How do I handle such a picky eater?

Question

Ok here is the deal ladies and gents. . .
I have a 2-3 y/o Lab/Retriever and she is pretty hell bent on being the worlds most picky eater. She will eat dry food until she gets bored but wont touch it after a few days. I tend to mix wet food, gravy train, rice, or what have you that might help.

Basically shes getting pretty spoiled with it all. I have even tried taking what she didnt eat away from her and hoping that she will get hungry enough where she wont be so picky. She's doesnt care, she would rather starve to death then eat! My main concern is this... What can I do that wont exactly spoil her but also wont put too much weight on her.

I rescued her from a shelter and have had her for a year now. Shes healthy, enjoys life and I want the best for her. She hit the 80 lb mark and gets her daily exercise. I fear or risking her for severe hip dysplasia when she gets older due to excess weight gain because of all that junk food.

What can I do ???

Answer 1

My dog was like that too. Then we got another dog. She realized that every bit of her food was in jeapardy of being eaten by someone else if she didn't finish it. We also keep kibble out all day.

Even if you have one dog only, if the dog knows the food goes away after a certain time, the dog will eat it. You have to train YOURSELF actually. No treats. No giving into special food desires. She will not starve herself. Leave kibble out all day. Give her mealtime (of whatever wet food you choose) the same time each day, and 20 minutes to half an hour later, remove the food, leaving the kibble.

One last ditch effort is to bring in a friend with a dog, and let them eat at the same time. The built-in competitiveness for food will make her eat it all before the other dog gets it. That's what happened with our dogs. I now feed them wet food in the same room, but in separate bowls about 5 feet apart, and they both eat all their food. They share a kibble bowl all day with no problem. I keep the kibble full.

Hope it helps!

Answer 2

We deal with it with the Bullie Im training, but for her she has to eat because shes thin and doesnt look good in the ring. Shes really spoiled she gets raw beef, chicken necks, lamb, yogurt, rice, and stews. If we leave her food out when shes not going to be showing she usually gives in after about 2 or 3 days (if the boss is out of town and not giving in to her) and eats her food which is 1000x better than what my dog gets and shell still turn her nose up to it.

Also Labs should be:
Size, Proportion and Substance
Size--The height at the withers for a dog is 22½ to 24½ inches; for a ***** is 21½ to 23½ inches. Any variance greater than ½ inch above or below these heights is a disqualification. Approximate weight of dogs and bitches in working condition: dogs 65 to 80 pounds; bitches 55 to 70 pounds.
that is taken directly from the AKC website so your female is a little overweight by AKC standards so it wont hurt her to starve herself a few days until she starts eating what you give her and not what she wants you to give her.

Answer 3

My labs LOVED when I would mix rice with their food. I would cook a huge pot of rice with chicken broth and then add it to their dry food. just enough to give their food added flavor, like a 4-1 ratio. Mix it up some, add a little water. But I didn't do it every day. When you do that, they start EXPECTING it and when you put down plain food, they sniff it and look at you like you're a horrible human being. You don't want to spoil them TOO much, but a little is good, because you wanna show that you love them.

My dogs also like bread in their food too, or as mid-day treats. If I had bread get a little too old for sandwiches, the dogs LOVED IT. Same thing with cereal like corn flakes, cheerios - it's something different and they think they're being treated like kings.

Answer 4

Most animals are remarkably wise in that when they are hungry, they eat. Just keep providing a regular meal at a regular time, and throw leftovers away at the next meal (food poisoning is worse than starvation!). And make sure your pup has lots of clean water. If she eats, she eats. If she doesn't, maybe her body is telling her she's not hungry.

Ask your vet what the real signs of starvation are; then you can take drastic measures if she's really starving. But if she's healthy, getting her exercise and loving, then don't worry about her not eating.

(You *have* taken her to the vet to rule out disease, stomach problems, bad teeth, etc. etc., right?)

Answer 5

You pick a good food and stick with it. Here's a website to help you decide:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com

THEN ... you offer her this food, and ONLY this food. Set it down, she eats it or she doesn't. If she doesn't (after 15 minutes to 30 minutes) take it away. Offer it to her once more that day. Same routine. Don't add anything to it to make it more enticing. That is what spoils her!

Might take 3 days or so, but, assuming she's healthy, she WILL eat it when she gets hungry enough! Meantime, no treats, no snacks, no table scraps!

It's tougher on you than it is on the dog ... she'll catch on quicker than you think!

Answer 6

got o petco or one of the petstores in town. but a good quality food seems she is bored of that stuff. she might be trying to tell you that it is not good for her. I would reccommend Petco... and the food for you would be Nutro Max Large breed... or High Energy. I have a chi and he gets Nutro Max small breed. he is fine. the food is actually consumed as soon as he is allowed to eat it. I dont put anything inside of it. *i got him from the shelter as well* she might need some suppliments. Ask the vet what you can do. Almost any high quality food will work for him.leave her dish full and ignore her as far as it coming to her food. when she is hungry... she will eat it.

Answer 7

Easy one.. Good quality kibble, put it down and leave it. She'll eat and she won't starve herself to death.. It might take a few days but she'll give in.. Don't you give in or you won't solve the problem at all... I have never had a dog that was a picky eater.. They all eat their kibble as tho it was steak, so if you feed good kibble, and don't suck the dog up, they'll eat their food without trouble.

Answer 8

my dog was like that, what i did was just put a bowl full of food somewhere and it willl eat when it likes, if it does even try then take it to the vets. hope that helps you.