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Wanted to share my thoughts on how to get your Doodle to eat a bit.  Teddy never seems to eat except when he has gone along time without eating and/or if he is back from the Dog Park or an active walk

Here are some of the items I use to "spice up" his dry dog food:

(1)  FOOD SUPPLEMENTS:  I have used Purina Pro Plan Additions and also the Nummy Tum-Tums fruity stuff.  He seems to like them all; some are more liquid than others.  

1 Question:  these pouches say to discard (or maybe freeze the remainder) after 2-3 days....since it's in a pouch with a cap in the refrigerator, do you think a few more days would really be dangerous ?  I know they want you to use it up to buy more but Teddy is a Toy Doodle and needs 5-7 days to get through these pouches.  At the same time, I don't want to risk some bacteria infection or whatever.

(2) STELLAS & CHEWY'S CARNIVORE CRUNCH:  Lots of different flavors, I just bought the Salmon/Cod as a change-of-pace and Teddy loves it.  Hasn't had lots of fish treats/foods -- partly deliberate on my part, as I read that mushrooms can give off a fishy odor and I was afraid of him eating them last Fall.  These are soft and flaky and easily shredded on top or mixed in.  Nice aroma....1 or 2 pieces will get Teddy to mow down most of his food bowl.

(3)  PURE BUFFALO by Loving Eats:  These things I just found out and Teddy LOVES them.  Might be his favorite food/treat of all.  These are jerky-like things, half-way between a soft or hard treat and a bully stick in terms of toughness.  So they will last a bit longer than most treats but not like the Earth Animal chews or a Bully Stick.  Cut them with a sharp scissor or most knives and you can break the 2"-4" strips into tiny bite-sized pieces that will make the bag last longer or to mix in to a food bowl.

There are other items I have, but let me see if this generates any interest.  As many of you are more experienced than me this will probably be 2nd-hand knowledge to most of you.  But maybe 1 of the items is new to you or a new member of our Doodle site, so I hope this is useful.

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We do have quite a few discussions in The Food Group on this topic. The things you can add to a dog's food bowl to encourage eating are endless, and they do include lots of "people food". I personally am not a fan of enticing a dog to eat by adding "toppers" to the food bowl, for several reasons, most of which are again discussed in TFG, lol.  When I've done it, usually in cases where you must get a dog to eat at a certain time, I generally use eggs, either hard boiled and chopped, or scrambled. But there are lots of options. I prefer to discuss food topics in the Food Group, so I won't elaborate here.

If you are going to add various food products & toppers to meals, be sure to account for the extra calories when calculating feeding amounts. Some of those commercial "toppers":, mix-ins, etc can be very high in calories. 

And I really think it would be a great idea for you to read my favorite discussion on this topic; it's very entertaining, but there's also a lot of wisdom here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/an-ode-...

Reading it now...fascinating stuff, thanks Karen.  Some of that definitely applies to Teddy, some not.  But over time I may be able to train him in the proper way.

My big thing is that I am a late-night person living in close proximity to other people.  I can't have him barking at 1:30 AM when I have coffee or a snack because he wants some.  If I lived alone in a house I'd let him bark until the cows come home -- and usually, after 3-10 minutes of barking, he DOES whimper out and just lay down under the kitchen table (or at my PC desk if I am snacking there).  But it's different when you have people living next to you/under you and that includes infants and small kids.

BTW, those toppers -- except for the Food Supplements (the pouch items) -- are also really good treats.  Most here probably already use them but that Pure Buffalo really surprised me; I am going to buy another bag or two when I go back to pick up the Earth Animal stuff he special-ordered for me.

Frank, I'll be honest, and I mean this with the best intentions.  I've seen many of your posts regarding giving Teddy foods and chews to keep him quiet, to get him to allow you to have your own snack in peace, etc. There was even a comment about Teddy growling at you and running away when you tried to take his chew away. 

The way to deal with all of these things is not food, but training. Nobody should have to give a dog snacks and treats to keep them from barking, or to be "allowed" to eat a snack themselves without the dog bugging them. And growling at the owner, the provider of all things good in life, lol, for any reason is simply unacceptable. 

You're in charge, not this little pup. He needs some training. I know you saw another post here where we talked about teaching "down stay", and putting a dog in a "down stay" away from the table when people are eating. That's just one part of it. I would strongly urge you to start working with Teddy on basic commands today. The older he gets, the more difficult it will be to correct things and take back control as the "leader" of your little pack, so that you can truly enjoy your dog and live in harmony with him. Food isn't going to do that. Training is how we develop a lifelong bond and learn to communicate with our dogs. It's a lifelong process, and well worth it. 

