Picky eater

[Roman]

I am sorry to hear that this is still going on. Have you gotten the Lab Results back yet? I am wondering if there is something around the house that she might be getting in too, that may be causing this. Or if something, or someone might be poisoning her slowly. You might want to lay off the Potatoes, only because a Friend of mine said her Dog was hospitalized with Pancreatitis from eating them. Not sure if that was the real culprit or not. I made my Dogs boiled Chicken, and Rice boiled in the stock after they were spayed, or had sensitive bellies for some reason, or another. I had plenty of Broth in there too, for hydration. I'm thinking of her, and hope that it is something simple.

 

[Roman]

:bump:

 

[acommondisaster]

Thanks for the replies. I don't think she's getting into anything she shouldn't be having. She's not outside alone and it's just me and my husband in the house and we don't leave things around she shouldnt get into.

I didn't know potatoes might be an issue. She's turning her nose up at rice. I did some poking around the internet and read that a fatty diet can cause pancreatitis, so I've been sure not to give her anything fatty. She had extensive blood tests and that's where they found the elevated enzymes. I'm going to see a different vet when I take her (again). Our dogs have always been seen there and we have confidence in them.

Today I fed her a holistic dog food (Halo) and she gobbled it up, however that seems to be the pattern - starve a day, eat great for a day or two, then start needing to be told to eat, then being spoon fed for a day or two and then turning the food down all together, then only eating people food.

I will say that her coat and eyes look incredible since we've switched to a healthier brand of dog food than what she's eaten all her life, and she's back down to her correct weight - but she continues to lose weight.
Thanks for being sympathetic - I'm so worried about my best buddy, I tear up just thinking about it.

 

[slawrence]

We have a 5 year old Pom and it has taken me all of 5 years to find a dog food that she will eat. We tried every food we found. She would eat boiled chicken with cheese on it most the time but not always she would go 2 or 3 days without eating her food. Untill we tried EVO chicken and turkey flavor. She has been eating this for about a month now and she actually gobbles it right up. If you havn't tried EVO maybe this will work. Goodluck

 

[bulldog]

I have not had, nor do I want to go through your experience and hope it all clears up for you soon.

My hound can be a picky eater, but she is healthy (not saying yours is not healthy) so I'm pretty firm on the idea that she'll eat when she's hungry enough. Instinct should keep her from starving. That said, I supplement her dinner meal with some deer heart and/or liver, warmed up in about 3/4 cups of water and mixed with her dry stuff. You talk about a dog going to town on her food...

A lot of people don't like the idea of organ meat for dogs, but our vet said it was awesome. If you want to give it a try, I'd be happy to hook you up with some to see if it works. Let me know via PM.

Best of luck.

 

[ICit]

I have not had, nor do I want to go through your experience and hope it all clears up for you soon.

My hound can be a picky eater, but she is healthy (not saying yours is not healthy) so I'm pretty firm on the idea that she'll eat when she's hungry enough. Instinct should keep her from starving. That said, I supplement her dinner meal with some deer heart and/or liver, warmed up in about 3/4 cups of water and mixed with her dry stuff. You talk about a dog going to town on her food...

A lot of people don't like the idea of organ meat for dogs, but our vet said it was awesome. If you want to give it a try, I'd be happy to hook you up with some to see if it works. Let me know via PM.

Best of luck.

... why???

If "one" does a raw diet on their own this is what they will be feeding....

I did a raw diet for many years with my dogs...the only issue i ever had was if they had too much organ meat vs muscle meat to bone ratio..

it would be too rich

 

[acommondisaster]

Thanks so much the the replies. It's good to know I am not the only one with a picky dog. She'll eat something one day like it's the best food ever and the next day she's like "how dare you try to feed me this junk". Some days she'll eat something only if I feed it to her on a spoon and other days, she'll walk away from it. I've noticed she smells the food before she decides to give it a try, and she definitely seems hungry - but she wont eat if it isn't appealing. Some days she wont eat out of her bowl, but will eat from a paper plate. ARG!!

She'll go a couple of days of not eating, but I can tell she's hungry.

Yesterday I boiled a chicken breast, potatoes, carrots and peas. I added a touch of flour to thicken the broth into a gravy. She ran to her dish and devoured the chicken, picked at the potatoes and left the rest. We put the plate on the counter and through the day she'd eat the potatoes and carrots as "treats".

She is no longer eating her chicken jerky treats, but is carrying them around. Today she turned down the chicken dinner I made her. Thanks for the suggestions - when I take the canned Blue Buffalo back to the store, I'll look for EVO.

