cavvysavvy Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Good afternoon, I am the first to admit that I may go a little overboard with my dog. I think I have built a massive rod for my back and things have got to change!!!! He goes everywhere with me (mostly), But thats not really the problem. I tend to give into him too easily with food. This is driving me crazy bacause the stubborn little bugger wont eat dry food for me. Stupid me gives in and gives him chicken necks, which he inhales........ Next day Ill try again, to no avail. As I said, Its all my own fault, and I think its his eyes that make me give in..... (Cav) I want to feed him Black hawk, and for the first few days he ate it, and I was rapt, but then he stopped... Please any suggestions would be great. I know its mostly in my head and I know that he wont go hungry or starve himself if I only offer him the dry... But should I put it down for only 15 minutes and then pick it up and eventually he will get the idea that if he does not eat then he misses out? Or should I leave it on the floor all the time for him? Whats the best way to MAKE my dog eat what I want him to eat? All help and ideas are greatly appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozzie Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Put it down. Pick it up after 10 - 15 minutes. Offer again next feed. We got a 'princess', an old lady's dog who was spoilt rotten in the food dept. Tokk a few days but she chows down like a champ now. And no, she didn't starve or fade away to a shadow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isabel964 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Don't worry, I know this can fixed. I'm not going to give you advice - there are wiser people than me here that will do that. But relax, it will be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan3 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Writing/TeachEat.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavvysavvy Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Put it down. Pick it up after 10 - 15 minutes. Offer again next feed.We got a 'princess', an old lady's dog who was spoilt rotten in the food dept. Tokk a few days but she chows down like a champ now. And no, she didn't starve or fade away to a shadow. Ok Should I do this twice per day? Once I am happy that he is eating the dry food normally, then Ill add a chicken neck or two. Does that sound good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bundyburger Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Our dogs get 5 minutes to eat, if they don't it's fair game. When our youngest was small he got 15 mins though. He didn't eat for the first week he came home. Now he eats like a champ. Be lethal. Take it away and do NOT give in.. your dog won't starve if it doesn't eat for a day or two, some people just don't feed their dogs for one day a week because they think it's good for them. He will eat if he's really hungry.. but he knows he has you wrapped around his paw, and if he goes on a strike, you give him the good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ams Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 If you want him to eat kibble then only offer kibble. Chicken necks are like icecream. Unless you are feeding raw, then they are an integral part of the diet. Only offer kibble. 15 mins down in the morning, then take it away. 15 mins down in the evening then take it away. Do not offer any other food during the day. Usually 3 days and most dogs will give in and eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussienot Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 My vet once assured me that any dog who is getting food put in front of it at least once per day is not going to willingly starve to death. It may become a battle of wills. Just remember you are the one that decides what your dog eats. He does not get to decide for himself. Stay strong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4addy Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Probably not going to be much help but... We feed our dog mostly raw with a dry supplement, using either Artemis (the deluxe or whatever it is one) or Royal Canin if we forgot to order online, as Royal Canin can be picked up pretty easily locally for us. She used to either pick at it overnight and in the morn (we would leave it there at dinnertime) or not eat it. I finally managed to get a hold of a good rubbery proper round treatball, I just fill that up with the amount she needs and it keeps her entertained and she ACTUALLY likes to eat it *sigh* lol, so maybe if others replies don't work, try offering it in a different format? Like as a "treat" throughout the day, or through a treat ball at the appropriate time, I think I had even heard of someone using crushed kibble in pet mince? Anyway just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 he doesn't HAVE to eat dry But the put down/pick up rule is the best way to get him eating ... just remember NO treats in between . You may like to read here as well CLICK HERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fynesse Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I have no real knowledge when it comes to these things, I only speak from what i have seen. I personally don't like the idea of only leaving it for 10 minutes. Sometimes they just arent hungry and I don't like the idea that they have to gorge themselves in that 10 minutes or risk going hungry for the next 12 hours. My guy only gets dry food as well. I put it out and leave it. If he doesnt eat it that day, it stays there til the next day, or whenever he decides to eat it. The last lot sat there for 3 days before he finished it off. Obviously this wouldnt work if you're using canned food, but dry food is just that, dry food, so unless it gets wet, it will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ams Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Fynesse, I only use this routine for dogs that wait for their meals to be value added. Once they realise that what is put down is all that is on offer, I have no problem in