You're right, I'm probably a bit soft because it's my 1st dog/puppy.  At times I am tough on him (walking him when he wants to sit in the street or stop moving) other times I am too soft.

I just found out that some neighbors are moving out so I am probably going to refrain from "giving in" when I snack or eat in the future.

I did 2 courses of Puppy Training with him and have to keep reinforcing the basics, you are right Karen. It takes time and dedication and at times I have to confess I'd rather play with him than spend the 3-5 minutes to drill into him some basic obedience stuff.

Will try and correct that going forward, thanks !

I'm so glad you took my advice in the spitirt in which it was intended. :) Good for you!

Puppy classes are only the beginning, for any dog, and for really smart dogs like ours, the time and dedication that training them requires will pay off big time. You will both be happier. 

I suggest setting a goal like having Teddy earn his Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certification. Check out classes in your area, and set a time frame. It really helps your motivation. When you know that you will have to demonstrate your progress in class each week, it helps you to do your daily training work even when you don;t feel like it, lol. 

Jack didn;t get his CGC until a few months short of his 7th birthday, and he wouldn;t have gotten it then if I hadn't been publicly "dared" into it by Adina, right here on DK. :)

I intend to do that, Karen.  Right now we are both taking a break before starting the Adult classes.  I want to drill the basics into Teddy and have him master them before we move onto Adult Training and hopefully the CGC and those other certifications.

Petco has some good people in our area, he did the 2 Puppy courses with them.  I am also planning on doing some 1-on-1 with them down the line.  The girl moving out of my building also had a personal dog trainer come to her apartment and I may ask about that, though I bet it's expensive.  But I was super-impressed with her and her training dog when I saw them like a year or two ago.  Dog was better-behaved than most kids/teens I know !

Check out Doggie Dan the online dog trainer.  You will find a link to his site under Preferred Venders on the main page.  He will teach you the seven golden rules and you will be the pack leader.  When you say "quiet", your Teddy will be quiet! LOL  He is a fantastic trainer who lives in New Zealand and his site is full of how to videos.  This is a great time for you since your puppy is still quite young.

Checking it out tonight/this morning, thanks Linda !

Do you give teddy kongs?

Hi Haley....I bought him the small Red Kong and fill it with some Peanut Butter or Bacon stuff....he licks what is outside the plastic and digs down a bit to get the rest.  Also got these Kong Sticks or something that go into it, again he'll easily get the stuff outside.

Also got this "interactive" toy thing that has a dental chew in a soft spongy plastic ball, I forgot who makes it.  Not really a fan of the activity or the treat.  I'll see if he eats it without being surrounded in spongy plastic.

Also just bought some Himalayan chews -- dairy and chicken types -- and didn't really like either.

That's why I really am glad the Salmon Chews from Earth Animal got a plug here -- all I had for slow-eating treats was Smartbones and Bully Sticks.  Have never given him rawhide, maybe when I have more time and energy I'll read the threads here on that one (I'm sure they are a doozy !).

We give Yeti kongs a lot when we need his attention to not be on us constantly (cooking dinner, cleaning the house etc. and this way we don't have to kennel him). You could try soaking his food in homemade chicken or beef broth and then freezing it in a kong or possibly get a wet version of his food and freeze it. You have to account for his calories for the day (which is never a problem for yeti because he doesn't even eat his daily recommended amount lol) but freezing them helps take a bit longer and typically keeps Yeti's attention as well as a bully stick does (well not quite as well haha Yeti thinks bully sticks are the best things ever).
Also I saw you have a bit of a guarding issue with Teddy. We have a similar problem with Yeti though it has gotten much better. He used to guard his bully sticks in a major way but we would roll him on his back and give him a firm no!, take it away and try to get his interest on something else. After a couple minutes we would give it back to him but hold onto it for him to let him know it was ours that we were letting chew on. Every once in a while we would let go and let him have it and grab onto it again shortly after. Sometimes we would take it away from him and then give it back shortly. Every time we put one away we tell him his bully stick is going "nuh nights" and then give him a treat. He still does guard a bit so sometimes we do have to hold onto it for he whole time we allow him to chew it. Our trainers told us that some dogs just guard and others don't. We are getting another dog within the year and I'm trying to nip it in the bud before he comes home.

They taught us at Puppy School if you take something away give them something back (also while walking them if they pick up junk).  So I usually give him 1 or 2 soft treats when I grab something he is chewing/eating.

Last night, I actually opened the terrace sliding doors and Teddy always drops everything to come over (I think he either likes going out or fears I may sneak away).  When he came over, he dropped the bully stick (what was left of it) and a few seconds later I picked it up.  Gave him 1 or 2 Stella's Crunch for the trade and he was okey-dokey.

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