My dog is a spoilt entitled diva. Help please.

[PooSlave]

I have an extremely fussy 7 year old ShihPoo. She is the fussiest and most stubborn dog I’ve ever owned.

I have tried every food known to man with her and she goes off it within days. I’ve tried raw feeding, she looked at me like I’d slaughtered her favourite stuffy when it was served. She wouldn’t even sniff it.

She’s predominately had a mixed wet and dry diet since being a pup, but in the last few months has rejected wet completely and now she’s turning her nose up at dry food.

I have noticed that removing the wet food has improved her itchy skin and slightly loose stools

She is currently sat ignoring her kibble bowl and sitting by the beef joint in our slow cooker looking sad and longingly. I admit to giving her human food if she refuses to eat because she gets sick and vomits bile if she doesn’t eat.

She likes the kibble on offer as she’s eaten it every morning for years. She just doesn’t want it and won’t eat it for her evening meal. I’ve tried adding toppers, eggs or fish oil to make it more appetising but she refuses.

I’ve tried using toys, games and slow feeders to interest her but to no avail.

She’s been checked out by the vet and she’s fine. Especially so as she’ll eat treats but not dog food. I don’t want to feed a homemade fresh diet as I don’t have time and already have 3 DC to feed.

I’ve tried every brand worth trying. What can I do to get her to eat? I’m at my wits end.

Watching this thread as I have a Diva dog also (cavapoo).

I've never had a fussy eater dog but these people are always advertising on Facebook

https://butternutbox.com

@Chuchoter TY. I’ve used butternut before and ended up donating a whole months order as she ate it twice and refused to touch it again.

Ok I can’t vouch for this and I do it for my PITA cat but when she goes off her food I will feed her a chicken breast or thigh for her dinner. That seems to satisfy the longing and she goes back to her regular food. If time is an issue you could make a big batch of mince, peas, carrots and gravy and refrigerate it?

She has you trained.

No treats. Food down, if she turns her nose up at it you take it away after 15 minutes. Same at her next meal time. Rinse and repeat. No healthy dog will starve itself. At the moment she is training you beautifully to make lovely things appear in her bowl. I had to do this with my dog and he protested for about a day and now he eats his meals without complaint. Everyone is much happier.

She's just not hungry enough to cave yet and knows you will give in and give her the good stuff. She has basically trained you to give her human food. You need to be tough and wait it out.

The fact she'll eat it in the morning but not the evening speaks volumes. She has just learnt that there may be better on offer in the evening

Brands I’ve used and she’s rejected:

Nutriment
Different dog
Country Hunter (raw and wet varieties)
Butternut box
Canagan (wet and dry)
Lilys Kitchen
Edgard and Cooper
Ceasar
Chappie
Barking Heads (wet and dry)
Harrington’s

I’m sure there are others.

Could you get the DC to hand feed her the evening kibble?

I've a friend who did this for her dog when he was poorly, and it really did get calories in to a dog that was otherwise off his feed.

Or just be heartless and drop to one meal a day (gradually offer more in the morning and less in the evening).

Yes I agree this is a battle of wills and she wants the better stuff. I need to break the habit.

She has just come crying in to the lounge as she’s hungry. I’ve directed her to her bowl but she’s snorted in protest and is waiting by the fridge where she knows chicken appears around this time because I’ve given in to save her vomiting.

I’m determined to sort this out as she’s being a madam.

Should I just offer kibble in the morning and evening? She usually gets a stuffed Kong each morning, should I also cut this out?

Has she been allergy tested? Our dog was like this until she was allergy tested, she is gluten intolerant and now eats fine.

Something completely different... but have you had her teeth checked lately?
One of my friends had similar issues with their 8 y old dog, feeding got gradually worse over time and was put down to being fussy/ spoilt. Nearly 2 years later, and some weight loss attributed to old age and it turned out ddog had a terrible abscess & infected gums around the back molars. Teeth had to be removed, some antibiotics and the little doggy is as good as new!

If she's fine, I would turn this into a battle of wills! Ddog won't starve herself!

