Picky eater / low weight / should I add wet food?

[Michele Kiss]

Fenway is a picky eater. He enjoys food in the sense that we can use treats for training, but tends to not eat his kibble readily. Often you have to feed him a few pieces of kibble to "get him started", or mix kibble and treats in a toy, to get him to eat. He's also pretty small - only 20lb (9mo old), and a skinny lil guy. He's a good 5-6lb smaller than all his siblings that I've met. 

He's often interested in OTHER dogs' food (e.g. if we go to a friend's house, he'll want their dog's food) but even if I buy that food to add in to his, he then won't eat it once he realises he can have it! 

I don't want to reward picky eating (e.g. I don't want to get in a habit of always adding treats to his food - that diminishes them for training!) or get him in the habit of eating when he's not hungry, but I also don't want him to be missing nutrients and food he needs, since he's still a growing pup. 

We feed him Fromm's Four Star, so it's good food... 

I have been wondering if we should start feeding him wet dog food, perhaps mixing that with kibble. What do others do for picky (kibble) eaters? Any wet foods of high quality that people recommend? 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

My Beau sounds similar to Fenway.  Recently I started putting 1 - 2 tablespoons of diced sweet potato pieces on top of his food or two or 3 chopped string beans.  He eats the topping, and then lays down about 3 feet from where is brother is methodically eating every piece of kibble individually.  When Charlie walks away, Beau goes to Charlie's bowl and eat any leftover kibble (which is 10 pieces at the most) and then proceeds to his feeding station and eats the rest of his own kibble.  He is definitely a strange fellow.  I think it is the pack mentality for Beau, although he is taller than Charlie, he does defer to him most of the time.  Whatever kibble Beau leaves in his bowl, I just leave it there and I noticed when we eat lunch he finishes his morning kibble. 

Maybe we should be thankful Michele ~ I take care of a mini goldendoodle occasionally and he will eat his food and everyone else's if he can get to it, in 60 seconds flat! Yikes.

[Michele Kiss]

Yeah totally Linda! I know other people who have had weight issues with their dogs later in life because they just scarf everything. And I don't want to teach him to eat when he's not hungry. I just don't want to be a bad puppy mommy and have him be malnourished or anything! 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Oh, I forgot to add, you might try a rotation of the Fromm Four Star - however, you would then have to buy smaller bags.  Karen, our food guru, will probably chime in here fairly quickly and can give you some tips.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You did a pretty good job, lol. :) 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Do not start adding wet food or any other topper to Fenway's food; that's how you create a picky eater in the first place. It doesn't really matter if Fenway is smaller than his siblings that you have met; I'm smaller than my siblings too, lol. If the vet feels his weight is good for his age and his bone structure, he seems healthy, and he has good energy, he's eating enough. A normal healthy dog will not starve himself. 

Fromm's Four Star line is designed to be rotated from one formula to another with each new bag. This is a simple, easy way to provide variety and keep a dog interested in his meals, and I recommend trying it. But beyond that, I would not do anything to try to tempt him into eating. Too often, that teaches the dog that if he holds out long enough, he might get something better. If you started adding canned food to his diet, eventually he would take that for granted too, and start holding out again hoping for something even better. Filet mignon, perhaps? LOL 

 Feed him plain kibble at set mealtimes, give him 15-20 minutes to eat, and then take the food away and do not offer more until the next scheduled mealtime. He will soon learn that food is not always available and if he wants to eat, he needs to do it when he has the chance or wait until the next opportunity. 

We have had many discussions here on the topic of picky eaters. Here is a link to my favorite one, which is not just educational but really funny, too. Please read it, I think you'll enjoy it and identify with it: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/an-ode-...

[Michele Kiss]

Thanks so much - that's really helpful. 

I have only ever tried two Fromms flavours so I might see about mixing it up, and buying smaller bags as Linda mentioned. 

Funnily enough I've normally been pretty chill about his lack of eating but we had a friend visit and I ended up feeling really bad about it, like I was neglecting him somehow :-/  

I'll stick to non-doctored kibble but maybe give him a new flavour or two to try. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One new flavor at a time, lol. And keep in mind that many people do equate feeding and food with love, but that can be an unhealthy mindset, for dogs and for people. Don't let those kinds of people make you feel guilty. 

[Lisa and Maizy]

Maizy also gets bored with her kibble. We mix it with Weruva wet food. It's very high quality and she loves it. It comes in many different flavors. Good luck. You can also add chicken broth to his kibble; most dogs live that. Just check the ingredients and make sure there isn't onion in the broth.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Weruva is not a FG recommended brand; it is made in Thailand. 

[Tracey & Spike]

Spike is the exact same. I think it's the picky poodle gene in them. I too kick start his eating by putting a few pieces on the floor which makes him clue in that "hey this is good!!" and then he goes to eat. As for other dog's food?? he will inhale anything there. I'm thinking because they eat the "big mac" crap food and that always tastes sooo much better!

Based on advice from my vet I didn't reward the picky eating. He always has food in his bowl. I never supplemented with wet food.. except for the two weeks where he literally lost all four canine's at once (I felt bad.. kibble is so hard and he didn't even have enough teeth to keep his tongue in!) They will never starve themselves. They will eat when they are hungry. I was just told to keep his food available and cut off all treats until he eats his bowl or a good portion of it. The only time the rules broke were when we were in class.

He's 9mths now and his eating habits are getting much better. He knows he gets NOTHING until he eats. Instead of eating a bowl every other day he's now eating most if not all everyday. Not till 10pm at night mind you.. but eating none the less :)

Just keep an eye on his weight and follow your vets advice. He'll be okay! But DONT CAVE!!! Don't make him more picky than he already is!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

All poodles are not picky, lol. My last poodle ate anything and everything, including brussels sprouts. JD on the other hand is much pickier than any other dog I ever had, and he is also the least "poodle-y" of any of my dogs. I honestly don't think it's breed related. 

[Tracey & Spike]

I know they aren't :) However we've had four poodles in the family and they have all been picky about one thing or another. I'm not saying it's a bad thing at all :) I just mentioned it like that because that's how my vet put it when I explained my concerns about the lack of appetite. Spikes breeder also mentioned it. His Dad is a fuss pot apparently. Like father like son indeed! haha