Food and a very picky dog!

[ToxicPoppy]

I have a 10 month old springer x who is a nightmare to feed as he just isn’t interested in food. Not actually sure how he functions a lot of the time to be honest, with how little he seems to eat!

When I got him at 8 weeks, he’d been weaned onto raw. Great, as I raw fed my last dog, so I’m confident doing that. A couple of weeks in, he just seemed to go off it and missed a couple of days worth of meals. Tried different brands, different textures, completes, DIY etc and he just wouldn’t touch more than a couple of mouthfuls. As a small puppy, this was quite stressful as obviously they need to eat regularly.

I decided to try a good quality wet and dry, and have had limited success with this. He’ll eat with gusto for a few days, then just stop. I’ve lost count of how much food I’ve thrown away uneaten. Tried just dry, as this cuts down on wastage, but he just doesn’t have enough of it as he’s not keen on any of the brands I’ve tried.

I’m at my wits end. Never had a picky dog before! Since Christmas, I’ve been trying the whole “he’ll eat when he’s hungry” and just taking food up and putting it back down at the next meal, very few treats (he’ll eat chewy things like pigs ears etc happily), but we’re now on meal 7 that he’s refused (wet food; there’s dry down all the time, but I haven’t topped the bowl up in ages). He just shows no excitement at all when I put food down, barely even acknowledges it’s there.

Any suggestions please? Things he will reliably eat: fresh cooked chicken, fresh cooked mince, raw carrot, most chewy treats like pigs ears, dried tripe etc etc, but not keen at all on any biscuit type things or anything too soft. Seems to like a chewy texture, but that doesn’t help with actual dog food! Can’t even begin to list brands we’ve tried. I’ve spent a bloody fortune so far!

HELP!

I don't know about UK brands... but leaving food down at all times definitely makes it very boring and reduces appetite at mealtimes.

It’s only this last week I’ve left food down. Normally it gets taken back up. None of it seems to make a difference however, as he just doesn’t seem to like or want anything.

Sounds difficult. I did some dog sitting a while ago and owner told me her dog was fussy about food.

I wasn’t surprised as they only fed one type of dry food day in day out.

Not my dog so obviously I couldn’t start feeding him different, so had to do the best I could. Things that worked including added a raw egg, other times warm water and let it soften, mixed in something super tasty or had a strong smell Eg small amount of chorizo (large dog).

When I look after my friends dog who is raw fed I sometimes put in carrot sticks to add some crunch. Her dog usually ignores the carrots if offered by themselves.

Other suggestions. Dog are more attracted by smell, so I never offer food that is fridge cold. Even very slightly warm will have more smell.

Im sure some dogs may like variety, so you could switch that up. Alternate soft with crunchy between the meals and mix within meals. Have you tried any fish based food? Try putting the reliable stuff on the top of dog food to get them started. Feed smaller amounts, more often.

Could it it be the bowl/plate? Try changing that, even to raising the bowl up or down to feeding off the floor. Could you change where he is fed, in case there is something else there that smells (floor cleaner, cat litter).

Lastly my own old dog always eat well, but the only time she didn’t, it was because her ID tag was clinking against the bowl as she ate.

How is his weight? I know it’s such a trial if they don’t seem to want to eat.
Does he have plenty of chew toys. I would have suggested checking his teeth, but as he likes chewing things that seems less likely. I think a vet check to rule out anything else is worth doing.

Our dog used to be really fussy but would always eat if someone fed him off a fork or spoon , not ideal but at least he was eating . He now is happily settled on Nature Diet wet but is still very adept at eating from cutlery .

Two of my spaniels have been like this. So very different to the lab who used to be eating out of the bowl before you'd got it near the floor... never expected to have to persuade a dog to eat!

One in the end had half a sachet of wet food morning and evening (varied, she got bored fast) and then snacked on all kinds of raw and scraps. She'd eat cucumber and bell peppers where any kind of biscuit she wouldn't touch, and she did fine on that.

The other had a sensitive tummy from the start and after multiple upsets (and trying every single wet and dry food in sight, none of which he liked, and he WOULD starve himself, he really would...) the vet put him onto provet wet and dry, telling me one flavour only and stick to it, and to try the venison first as it was most likely to be unusual/different to anything he'd had before. He has a small amount of the wet on top of the biscuits and that he does eat and enjoy more than anything else we've ever tried. Some days however he still does the 'I just can't face eating' thing and we have to make eating into a game by putting wet food in a cong or throwing biscuits until we get him going. Eating begats eating and if he goes too long between meals he starts to feel unwell and then doesn't want to eat and it can be hard to get him going again.

Thanks. Meant to say, I’ve tried metal/plastic/ceramic bowls, lick mats, snuffle mats, hand feeding, feeding off a plate/fork etc. If I put something he likes in his normal food, he just picks out the nice bits 😂 He’s really blooming hard work!

