I (we) created a really bad habit ...

[Nikki & Charlie]

So my family and I created a bad habit with Charlie that we're now kicking ourselves for. As charlie got older we started introducing new foods to him, pieces of apples or bananas here and there, maybe some chicken or broccoli, etc. Each time we gave him this new food we put it in his bowl, sometimes during his breakfast or dinner with his own food. Well after time, he is now refusing to eat his food until we put something in it. An egg, meat, cheese, anything he likes. If we don't, he will not eat. 

How can we undo this? If at all. 

This also got me thinking. I know Acana is the best of the best (as with Orijen) and I had charlie on orijen for a while but his stool was consistently soft/pudding and when I switched to Fromm it became better, more solid. I also liked that I could switch the flavours around. Now that he only eats his food if it's topped up with some sort of treat (human food or his own treats) I'm wondering if I should try Acana? He's obviously not eating his food for the flavour so I'm wondering if I should switch him to a better food.... he's been eating the Fromm four star line. 

His stools are still not consistently hard. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, this is why we warn against toppers. 

The only way you're going to "undo" this is going to involve some tough love. It's not going to be fun, for Charlie or for you.

A normal healthy dog will not starve himself to death. So you're going to have to give him his food plain, give him 10 minutes to eat during which you sit nearby and keep distractions to a minimum, and then you pick up the food and do not offer anything to eat, not one treat, nothing, until the next scheduled mealtime. Put the food away so that it stays fresh in between feedings, don't leave it sitting in an open bowl.

It may take a couple of days of his not eating before he gets hungry enough to give in, so you're going to have to be strong about this if you want to stop the add ins. 

[Nikki & Charlie]

That's what I was thinking Karen, I'm so mad at myself for starting this habit.. lol. But I'm going to try it out and see how this goes. I added some more thoughts to my post, if you could check out what else I added about switching foods, I'm wondering your thoughts

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There's nothing wrong with Fromm, it's a very good company. A new "flavor", whether it's from the Four Star line or one of Acana's formulas, might help to interest him in eating while you are trying to break the topper habit, but I don't think it's necessary to change brands. However, I don't see any harm in it.

[Nikki & Charlie]

I'm wondering if I should try a small bag of Acana and see how he does it with it and I'll go from there! Thank you!

[Tracey & Spike]

Totally agree with the tough love. Put the bowl down plain and that's all he gets. Cut him off of everything. Just like Karen says. It doesn't take long before they catch on. When you do start to introduce the fruit and stuff again put it in another bowl in front of his food bowl. But only AFTER he eats his meal.

In terms of Fromm. It is a great food. It's right up there with Acana. It's just a Canadian company vs American. Both care deeply about the products they put out. We had Spike on Acana. We are now feeding Fromm. Since his neuter he was packing the weight on in a huge way with Acana. His body just changed that's all. Since we moved to Fromm he is still getting the same excellent quality food. He still has great stools. But the weight is coming off. And I am looking forward to the larger variety of flavours that we can now choose from.

[Nikki & Charlie]

Thanks for your reply Tracey, that makes me feel better. For some reason there's always this desire for me to go with Acana or Fromm because it's the "best" quality/food/brand etc but you're right Fromm is a great food too. Thank you!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are some differences. Champion owns their own plants, for one thing, and their sourcing is all local. The nutritional profiles on the Acana formulas are more consistent overall, with higher protein and better Omega 6:3 ratios and content across the board. But that still doesn't mean that Fromm isn't an excellent company that makes excellent products.

[Nikki & Charlie]

Thank you Karen

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We were having an issue while traveling in January with getting the girls to eat when we needed them to eat.  Ours have always been somewhat picky eaters, particularly AnnaBelle.  What we ended up doing was purchasing some canned food of the same version as their dry food.  We took like less than a Tablespoon of the canned food and just stirred it all up into the dry food ... they now stand next to me while I'm fixing their dinner and eat it the second I put it down.  Since it is the same food I figure it can't hurt and it certainly made my life easier.  I just cut back their dry food a tiny bit to accommodate for the calories.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is actually the best solution if you have to use toppers.

My only caution would be with dogs who have a history of sensitive stomachs or digestive disorders. Canned foods usually have slightly different ingredients than the dry food of the very same formula, and there are a couple of emulsifiers that are used in many canned foods that can cause problems for dogs with digestive issues. 

In those cases, you can try a dehydrated raw food like Ziwi Peak or a little Stella & Chewy's crumbled on top. Very pricey, though.

[Mary ann & Lincoln]

Lincoln is picky.  We use Fromm adult gold.  On the advice of the owner of our local pet store ( I didn;t really want to change brands) , we tried Stella & Chewy's mix ins.  The small bag is $9, but I only use about 3-4 pieces crumbled on top of his food so it lasted over a month.  We had the beef, but there are tons of flavors to try.   

It has worked so far. Most days he gobbles it up and others he doesn't eat until dinner.  I think next time we need food, I may try one of the Fromm four star flavors and see if he will eat that without the topper.