VERY, VERY Picky Eater

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

Hi Folks,

I'm new to DK and have just started looking for help feeding my very picky eating doodle.  I'm sorry if this topic has been "talked out" but please bear with me, I don't know what to do and almost bought a bag of Old Roy dog food :/   I have 2 doodles, Fozzie who is almost 4, Shaggy who just turned 10 months, and Gus who is a 13 year old black lab.  I am so used to Gus who will eat ANYTHING.  He has allergies so throughout his life I have had to be careful about what I feed him. Shaggy seems to be following Gus' eating habbits (without the allergies) eating anything as long as he can lay in his crate to eat it.  Fozzie is my picky eater.  He will like a food for maybe one or two meals (he's fed in the morning and evening though I have tried to feed him just once a day), but then will completely ignore the food for the next few meals, then maybe he'll eat a few bites before walking away.  I do pick up the food after about 30 minutes, the other dogs will steal it. He's a very trim 60lb doodle who really shouldn't loose weight. 

So, here is what I have tried over the last 4 years - Innova puppy and adult food for a year, then switched to Wellness, then to Canidae, then Blue Buffalo, then EarthBorn, and now I'm back to Blue Buffalo.  I also tried a limited ingred. Duck formula somewhere between the Inova and Canadea.  Each time I changed he would love it for a few meals then refuse to eat it for the next several meals.  I have mixed eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, different types of canned food, apple sauce, a few drops of baccon grease, cereal (many kinds), milk, .... you get the idea, I've tried many different things and what will work great yesterday, I may have to throw away today because he WILL NOT eat it. 

Finally, I was determined to get a lesser quality of food this week if that's what it would take to get him to eat regularly.  I just couldn't make my self put a bag of truly lousy food in my cart and I spent almost 2 hours walking up and down the isles reading, comparing, and agruing with myself!!  I ended up with Blue Buffalo -chicken and rice, and on the advice of an employee, my next bag will be the same brand but different flavor.  With all the food I've tried, except for the duck formula, I usually stayed with a fish formula. 

 

I would really appreciate any helpful thoughts, comments, adivce you could share.  I'm tired of changing food and wonder if I've made things worse for doing so.  I'm also tired of worrying that I'm doing the wrong thing by wanting him to eat good food which he appears not to like. 

Thank you... first for reading all the way through my letter and second for you help!!

Please forgive spelling mistakes, I couldn't find spell check ;-)

 

This is just a thought I've had about dog food... 

If someone could make a healthy dog food that taste like cow sh--, rotten deer carcass, or brand new expensive leather shoes, they would make a fortune, I think.

 

[Renee Bogi]

I had the same problem with my doodle and husky. My 2 really like natural balance rolls. all flavors but i try to stick with lamb. They sell it at petco and specialty shops. you can get small samples (also great for treats and rewards) for 99 cents each.  I usually get the huge roll (most cost effective) then slice it and put in baggies bin the freezer as individual meals. It is like a giant sausage.  they LOVE it.  I was also advised to grind/shave it like parm cheese then put some over the dry kibble. It makes a gravy when mixed with warm water.  I guarantee they will love it.  http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/

They also make a dry line, grain free and for allergies.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's on our recommended list. The problem is, they will usually like any new food for awhile. You can't keep switching forever.

Also, most of the NB formulas are really low in protein. They're great for dogs who have health issues, but for healthy dogs, the protein levels should be higher than most of the NB formulas. My guy has IBD and needs an LID formula, so I feed NB, but I wouldn;t if I had another choice.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned is a picky eater and Clancy and my Springer are not. Ned has always eaten - alone, in the dark, in the middle of the night. He rarely 'cleaned his plate' and often skipped meals. He was healthy and fit so, unless I specifically needed him to eat, I refused to worry about it. It didn't change his eating habits, but he didn't get sick or die either! Last fall we changed to Orijen because of our Springer. Ned LOVES, LOVES, LOVES it. He almost always eats within 10 minutes. I am not pushing a change to Orijen because Ned likes it, i'm just saying that picky eaters are just fine even when you don't cater to their pickiness.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I was hoping you would comment, Nancy. Orijen also turned JD from a picky eater to a chowhound, but I know other dogs didn;t love it. They are all so different.