stubborn boy wont eat, im getting so worried

[Karsalis]

Hi

I have a stubborn 11 month old shihtzu that is really finicky and will hardly eat. up until a month and a half ago he would eagerly gulp down his food. after he seemed to get tired of it.

I switched his food and he got tired of it after a few weeks. when i went on vacation he was with my brother in law and he got tired of that food and they switched his food again! also, they have cats and apparently Jet would rather have cat food then dog food!

i dont like the food they switched him to and want to go back to a healthier option. however, he is soo finicky and will hardly eat. when i give him food he pushes the food bowl around with his nose and cries at it.

every now and then my husband makes the mistake of giving him leftover chicken which he eagerly chows down. but when i try to feed him his normal food he wont eat it as it is obvious he is waiting for the "better food".

i made the mistake too of leaving his food out all the time as i was hoping he would eat it sooner or later on his own. i feel bad that he is not eating. eventually he would eat some after much coaxing and prodding.

i want to get him back to his old eating pattern and so i only feed him twice a day and if he doesnt eat in half an hour i take his food away. of course he barely touches his food except to push it around and i am getting so worried cause he is barely eating and not very active.

he has really decreased his energy and activity level in the last couple of months and again i dont know if that is why he does not need to eat as much or whether his energy level is down because he is hardly eating.

i dont know how long i can hold out like this cause i feel so bad and dont want him to starve and get skinny just cause he is stubborn and is holding out for better food.

[Lucky Rescue]

I'm assuming you're sure he has no medical problem?

If people give him cat food and people food when he wont' eat his dog food, then it's going to be a battle of wills to get him to eat it again.

You can hardly blame him for refusing to eat dog food when he knows he'll get something better if he holds out!

Have you tried canned dogfood? He might find that more appetizing and palatable than dry. (No - dry food is NOT better for teeth than canned.)And with one small dog, it won't break the bank either.

Get the canned food, and mix a lot of chicken in it, so he must eat the dog food to get the chicken.

Gradually descrease the amount of chicken until it's purely dogfood he's eating.

Give it to him twice a day at the same time. Put his food down and walk away - don't stand there watching him.

[Prin]

I say try Solid Gold Wolf King or the smaller doggy version "Just a wee Bit". Everybody I know who put their dog on it says their dog never gets sick of it. One person on the board whose dos ate every couple of days "ate like she never ate before". It's really tasty. After more than 6 months of feeding it, my dogs still wake us up to eat in the morning.

Here:
www.solidgoldhealth.com
Here's the "Just a Wee Bit"
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/produ...id=68&code=140

[Luba]

VERY good idea LR

Can also flavour the food with baby food. It is always YUMMIE

[Karsalis]

thats great! thanks ill try it out

[les]

I have exactly the same problem with my year old lab! She's fussy as can be! I tried switching foods a few times and that would work for a few days/weeks but then she wouldn't touch the new food!

I've tried everything - - putting a small handfull of plain cheerios in it, putting a small spoonfull of yogurt on it etc. Those tricks work for awhile .. til she gets sick of them too!

A few weeks ago I bought a bottle of that Iams gravy junk ... I know that's crap but I wanted the squeezable bottle! And I bought some cans of people gravy (chicken, beef, turkey - low fat when I can find it) and every meal I mix in one tablespoon (probably with a small dog one teaspoon would work) of the gravy with her food and she loves it. I dump the can into the Iams bottle and keep it in the fridge!

So far thats been working for me! I hope she doesn't get tired of gravy!

[Karsalis]

haha! its terrible how fussy then can be

Jet liked the Iams squeezable sauce for 2 meals thats it. I also tried chicken broth and he liked that for a day or so and again after that he doesnt want it anymore. im trying to make it so i dont have to put in in tricks but he is soo stubborn about holding out food.

[coppperbelle]

It sounds to me as if he has you well trained. He decides he doesn't like a food anymore and you change it. If he doesn't eat his food he gets chicken eventually.
This is what I would try. Get him a good quality food. Prin recommended Solid Gold Wolf King or Wee Bits. My dogs eat this food and love it. Feed him twice a day, morning and evening. Put his food down for 15 minutes. If he doesn't eat it, put it away until evening. Do the same in the evening. He probably won't eat it that night either. Keep doing this for a few days. Make sure he has plenty of water but no treats, including dog cookies, people food, bones or rawhides of any kind. He will probably only pick at his food for a few days but eventually when he realizes that he is not getting anything else will eat.

My mother has a Bichon that is like your guy. She jumps hoops to get this dog to eat. It is crazy. The amount of energy and time she spends on preparing her meals is ridiculous. My mother has had the same problem with almost all her dogs so in my opinion the problem does not lie with the dog. If you don't change his habits now you will be doing this all his life.

I do not have a problem with my dogs eating and never have. They are gluttons. On occasion I will get a foster that isn't eating which is normal because of all the upheavals in their lives. Last week I had a pup that wanted her food covered with warm water. I did for a few days and gradually decreased the amount every day. By the time she went to her forever home she was eating her food dry. You won't be able to change his eating habits overnight. It will take time. What you have to realize is that right now is he deciding what he is eating instead of the other way around.

Good luck

[Karsalis]

yeah you're right. im going to try Solid Gold and hope he will eat it. if not too bad.

[Prin]

Try to get samples first. Solid Gold is pretty generous with their samples to retailers, so ask. If you can't get a sample of the Just a Wee Bit, try the wolfcub (puppy food) or the wolf king (adult large breed). They're basically the same ingredients, just the calories vary. You'll get an idea if he like the taste or not.

[savannah]

My dog is the pickiest eater, ever. In the past, she has gone days without eating, causing her to puke yellow bile, sending us to the vet to make sure she was okay (i am a worrier). But i 100% admit that i am to blame for this. We started feeding her table scraps as a puppy, and things have never been the same (4 in august). Then my vet recommended that i cook for her (he supplied me with recipes and vitamins), which i did for maybe 3 years (and she had the most luxurious coat back then). Now she is back on dog food, and for the longest time, we had to hand feed her to get her to eat it. We still boil some water, put it on her dry food to make wet & warm, and then we add wet dog food (all Merricks brand). She mostly always eats it, eventually. If she doesn't, it goes in the fridge and later gets warmed up again and served.
Good luck! And you have to totally stop with this "better food" aka chicken. He will continue to hold out as long as he sees he is getting it.

I have to add that Merricks is really good dog food. My dog would not even attempt any other food but merricks. I would suggest giving it a try.
www.merrickpetcare.com

[Safyre]

Reading your first post, just want ot make sure that he has been to the vet and you have been able to determine nothing is wrong with his teeth.
If yes, follow all other suggestions.
If no, take him to the vet just to be sure!

[Prin]

I concur with savannah, Merrick dog food is crazy, if you can afford it. It's all good stuff.

[Karsalis]

Im pretty paranoid and i took him to the vet twice and call them all the time. Jet's been acting on and off like this for the last couple of months. it is definitely picky behaviour.

I havent had him try Solid Gold yet but today i put a bit of oil supplement in his regular dry kibble (he has itchy skin), and he really liked the food and ate it. he even wanted more food. so hopefully this new appetite will last.

it is definitely picky food behaviour though, he is healthy and happy as a clam.

[OntarioGreys]

Itchy skin is usually an indicator of a food allergy

My suggestion would be to try one of these foods that have limited ingredients Natural Balance Allergy Formulas They are premium foods