In case you fancy trying one more brand, I have a dog that is also very fussy and I'd tried quite a few brands and also raw. She liked them for a short time and then went off them all. I then tried a brand called CiFood, it's been 6 months now and she still loves it! I mix their wet tray food (Top Drawer) and dry food (Tickety Boo). I have no idea why this brand has succeeded when all the others failed, but I'm extremely grateful to now have a dog that enjoys mealtimes!

This. You’re being far too soft.

Stop offering her so many alternatives. She won’t starve. Our Lab managed 4 days before he cracked.

You need to get firmer with her.

Food down in the morning, leave it for 20 minutes, then remove. She then gets absolutely nothing else until her next meal (no treats and certainly no chicken from the fridge!). Rinse and repeat until she realises her only option is her dry food.

They're not stupid, if they know there is something better on offer then of course they'll hold out for it.

Being firmer is easier said than done when you have a dog that hunger vomits.

We tried the hard hearted approach and had a dog that lost 10% of their body weight in a week and was vomiting bile daily.

And at the same time, I had a lab, food should be enjoyment. I wouldn't starve myself either if only liver was on offer but I certainly wouldn't enjoy meal times.

It is easier said than done, as are most things when it comes to dog ownership sadly.

This dog has eaten this food happily for years - it's not as though OP is forcing her to eat something new that she clearly hates. A diet of fresh chicken isn't good for her long-term anyway, so it's really not a good solution to her refusing a balanced diet.

Oh I hear you so much!! I have a super fussy dog (cavalier king Charles spaniel) and I have tried so many brands and kibble/pate/tins/raw. He barely eats. I can confirm that the phrase "a healthy dog won't starve itself" is NOT true. My dog, like yours, vomits bile. I tried the hard approach and i gave up after four days of vomiting bile and no eating.

At the moment I am feeding kibble by hand and it is working a tiny bit. He will eat it a bit. Have you tried hand feeding? Sometimes I will have to sit there a while and pretend to eat the kibble myself. Then I offer one kibble at a time. He has finally put a bit of weight on doing this!

I feel your pain . I have a very fussy frenchie and his now equally fussy partner in crime who will now only eat meat from the butcher and human food so I'm batch cooking diced beef n veggies , salmon fillets n veggies, Chicken breasts etc.
It's my fault , when the first one wouldn't eat I got so fed up I cooked chicken breast to tempt him and now anything ' lesser' is refused . The vet said a dog won't starve itself but after day 3 of just picking at a few biscuits I caved .

You need to choose the food and stick with it. At the moment she has you well-trained. No dog will starve itself. It'll be hard for a few days but who said dog ownership was easy all the time?

Tin of sardines with kibble?

I knew by the description you were going to say your dog is a Shihpoo! I have one of those little divas too. She was on Orijen puppy to start but once moved over to Orijen adult turned her nose up and we’ve had a good run on CI food as mentioned above, she’s gone off that now too and am awaiting a shipment for Pure Pet food. I hope she’ll enjoy this as it does sound a bit more interesting than dry food with toppers 😅my girl does the same, leaves her food them vomits bile. She’s such a worry and has anal gland issues too so I need her to have good poos. Good luck I hope you can find something she’ll eat long term

Have you tried raising her bowl and warming her food?
Mine is not a fussy eater but I warm her food as I think it's gentler on her tummy.
I pour some boiling water or stock (allowed to cool, the fat removed and then watered down as it can be very rich, before being reheated) onto her wet food.
I then test it with my finger so it's just warm.
Serving it warm makes the food smell more which appeals to dogs.

You are giving her two meals a day and a stuffed kong. If she has had a vet check and nothing is wrong especially with her teeth then you will need to retrain her how to eat.

I expect she is just getting too much food and being fussy over food is pretty easy for her.

Put down a smaller bowl of kibble than usual in the morning. Pick it up after 20 mins. Do not give any treats at all offer evening meal again a small portion.

If she vomits so be it.

It is not the food you are giving her that will make a difference it is how she is being fed.

How much does she weigh?

Also increase her exercise.

Even if you do start home cooing her food she will start to turn her nose up at certain ingredients so I doubt that this will be the answer.