then goes away, so its not an infection.
We always keep it very clean and use an aloe vera moisturizer, or antiseptic cream.

Does anyone have any experience with the skin problem as well?


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