Does nayine else have EXTREMELY fussy dogs? So sick of the issue around food with them.

[Punf]

I have 2 dogs, 4 and 5 that are just so fussy.

They will eat something new for a few days to a week then completely stop.
They will just not eat to the point where they're throwing up frothy bile from having an emtpy stomach.

They've had raw diets, butternut box, harrintons, millie wolf heart, Barking heads, butchers, nature diet.

All of them they're enthusiastic for a few days then the same shit starts again.

With dry food I have to add warm water and tinned fish to get them to eat.

I'm just so sick of it.

Any advice?

I have a £85 bag of Barking heads they won't touch and I've given them nature diet wet food this morning and it's untouched.

Pick a food. Stick to It. Don’t add anything.
If they don’t eat then remove food. Next meal offer half. If they scoff it then increase portion size for next meal. If not then half that. No treats. Worked for my madam.

Even if they're vomiting from an empty stomach? 😭

I agree I’d just leave it down for a few mins twice a day, if they don’t it then take it up and walk away.

if they aren’t clinically vulnerable (diabetic etc) or significantly underweight, then they will be fine

Raw was the only thing that worked for my fusspot - he gets kibble for breakfast and some raw for dinner. Removing his food didn’t work, he would just vomit frothy hunger bile - v common amongst his mix apparently.

How many days have you left them without food? And I mean anything except water?

Someone on a dog group that I’m on got to 6 days 😲

No healthy dog will starve itself to death. Do as other posters have suggested and choose a food and stick to it . Fussy dogs are made not born. Ignore the yellow bile. It's not serious.

My first dog was very fussy and skinny - got quite a bit better after being castrated though. I assume if you've got several dogs they've been done already though?

I doubt any ddog in The Land would starve itself to death.

Exactly what we do with our GSD. He's been in the same food for 6 years.

It sounds stupid, but peer pressure worked on one dog who was getting fussy and turning his nose up at things he used to like, with the vet not able to find anything wrong.

Basically, when preparing his meals we pretended to eat from the bowl making rapturous yum-yum noises, before giving him the 'leftovers'. Anything he left was quickly grabbed and 'finished' with great enjoyment by someone else. It did reverse his fussy tendencies.

Raw worked here too. On a dog that went without food for so long we ended up at the vet.

We have to pretend the cat is going to eat our dogs dinner to get him to eat it 🙈😂

He prefers a high meat content so I go with that.

My little man was terrible for this for years, but he’s been slightly better the last four months or so. Better as in he now eats most of most meals, although less so in hot weather.

After chopping and changing I’ve found what works for him. He’s now on Orijen Regional Red (dry food), which I chose specifically because it’s calorie and nutrient dense and he simply doesn’t need to eat anywhere near as much of it in order to get a full meal. It’s good high quality stuff. Every two or three days I also boil up a batch of chicken legs and wings for ages, and mix a bit of the meat and gelatin-rich stock into every meal (heated). This seems to go down well, although he definitely eats less in warm weather.

Like yours if he misses a meal he feels sick and pukes, which makes him want to avoid food even more. So the like-it-or-lump-it approach mentioned above never really worked for him. Believe me, I tried!

Not more than a day tbh. I just can't do it. I end up making them eggs and chicken or something!

Yes both have been done. They're boy/girl

They've had raw.

Admittedly they were happier for a longer time but it still resulted in the same outcome eventually

And I just don't have the freezer space or the means to run a seperate freezer

I had one. He'd eat whatever I'd got for a few days and then turn his nose up - knowing that I'd get something "better"

We got to the stage where he was refusing veal steak.

So I put his biscuits down for 10 mins and then took them away. Did it twice a day. No treats etc. He lasted almost 4 days.

He almost broke me. I was so close to giving in and running to the shop for some smoked salmon or something 🤦‍♀️

He'll eat anything now.

My dogs the same and it droves me mad too. I've tried starving her out but she cries non stop, just follows me around grubling and crying at me all day, sits on the sofa beside me in the evening grumbling and crying. I don't have the stamina to wait that out.

That’s the problem then! They are waiting for you to cook for them! Just leave them and let them go 3 days or so. They will eat!

Feed at regular times but half the amount you usually do .

Do not give any other treats at all.

I pick up the food after a while if they do not eat it and then offer it at the second meal.

They need to get back into the habit of having regular meals at regular times. When they are eating this you can gradually increase the amount

I’m the same - watching him vomit up froth because he’s hungry isn’t nice. The man that went 6 days is hardcore.

Fussy dogs are made not born. Ignore the yellow bile. It's not serious.

I've got two dogs, one incredibly fussy, and one who acts like she hasn't eaten for days at every meal and each have been like that since the day they were brought home. Fussy pup refuses all sorts of treats, chews, human food as well as her regular meals. We have arrived at something she will consistently eat - kibble with various toppers (we rotate about 5 different things) but it took us a year to get there and a few kgs of weight loss that she really couldn't afford to lose.

And I thought mine was bad!

He eats better than we do but can still go 3 days if he doesn't want what's on offer!

Today all he's had is the piece of cheese he gets with his medicine lol He's hungry, I know it and he knows it, think he's holding out for liver. So much worse than any cat I've had!

We got to the stage where he was refusing veal steak
We've never got this far!! 😆

Not more than a day tbh. I just can't do it. I end up making them eggs and chicken or something!

I don't know how to say this kindly but - this is a problem entirely of your own making 🤦🏻‍♀️

Why are you cooking chicken and eggs for them every time they refuse a meal? No wonder they're not bloody eating their own food 😂