Good advice from Toomany. I wouldn't soften hard food with water though as I've read that that can make it really stick to their teeth. Definitely don't start feeding him off cutlery! You really don't want to be encouraging that! But you could try putting it on a plate if that would be easier for him to eat off.

How much exercise is he getting, if he gets lots of exercise with lots of running around fetching a ball on walks then he will have a bigger appetite. If he doesn't do much all day then he won;t be very hungry. He's not a poodle cross is he? I know three and none of them are big on food. I would stop all the really tasty foods, he's probably waiting for you to give in and give him them - I'd just let him have the odd bit of raw carrot. I'd also not leave food down. Put it down if he hasn't eaten it in 20 minutes then take it away - if he knows it's always there then he doesn't have to worry about when he's going to eat.

I know several people who have been worried about how much their puppy/young dog ate but all grew up to be fine and ate more as they got older - also always ate more when staying with me as I took them out 3 or 4 times a day for a good run!

Try something like raw eggs - you can coat the kibble with it so that he can't just pick out the egg.

Have you tried Butternut Box? I also have a fussy dog and this is literally the only thing she will eat... Warmed up in the microwave first or else she also won't touch it 🙄

My ddog is free fed dry. I simply scoop another lot into his bowl when it low. Never over eats and some days I find he doesn't eat much.

He gets loads of exercise, and he never stops bouncing around at home. Yes he’s poodle cross, my third one though and never had a picky one before!

Yesterday, he ate absolutely nothing, until about 7pm, when he had a bit of a tray of wet food in a kong (about 30g as an estimate). The rest is still stuck in there going off (kongs are great but god they’re awful to clean out when they don’t get eaten!). Today, so far, he’s eaten 4 pieces of kibble. He won’t touch raw egg. Occasionally he’ll eat it scrambled, but he’s not keen.

I’ve just ordered some Butternut Box. Hoping he likes it!

Stop offering him human foods completely. He'll be holding out for that! Speak to your vets for advice but if you're substituting him not eating dog food by offering him cooked chicken, eggs ect he's going to get poorly from not having a complete diet and in a puppy it can cause growth issues and behavioural problems x

I've heard loads of good things about butternut box

You don't need to feed dog food to give them a complete diet - home cooked food is fine as long as you get the balances right.

It’s very, very rare that I offer him human food, but when I’ve got a growing pup who has gone almost a week without eating a full meal, I’m eventually going to feed him something he will eat as I’m more worried about his weight and wellbeing than anything else.

It's incredibly dangerous to feed any animal a home formulated diet unless it's been approved by someone with legit qualifications in animal nutrition (not a £40 online course). I work in the industry and have seen many animals with ricketts and other life changing issues because they've been fed wrongly even after the O thinks they've done there research and have spoken to "nutritionists" at the pet shop.
I'm not saying that's the case for OP or you, but it can have life changing, expensive and potentially fatal consequences of done wrong.

Yes - that's why I said you need to get the balances right.

Oh for sure it's a difficult balance isn't it, I'm not saying that that's all you're offering but it's probably contributing to him holding out for better food. In his head he just waits for the good stuff!
I hope you find something soon!

How much variety is he getting? It's not fun to eat the same thing for every meal whether you're a dog or a human.
There's a dog trainer on fb called Sally Bradbury and she posted once about what she feeds her dogs. Over 10 days they had 20 different meals.
Yes it works to put food down, pick it up when not eaten, and let the dog realise that it won't eat unless they have what you give them. But it can also work just as well to change it up.
If a human only ate one thing for ages and then suddenly ate something new they would have a dicky tummy too. It's the same for dogs. So variety is a good thing not a bad thing.

And just to add our dog gets human cooked food as well as regular dog food. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Lily's kitchen has a great recipe book if you want to give it a go, although this evening our pup is having some roast dinner (made suitable for him).

My 7 month old lab has decided that today she doesn’t want to eat her food out her bowl or snuffle mat but will eat it if it’s hand fed 😑

In answer to how much variety is he getting - it would be lots if he actually ate any of it! Our routine is literally give him food, he ignores it, pick it up and put it in the fridge, offer it again, he ignores it, food eventually needs throwing away, and the cycle starts all over again. It’s incredibly frustrating!

Oh dear then I do feel for you!
Butternut box is good. Also try different dog if he prefers wetter food (same sort of thing as bbox)You can heat it up a little too.

Bullshit!!! It's only been the last 70years or so that 'dog food' was even available!! Before that they had table scraps and were fine!

Human food is perfectly ok. You need to make sure they are having a balanced diet but you don't need to have it approved by anybody! Vets know bugger all about nutrition for dogs.