She won't eat her food unless I put water in it and move the bowl to another spot! She is only two years old but she does have bad teeth. She does eat the dry food if I feed it to her from my hand. She will also eat dog bones. I don't know if she is just being picky or something is wrong with her! Please give me some advice!
2006-11-24 08:22:29 · 13 answers · asked by Zoe 5 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Poodles, as I'm sure you've discovered, are very intelligent animals who will train their owners to do parlor tricks if they can. Toy poodles are not big eaters, and if you're feeding her by hand or giving her other food at times besides her normal feeding time, she's probably not terribly interested in the food in the bowl.
Furthermore, if she's like MY little poodle, she may have food stashed somewhere to gnosh on.
Her teeth may be bad (time for a trip to the vet), but if she's eathing dog bones, then dry food isn't hurting her. She has probably learned how to get your concern and attention (smart dog!) by leaving the dry food in the dish, and she is now playing it up professionally.
My suggestion: Making sure her food isn't stale, rancid, or tainted by weird odors. Make sure it's a good-quality food. Then put a small amount of dry food in the bowl and leave it. Don't wet it, and don't feed her other things. If it's still there a day and a half later, replace it with more dry food. When she gets hungry, she'll eat.
2006-11-24 08:51:17 · answer #1 · answered by ? 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Royal Canin has a type of dog food that has a very very tiny kibble which is easy for tiny breeds to eat. Also, you can add some grated "Lamb Log" by Pet Botanics which has a flavor dogs go nuts over. Dry food can be hard to eat much of when the kibble is too big and/or too hard for a tiny dog.
2006-11-24 09:10:06 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like she's training you - but don't worry, she's probably not planning a hostile takeover. If it's a problem for you that she won't eat her food, I'd say that you should give her 1 chance to eat, and then take the bowl away until her next mealtime. But what you say about her teeth worries me. If she has bad teeth, please take her to get them fixed or pulled!!! Your vet, and other dog professionals, will tell you that this is a serious problem that can lead to very expensive problems.
2006-11-24 08:32:22 · answer #3 · answered by Misa M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Eating mushy food has most likely contributed to her bad teeth. Get her to the vet to have her teeth cleaned because this can cause serious health problems (including heart and kidney), then feed her a good quality dry food. She will eat it if she has to - no dog will starve themselves to death.
2006-11-24 08:27:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to a different vet and get a different set of eyes and ideas on your dog. Your first vet had a reasonable solution but something is causing this problem to repeat itself, or it's coincidence and your puppy ate something that may be causing an obstruction. Either way, your puppy needs to see a vet soon. Tell them that this happened a week ago and you want to know why it's happening again.
2016-03-29 07:47:03 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's possible that her mouth is really hurting her. Have you talked to your vet?
It also sounds like she's a little spoiled though too. (Which isn't a bad thing unless the dog gets you to do what she wants, like moving the bowl, feeding her from your hand...)
2006-11-24 08:27:31 · answer #6 · answered by KJ 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My dog i also acting strange in a similair way; She often refuses to eat until somebody comes home from work/school. O_o
I THINK it's perfectly normal, but I'm not completely sure.
2006-11-24 08:28:38 · answer #7 · answered by Fredk 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
we also own a sm. poodle,we love him but he is spoiled. If your poodle can eat out of your hand,he is scamming you!try changing time, place, dish,and mabey the food is bouring him! try a high quality food from a feed store and not petco.
2006-11-24 09:35:16 · answer #8 · answered by tess_button 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
mix wet food with dry food and at each feeding time cut back on the wet food. in a short time she will be eating dry food. wet soft food is like a suger treat cut back on the suger
2006-11-24 08:37:08 · answer #9 · answered by larlonewolf 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have your dog examined by a vet, hon. He/she can recommend things that will keep her teeth and gums in better shape than the are now. She should have chew toys......rawhide bones and greenies
2006-11-24 09:32:21 · answer #10 · answered by April 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