# Problems with feeding!



## Mika_n_tx (May 6, 2013)

Hello,

I'm having a feeding problem with my little 8 month old puppy. She's a rescue, the vet thinks she's chihuahua/dachshund. She was found abandoned at about 4 or 5 weeks. She was malnourished and had demodex. Anyway, we've had her about 5 1/2 months now and we can't find a food that she will continue to eat for more than 2 weeks.

She was on Nature's Recipe grain free small breed when we got her. According to the rescue, she was put on grain free because she had demodex when she was found. About 3 weeks after we got her, she stopped eating it. She just would not touch her food at all. 

Oh, I should mention that she had never ever been fed from the table, and at this point was not given any type of "people food".

So anyway, we switched her to Beneful, thinking she probably didn't need to continue with grain free. She attacked her bowl at feeding time for about 2 weeks, then she stopped eating it again. I tried topping it with canned food and she ate well this way, but it only lasted a couple of weeks before she stopped eating it that way too. 

A friend suggested Purina Lamb and Rice which once again, she ate for a couple of weeks, then we had to go back to topping it to get her to eat. After while that didn't work anymore. I know, I know, Beneful and Purina are both inferior dog foods. I was battling my wonderful but money conscious husband at the time to buy her better food. 

So around the time she stopped eating the topped Purina, I noticed a spot on her hind leg that had begun losing it's hair and her coat was looking rather dull. I worry about her coat because of the demodex she had as a puppy and also, she is a little bare in some areas like her underarms and belly, and she has little lines on her head. According to the vet she is like this because the malnourishment she suffered as a puppy effected her hair growth.

Being concerned about what was happening to her coat I decided we should go back to grain free, and I got my hubby to agree to buy better food. If we were going to spend alot of money I wanted to be sure she was eating really well. Research showed me that the Nature's Recipe she had been eating contained menadione, which apparently is bad so that was a no go.

We tried Authority grain free (Petsmart's house brand) She wouldn't eat it unless it was topped, and once again, she stopped eating it in about 2 weeks.

Then we tried the new Hills Ideal Balance grain free. She wasn't having anything to do with that. I don't think she ever ate one little kibble of it.

Finally we went to Wellness Core grain free puppy. She ate it dry for a couple of days. Then I had to start topping it with the canned version of the same food. She was eating great, her coat is looking better, and the little bare spot on her hind leg is filling in. But, once again she has stopped eating it.

I'm at my wits end. It's costing a fortune because she never finishes a bag of food before she stops eating it. I figure if she doesn't like it she wouldn't have been eating it for 2 weeks.

We have tried the picky eater techniques, putting her food down at breakfast and dinner for 20 mins and then taking it back up. She's very stubborn and refuses to eat what she doesn't want. She's gone 3 1/2 days without eating. 

I guess I should mention that when we went back to grain free I changed her treats also, of course. Grain free treats are crazy expensive so I have been giving her sweet potato, hard boiled egg whites (yolk seems like way too much cholesterol for a little dog) and small pieces of all natural turkey hot dogs. However, if she hasn't eaten her meals she doesn't get these treats. We still have never ever fed her from our plates or the table.

Help? What am I doing wrong? I want her to be happy with her food and be healthy. I don't mind using the topping method if that is how she likes her food, but my gosh, I don't know what to try anymore to get her to at least finish a bag of food! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Sorry it's a novel!
Thanks for your time!
Mika


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## FBarnes (Feb 17, 2013)

Do you moisten it? You could try cooking up chicken or liver broth and soaking it along with water.


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## Mika_n_tx (May 6, 2013)

I do heat up her canned food before I add it to the kibble. If I try to give it to her cold she looks at me like I'm nuts! She's such a diva! 
!


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## FBarnes (Feb 17, 2013)

I mean soak the kibble with a broth made from fresh meat? She has you wrapped around her finger. You always cave so she continues to force you to give her something different. If you make sure she has zero treats of any kind and do the tough love she will eat and yes it might take a few days.