 

[bulldog]

Thanks so much the the replies. It's good to know I am not the only one with a picky dog. She'll eat something one day like it's the best food ever and the next day she's like "how dare you try to feed me this junk". Some days she'll eat something only if I feed it to her on a spoon and other days, she'll walk away from it. I've noticed she smells the food before she decides to give it a try, and she definitely seems hungry - but she wont eat if it isn't appealing. Some days she wont eat out of her bowl, but will eat from a paper plate. ARG!!

She'll go a couple of days of not eating, but I can tell she's hungry.

Yesterday I boiled a chicken breast, potatoes, carrots and peas. I added a touch of flour to thicken the broth into a gravy. She ran to her dish and devoured the chicken, picked at the potatoes and left the rest. We put the plate on the counter and through the day she'd eat the potatoes and carrots as "treats".

She is no longer eating her chicken jerky treats, but is carrying them around. Today she turned down the chicken dinner I made her. Thanks for the suggestions - when I take the canned Blue Buffalo back to the store, I'll look for EVO.

The bolded statement is exactly how my mutt reacts to a fresh bag of food. When I bring a new bag home from Pepper's, open it and give her the first bowl, you'd think she'd never eaten before and it was going to give her a new life. Happiest dog ever. After a couple of feedings, not so much and she'll act exactly like you are describing.
Funny animals, dogs.

 

[migtig]

The bolded statement is exactly how my mutt reacts to a fresh bag of food. When I bring a new bag home from Pepper's, open it and give her the first bowl, you'd think she'd never eaten before and it was going to give her a new life. Happiest dog ever. After a couple of feedings, not so much and she'll act exactly like you are describing.
Funny animals, dogs.

Well, it may be getting stale tasting. I'm lucky that the dog food we get from Peppers has a zipper seal, but if yours doesn't, try keeping it in a rubbermaid tub. We used to do that with the big dog's food to keep it fresh.

 

[frequentflier]

Thanks so much the the replies. It's good to know I am not the only one with a picky dog. She'll eat something one day like it's the best food ever and the next day she's like "how dare you try to feed me this junk". Some days she'll eat something only if I feed it to her on a spoon and other days, she'll walk away from it. I've noticed she smells the food before she decides to give it a try, and she definitely seems hungry - but she wont eat if it isn't appealing. Some days she wont eat out of her bowl, but will eat from a paper plate. ARG!!

She'll go a couple of days of not eating, but I can tell she's hungry.

Yesterday I boiled a chicken breast, potatoes, carrots and peas. I added a touch of flour to thicken the broth into a gravy. She ran to her dish and devoured the chicken, picked at the potatoes and left the rest. We put the plate on the counter and through the day she'd eat the potatoes and carrots as "treats".

She is no longer eating her chicken jerky treats, but is carrying them around. Today she turned down the chicken dinner I made her. Thanks for the suggestions - when I take the canned Blue Buffalo back to the store, I'll look for EVO.

Assuming you bought BB at petco or petsmart, I don't think you will find EVO there. It is available at many smaller stores including mine.

 

[frequentflier]

Well, it may be getting stale tasting. I'm lucky that the dog food we get from Peppers has a zipper seal, but if yours doesn't, try keeping it in a rubbermaid tub. We used to do that with the big dog's food to keep it fresh.

If you dump the food directly in a plastic container, you should clean it out every couple of bags so the oils from the food don't go rancid and contaminate the new food added. You can use dish soap or vinegar and rinse and dry well.

I recently had a customer that admitted to dumping new food over old food in the bottom and he had no clue how old the bottom food was. YuK!

 

[ICit]

If you dump the food directly in a plastic container, you should clean it out every couple of bags so the oils from the food don't go rancid and contaminate the new food added. You can use dish soap or vinegar and rinse and dry well.

I recently had a customer that admitted to dumping new food over old food in the bottom and he had no clue how old the bottom food was. YuK!

..... OMG

 

[animalluvr4life]

If you dump the food directly in a plastic container, you should clean it out every couple of bags so the oils from the food don't go rancid and contaminate the new food added. You can use dish soap or vinegar and rinse and dry well.

I recently had a customer that admitted to dumping new food over old food in the bottom and he had no clue how old the bottom food was. YuK!

when i do it with bruno i wait til all the food is gone then i rinse out the container with warm soapy water. What this customer of yours did is totally gross she could be feeding her dog spoiled dogfood if she doesn't know how old the bottom layer of food is...ewww grosss....

 

[Roman]

Thanks so much the the replies. It's good to know I am not the only one with a picky dog. She'll eat something one day like it's the best food ever and the next day she's like "how dare you try to feed me this junk". Some days she'll eat something only if I feed it to her on a spoon and other days, she'll walk away from it. I've noticed she smells the food before she decides to give it a try, and she definitely seems hungry - but she wont eat if it isn't appealing. Some days she wont eat out of her bowl, but will eat from a paper plate. ARG!!

