Has your dog become a picky eater? Most dogs are not picky by nature, we like to eat anything and everything. Sometimes dogs start to become picky and this needs to be stopped in its tracks.
Madison was picky from day one. As she grew older and our food selection evolved, she has become a real chow hound. Mom was so frustrated with Madison not eating her food but no more. At our house, food has really evolved over the past ten years. I started on kibble and we did a lot of food reviews which gave us canned food and many flavors of kibble. Our kibble selection changed for the better over the years, then we switched to Dr Harveys and added our own protein, and now we have been eating raw for almost three years.
Olivia has always eaten anything she can get her paws on. All types of food, treats, you name it she will eat it. New food types are exciting for her.
Nelson is the new problem child as we recently realized he was turning into a picky eater. As a puppy he ate any food Mom put in his bowl. He still eats any treats he gets. What happened to make him start being picky at mealtime? Since the day he moved here, he has eaten raw, but pretty much the same two varieties. Our treats and chews are switched up all the time and he eats them so what’s up with the food?
Mom started adding in some new proteins to our food, like beaver, venison, pork, bison, just to name a few. We girls wolfed these all down, Nelson, well, he went hungry for a day before he would eat beaver. The place we used to get our raw food had all kinds of proteins and Mom always switched things up for us. Nelson hasn’t had that experience.
What did we do to get Nelson back to eating? As long as a pup has no food sensitivities, you feed them what you have and if they don’t eat it, put it up until the next mealtime. It has worked for Nelson. One day without food was enough for him. He still hesitates if something in his food bowl is new to him, but he always eats it. In the wild, dogs don’t refuse food as their lives depend on eating what they can find. Once your dog learns he can’t be choosy, he will happily eat the meals you serve. Variety is the spice of life and mealtime, especially for your pup. We can’t wait to try even more proteins for our meals.
PS: To make mealtime even better add some veggies, fruits, or eggs to your dogs food now and then. We love a good food surprise!
My GBGV Life is joining Brian’s Home Blog in the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
I’m like you, Olivia. If you put it in my dish, I will eat it. I enjoy everything!
We were sure Nelson was like that too, but he had started to get picky with meals. Now that we know that, we are mixing things up more often and he is adapting well.
we agree.. a surprise is always good… we are no picky eathers.. we eat efurrything with legs… including the table ;O)))
LOL! We would be shocked if you guys got picky, but we were shocked Nelson was picky.
Clover eats broccoli and cucumbers with her dinner every night. O can’t say she is a picky eater. She-eats everything including her poop.
We eat broccoli but we have never had cucumbers because Mom doesn’t like them. Maybe we should give them a try.
Very interesting!
We know that cats will starve themselves if they aren’t interested in eating what is provided, so there is a whole different paradigm.
Dogs are omnivores, while cats are obligate carnivores, and if they snub a food that they’ve eaten in the past, it’s because the recipe has changed, or the food has gone bad.
This post is very informative.
Mom never realized the importance of switching up our meals so we don’t get set on just one kind of food until Nelson refused the beaver. Now we know and he is back with the program. Cats are truly a whole different animal! Bert will not touch our raw food. Mom had considered switching him to raw food for cats but then decided against it. At least he doesn’t steal our food but we sometimes steal his 😉
Sounds like you all have found a great food routine!
xoxo,
Rosy and Sunny
We girls love it and Nelson is starting to as well.
PLEASE, PLEASE ,PLEASE -SEND THE PICTURE OF NELSON ON THE DISHWASHER DOOR to Brent for the next issue of GBGVCA newsletter which is going to feature puppies being puppies!!!
He is a funny boy, I mean Nelson, not Brent 🙂
Zachary is not a picky eater, but Mia the Toy Poodle is really finicky, and she has no issues with not eating if what is in her bowl is not what she likes!!! We get lots of variation in proteins about half raw, half home cooked and add that to the base mixes from Dr Harvey’s or Honest Kitchen. Clarence the cat will eat the raw meat or his canned food (he even has one brand that includes mouse in the cat food!)
Mouse in cat food would be just the ticket for cat bro Bert. He catches mice outside a lot and eats them. Sounds like you guys have a great meal plan.
You are so adorable ~ sweet photo ~ enjoy the food!
Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Thank you. We love our food these days.
Just curious, how much protein do each of you eat in one day? When Ducky was still with me, I was giving her the Dr. Harvey’s Canine Health with ground turkey that I browned for her. I forget the actual amount of turkey I mixed in for each meal – I think it was 4 or 5 ounces – but I do remember calculating that there was no way I could afford the amount of protein I would need for Bogie when he was full grown. At least not if I kept buying it at the same place.
We girls eat about 3/4 of a cup twice a day, Nelson eats a little over a cup twice a day. It is the meat, organs, bone, all the stuff ground together. We could not afford it at the store where we started getting it. As we talked more to other dog people we started to find other places to get our raw food that is much less than the original place we got it. It is more expensive than kibble, but not to crazy priced.
Lots of kitties are picky eaters, but that’s pretty normal. I’m glad to hear that Nelson is catching on to the menu rotation thing! Thanks for joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
Mom knows cats are picky often, but dogs are not supposed to be and she has had picky dogs but doesn’t want that anymore. Nelson seems to have gotten over it, so we are happy.
None of our grandpups are picky eaters, and in fact we sometimes have the opposite problem, they like everything!
That is how dogs are supposed to be and we are all that way now that Nelson has remembered he is supposed to eat what is given to him.
I keep telling Mom I’m not picky, I’m discerning. She’s not buying it (‘course, considering I happily will nosh on eyeglasses and socks, but that’s another story).
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
LOL, you are funny. Eyeglasses and socks are more like dessert.