Feeding Problems

[jin]

My little 13 week old pup barely eats anything. He's happy and appears healthy, and he's full of energy. Yet at mealtimes (I feed him twice a day), he takes a few mouthfuls of food and then walks away and continues to play.

It's not that he doesn't have an appetite. I train him at meal times and he loves his treats (I use schmackos).

I give him a combination of soft and dry food. he likes the soft food better, but he still doesn't eat much, and i'm lucky if he takes more than half a bite of dry food.

I've tried heaps of brands- Eukanuba Innova, Purina, Nature's Best and My Dog. He likes My Dog soft food the best but I was told to stay away from supermarket brands and from soft foods if possible.

Is it okay to give him people food? he eats luncheon meat and chicken, and i've given him tuna on occassion (although i read this should be a minimum). it goes down a lot easier than the dog food. and he loves weetbix- i give him a tiny bit of damp weetbix as a treat (no milk). I know I should stay away from onion, garlic and chocolate. I wouldn't give him just meat, i could add rice and yellow and green vegetables.

I read online that toy poodles are better suited to people food anyway.

If anybody has any experience I'd be grateful to hear from you.

Thanks!

[gareth]

Try a raw chicken neck or wing.

I read online that toy poodles are better suited to people food anyway.

yeah? Twaddle mate! A myth perpertrated by movies with pampered poodles perfectly groomed sitting on satin cushions being hand fed caviar perhaps

Lots of tasty people alternatives are OK like a litle scrambled egg or some sardines mixed in his dry may make it more interesting. Try a little experimenting but avoid the nasties like onions, chocolate, grapes etc, oh and caviar!

[APBT]

i had the same problem, at one stage it was really bad any she would not touch her kibble. then i stopped all other food, out down her kibble at meal times and if she dident eat it i would take it away till next meal. after a couple of days she go the picture and now she eat her kibble.

just remember your dog will not starve it self, it will eat the kibble when hungry enough.

[huski]

I agree with Gareth, try a bit of raw meat like chicken wings or necks and even some beef mince.

You can try mixing in some natural yoghurt and sardines into his dried food, I am yet to meet a dog who doesn't go wild for sardines!

Maybe try a super premium brand of dried food like Eagle Pack Holistic or Artemis?

Edited March 10, 2009 by huski

[luvsdogs]

I would try him on raw chicken meat & raw bones. It's best to give him meat chunks than mince. As stated put the food down for about 10 muns & if he doesn't eat it take it up until the next meal.

[Cockerlover]

stick with one brand of kibble ,if you keep changing the brand ,it will cause tummy upsets

Try soaking the kibble in chicken stock & adding a little chicken or mince in with the kibble .

[becks]

What a clever dog! He is getting you trained up very well!

Firstly, stop filling him up with schmackos!

At 13 weeks my pups are on 4 meals a day and yes, the portions are tiny.

What did the breeder have the litter being fed on? It is best to go back to what he was on originally (so long as it was a decent brand), put it down, then as soon as the dog walks away, pick it up and offer a meal at the next meal time. Do NOT offer extras or titbits between meals.

[poodlefan]

I read online that toy poodles are better suited to people food anyway.

Not so. They are dogs, with the same digestive systems and nutritional needs as other dogs. Anyone who suggests otherwise is misleading you.

I agree with cutting out the junk food like Schmackos. If you are having trouble getting him to eat, buy a premium brand puppy kibble, put it in the bowl, put it down and WALK AWAY. Dont hover over it, making a big deal out of meal times. After 5 minutes, pick it up and put it away.

A toy poodle's stomach will be tiny. Unless he is skin and bones, he is eating enough. Your challenge is to ensure that what he does eat gives him the nutrients he needs to grow. Processed treats, tuna etc do not have enough of these. He needs protein, calcuim etc that must be obtained from a decent quality dog food (DOL recommended brands are Artemis, Royal Canin, Eaglepack) or from a properly balanced raw diet. What you are suggesting would be deficient in that.

You only get one chance to grow your puppy right. Feed him what he needs, not what he is training you he wants.

Edited March 10, 2009 by poodlefan

[jin]

Hi all

Thanks for all the advice. I don't fill him up on schmackos, I only give him tiny bits as treats when i'm training him to sit, sleep, come etc. he never gets them unless its in that context.

He was on Eukanuba when I got him, that's what i tried first. He definitely is getting the better of me, because i tried taking the food away one morning, and at night when i put it down again he still walked off- and I felt so bad that he hadn't eaten all day!

I'll try outlasting him

[Sandra777]

Hi Jin - you are no doubt giving him tiny pieces of schmackos - but a toy poodle puppy's stomach is a very tiny thing itself. Why not use some of his kibble for rewards instead of rubbish like schmackos? As you say, you give him his training treats around meal times so if he's going to get something to eat it may as well be his dinner. Save the *really* good treats for when the time comes that you need a really great incentive for training.

[Odin-Genie]

Hi all

Thanks for all the advice. I don't fill him up on schmackos, I only give him tiny bits as treats when i'm training him to sit, sleep, come etc. he never gets them unless its in that context.

He was on Eukanuba when I got him, that's what i tried first. He definitely is getting the better of me, because i tried taking the food away one morning, and at night when i put it down again he still walked off- and I felt so bad that he hadn't eaten all day!

