What do you for a fussy eater ?

[Noel]

Our 9 y/o, 70# Slobbermouth does not always like breakfast at 7 am. No problem with dinner at 4 pm; it is wolfed down quickly.

I have heard that getting her sense of smell going before a meal will help. This helps sometimes, but not always.

Is the sense of smell critical to getting the digestive juices flowing and promoting hunger ?

[twotoes]

I have always been told that if my dog does not finish a meal to take the bowl away until the next meal. I also have been told that if the dog can not smell the food they will not eat it. Also as your bag of food ages it will loose some of its smell. That is why you would put some water on dry food. My dog was a rescue and a very fussy eater. I have to mix caned for with the dry. I try to stay with premium brands like Blue Buffallo for both the dry and canned.

[Jean_S]

We' ve always left dry food down 24/7. Our dogs never over- ate it on dogfood, but snacked all day. Tablescraps are another story. Our dogs grew to expect a share of whatever we had that suited them. Yes, they were fat and it probably shortened their lives. On the other hand, we usually get pound dogs. My taste runs toadult large dogs, which are harder to adopt out. Most of my pooches would have had a lot shorter life if I had not taken them and fattened them up on tablescraps.

[Happytraveler]

My dogs will eat sometimes in the morning or not at all and the same with dinner. I can't free feed because of Charlie. He can be a stinker even though he won't eat it, he'll protect his food and Katie's food.
I sprinkle Stella & Chewy's over their dry food, plus add a quarter of their favorite treat to it and hope they eat. It really would be nice to have a dog that loves food, LOL. It would make life so easy if you had plans to go out for the evening.

[dieseltruckdriv]

Our Lab would not eat if we weren't around. The food was there for her if she got hungry though. We only fed her once in the morning and once in the evening.

[Chock_Full_o__N]

I used to worry about it, but I've learned to let it go. Tiki is not food driven at all. Some days his morning food will sit there until 3pm, then he'll sneak into the kitchen and wolf it down. And then he eats his full supper at 6pm~!

I figure Tiki will eat when he's hungry. We don't feed him any people food and only a couple of tidbit-y snacks during the day. That way he doesn't make a habit of holding out for the good stuff. 🙂 He's gonna get the same stuff regardless.

[noteven]

Has anyone ever seen a dog skeleton beside a dish of anything remotely edible?

[doxiemom11]

When we adopted our rescues, we had no idea what their feeding schedule was like in their prior life or at the rescue. We started by offering both morning and evening meals. They hardly touched the morning offerings, but wolfed down their dinners. We then just fed once per day and they eat when we eat our dinner, whatever time that may be. We do offer bites of egg in the morning, so they do have a little food so their stomach is not empty all day. We have had 2 that tended to barf bile if they didn't have a little something thoughout the day. We usually offer a treat midday also.

[colliehauler]

The Collies eat at 5am a can of Pedigree over dry Pedigree. When I get home from work they have what ever I'm having for supper (just smaller portions).

[joelc]

I only give my dog snacks after meals. This not only cleans their teeth, but they enjoy it. I feed my dogs a mix of canned food and dry. I use only canned food that does not have any by-products. I use Purina for the dry. I do have one dog that is very picky about treats, so I carry a variety. Be sure to only purchase treats made in the U.S.A. Some treats made in China have been known to make animals sick and even cause death.

[CA_POPPY]

Dog isn't hungry at 7 am? Sounds great to me! One of ours thinks she has to be fed the minute my eyes fly open in the morning. The other can easily wait a couple of hours so I stall for awhile and then feed both.

If Slobbermouth is alone all day, I'd just leave her a dish with some dry food and let her munch out when she feels like it.

[Noel]

Thank you for all your replies. I think we will wait one more hour in the a.m. and feed a 0800 in lieu of 0700.

Anything that comes out of the fridge (and sometimes canned out of the utility room) gets microwaved for 20-30 seconds. Does not always work. Sometimes, tho.

Have tried warm water/gravy trick. Does not always work. Sometimes, tho.

Not sure about feeding once a day. Usually about 9-10 there is nose polking and movement to the fridge for a carrot. Don't think I could take that much pressure......all day long.

[xteacher]

Try putting a bit of warm water on the kibble to make a gravy. The heightened aroma may help entice your dog to eat. I put a little water in a measuring cup, then microwave it for a few seconds (rather than waiting for warm tap water) - test it with your finger (mix it), so as not to let it get too hot (ex: I microwave 1/2 c. for 18 seconds, as a point of reference - to mix with 3/4 -1 c. kibble).

[AZPops]

As recommended by some of the folks here, you could try nuking the food first! However, keep one thing in mind. Like Calvin, he may never eat it again if it ain't nuked! ... :R


Anonymous

[skipnchar]

Is she losing any weight? Many dogs eat only once a day. I'd let her weight determine if it's something that you need to address