feedings ???

[aky]

Hi, Buffy is being picky when i feed her. She refuses to eat unless there's something mixed in with the dry food. I currently feed her twice a day and she wont touch the food until i add wet food. Should i be doing this? I tried to be strict and refuse to give her wet food and just put out dry food. She didnt eat for days.

I would like to get her on a schedule where she eats instantlly, when i put the food out at 10am and 6pm. Am i asking too much?

Most dog owners i know, dont give wet food and they dogs eat the food the second its put out.

Any advice pleasE?

[moondog]

I don't see anything wrong with adding some wet food. If she didn't eat for days when you didn't add it, why not just add it? Not all dogs are the same, and if a bit of moisture in her dry food is what she'll eat, I tend to think there's a physiological reason behind that.

Feed her when you want to, but don't be upset if she doesn't just gobble it up. That's what you want, but it might not be what she needs. Some dogs eat fast, some eat slow. She's an individual with her own particular set of needs and that's what you have to work with. That might not be the same as your friends dogs.

What food are you feeding her?

[aky]

feeding her this NC Chicken, Rice & Oatmeal http://www.nutroproducts.com/ncdogcro.asp

[mmgy]

That's a reasonable food, have you been feeding it long? If you've just recently put her on it, she might not like it. Or has this suddenly started happening after feeding this for a while?

Don't ever start switching foods at a indiscriminate pace, or she might take advantage of you and get picky!

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally Posted by aky

Hi, Buffy is being picky when i feed her. She refuses to eat unless there's something mixed in with the dry food. I currently feed her twice a day and she wont touch the food until i add wet food. Should i be doing this? I tried to be strict and refuse to give her wet food and just put out dry food. She didnt eat for days.

I would like to get her on a schedule where she eats instantlly, when i put the food out at 10am and 6pm. Am i asking too much?

Most dog owners i know, dont give wet food and they dogs eat the food the second its put out.

Any advice pleasE?

Maybe you could just try wetting the dry food with a bit of water to moisten it a bit. That might work...

[Rott-Wiley]

How old is she and how is her weight? Have you tried any other brands of food on her in the past?

[aky]

Originally Posted by Rott-Wiley

How old is she and how is her weight? Have you tried any other brands of food on her in the past?

she's 12 months and a few weeks. This has been happening for a few months now. I switched from the puppy food to adult a few weeks back, but she was already not eating before the change.

he weight seems good. i take her for walks/runs daily.

[wot_racing]

Ya know, Im curious as to an answer as well.. Since Duke got sick, and was taking medicine with Canned food, he wont eat his dry food either.. Its only been a week, so I wasnt really worried yet..

[Rott-Wiley]

Well, different dogs have different eating habits and likes and dislikes. She is not going to starve herself if you offer her a good quality dry food twice a day. It would be my guess that she prefers wet food and I guess you just need to decide if you want her to conform to the way you want her to eat or just mix some wet food in with her dry.

[rottsnroses]

From your dog's perspective, which would you prefer? I know I would sure as heck prefer canned!

Actually, canned food is not as highly processed as kibble, so mixing some in is not a bad thing to do for your dog.

[brianbat420]

My wifes family dog would do the same thing.

I dont think that I would have a problem doing it unless it became a money issue or something along those lines.

If you dont want to do it any more I would say put dried food down and the dog will eat it when it get hungry enough.

Just a questiong for everyone, Could this be a dominance thing? "I wont eat it unless I get it how I want" and they always get it.

[spidey]

Not a dominance thing - dogs are a lot more direct about things like that. However, if you always make the food more appealing if the dog doesn't eat right away, you've trained the dog to hold out for better food (dog doesn't eat, you add something yummy, you've basically rewarded the dog for not eating). That said, I have no problem with adding things to kibble to make it more appealing if the dog doesn't like it much.

[brianbat420]

Originally Posted by spidey

However, if you always make the food more appealing if the dog doesn't eat right away, you've trained the dog to hold out for better food (dog doesn't eat, you add something yummy, you've basically rewarded the dog for not eating).

Thank you that is what I was trying to say.

[Shaw_2112]

Originally Posted by Brooke&Ryan

Maybe you could just try wetting the dry food with a bit of water to moisten it a bit. That might work...

That's what I do, plus I heard it's easier for your dog to digest if it's been softened up a bit.

[aky]

well she's still the same... im adding differnet things into her dry food... sometimes wet canned food, rice, and a few times some buttermilk/water mix (in the hot days, seems to "cool" her off)... is buttermilk or milk bad for dogs?

thanks!!