She'll go a couple of days of not eating, but I can tell she's hungry.

Yesterday I boiled a chicken breast, potatoes, carrots and peas. I added a touch of flour to thicken the broth into a gravy. She ran to her dish and devoured the chicken, picked at the potatoes and left the rest. We put the plate on the counter and through the day she'd eat the potatoes and carrots as "treats".

She is no longer eating her chicken jerky treats, but is carrying them around. Today she turned down the chicken dinner I made her. Thanks for the suggestions - when I take the canned Blue Buffalo back to the store, I'll look for EVO.

You can always buy different cans of what ever Dog Food you think she'd like. I would always keep a bowl of Dry Dog Food out, just in case she'll take a nibble or two. At Pepper's Pet Pantry, they have Trial Size bags of their dry Foods, which are all top-notch, and Grain-Free. Maybe get a little Bag to see if she likes it before you buy it.

 

[Roman]

I re-read your Post where you said that she is no longer eating her Chicken Jerkey Treats, but continues to carry them around. You might want to Google the Brand, and see if there is any re-call on them. It seems that in the past, Chicken Jerkey especially the ones made in China, have been recalled. Just a thought.

 

[acommondisaster]

Well, it may be getting stale tasting. I'm lucky that the dog food we get from Peppers has a zipper seal, but if yours doesn't, try keeping it in a rubbermaid tub. We used to do that with the big dog's food to keep it fresh.

I'm feeding her small cans if I can find them (less waste if she doesn't eat it). If I get a big can, I toss it after 24 hours open. No dry food. She stopped eating that years ago.

 

[acommondisaster]

You can always buy different cans of what ever Dog Food you think she'd like. I would always keep a bowl of Dry Dog Food out, just in case she'll take a nibble or two. At Pepper's Pet Pantry, they have Trial Size bags of their dry Foods, which are all top-notch, and Grain-Free. Maybe get a little Bag to see if she likes it before you buy it.

It's funny, you seem to know my MO. For a few weeks now, I've kept dry food sprinkled in one layer in a small bowl (that way I can tell if she's been nibbling). I got a couple of sample bags from a pet store a few weeks back - a dry variety of Merrick. She's eaten a few pieces - literally a few. Since she's eating moist food, her bowl gets washed nearly daily.

Thanks for the suggestion about the chicken treats (they're chicken tenders and glycerine) and they're fine; no recalls. I wouldn't have thought of that. The funny thing is, she asks for them - then just carries them around. A week ago when I bought them, she couldnt get enough of them.

This dog is making me lose my mind. A few months ago she was a little fire plug. Too fat and constantly wanting food - eating like it was her last meal. Now, I'm having to tighten her collar (again) - she's lost about 8 pounds and she looks like ideal weight pictures in the vet's office.

I don't mind making her food - it's nothing to boil up a chicken breast or whatever and shred it up with some veggies - but I don't know what she might be missing in that sort of a diet. Should I get a supplement I can sprinkle in or something?

 

[migtig]

I don't mind making her food - it's nothing to boil up a chicken breast or whatever and shred it up with some veggies - but I don't know what she might be missing in that sort of a diet. Should I get a supplement I can sprinkle in or something?

I feed dry kibble from Peppers and make my own.

Definitely get a supplement, Wysong Call of the Wild or Missing Link supplement are a couple of brands that are recommended. Do some internet research on healthy make your own recipes. There's a percentage ratio that you should consider when doing your own.

I make a batch and freeze portions and then nuke them to serve.

My boy loves this one
cooked bowtie pasta, raw shredded spinach, shredded raw carrots, cooked hamburger, and supplement

My girl loves this one
cooked rice, shredded raw broccoli, shredded par boiled sweet potatoes, cooked shredded chicken and supplement

 

[migtig]

Oh and you don't want to forget the oil. I use canola as the experts say it's best for dogs to promote essential fatty acids.

 

[bulldog]

If you dump the food directly in a plastic container, you should clean it out every couple of bags so the oils from the food don't go rancid and contaminate the new food added. You can use dish soap or vinegar and rinse and dry well.

I recently had a customer that admitted to dumping new food over old food in the bottom and he had no clue how old the bottom food was. YuK!

The cleaning never even crossed my mind so I'll have to give that a try.

I always use all of the food in the air tight bucket before adding more...unless I'm switching foods. If so, I mix about half a bucket of the old stuff with the bag of new stuff, shake it up real welll and begin to feed again.

Spoiled dog.