Picky Puppy?

[helpinghand101]

I’m struggling to get my puppy to stick to one kibble. I order a small bag of a kibble and she’ll love it so I order a big bag and about halfway through she stops eating it. She consistently tries eating my adult westie’s food (Wellness Lamb) She’ll likely end up a medium sized dog - she’s 44lbs at 9 months old. She’s fairly skinny though due to this kibble struggle. Here are the foods she’s had:

Inukshuk Performance Marine 16

Wellness CORE digestive health chicken (she was dealing with diarrhea so the vet recommended something for sensitive stomachs). She did enjoy this one for months then randomly stopped.

Wellness CORE RawRev chicken & turkey (had diarrhea)

Purina Pro Plan salmon flavor

Farmina N&D Lamb & Blueberry

Hill’s (not sure what one. Her daycare gave it to her because she stopped eating the Farmina that I brought. She didn’t like it)

Fromm duck flavor (was given some from someone to see if she’d like it. She did but I’ve heard mixed things about Fromm)

I’ve tried adding toppers to her food and she’ll just get a mouthful then seem to get the topper off and drop the kibble on the floor.

Has anyone else ran into this issue? I’m at a loss and just want her to eat.

 

[othersteeve]

@helpinghand101 It's tough with picky eaters but you just have to be more stubborn than them. By switching or adding toppers when she starts turning her nose up she will keep doing it forever because she knows she will get something even better than the last one. Pick a food and stick to it. If she doesnt eat it, she loses it until next mealtime. No treats, no toppers. She will get the idea after a few missed meals. If she goes 48hrs without eating see a vet. This sort of behaviour needs nipping in the bud for your sanity and your dog's health

 

[helpinghand101]

@othersteeve That's a fair point. So far I have been picking the bowl up after about 30 minutes of it being available and she has to wait until her next meal. Unfortunately the treat one wouldn't work since we do small training exercises through the day since she's still young and it gives her good mental stimulation. It's not nearly enough to substitute a full meal though. It's just frustrating to see her slowly start to eat it less. I think she also has a strong personality of wanting what she can't have because she is absolutely obsessed with trying to get her older brother's food even when I got her the puppy equivalent of it. She's the same way with toys even if they have the same exact toy. She wants his.

 

[vince__tron]

@helpinghand101 You can also use her food as training “treats”, that’s what I do

 

[jjerry]

@helpinghand101 You should feed her in her crate. Puppies get distracted easily and prefer to run around to see what everyone else is doing. When you feed her in her crate, her only two choices are to eat or sleep. But really, it's not a picky eater thing but an attention span thing. Keep pulling her food after a certain time to show her that this is her only opportunity to eat. The worst thing to do is create a grazer.

 

[othersteeve]

@helpinghand101 Have you tried puzzle feeders? Or training using toys? Honestly I think sorting this food aversion out trumps enrichment training as long as she doesn't have any mega problematic behaviours to sort out. If it isn't nipped now it will be a life long thing... ask me how I know!

 

[jjerry]

@othersteeve I'm just curious. How would you use toys to fix this behavior? Or do you mean to withold training treats to increase her appetite and use the toys during training. I wouldn't agree that this is a life long thing. This can be fixed at any age if you do it properly.

 

[othersteeve]

@jjerry The owner says they do small training exercises throughout the day, for which they use treats. I was suggesting using toys for enrichment instead. If she knows she gets treats eventually she will hold out.

If you are an experienced, professional trainer you should know its not always that straightforward. We stopped pandering to my last dog at around 2 years old but it was done. We worked with a vet behaviourist and kept at it for years but it never resolved. She would eat a new brand for maybe up to a month and then hunger strike for days at a time until we had to change her food or give her something else or hand feed her max about 5 kibbles at a time, no matter what we tried. If we held out for 3+ days and she did eat it would be less than half what she should've, just enough so she wouldn't starve. There were no medical issues until the end of her life. She knew we would cave eventually. She was a great dog but a complete nightmare with food. It went on for 10 years

 

[sevilodorf]

@jjerry Incorporating toys into eating.

Picky eating is far easier to address before adolescence than if it becomes a years long engrained behavior

 

[networkseen]

@othersteeve This is the answer. I have a picky chi mix. She knows how to outsmart the weak ones (her grandparents ). She knows better with me, and the advice to wait her out has come from multiple vets.

 

[breaf123]

@helpinghand101 Our dog will randomly stop eating her kibble for days. If you haven't tried it yet, maybe soak the kibble in hot water for a few minutes. It could be sore teeth or they just want a different texture.

