fergmatt Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 First thing first, Jax and I are back to basics based on the suggestions from this board. I gave him a little too much freedom for a nine month puppy and we had a few set backs in his behavor...ie peeing in the house!!! Now, I need the expert advise of the board once more. Jax has always been a really really picky eater. I try to feed him a cup in the AM and a cup in the PM. I am feeding him Natures Veriety which he seemed to enjoy at first. He occasionally will eat a full cup in the AM but not in the PM or vise versa. Sometimes he doesnt eat at all. I cant get him on a schedule... My question is this...does anyone else have a picky eater? Does anyone have any advise on how I can get Jax to eat on a regular schedule? PS - he is healthy as can be and his weight is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergmatt Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Also, sorry for the spelling...I am not the best and forgot to spell check! ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pansmom Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 I am no expert on this, but metabolically speaking if he is healthy as can be and his weight is good at the current level he's eating, it sounds like he might not need two full cups a day. Maybe he is self-regulating. I've read a lot of comments here on the boards that say the daily estimate values on food bags are probably overestimates to sell more kibble. And also that each dog is different; they have varying metabolisms just like us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey Girl Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Certainly no expert here, but our girl seemed to eat only because she had to. I think some BC's are so involved in other things that eating isn't a priority for tem. We fed her AM and PM, but she didn't really 'eat' at those times, more she picked at it all day. In essence, other than when trying to potty train, that's probably more healthy for them anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergmatt Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 I found that the est on the bag are high! There is no way Jax could eat 4-5 cups per day. He would be HUGE! Does anyone else leave food out all day for the dog to pick at? Jax is crated during the day (other then when I get home for 30 min) so it would have to be left in his crate. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Does anyone else leave food out all day for the dog to pick at? Jax is crated during the day (other then when I get home for 30 min) so it would have to be left in his crate. Thoughts? At 9 mos. Gil was fed am and pm. Food down for 15 minutes then put up. He quickly learned to eat when it was offered. Can't leave it down for him to feed at will. One of the other two would take care of it before he left the room. He did go thru a spell of trying to make meal times come at times of his choosing. Missed a couple of meals and decided to eat on my schedule. Amount was about the same. At 17 months he is getting 2.5 cups of Taste of the Wild per day. Gil will not eat when his tummy is upset. Jenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseAmy Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 I found that the est on the bag are high! There is no way Jax could eat 4-5 cups per day. He would be HUGE! Does anyone else leave food out all day for the dog to pick at? Jax is crated during the day (other then when I get home for 30 min) so it would have to be left in his crate. Thoughts? As long as your dog is in good health he will eat when he gets hungry. Lots of dogs are picky.. I have a couple myself. Don't feed into it (pun intended). Feed a good quality food..give your dog 15 minutes to eat and then pick it up until next meal. Leaving food out will only encourge your dog to be more picky. Providing the are no health issues no dog will starve themsleves, when they get hungry they will eat. Also don't obsess over his eating if you make a big deal over it then it becomes a big deal and your dog will pick up on it. 15 minuets to eat and then without further ado pick it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejano Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 First thing first, Jax and I are back to basics based on the suggestions from this board. I gave him a little too much freedom for a nine month puppy and we had a few set backs in his behavor...ie peeing in the house!!! Now, I need the expert advise of the board once more. Jax has always been a really really picky eater. I try to feed him a cup in the AM and a cup in the PM. I am feeding him Natures Veriety which he seemed to enjoy at first. He occasionally will eat a full cup in the AM but not in the PM or vise versa. Sometimes he doesnt eat at all. I cant get him on a schedule... My question is this...does anyone else have a picky eater? Does anyone have any advise on how I can get Jax to eat on a regular schedule? PS - he is healthy as can be and his weight is good. Brodie is not so much picky but a light eater. He's on the small side (light boned) but his weight is good and he's healthy and active so I don't worry too much that he doesn't gulp down the amount of food his brother does, who is bigger all around and a heavier, bigger boned dog. Brodie is probably getting more than what I measure out because he snatches food from Ladybug's dish in the kitchen and the cat's food dish if they're left out with food in them....not the best diet so I'm really trying to remember to pick the food up. I made a habit right from the start of feeding the pups in their crates so I could see how much they were eating and regulate if necessary. Brodie saves up the bulk of his food for a bedtime snack --both pups cover their food dishes if they have food in them, which I find interesting because they really have no competition. At any rate, unless they eat it, their food is available to them all day long. We measure out the food each morning and each one has a jar on top of their crate so I know what they've eaten that day. Robin has always eaten his full share while Brodie is generally eating between half and two thirds. I've been advised in the past to make food available only at certain times of the day and then leave it with the dog for a set period of time then take the dish away. This encourages them to eat promptly and "lick the plate" so to speak because they don't have the food available to pick at throughout the day....not sure how that rule applies to pups under a year old. I figured they should have food available when they want it, but maybe not.... Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejano Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 I found that the est on the bag are high! There is no way Jax could eat 4-5 cups per day. He would be HUGE! Does anyone else leave food out all day for the dog to pick at? Jax is crated during the day (other then when I get home for 30 min) so it would have to be left in his crate. Thoughts? Robin and Brodie are six months and the recommended amount on the Diamond food bag is 2 and 2/3 cup per day. 4-5 cups might be for a larger breed dog??? Yes, I do leave food out all day, mainly because Brodie never finishes his (see my other post). RObin mostly cleans his food up, though I see now that Brodie's breakfast is mostly untouched and RObin's is half eaten with a ball "covering" the remaining food. Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Poke is an extremly picky eater, and my puppy Sita is not huge on eating either. Poke is super skinny. No matter what I do he just doesn't like to eat. We monitor his weight closely because he is so skinny, as does the vet. While he looks run way model thin his muscle tone is excellent and the vet has no concerns about health. We have lots of toys in the house that are food oreinted. As I type Sita is pushing around her "kibble ball." My picky eaters will eat more when they have to work for it. I try and do a lot of training with food for my two light eaters as well. That way I can increase their food intake and they actually enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedismom Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 I think some dogs can just get bored with eating the same thing all the time. Jedi was skipping meals alot until I started adding a little canned food on top. Now that I went to a higher protein, grainless kibble, (Blue Wilderness, Orijen) he loves it and never skips. He also eats raw at night and has not turned his nose up at anything yet. Perhaps it would help to mix it up a little and make it more interesting? Do you feed the Instinct or Prairie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergmatt Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 i would love to mix it up with a little raw but I have no idea what and how much to feed him. There is soooo much info on what is healthy and what isnt that its tough for me to figure it all out. I am giving him natures veriety that has several flavors so maybe he will like a change every few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 I lived with a very picky eater for 10 years, he just was not interested in food. Bandit was a biggish dog and we worked to keep weight on him. Tried different foods and all the suggestions in the end we just let him self regulate because our other dog did not touch his food (she is one who can eat a bowl in the blink of an eye and has been on a diet since she was 3 (she is 14 now)) and if he wanted to eat at midnight then we decided that was better than not eating which is what was happening when we took his bowl away A couple of times a week we would bribe him with a raw egg or gravy on his kibble, he would very carefully eat the kibble with the good stuff and leave anything dry... The bottom line was he lived to good old age (maybe 13-14) and was fit and active until a couple of months before he passed, we just stopped worrying about his eating, it was working for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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