Picky eater advice?

[timithos]

Hey guys, I am dealing with an outrageously picky eater. I love her to death but she has never been really into eating. Even when I give her delicious people food, she’s always hesitant (puts it in her mouth, spits it on the floor and sniffs it, then needs encouragement to eat). I mean this dog took filet migion that was medium rare and spit it out on the floor and looked at us like we were crazy

What we have tried: we initially had her on royal canine German shepherd formula which she ate, but then got sick of it so we mixed it with wet food which didn’t help. Since then we have tried:royal canine regular, royal canine hydrolyzed (our other dogs food), Purina pro plan, hills science zd, Hills lamb, taste of wild fish, taste of wild ancient prairie, and now orijen fish (which she reluctantly eats if hand fed)

Only wet food topper we tried is natural balance vegan formula (we feed our dogs meat based dog foods obviously, but since we are vegan we wanted to try a vegan wet food since it is just a topper. Don’t worry, meat will always be my dogs main food)

What she likes: raw carrots (obsessed with them), peanut butter, Trader Joe’s dog treats, whimzees treats, watermelon, roasted potatoes, chew toys, tofu scramble

For reference she is a 4 y/o long haired GSD with 0 change in mood/activity. Girl LOVES to swim and zoom all the time.

Any advice? Maybe different wet food?

 

[carmelolenahan]

@timithos It really depends on what you want and feel like going through with.

The tough love approach would be to give her whatever you feel like giving her and nothing else, until she is hungry enough to eat it. And she only gets about a half hour to eat it befor it vanishes. You need to be very ready to deal with tantrums and bad conscience and it may take a while for her to get hungry enough to do that. You have to watch her like a hawk so she doesn't sneak any other food. In the end you will have a dog that will eat what you give her though.

A slightly less tough love approach but just as important is to take the things she loves - like peanut butter - and mix it into whatever you want to feed her, like her kibble. Just a tiny bit of it to make it more appealing. In my experience it really helps to add extra water to the mix for easier digestion. You may consider offering her "soup" after a running session so she is thirsty.

Stop handfeeding the dog unless she is training. Stop trying new foods until you find one she likes, she either is playing you for better food or may begin doing so.

You may try to reset her digestive system by intetionally not feeding her for 24-48 hours, then introducing boiled chicken breast with either mashed potato or rice, prefereable served swimming in chicken broth. This diet goes on for at least a week. She might like it and maybe you will find an opening for adding kibble et al through this.

Treat her to carrot et al only after she's had her regular food or when you are training. You have the great advantage of having a food she is obsessed with, make it as rare as you can muster to guarantee high motivation for training. Teach her tricks and stuff and tap into the GSD work ethic. This will also strengthen the bond between you and might make her more willing to eat in your presence. Her want for you to handfeed you may also be a want for more closeness and atttention that you would be giving her in this way.

Dogs do well with eating the same thing over and over so if you have found a food that works, stick to it.

Also, is she pooping allright? If she has soft poo she might be having digestive problems that make her tummy upset. Is she gnawing at her thighs or licking her belly a lot? Has she recently been dewormed? Basically, have you spoken to a vet to rule out physical problems?

P.S.: when my boy was getting picky I did the rice & chicken thing, then the adding his fav wet food to kibble "soup" thing and took the food away half an hour after I set it down. He was hungry a few times but got the message really quickly. I did not try the tough love approach.

 

[nyakoa]

@timithos Why don’t you try a meal service like farmers dog or seeing a vet that specializes in nutrition that can guide you on home cooked dog food and supplementation? We give our GSD and our other pup about 5 oz chicken every night and try to include sweet potatoes with it when we can. He does well with Blue Buffalo dog food that he grazes on throughout the day. He’s 90 lbs and his weight is pretty ideal at 90 lbs for his size. He gets diarrhea with red meat or even turkey.
We are trying to make the transition to completely homemade dog food, we have an appt with a holistic vet in September so they can guide on what veggies and supplements we will need to include with chicken which will be their main protein.
Check out the book forever dog.
I am also a recent vegan for health reason.