# Need help



## Bella and Molly's Dad (Dec 26, 2010)

We have two Prague Ratters dogs. They are very rare here in the States. Maybe 100 dogs if that. They are smaller than a min pin but are the sweetest dogs you could ever imagine. Very playful, and good with all kids. They do not yap much either. Our only problem with them is they are VERY picky eaters. They will eat a new food for a few days and then they are done with it. We have tried all sorts of toppers etc. Here is some of the foods they have been on Blue Buffalo,Merrick,Nutrisource,Orijen,Bench and Field, and Royal Canin. There may be a few more as well. I know I should stick with one food, But they are so small 3 and 4 pounds I want to get them to eat. Any ideas on some good small kibble that you all may think they will eat? Here is a video of them playing today. YouTube - Prague Ratters playing

Thanks,
Mark


----------



## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

The easiest way to stop a picky eater is to stop catering to their every need. If you change their food every time they refuse to eat it, then they will only get worse and start refusing more and more foods, because they know you will give them something else.

There is this "tough love" method, give them a food for about 15 minutes, if they don't eat it, take it away until next meal time and offer the same food again. They will catch on and learn that if they don't eat what they are given then they aren't going to eat at all.

Look at it this way, imagine you have a child, and every time he refuses his veggies you give him an ice cream, what is he going to do? He's going to request ice cream more often, because he already knows he will get it if he refuses his veggies .


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Picky eaters 101:
Picky eaters are created. If you allow your dog to pick and choose what to eat, they win and you lose. You must choose a good food that works well for your dog (health wise) and stick to it. You are the parent and the one in control of your dog’s health, not your dog because they do not know what is best. You must regain pack leadership and respect from your dog by being in control.

1. Pick a good, healthy food (in this case raw meaty bones).

2. Stick to it no matter how “picky” your dog seems. Only change foods if you notice a health issue.

3. Get on scheduled feeding times.

4. Don’t at any time coax your dog to eat the food, whether that be vocal reinforcement or adding anything to it to make it more inticing to eat. Just simply set the food down and go about your business.

5. Offer a meal of the food you choose and give your dog no more than 15 minutes to eat it. If they doesn’t touch it, pick it up to
feed at the next feeding time.

6. Offer the food again at the next scheduled feeding. Same as before give no more than 15 minutes. If not touched, pick it up and save for the next feeding time.

7. Give NO snacks or treats between feeding times (until you succeed at this picky eater issue).

8. Keep offering the same food each meal time until it is eaten. Keep up this until it’s not an issue and your dog will eat what you choose. This may take days, it took my girls 5 WHOLE days of not eating anything to get the hint. I am so proud of myself for doing it!

Things to remember:

1. No healthy dog will intentionally starve itself. Each time your doesn’t eat what you put down, they are choosing not to eat…you are not starving your dog. You are providing them what you think is the best nutrition there is and that is what you have to keep in mind.

2. Picky eaters are manipulative. Every time you cater to their wants, they win and are in control. Whether you give them added attention or additions, they are getting what they want. Nothing in life for them should be free and that definitely applies to your respect.

3. Patience is key in this situation. Some dogs are so set in their ways that it will take days for them to cave in and just eat. I have known some dogs (ahem) that will go five days until this happens…but it is worth the wait. If you get your dog to respect you in this situation it will respect you in more ways than you can imagine. Keep the “tough love” approach and you will be rewarded!


----------



## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

What she said ;P.

Except one thing Danemama, it's in the kibble section, go go editing powers!