I personally dont believe dogs should eat dry kibble. it's way too low in moisture. I think it should be soaked- not topped


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## FBarnes (Feb 17, 2013)

Plus when people show videos of picky dogs I often see them cajoling, baby talk, sticking it under their nose. If you do that don't do that. set it down and leave the room


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

No treats - NONE - period. Pick a good food (Core Grain Free is the best one you've tried) and wet it - no other toppers. Your pup has you well trained. She's waiting to see what's next on the menu. I once had a boxer that played this game (RIP Duke!), and only tough love cured him (God knows how much money I wasted until I "saw the light" - lol!). I finally had enough and just waited him out, cut out ALL treats, and fed him twice daily (daily ration divided in two - so he had two opportunities to eat daily; you may want to offer kibble 3x daily, since your pup is so small and young). He finally cracked and after that he was much better. Occasionally, he'd pull the picky routine again, and I'd do the same thing. Leave the food down for 15 minutes (do NOT hand feed it or make a fuss trying to get the dog to eat it). After that time, pick it up with no fuss, and refrigerate. Feed again at the next feeding. At the end of the day, throw away uneaten food and start over again the next morning.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

if you don't want to go the tough love way (which is often the preferred way to stop pickiness), I don't know if this will help, but have you tried to give her a different food every day? If you have the "old" bags still maybe try to feed one of the oldest first to see if she'll eat it again, then do a different one the next day or you could try picking up a couple of small bags to try with (maybe free samples). Personally, i've never fed the same food all the time, but most people don't feed this way.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Tough love. Leave it down for 15 min, pick it up after that and nothing else until the next meal. Don't add anything o her food unless you're ready to continue adding it.


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## Mika_n_tx (May 6, 2013)

Ok I'm going to try the tough love thing again. Twice, I've done exactly what's been suggested, put her food down for 20 mins, put it up, nothing until the next meal, no treats, and she has gone 3 and a half days without eating ANYTHING, which yes at that point I cave because she's a small dog, about 9 lbs, and it worries me. So I go out and buy something else to see if she'll eat that instead, which like I said, she will...for about two weeks! LOL! How long is it safe for a dog her size to go without eating?

Also, Celt suggested changing foods. I constantly read about how it's bad for a dogs stomach to change it's food all the time, but you can't always believe what you read. I'm concerned because my pup has changed food a number of times, although I don't see any changes in her behavior or her stool. Is this whole "same food all the time" thing another myth or is it safe to change or rotate foods?


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## FBarnes (Feb 17, 2013)

I wouldn't just put down dry food - try like I said, make up some homemade liver or chicken broth from unenhanced chicken - the canned is too salty - and soak her food in it. I know with toy dogs it's a little harder because they can get hypoglycemic but she's nine pounds and should be fine. If you are worried offer her broth with pedialyte and see if she'll drink it.


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## Candyd (Apr 11, 2013)

Dogs are able to fast very long without any problem. It depends how often your dog fasts and how big her meals are when she accepts to eat. It really becomes problematic if your dog starts to lose weight because of fasting. 
Does she behave the same if she eats exclusively canned food ? Maybe she behaves like that only with kibble. I had the same problem with my first dog (a cairn terrier who weighed 21 lbs), she liked everything but kibble, but as she was a hunting dog, she had a very dense kibble for working dogs and she always maintained a healthy weight.


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

Would she eat just canned food? I mean price would be higher but it is a tiny dog.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I have never had any problem with constantly changing food up, nor have any of my friends or relatives. Imo, Changing the foods helps prevent stomache upsets caused from "new" foods. I know that some dogs do have sensitive stomaches and can't be fed this way but I have no personal experience of this. And I've been feeding this way for many, many years with various breeds and mixes.


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## Mika_n_tx (May 6, 2013)

Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions!


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## SuperPug (Mar 5, 2013)

Tough love is going to be your best option. If you keep catering to her and changing up what she is eating, she is going to continue getting picky with her food. She eats what she is given, or she doesn't eat at all. She will soon see that what she is given is better than nothing.


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