I'll try outlasting him

As huski suggested, try Eagle Pack or Artemis. My dogs didn't touch their kibble either when they were on Eukanuba and later Hills Science. These have loads of fillers and perhaps don't taste as good. I had to keep mixing mince etc to make them eat. But now they gobble up Artemis without any problem.

[Gayle.]

Anothet trick to get him to eat kibble is to stink it up with a mashed sardine mixed through it. My dogs LOVE sardines and would quite happily eat stones if they came with mashed sardines.

If I asked my dogs what they'd prefer to eat, they would undoubtedly say "people food, please. specially ice cream and chips!"

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

I read online that toy poodles are better suited to people food anyway.

That not correct. it needs raw bones, raw meat, offal, or dry food and canned food if you want.

it needs a balanced dog diet so that it will thrive and grow well.

Toy dogs should be treated just like big dogs, no matter what size a dog is it is still a dog.

that included training too. even though they are small they need to be well behaved.

[Jed]

Toy breed pups do not have strong jaws, and often, eating a few pieces of dry kibble wears them out, so they stop eating it. Greedy pups will persevere, but ones which are not greedy will simply give up because it is too hard and tiring to continue chewing. I breed Cavaliers, and I give them very little kibble, and if I do, I soak it in hot water to soften it.

Try him on a raw diet, as has been suggested, and also try things such as an egg, scrambled in the microwave. He may not like it, but the may, and it will be good for him.

[Dogsfevr]

So he gets schmackos,weetbix,luncheon meat & chicken

Yep pup has trained you well.

Providing the euk are the toy size ,add hot water to soften them a little.

You can add lamb mince,puppy tin(we use Eagle pack puppy tin) on all our pups.We have used Pedigree naturals as well with no issues at all.

Your pup wont starve BUT if you dont stick with a routine now are you are setting the pup up for failure with diet,

Dogs need a diet designed for them ..

Your pup has left competition at eating time.You now need to be that competition,if it doesnt eat after 10 mins it goes away & dont use any treats at this time.If it wants to eat it does so from the bowl

Toy poodles are not special,there just a dog like every other breed BUT a poor diet will affect there coat & skin & set you up for vet bills & a life long nightmare

[jin]

Okay, just to reiterate what I said before, I am not feeding him weetbix, schmackos, luncheon and chicken. I am feeding him kibble. Thats why I had an issue- because he wasn't eating it. I have given him the other stuff, but only very little.

I don't think its true that dogs cannot eat human food or they'll be unhealthy. I had a mongrel for 17 years who ate human food and never went to a vet a day in her life except for vaccinations and regular health checks. I know of two other people who have dogs in similar conditions. Also, two vets have now told me to give him human food if he'll eat it within certain constraints which they have let me know (eg no onion etc).

That said, I do want him to eat kibble, its healthy for him and easier for me. Given what I read about toy poodles, I thought I'd ask the question to see if anybody had any further details.

I've tried some of the suggestions that have been posted here over the last couple of days and he is eating his kibble better- I bought a semi dry puppy kibble and he seems to like that.

Thanks for all your suggestions- appreciate the advice. My questions are answered now.

[kyliegirl]

1- dont humanise him, you may love the dog but its a dog, they do not have the same emotions as humans so dont feel sorry for the dog if it doesnt eat. He wont be going "why arent you feeding me, why dont you love me" dogs dont think like that.. The food is either there, or its not..

2- dogs can survive fine without food for quite a few days, they were built with the chance of lack of food in mind and are able to survive without food for quite a few days or even weeks depending on the situation..

3- use the dogs dinner/brekky for treats in/part of training, this will ensure that even if he doesnt eat dinner or brekky he is still eating it and it will also help you to keep a good balance in weight and reduces the amount of random food given to the dog.

as for dogs eating human food, human food a few years back was ALOT healthier than human food is today, so this argument doesnt exist.. Have you seen all the preservatives etc in human food today? 10 years back most of it didnt exist.. So feeding todays human food isnt a good idea and is a cause for animal obesity and health issues due to high salt/sugar/fat intake along with too much random wheat products.

Edited March 18, 2009 by kyliegirl

[mademoisellemika]

Hey jin

When Mika first got home, she didn't seem to like kibble much as well. So I soaked it in warm water for a couple of minutes and mash it up... as a variety, she normally gets straight kibble for breakfast, a teaspoon of beef mince + mashed kibble for lunch and for dinner, I sometimes mix kibble with abit of mince and vegs (she is taking a liking to carrots n frozen green beans). We vary her meals every day but the base of the meal (like 70%) is still puppy kibble. It's only been a week since we got her so we're still feeding her what her breeder fed her (Hill's Science)... after a few more weeks, I'll be gradually switching to Artemis for her kibble. I've got a sample of Artemis that I've been itching to try out on her :D

As for treats, surprisingly she's not a fan of schmackos! We give her yoghurt treats and cold carrots... and of course, lots and lots of love!! :rolleyes:

[rish]

All our dogs have always eaten table food.

Kreepy loves fruit,Min loves Potato and Leigh,well nothing hits the side of her belly going down.LOL

I think you got some great advice on making the kibble "yummy" ,you can still feed her scrap's as long as she gets her normal feed allotment .

[rish]

I don't think its true that dogs cannot eat human food or they'll be unhealthy. I had a mongrel for 17 years who ate human food and never went to a vet a day in her life except for vaccinations and regular health checks. I know of two other people who have dogs in similar conditions. Also, two vets have now told me to give him human food if he'll eat it within certain constraints which they have let me know (eg no onion etc).