----------



## Bella and Molly's Dad (Dec 26, 2010)

Well I'm going to give Fromm a try. They do not get any people food:wink:


----------



## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

Bella and Molly's Dad said:


> We have two Prague Ratters dogs. They are very rare here in the States. Maybe 100 dogs if that. They are smaller than a min pin but are the sweetest dogs you could ever imagine. Very playful, and good with all kids. They do not yap much either. Our only problem with them is they are VERY picky eaters. They will eat a new food for a few days and then they are done with it. We have tried all sorts of toppers etc. Here is some of the foods they have been on Blue Buffalo,Merrick,Nutrisource,Orijen,Bench and Field, and Royal Canin. There may be a few more as well. I know I should stick with one food, But they are so small 3 and 4 pounds I want to get them to eat. Any ideas on some good small kibble that you all may think they will eat? Here is a video of them playing today. YouTube - Prague Ratters playing
> 
> Thanks,
> Mark


i disagree that picky eaters are created. i believe they are encouraged though. some dogs genetically are prone to be more picky my dog for instance eATS whatever w. your dogs for instance, refuse u put in front of him(which im sure you tried at least a week) so you tried a new food with new luck, and so on. you didnt create their first refusal. my dog would have eaten that first food, your dog refused it because hes more picky...however by switching you encouraged him to keep being picky....although i dont blame you, i dont want my dog eating anything he doesn't like. my dog seems to ''tolerate'' his new kibble totw...and isnt excited..so i plan on changing that.

i think since your dog's seem to hate every kibble, you should choose a kibble you feel is high quality, then follow dane mama's tough love approach. also maybe they just dont like a specific protein source? have you tried red meat foods? shane likes evo red meat, but id feed orijen red meat if iwere you


----------



## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

Also they are teeny dogs and need a teeny amount of food. In the very cute video they look to be in excellent condition, nice and lean with loads of muscle. You could be trying to feed them more food than they need. I remember reading a thread on a clicker training list on how a top agility papillon was fed something ridiculous like 16 kibbles a day. Hope they were large kibble bits!


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

3Musketeers said:


> What she said ;P.
> 
> Except one thing Danemama, it's in the kibble section, go go editing powers!


Haha...oops! thought I got all the mentions of raw out of there! Thanks for the heads up!


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> i disagree that picky eaters are created. i believe they are encouraged though. some dogs genetically are prone to be more picky my dog for instance eATS whatever w. your dogs for instance, refuse u put in front of him(which im sure you tried at least a week) so you tried a new food with new luck, and so on. you didnt create their first refusal. my dog would have eaten that first food, your dog refused it because hes more picky...however by switching you encouraged him to keep being picky....although i dont blame you, i dont want my dog eating anything he doesn't like. my dog seems to ''tolerate'' his new kibble totw...and isnt excited..so i plan on changing that.


I disagree. These picky eaters are created at very young ages because if you have ever spent time around young puppies (less than 8 weeks old...weaning), they will eat anything under the sun (it would be evolutionarily disadvantageous for puppies to be innately picky). Its only when owners cater to their every whim by providing lots of choices, that they are "created" picky.


----------



## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

sassymaxmom said:


> Also they are teeny dogs and need a teeny amount of food. In the very cute video they look to be in excellent condition, nice and lean with loads of muscle. You could be trying to feed them more food than they need. I remember reading a thread on a clicker training list on how a top agility papillon was fed something ridiculous like 16 kibbles a day. Hope they were large kibble bits!


No way. That pap had to have been severely underweight or something >_<. They do eat small amounts but not... 16 kibbles? xD 
Heck, mine eat a lot more than the recommended 2-3% of body weight (raw), without doing agility, and they are very lean.

Heheh, sorry for getting off topic. :biggrin: 16 kibbles sounds like something... a dog under 5lb might eat daily.


----------



## TwoBoxers (Aug 29, 2009)

I had a similar issue with my 70lb plus dog. I tried tough love for 2 months. He refused to eat! He would eat barely enough to sustain life. Like a 1/8 of a cup every 3-4 days. He would get sick, throw up bile, zero energy, lost hair, lost an unhealthy amount of weight... It was horrible and I felt aweful. Tried another brand and same thing. They say a healthy dog won't starve himself but my dog pretty much did. Vet even got concerned with his weight loss and everything else. So... He eats raw and he does eat it.
I'm one of those people that find feeding raw a pain and I don't find it to be cheaper... But, it works for him so I do it.


----------