 

[theropod]

@helpinghand101 Have you tried Royal Canin? They do palatability tests on their food.

 

[helpinghand101]

@theropod I have not. They were a brand I was looking at though. Definitely going to pick up a small bag today. There’s so many brands that it’s a bit overwhelming. Legitimately desperate for her to be consistent with eating and getting her to add some weight.

 

[russel]

@helpinghand101 My puppy came home from the breeder on Pro Plan Puppy and she would barely eat it — I tried toppers, taking the bowl away, etc. Nothing worked, and she definitely wouldn’t take it as treats. My breeder recommended I try Royal Canin Puppy and it’s been smooth sailing since. She gobbles it down.

 

[kawaiichristi]

@helpinghand101 Royal Canin and Bil-Jac both tend to be very palatable.

What's her body condition score? She's approaching the age where her growth will slow down and she'll need fewer calories. My point is, unless she's actually too skinny and your vet wants her to gain weight, the solution could be as simple as feeding less so she doesn't self regulate.

If your vet says she needs to gain weight, definitely ask your vet about medical causes if you haven't already, or if they haven't done any tests to rule out medical causes. Becoming selective or picky can be exactly what nausea looks like, and there may be no other symptoms.

 

[helpinghand101]

@kawaiichristi I'll have to check out Royal. I've seen a handful of good things about it.

Based on the chart I found on petmd for medium sized dogs I'd say she's in-between 3 and 4. She's so close to looking like she's at a healthy weight but she's long-haired and you can somewhat see her ribs but easily see her pelvis.

I'll try the less feeding. The vet has definitely mentioned wanting her to gain weight and thought I was underfeeding her but I wasn't. She's just uninterested in her food most of the time and hyper focused on my westie's food. I even tried giving her the same brand and flavor. It's rare if she eats half of her serving.

 

[kawaiichristi]

@helpinghand101 Maybe several small meals instead of two big meals? Same amount, just split up.

Is your older dog very sensitive? One option is to put the older dog on the puppy food too so there's no difference. Adult maintenance food isn't good for puppy growth, but puppy food won't hurt adult dogs. You could find a puppy food similar in protein and fat and calories to your existing adult dog food so it's not a big switch and won't cause weight gain.

You could separate them in different rooms/crates/areas to feed. Then she can have access to her dish for a while to think about it, come and go, eat a bit, walk away, build an appetite, come back for more. I don't like free feeding but I have no problem with "here's your portion, you've got 20 minutes to eat as much or as little of it as you like". No great hurry. Then snagging some of the adult food is never even a possibility.

Sometimes they also need a solid routine in order to settle and relax enough to focus on the food. I've had good luck with exercise first, then play, train, separate and settle a bit, eat, chew, and finally nap. The exercise and play builds an appetite, the training gives them just enough food to really make them realize they're hungry, and then settling lets them calm down enough to focus on eating.

If it persists I'd ask the vet again about medical causes. You've tried enough foods that simple flavor preference wouldn't be my guess. More likely medical or behavioral/anxiety/stress/distraction/excitement.

 

[balkan]

@helpinghand101 A lot of dogs would prefer to work for food rather than just eating it out of a bowl. I have one of those.

Have you tried playing games with the kibble (like tossing the kibble back and forth, flicking it across the floor (super fun for my herder), teaching her to catch, etc.)? The more fun you can make it (without adding too much pressure) the better!

 

[helpinghand101]

@balkan I've tried the feeder bowls and she doesn't put much effort in it before she dumps it out. I've tried snuffle mats too and she just picks them up and shakes them so kibble flies everywhere and she just walks away. I've tossed it on the floor and she just looks at me like "what the hell was that for?" lol. She has ate out of my hand before though but I don't want that to be a habit. Maybe she'd like trying to catch it. I'll try that one. Thank you!

 

[balkan]

@helpinghand101 Haha, sometimes my boy looks at me like WTF - this isn't a treat!! But if I encourage him to get it (he does have a cue that tells him he can go get the reward), he will and over a couple tosses, catches, hand touches, whatever the dog finds fun, he's pretty into it, and after a few minutes playing, his appetite is usually stimulated enough to finish his portion from a bowl.

You might have to build the games up with treats at first so your dog gets the concept and the games have a reinforcement history.

Puzzle feeders are nice for some dogs, but I'm moreso encouraging active engagement with you using food as play.

Also, I would prefer a dog to be on the skinnier side than the heavier side. Are you by chance feeding too much? Does she get a lot of treats?

Have you discussed with your vet?