Help!! My Doodle won't eat!

[Donna Collins]

My goldendoodle is 13 months old and a month a go I switched her to adult food and she has become really picky about her food. I feed her twice a day but sometimes she just won't eat her meal. If I leave it out she will eventually eat it but I don't like this method because sometimes I need her to eat before we leave. I totally changed brands from puppy food to adult but keep the same meat source which was chicken. I switched from Blue Buffalo to Acana. I tried the beef formula no change. When I put the food in her bowl she just pushes it around with her nose and walks off!! Any suggestions? Do I keep switching foods or just wait it out? What about mixing in some wet food?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, this is your answer. Just stop worrying about it, she'll be fine. :) 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

My AnnaBelle is somewhat of a picky eater.  She has only ever had two types of food.  Her Puppy Fromm and now her Adult Formula Fromm.  However, she would turn her nose up at her Fromm but then go over and lick any juice or crumb she could find from Lucy's bowl.  I didn't want to feed her the same food as Lucy because it is a limited ingredient food because of Lucy's allergies and I didn't think that would be good for a growing puppy.  What I have done that has really helped is I slightly dampen both of their foods.  Not wet and moist, just a little warm water.  Then I add about 6-7 pieces of Lucy's food to AnnaBelle's bowl ... and she eats!  She rarely ever cleans out her bowl, but she eats.  I'm convinced Dog Food companies are upping the amount on the bag that they need to sell more food.  So, maybe try adding just a little warm water to the dry kibble and see if that will help.  The other day I sat her bowl down and she sniffed and walked away from it.  Mike said did you give her some of Lucy's kibble and I said, oops, no I didn't.  As soon as I added it she gobbled the bowl up.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, and I'd bet that if you started giving Annabelle Lucy's food exclusively, it would not be long before she would sniff her bowl and walk away from it. :) 

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

My first post on DK was about the exact food issue you are having but by the time I asked the question I had changed foods, brands and formula, more times than I care to count.  I followed Karen's advice and have actually stayed with the same BB brand for almost a year and a half now which is a record for us!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

(pictures of little smiley faces) 

[Chelsea Sifers]

Karen, I have the same issue with Maisy sometimes (aside from her digestive issues we are talking about in a seperate discussion). I don't have her on meal times and just leave her bowl down and refill it when she decides to eat. Sometimes I even hand feed her to get her to eat...I know that's really bad. My issue is that if her tummy is too empty (mostly in the mornings) she will throw up, like if she hasn't eaten close enough to bed time or if we sleep in too late on the weekends. So sometimes I'm just trying to get her to eat any way I can to prevent that...