food question

[BigDog67]

I feed my 1yr old Canidae but she was very stubborn about eating it all the time. She would be picky and would not eat it all the time. I would put the bowl down and she would eat only about half or what was in the bowl and would not touch the rest. I would take the bowl and fill it up for her next meal and she would only eat half the bowl. I Went home to my Parents house and my mom had put 2spoonfulls of can food in with her food and mixed it up and she ate the bowl of food up like she has never eatin before. Is it ok that I put 2 Spoonfuls of can food with her 1 1/2 cups of canidae twice aday. WIth this method she eats her food instantly in like a minute she eats all of her food when it would take her 20 minutes to eat only half the bowl. SHe would also pick some food out and spit it on the floor as if she said that she didnt like her food.... I go through 1 can of dog food every 3 days. Any advice or should i just continue what i am doing.

[ladawn]

I can't tell from your post if you are free feeding or not. If you are, I would stop. If you want her to eat what you serve, have designated meal times. Put down the allotted food--leave it down for a set period of time, probably no longer than 20 minutes. Do not add goodies to the food (canned dog food, people food, etc.) If she eats great, if she doesn't pick up the food. She will not starve to death if she doesn't eat for a while. At the next feeding period, put down the allotted amount of food (not more because she didn't eat last time) for the allotted amount of time. If she still doesn't eat, same rules. I think by meal three I would make sure she wasn't sick or something, but everytime you add something special to the food, you are making her picky. She is holding out for something better and you are providing it on cue.

[mmgy]

I agree with ladawn in principle, but on the other hand, what you're doing is fine. I like for my dogs to eat nothing but kibble at mealtime also, and we give big spoonfuls of canned food as treats. However, if you read the back of the Canidae can, it tells you that they recommend 25% canned, 75% dry.

I think there's a bit of difference between what you're doing today, and what ladawn is talking about in the big picture. If this becomes your new routine, that's fine. But if next week your dog changes her mind and wants something different, then you're letting her manipulate you, and that's not fine.

Also, some growing dogs go through stages of picky eating. Hold your ground, she'll probably be okay next month.;)

M2

[Jaegergirl]

BigDog67, i was having the same problem with my 9mo and feed him canidae as well (if you're interested, here's my post about the matter...http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/sho...threadid=20487).

i have found that by moving maverick's dish up to the kitchen and not using a plastic bowl has helped the situation. i only leave the dish down for about 20 minutes as ladawn suggested. since i bought a whole case of canidae canned dog food a month ago, i'm still mixing it into the kibble, but maverick only gets a forkful (a small to medium sized one). he still has days where he doesn't want to eat... and if he doesn't eat at a feeding, well then he just has to wait for the next one. :)

[CarolineS]

Some dogs just do not like Canidae plain. Dresden was one of them when she was eating kibble. I would mix in about a tablespoon of canned food along with some warm water and she'd eat it all up. I don't see any harm at all in doing this. I wouldn't be changing foods every week to please your dog by any means, but on the other hand, if she really doesn't like Canidae plain, I can't see any sense in trying to starve her into eating it.

I initially tried mixing some canned Canidae in but she didn't like that. I found another brand of canned called Neura (made by Mother Hubbard, no byproducts in it). I tried mixing that in and Dresden really liked it. No problems cleaning up her bowl after that.

[BigDog67]

thank you for all the replies,,, since she was a puppy i have only left her food bowl down for 20minutes if she didnt finish it i would take it away and only bring it out for the next feeding, now after she licks the bowl clean after eating i take the bowl from the ground and put it away till her next feeding,

[Greg_1111]

It's also possible she just doesn't like the Canidae, or has become bored of it. I had a similar problem. Tried adding all sorts of things, it worked for a while but then back to the same old "turn up the nose" routine. The difference was, in my case I ended up with Canidae being the solution. She loves the stuff, and no additives. I can feed her treats, bones, peanut butter kongs all day long and come meal time, she still eats all her food. She just likes it I guess. Try another food like Wellness, or Innova, or Nutro and see if it makes a difference. The best food in the world isn't any good if they don't eat it.