Lincoln doesn't eat well

[Diane Denney]

Hi everyone!!  Lincoln Doodle is being very picky when he eats.  I feed him Blue Buffalo, Lamb, or Chicken, and Large Breed, and also some of the canned Blue Buffalo as well, but I always have to jump start his eating by hand, and sometimes even that doesn't work.  He is on Prozac, and I know that that could be causing him some gastric upset as he has thrown up after starting to eat a couple of times, but he doesn't seem to have any problem wanting food from my plate...grrrrrr....Does anyone have any advice for a picky eater?  I've been thinking of taking him off the Prozac now that he is past two years of age, but he still has some issues.  I need to discuss this with the behaviorist.  I brought home a sample of Precise Food, but I noticed the reviews aren't that high.  He did seem to like it though.  I brought the Holistic Precise Large Breed home.  I'm getting so tired of trying new foods for him.  Right now I put sweet potato over the top of his food and that usually works to some degree, but not consistantly.  I'm afraid he might be spoiled now.  I tried Natural Choice for sensitve stomachs too, and Wellness which is will not eat at all.  Not sure where to go from here.  Thanks a bunch!!!

[Diane Denney]

I am already topping his food with canned Blue Buffalo different flavors, and sweet potato.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

Sounds like he is bored with the kibble. Have you tried mixing in some chicken broth, tuna fish, cooked chicken/liver, canned dog food, cottage cheese etc?

[Diane Denney]

Yeah I've been putting sweet potato, real potato, canned dog food.  I've tried Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Choice...the list goes on.  He loves real chicken.  My vet told me that you can ruin a dog doing this, and that a dog usually will eat, but I can't do tough love because he is taking the Prozac, and he'll end up with a sick stomach if I leave him go on empty.  He loves for me to feed him by hand...I just wondered if there is a dog food that Doodles prefer.

[carolyn fornell]

My doodle Glory has a whacky eating schedule. He is 10 mo. old and I have been thru all the "toppings' i used to cook tidbits until I was a slave, By throwing up my hands, I discovered he doesn't much like breakfast, but likes to eat about 2 or 3 then he will also eat all of his dinner around 6. Don't know if this helps, but hang in there. They seem to be smarter than we are.

[Diane Denney]

Oh I agree with that...they are smarter than we are...

[Taylor & Huff]

Huff also dosen't like eating early. You shouldn't feed him by hand, he will get picky and want you to hand feed him every time.

[Diane Denney]

I wish I never tried to.  It was just to try and get him started.  I feed him some by hand and then he eats the rest himself.  I do believe he's feeling a bit nauseous from the medication.  The vet said I could give him some Pepcid, but I hate to add more things.

[Gail+Kathleen,(Sydney+Olivia:)]

Our Sydney is also a bit of a handful too!  She is high energy so when we really exercise her, she is much better.  She needs a houseful of kids.  She is now six years old and slowly getting better.  We have never put her on any medication to calm her down.  We probably needed it more than she did.  We were feeding both of our Doodles Dick Van Patten Natural Balance Ultra Premium for years.  We switched their diet to Canine Caviar last July and they love it and their poo and coats are great.  We put one scoop of canned food on top of the kibble.  We also give them a raw carrot cut up after dinner and some non fat yogurt.  The Canine Caviar is pricey but it's worth it for us.  You can read up about it on line.  Don't know if you can find it in Pet Stores close to you.  There are not many around her who carry it either since it is so expensive.  It balances out since they only need to eat half of what the regular dog foods recommend.  We either order it from one of the pet stores or on line.  The Food Group seems to rave about Orijen.

[Lisa and Summer]

We leave our doodle Summers food down all the time. She was not the best eater as a puppy but she has gotten better.  She will eat about 11 in the morn. Then some in the evening. Sometimes she will grab a midnight snack. We do not have any other pets so leaving her food down is not a problem. We feed her Orijen and she loves it.

It is pricey though.

[Diane Denney]

Lincoln was difficult to train because he could not focus which is why the behaviorist put him on the Prozac.  It just enables him to focus so that we can get down to some serious training.  He is definitely a handful, and is always into everything which drives us crazy.  He knows the leave it command very well so he is choosing to misbehave.  He's also smart enough to know that if I have treats and he goes to get something he shouldn't I'll say leave it, and he'll leave it and come for the treat so he does it on purpose after that because he wants the treat...;)   He is also very dominant, and has exciteable aggression on the walk when he sees other dogs (some dogs he doesn't seem as worried about).

[Taylor & Huff]

Sorry for so many replys, but maybe you should take him off the prozac maybe that is making him feel sick and like he has an upset tummy. :(  

[Diane Denney]

Yes that is what is causing some nausea I'm sure.  The behaviorist, and my vet will assess the situation very soon, and we'll see what we will do then.  It has helped so much, and we would hate to stop the treatment too soon.  We have been told that he should be able to come off the medication, but he still has some issues, and it worries me taking him off too soon.