My 14 month old Labrador is very fussy with his food. How do I get him to eat?

Question

I've tried different kibbles - James Wellbeloved, Bakers, Royal Canin etc, mostly Purina. Also tried tempting him with soft food - pouches and tins. The vet says there is nothing wrong - his digestive system seems to work fine! He is a naturally skinny, tall, Yellow lab, very energetic but not putting on weight.

Answer 1

YOU have made him fussy be feeding a bit of this, a bit of that, then swapping and changing about.
Decide on a brand of complete food, (not eukanuba though), put it into a bowl, and leave it down all day long so that he can help himself and pick at it through the day. Kibble was never designed to be wolfed down in one go. It will make him thirsty so if he then gulps down water afterwards, it swells in his tummy and can cause torsion , bloat and tummy ache.
Fill a small washing up bowl and simply leave him to eat ad lib. Make sure he always has clean water available.
I have 6 dogs and in the last 30 years of keeping, showing, rescue fostering, I have always fed ad lib. I feed the cheapest food I can buy at only £4.99 a sack, since dogs evolved to thrive on poor quality food. I have had fussy little dogs arrive for fostering, with a bag of frozen chicken portions and been told that the dog won't eat anything else, yet within a week it is eating the kibble with the rest of my dogs.
If you stop being obsessed with what he eats, he will too. Fill the bowl, put it down and ignore it and him and fill it again when it is empty without counting how many hours or days it has been.
No dog is going to starve itself to death with a full bowl of food in front of it.
Of course, if you are cramming crap like chewy stix, choccie drops, treats and the like, down his throat several times a day, then of course he won't want to eat, he won't be hungry. Just leave a bowl full of kibble down, and save the treats for training sessions only.The old fashioned way was to make them starving so they would wolf the food down or you removed it after 10 minutes. However recent researched showed this to create food guarding agreession problems and a greater incidence of bloating which can lead to torsion and death.
Whatever you do, do NOT add gravy or bacon fat to his kibble as the salt can damage his kidneys.
The most stubborn dog I had here was the little poodle who came with the bags of chicken portions. It took him nearly a week of refusing to eat before he caved in and ate what was put down for him. After that he never looked back, grew a thicker coat and had bags of energy and was much healthier than when he arrived. You have to be firm and stick it out.

Answer 2

If he is energetic and the vet says he is fine, then I wouldn't worry. Offering different brands of food and leaving food down all day will just make him fussier and this problem will become more difficult to manage as he gets older and this trait is more established.
When I had a similar problem with my very stubborn and fussy 2 year old golden retriever dog, I used the following system: I Chose 1 dry food brand and 1 wet food brand and resolved to stick to them. I measured out my dog's daily allowance every day, mixing the dry and wet foods when served so that I did not feel guilty over the dull kibble and tempted to supplement and offer snacks during the day. I put half his allowance down for 15 mins in the morning so that he could eat his fill and then removed the bowl even if he had refused his whole meal. I repeated this in the evening. Before long meal times were orderly and the fussy behaviour diminished. Initially he stubbornly refused to eat and walked off but as is typical with dogs, the lesson involved food and by the end of the third day he decided to eat a whole meal. Sometimes a few weeks down the line he did refuse his food when I put it down but because I knew he hadn't been snacking or nibbling away during the day I was more aware of any health problems and more intune with my dogs dietery needs.
Another reassuring point is that many dog food manufacturers over state the recommended daily amount for your dog. It is common that your dog will eat far less than stated on the packet.
Also, as other answers have said, a hungry dog will eat everything and anything. If he is refusing food he is simply not hungry. When he is, he will eat what you offer. Missing a few meals while establishing the system above will do him no harm and is for his overall benefit.
Good luck

Answer 3

Firstly can I say this is not a sales pitch at all. My brother recommended something called Burns dog food. I think the website is Burns Pet Nutrition or something like that.

My chocolate lab (3 yrs) just got really bored of food, only eating it when she was really hungry. And she had a few other problems like flaky skin.

Anyway I got a bag of this Burns stuff, for £35 delivered to your door, (they don't sell it in big stores, just some specialist pet shops and on the internet. It's holistic dog food.

The food is 60% rice, 20% meat (Chicken/Lamb or duck) and seaweed, minerals and vitamins. Where as Bakers complete is about 2% meat 98% processed crap. Read the ingredients for yourself.

So because the food is higher quality, you don't have to feed them as much, 1 cup in the morning and 1 in the evening. My dogs poo's are about 1/3 the size that they used to be, she has much more energy, no flaky skin, and she eats the food straight away. You can mix it with warm boiled water or cold water and it bring out a lovely gravy smell that she goes mad for. Which also ensures she is drinking enough fluids.

Have a look at the website, maybe order a bag, the service is good (within 2/3 days). I assure you that your dog will be happier and enjoy his/her food more.

Good luck. And let me know what you think if you try it.

