Finikie Eater, Need help
by Sandy & Joe
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Chloe Amber is 8 months old. My vet recommended that she eat two times a day now since she doesnt show interest in her food all the time she is now eating Eukanuba Lamb and Rice but she will only begin to pick at her food if you separate a little bit on the side for her. If not she will just ignore her bowl. At times she will go without eating for a whole day (hunger strike). But the moment I give her the food with my hand she eats it like there is no tomorrow. She is not used to hand feeding, so I dont know where she picked this up. Sometimes I put one or two on her tounge to start her taste buds. I dont know what to do I feel bad taking her dish away after 30 minutes. Other than her eating she is fully paper trained, and is a great watchdog, and most importantly she has a loving personality. Any advice would be appreciated.
DISCUSSION:
Maybe Chloe doesn't like the food you are giving her. You might try introducing a new food just to make sure there isn't an allergic reaction. I feed my Snowball 2X a day and she eats the entire amount each time. She also gets milkbones (3) daily.
Good luck getting your baby to eat.
Kathy
I agree with Kathy....it sounds like she may not be to keen on what's being offered. Maybe you could get some samples of other foods (I know a lot of the companies in the US will give them away for free) and see if she takes an interest in one. Our Beasties love Innova and also California Natural but weren't too fussed about Pro-Plan. Snowy (Sim's baby) likes Pro-Plan and hates Innova - I guess they have individual likes and dislikes just like us! Marie mentioned a ?Eukanuba prescription kibble made with catfish and herring - she said that Rudy turned down freshly cooked chicken for that! Sometimes Squirrel seems a bit reluctant to eat....we just roll a kibble along the floor to him and he takes off with it to his basket to eat, we may have to repreat that onece then he'll come over to his bowl and start eating properly. I wonder if it's the bowl she doesn't like - I know that Squirrel actually prefers to eat off a plate......just a thought. Hope you find a solution - keep us posted.
Deanna (Moose & Squirrel)
We went through this scenario when we first got Sophie. We went through approximately five different foods and finally found a combination that she will eat; 1/2 California Natural, 1/2 Avo Puppy and a teaspoon of Avo puppy canned food. I think she just wanted to be sure her friends at the local shelter were being fed, 'cause that's where all her un-eaten food went! :0)
Carrie & Sophie
Sandy & Joe, this babies get spoiled very easy. My Amber was also very finikie eater for a long time. Somedays she refused her food completely. Finally with my vet's advise I bought one of those kitchen timers and set it up for 30 minutes and I put it down next to her food bowl. And I removed when the timer went off no matter how much she ate. After three days of this, she got the message. Since that when ever I put the bowl down, she starts eating. I do not use the timer anymore.
Zeyneb
Sandy,This seems to be pretty typical for maltese. I have had the same problem with Sophie but someone told me to just wait it out and when she is hungry she will eat. Well, it works! I do sometimes give her just a little canned food mixed in to get her interested but not very often. I don't want her to get used to that. The dry is better for her. The vet also said to try a little chicken broth on her food. That didn't seem to interest her. I think for the most part maltese are finicky eaters. As long as she seems healthy otherwise I wouldn't worry. They don't require a lot of food for their tiny tummies. I do give Sophie NutraCal once a day. Hope this will help you to stop worrying. By the way the hand feeding thing you mentioned is so funny because we have done that too. I think she just wanted the attention. Also they don't like to eat alone.
Dorothy
i always just "free feed" my sweet Dolly as the breeder suggested, once you find a food your sweetie likes, just put some in a bowl & as someone else said-when they get hungry, they will eat. my vet had also told me that 3 days of fasting for a dog is like one day for people. i just keep dolly's bowl full & she'll eat at different times during the day, sometimes she won't eat at all one day, then eat it when we come inside from our morning walk. leaving food down allows the dog to eat when they are really hungry. if the food is taken away or only shows up at certain times they may tend to gobble it down whether they are hungry or not because they may feel insecure whether there will be food there when they want it. however, if there is always food available, they may feel confident that they will always have food & tend to only eat when they're hungry.good luck!
Patty
Well it is a relief to hear others having the same problem..I had started playing a game with Maggie to get her to eat...I would throw a couple of pieces of food across the floor and she would go and fetch and eat it.....this got to be too much....she wanted it that way all the time. I also put her food down and now when she is hungry I hear her chewing it.....She lately has eaten her full portion every day. I think she is better than I am she eats only when she is hungry...I could lose weight myself if I would do that...lol.....She is gaining weight regularly and now we have her limited to a cup of Science Diet small chews a day....doing great....she weights 6 1/2 pounds....find she is eating better since she was spayed 2 weeks ago.....Thanks for the info everyone...good to know you are not alone with these bundles of joy.....
Denise
Sandy & Joe, Rudy is Finicky King of the World. What a time I had getting him to eat. He even started to feel skinny to me. Deanna is right. I had resorted to cooking chicken and veggies and when I brought home the prescription Eukanuba, he actually did turn down the chicken for it. He has now settled into that and Innova kibble (whatever he feels like at the moment). Twice a day, I also offer him some canned California Natural mixed with just a little of Baxter's Triumph mixed with a few frozen peas. Lately, I've been sprinkling it with little bits of Pro-Treats (dehydrated chicken cubes - only one cut up). You wouldn't believe all the bags of food I bought to get to this combination, but HE EATS, and isn't that the goal? I agree with all the others that say to just keep trying till you find something or a combination that she likes. By the way, rolling him a few kibbles like Deanna does seems to get him started. Good luck.
Marie
We don't like eating dog food, so why do we always expect our dogs to like it? There is nothing wrong with giving your dog canned food or people food. They like it better anyway.
I watch the show "Emergency Vets" on animal planet. The often have dogs whose stomaches have turned or bloated from not eating, or eating too much dry dog food that expands in their stomach. I have switched from dry dog food only to a combo of a small amount of dry dog food, and people food. The book Smarter than you Think addresses this issue also.
I know that my dog would never eat her dry food right away, even before I gave her people food. She would always wait until afternoon or evening. Please don't make your dog go on a hunger strike. Dogs don't eat to make a statement, they don't eat because they are not hungry or can't stand what is being offered.
Ann
I have four Maltese who are to say the least-healthy-They free feed during the day-Eukanuba all natural puppy bites and Biljack all natural puppy bites-At diner time they get people food which I cook for them-I make a large batch once a week and freeze it in one day containers-cooked rice that is made in water that 3 chicken thighs have been cooked in and that is mixed with 1 lb of ground turkey lightly browned with 3 garlic cloves, 1 zuchinni squash, 1 summer squash,2 carrots that have been shreded and mixed in with the turkey to steam for 15 min.-I mix this all together and each dog gets 2 large soup spoons full for diner- They love it and the vet says they are very healthy- As I have a little 2 1/2 lb male- I give hin nutrical -once a day also-my dogs are small the largest being 5 lbs-I try not to feed them anything with chemicals in it and they drink distilled water- they love treats like a very little piece of cantalope,or their
favorite liverwurst but only about 1/2 teaspoon full per dog and only once or twice a week-I almost forgot I also cut up the chicken thighs and add them to the mix without the skin--hope this helps--Tanya,Love,Andy,M.C. and Sophie!!
Tatiana Mc coy
I also had the same problem with my male maltese, Beau. I tried many different foods with him and finally found one he liked when I got my second maltese. They both seem to love Purina One Lamb and Rice. He still isn't a huge eater, but I noticed a big difference with this food. Good luck.
Tricia, Beau and Maisy
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