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!!!

[Lorraine Bromley]

Have you tried to just leave it out and let him make his way to it when he wants to. Our dog has a tendency to eat about one o'clock in the morning.

[Diane Denney]

I can not leave his food out unfortunately because I have cats, and the vet doesn't recommend that anyway.  They told me to pick up his food after 15 minutes if he doesn't eat.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

When does the vet recommend that you then give it back to him?  If it isn't till the next meal, does he want to eat it then?  I ask because my girls are grazers and don't especially eat when I put it down in the morning or when I refill in the evenings!  I did think that they were bored with their Blue a while back so I switched them to TOTW and they seem to like that pretty well.  At least they are eating it better than the Blue.  I was trying pumpkin, sweet potatoes and yogurt on top of their Blue and they didn't want that either.

[Diane Denney]

I feed Lincoln twice a day because he is a big dog (almost 80 pounds) and want to avoid bloat.  So the "Tough Love" theory is that if he doesn't eat in 15 minutes or so you pick up the food, and he eats at the next sitting.  I have found that he does eat better when I do this, but I have had times when he doesn't.  He doesn't get anything in between either.  This is suppose to put them back on track eventually.  They say a dog will not starve himself.  I think they get spoiled.  I could do this if he wasn't on the Prozac, but he gets a sicky stomach so I don't want him to feel puky :(  What does TOTW stand for?  I've never seen that food.  He really did seem to like the Precise Holistic Food.  I asked the vet if buying a store brand would work, and she said sure if it doesn't contain alot of dyes or alot of corn.  It gets tiring because I'm trying to get ready to go to work, and I've got to sit and hand feed him...sigh...I'd really like him to eat on his own, but I really don't think it will happen unless he comes off the Prozac.

[Diane Denney]

I should add that I usually feed him the first few bites, and then he starts eating on his own.  Strangely enough I have a cat that likes to be hand fed too because she was sick and I had to syringe feed her and she got used to that.  Thankfully she does eat alone...phew...

[Pam and Ginger Snap]

TOTW  Taste of the Wild

[Diane Denney]

Ah thank you!!

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

you want a food with NO dyes and NO corn.

[Taylor & Huff]

We feed Huff once a day around 10:00pm and 11:00 pm (sometimes 9 or whenever we get home). And we feed him boiled chicken and rice with veggies. He eats about a really big bowl full. Huff is about 84lbs and 1 1/2 years old. You could add something intising to his food like fish oil (which also helps the coat), or peanut butter that has been mixed in well. Why is he on Prozac?

[Diane Denney]

Hi Taylor, Lincoln is on Prozac as he was extremely dominant, and we were having a very difficult time, and were at our wits end.  He also has some exciteable aggression on the walk with other dogs.  The behaviorist says it's like ADHD.  We had such a hard time getting him to focus.  He is much better now, but still tries to challenge us.  He is not suppose to be on it forever, but it's been a while now.  I'm not sure how long we will continue.  Tonight he passed a dog that he barked at last summer and did fine.  Hopefully we can wean him off soon :D

[Diane Denney]

Unfortunately my cats will eat it, and then I'll have a whole other problem on my hands...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Have you thought about adding a "topping" to his food.... Some canned pumpkin, yogurt, shreds of cheese, or veggies (green beans usually work).  That might make his meal a little more interesting.