Answer 4

You've tried too many flavors with him, showed him that all he has to do is turn his nose and you'll be offering him something else....this is how we create fussy eaters, because dogs are not born knowing that there's chicken, lamb, beef and God knows what other flavor out there...Soft food contains 76% moisture, in other words, water...A 14 month old Lab with a clean bill of health from the vet shouldn't even be on soft food. I think you should start feeding him a High Performance formula, Nutro, Eukanuba makes them. Once you've decided which one, stick with it!!!! His digestive system works fine now, but by switching foods all the time, you will create some digestive problems soon. Food should only be available once or twice a day, depending on the dog's size, it's healthier for a large breed to eat two smaller meals rather than one large one, and you should take his food away after 20 minutes, offer it to him at his next feeding time. If you free feed him, he's never really hungry....If he's not neutered, you should consider neutering him as soon as possible, dogs can smell the scent of a female in heat for up to 2 miles, and food is the last thing on their minds when females are in estrus....
Stop being his caterer, and show him some leadership-a true pack leader is in control of food sources....

Answer 5

My son was so fussy he was basically exclusively breastfed for the first year! He is much better now and I have got a few tricks... He loves spaghetti so spaghetti goes in EVERYTHING. If she will eat the Dolmino sauce perhaps you could hide vegies and meat in it? My son likes toast so I started toasted sandwiches with cheese and baked beans. Could you make breaded chicken the same way you make breaded fish? I don't know if any of this helps but I want to say that I totally understand the frustration. My child was going to have the world's healthiest diet - home cooked all the way - and I was a wreck when he wouldn't eat. After every meal I would stress about the fact that he didn't get what he needed! Oh and if she drinks milk could you blend fruit and yogurt and make milk smoothies?

Answer 6

I have three dogs. Two are fussy eaters. I have to homecook one of the dog's food now due to my dog's illness, and have switched the other two to homecooked as well and they LOVE it! You can find great recipes online especially for dog biscuits to die for.

However before the switch, my fussy eaters seemed to really like Kirkland Lamb & Rice Kibble (at Costco--the ingredients are some of the best I've ever seen--no by products at all--that's very important) along with Trader Joe's canned Lamb and Rice meat. All natural. Kirkland also makes a decent canned meat. Make sure your dog food does not have preservatives like BHT and BHA, no by-products, specify what type of meat is used (if the meat just says meat it could be horse, or even dog and cat) and the first ingredient should be Lamb or Chicken (not meal--the actually meat item). I've heard good things about Royal Canin but I have to say I don't think Purina makes any quality dog food. I think Iams is just so-so now (used to be better) and I fed my dogs that before making the switch. While I think there is better out there, I think Iams is the best dog food you can buy at the supermarket, but is not up to par w/ the more premium foods out there.

I want to add that some dogs are picky and some aren't. I've had both and what may work for one dog won't for the other. You don't want the dog to just eat cause they're finally so hungry they have to--you want to have your dog enjoy it's food and want to eat what you've giving it. You will find something your dog will like. Sometimes it's trial and error.

I just want to add the quality of food DOES make a difference. My vet has commented on 2 separate visits how great my dogs' fur looks since I've switched from Iams to Kirkland. She's not the only one to notice. My dogs get complimented like crazy and the only difference is my switching what they eat. Yes they looked fine before but now they look really healthy. Plus one of my dogs started to get arthritis but since the switch (my new food has Glucosamine) any sign of arthritis is gone from her.

Answer 7

SWITCH FOOD!!

Purina is not that good - mediocre at best.

First try Iams

Then Iams Eukanuba

Then more top of the line like Solid Gold which can only be purchased from specialty dealers (check their ebsite for your area.)

If he hasn't decided to eat better by this point, just buying what he doesn't like won't change it.

The better foods are more expensive but the plus side is they are more concentrated so you end up feeding less than with a cheaper food.

Additionally a high-energy, active dog needs far better food than a couch potato

Answer 8

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Answer 9

i have 2 labs,(a b*tch who's 5 and a dog who's 18 months) i feed them once a day and they eat dry dog food. I honestly believe that if a dog is hungry enough it'll eat what you give it.. you may not agree with what i am saying but i think your doggie maybe a little bit too fussy for his own good. If the Vet has said there is nothing physically wrong with him, then it must be a psychological thing if you ask me... I'd take him off the dog food completely and feed him boiled fish/chicken and rice (frozen coley is really cheap) feed him that for about 2 weeks and then gradually introduce the dog food of your choice back in until he is back on the dog food full time. his poo will be very yellow to begin with but that's normal. Also, don't worry about him not getting all of his 'essential nutrients' from the fish and rice.. trust me, he'll be fine.
try that and see if it works. the boiled fish and rice is also very good if your dog has a dicky tummy xxx

Answer 10

It looks as though you have done something a lot of owners do. You've made an issue of the food.

What he has learned is that if he leaves his food, it gets replaced with something tastier. Next food-time, feed him, then 15min later, take the food away. Give him nothing else to eat until next meal time. Do this for a few days. Trust me, he'll eat.