giving them up to 20 mins to eat if that is what they need. The purpose of the time frame is just to let the dog know "this is dinner time". Pers I agree, he doesn't have to eat kibble, if he prefers raw then maybe consider feeding him that. So long as the meal is balanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy82 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 My dogs are picky too, at first I gave in and bought one yummy wet food after another to mix with the dry food. Then I bought canidae, and it's good quality food and there is no reason why they shouldn't eat it. So now all they get is the dry food mixed with water to make it soggy. If they don't eat it, they skip a meal. The best way to get a picky dog is to offer it something else if it doesn't immediately start eating. It's no big deal for a dog to skip a meal or 3, they're not gonna starve to death. Obviously you shouldn't offer a lot of treats while getting him to eat what you want him to eat. I never stopped offering them treats, as we do training every day. Now they usually eat it right away. I leave it out for about 20 minutes (they usually finish it before that time) and whatever is left gets thrown away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 10 minutes eating time for a healthy dog is not 'gorging' 20 seconds eating time is gorging!! If they are healthy, active,and not hungry .. then they wait until next meal time, when they may be hungry .Leaving food out all day just encourages 'picking'. It doesn't mean a dog's a slow eater- just means they have learnt the food is always there, so they can take one bit at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fynesse Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 10 minutes eating time for a healthy dog is not 'gorging' 20 seconds eating time is gorging!! If they are healthy, active,and not hungry .. then they wait until next meal time, when they may be hungry .Leaving food out all day just encourages 'picking'. It doesn't mean a dog's a slow eater- just means they have learnt the food is always there, so they can take one bit at a time. why does picking matter??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskedaway Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Our dogs get 5 minutes to eat, if they don't it's fair game. When our youngest was small he got 15 mins though. He didn't eat for the first week he came home. Now he eats like a champ. Be lethal. Take it away and do NOT give in.. your dog won't starve if it doesn't eat for a day or two, some people just don't feed their dogs for one day a week because they think it's good for them. He will eat if he's really hungry.. but he knows he has you wrapped around his paw, and if he goes on a strike, you give him the good stuff. Completely agreed. My little one was the same, the first few days she didn't really eat much, but she quickly learnt that if she didn't eat, she wouldn't get fed until the next meal. Now she'll go and eat as soon as her food is put down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 ='persephone' post='5243013' date='7th Apr 2011 - 03:03 PM']10 minutes eating time for a healthy dog is not 'gorging' 20 seconds eating time is gorging!! If they are healthy, active,and not hungry .. then they wait until next meal time, when they may be hungry .Leaving food out all day just encourages 'picking'. It doesn't mean a dog's a slow eater- just means they have learnt the food is always there, so they can take one bit at a time. why does picking matter??? If your happy with your dog taking 3 days to eat 1 meal it doesn't matter but that isn't normal . Dry still goes off,maggots still appear in dry ,ants etc etc. If my dog was taking so long to eat said product then to be honest i would be wondering why . Does it simply not enjoy the product ?? Is there a better diet plan that would suit the dog?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavvysavvy Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Thanks so much for the suggestions... Plan is to put his dinner down when we have ours, he then has about 20 minutes to eat. If not eaten Ill pick it up until the next feeding time..... I WILL BE STRONG!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan3 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 10 minutes eating time for a healthy dog is not 'gorging' 20 seconds eating time is gorging!! If they are healthy, active,and not hungry .. then they wait until next meal time, when they may be hungry .Leaving food out all day just encourages 'picking'. It doesn't mean a dog's a slow eater- just means they have learnt the food is always there, so they can take one bit at a time. why does picking matter??? A certain amount of "how we eat" is learned. I have seen dogs whom I suspect have learned to eat less and less until their metabolisms are only just ticking over, which I don't think is a good thing. On the other hand, a dog who eats everything in sight (within reason) is easy to feed. If they start putting on weight, we can cut back until they are a healthy weight again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katdogs Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 10 minutes eating time for a healthy dog is not 'gorging' 20 seconds eating time is gorging!! If they are healthy, active,and not hungry .. then they wait until next meal time, when they may be hungry .Leaving food out all day just encourages 'picking'. It doesn't mean a dog's a slow eater- just means they have learnt the food is always there, so they can take one bit at a time. :D 20 seconds is about normal for my Lab X! We supervise all meals but the picky dogs learn to eat it or lose it, there's only so long they get. Longer and with greater distance or door separation between the dogs if it's bones/chewy, and there's no real aggression or stealing of food, but the atmosphere is 'eat eat eat', not 'I'll just see if this food is here later, when I might feel more like eating it'. The cat is the only creature allowed to wander through and take from dog bowls, when she's feeling cheeky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now