Dog feeding high maintenance dog stress

[stargazerlil]

Anyone have any advice on protocols to introduce to get my dog -a terrier, poodle, bichon , chihuahua cross nearly. 3 years old to eat on her own.
from puppy she was very difficult with eating on her own
feeding time is very stressful. She still likes to be hand fed.
I don’t have time for it.
I've tried many times to break this habit, have had some success sometimes.
any ideas? Looking for suggestions thanks.

Leave the dog with the food until she eats it?

Honestly just stop hand feeding her, she will not purposely starve herself. It might be a case of her refusing to eat a few meals but when she realises she isn’t going to be hand fed she will eat it. I would also try changing her bowl if you haven’t already, some dogs prefer a plate or a stainless steel bowl over a plastic one for instance.

Ceramic bowl, is not the problem. Just stopping obviously would be the best idea. No food means no treats as treats cause diarrhoea if no food I. Stomach. No treats mean pain in the arse dog. Any other ideas?

Nope tried it.

Assume you’ve ruled out any medical reasons for her lack of appetite? That’s step one obviously

If it’s not physical, it’s likely that you are caving in before she does! A healthy dog won’t starve themselves but a moderately hungry one will easily go a couple of days without eating before eventually caving in. You have to be stronger willed than she is and wait for moderately hungry to turn into starving hungry

its not medical. She seems to be afraid to eat though. I know I am going to have to be stronger willed and just hold out.

Yes it means no food at all unless she eats it herself from her bowl. You are giving in to her every single time so it’s a never ending cycle.

Forget the bowl and scatter it on the floor?

Used to do that with her kibble when a puppy, she’s now on raw so no.

Is her collar on? Sometimes the noise of tag on bowl is scary….

Switch back to kibble?

You hand feed raw?
I think you need to go back to kibble and scatter it.
Raw doesn't suit all circumstances (we raw feed)

No

I won’t go back to kibble, that was only whist I could figure out what she would eat, she likes the raw and it is the best food she can have. As much as I hate having to hand feed, I am still not going to compromise food quality for my ease.

No, it’s good for dogs. It carbohydrate and filler, sticks to their teeth cause cavities and they can’t easily digest it.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion and if feeding raw is working for you, then that’s great.
Kibble is a very broad term for a huge range of qualities though, so you are not being fair to tar it all with the same brush. There are many which are grain free and 70%+ meat.

Can you tell me a brand that is 70% meat, maybe I’ll look into it. I haven’t found that yet. Thanks.

I feed Millies Wolfheart. They have many options ranging from 40-80% meat. I use the 70% version

Best place for advice is allaboutdogfood.com where all brands are compared and nutritionally analysed. Eden,autarky,fish4dogs are all high quality alternatives, plus others but I can’t remember them all off the top of my head!

How are you hand feeding?

One small mouth size bit?
or
holding food in your hand and her taking the food from a larger amount of food?

She is spoilt 🤷‍♀️
If you want to stop you need to play the long game. Stop hand feeding and eventually her hunger will take over.
Scatter feed, use snuffle mats, slow feeder bowl, angled bowl, large plate, puzzle feeders, cardboard box with food hidden in it to get her to work for her food…
There are lots and lots of things you can try.
I have a v damaged ex puppy farm rescue who has major food anxiety ( due to fights over food in farm). I just had to keep going until I found a way for her to realise food was safe and plentiful. Routine, time and patience and no spoiling- it’s a dog

Its not just your ease though, your dog might be more likely to eat it unassisted.
Thats the only reason I suggested it, I think raw feeding is great but its not for every dog

Like someone else has said, unless it's a medical issue then I'd leave her with it until she does eat it. She won't starve herself to death and will eventually learn to feed herself :)

No she loves the raw food and if I hand feed it it down her in seconds, when I gave her kibble it took ages to throw it around the room, when I decided to try kibble on its own, I ended up doing chicken toppers so she’d eat on her own. I’m not going back to cooked chicken lol. But thanks.

If she genuinely loves it, then she will (eventually) eat it from a bowl. Time for a bit of tough love OP!

Lolz!
Your dog has trained you well @stargazerlil
Don’t think dogs don’t train their humans, because they absolutely do.

No dog will starve itself.

Leave the food in the bowl, take it away if it’s not eaten and offer it later .

Hand feeding is absolutely ludicrous unless a dog is very poorly and needs coaxing for a couple of days.

I had a fussy feeder, and dreaded mealtimes
She eats Lilys kitchen and human grade meat

From a bowl .
(Now)