# Any Advice for a VERY VERY fussy eater!?



## StaffieEllie (Mar 4, 2009)

I have a 6 month old staffy bitch and she is really fussy we've tried her on wet food, dry food, crappy tinned food to the best of dry food, Could it just be shes not a big eater? :S she seems quite skinny to me others say shes fine. She eats the odd sachet of natures diet but shes not gettin her 2/3 meals a day. Any advice?


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2009)

what have you tried?

I feed Naturediet, and while i'm babysitting my folks very fussy chihuahuas - even they like it lol!

Have you tried raw?


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## StaffieEllie (Mar 4, 2009)

Umm ive tried her on raw mince, which she loved for about a week, then startd to turn her nose up. What other raw food do u suggest? When u feed raw do u have to feed dry food too?


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2009)

fish, eggs, mince, raw meaty bones, mulched up veggies

For fish I use tin sardines in tomato sauce, he loves it. and he loves raw egg too- but doesnt always eat the shell


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## StaffieEllie (Mar 4, 2009)

Ive tried her on sardines in tomato sauce but she turned her nose up at them lol can you give things like raw chicken wings and legs?


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

I think you are letting her become fussy by changing her food.
Pick either a good quality brand you are going to stick with or feed her raw.. whatever you choose, she needs to be in a feeding routine.

Feed her morning feed if she doesn't eat it within half an hour, take it away. Put it back down for her evening feed. Again, if she doesn't eat it, take it away. Do not feed her anything in between (just leave water). Feed again in morning, etc.
She will soon learn that if she doen't eat what she is given, its tough.

Don't forget that wolves and dogs in the wild will go days without feeding. Dog's aren't stupid enough to starve from being fussy eaters..

I had a rescue collie x gsd a good few years ago and when we got him he was fat. But he was a really fussy eater, would eat one kind of meat then not, it was costing me a frtune! The vet advised us to take his food away for 2 days then feed dry complete. It worked 


I have once been told there is no such a thing as a fussy eating dog, it is the owner changing the food whenthey seem uninterested in it who makes the dog fussy.. And that the dog is showing they are in control by making you feed something else.


x


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## happysaz133 (Jun 5, 2008)

You could try pouring some warm gravy into her dinner. I've got a very fussy greyhound who has refused to eat for three days before. We tried the gravy, and that does the trick. Only a little bit, too much could give her the runs!


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2009)

actually i agree with poisongirl on this, you need to choose what your going to feed and then stick to it.

With raw - no you dont have to feed biscuits at all providing you are ensuring you are maintaining a balanced diet.

I hav fed raw exclusively before (and still do for one of my cats). A good diet would be some pet mince made up for you by the butcher. Bascially 5 parts steak/lamb mince, and 1part organ meat (liver, kidney,lung,heart,tripe etc). Then at least twice a week raw meaty bones. This can be beef or lamb marrowbones, turkey neck, chicken wings (drumsticks are ok once puppy used to raw bones), ribs (with the nobby end cut off), etc. You can also ask your butcher to mince some gamefowl or chicken carcases into your pet mince. The raw meaty bones work the dogs jaw muscles and provide essential nutrients, along with cleaning their teeth! With dogs i would be tempted to add the odd few spoonfulls of fish oils, or cooked safe veg (carrots are great, as are most veg). Fresh fish is good as a raw food occasonally too, and tinned sardines, pilchards, etc! Scrambled eggs, goats milk/cheese, fresh natural live yoghurt (goats or ewe is even better!).


Talking of carrots - a semi frozen raw carrot is great for a teething pup!


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## rictic (Mar 10, 2009)

please, NO RAW EGGS FOR A DOG. boiled is fine tho.
i cant find the info now but there is something in raw eggs that inhibits vitamin absorbsion. brb i'll look for it.

here is a link, not the original i found but it gives the info about eggs and other things.

Foods You Should Not Feed Your Dog


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2009)

rictic said:


> please, NO RAW EGGS FOR A DOG. boiled is fine tho.
> i cant find the info now but there is something in raw eggs that inhibits vitamin absorbsion. brb i'll look for it.
> 
> here is a link, not the original i found but it gives the info about eggs and other things.
> ...


Raw eggs are reccomended by the BARF association. Biotin can be inhibited by the avidin in raw egg whites. However cooking eggs pretty much destroys the protein available in egg whites. Eggs naturally compensate for this as there is TONS of biotin found in raw egg yolkes, so you will not cause a deficiency.

Liver is fine - and very good, you just dont feeds large amounts.

RAW bones are absoloutly FINE!

I like the list mainly, but some things need clarification.


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2009)

Have you tried warming the nature diet up in the microwave?? I have not come across many dogs that don't like the lamb variety of this - which variety do you use? Also you could maybe try a pack of forthglate - thats pretty good and smells slighlty better then naturediet - and I am told, whether its true a lot that dogs depend on their nose rather then the taste!
DT


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## turkeylad (Mar 1, 2009)

poisongirl said:


> I think you are letting her become fussy by changing her food.
> Pick either a good quality brand you are going to stick with or feed her raw.. whatever you choose, she needs to be in a feeding routine.
> 
> Feed her morning feed if she doesn't eat it within half an hour, take it away. Put it back down for her evening feed. Again, if she doesn't eat it, take it away. Do not feed her anything in between (just leave water). Feed again in morning, etc.
> ...


Absolutely agree with this. İt is a really sensible routine to get her into. Remember she will not starve.


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## turkeylad (Mar 1, 2009)

billyboysmammy said:


> actually i agree with poisongirl on this, you need to choose what your going to feed and then stick to it.
> 
> With raw - no you dont have to feed biscuits at all providing you are ensuring you are maintaining a balanced diet.
> 
> ...


all of the above but added in this country would be a tablespoon of olive oil once a fortnight. İs really good for there coat and skin.


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## Ducky (Nov 23, 2008)

poisongirl said:


> I have once been told there is no such a thing as a fussy eating dog, it is the owner changing the food whenthey seem uninterested in it who makes the dog fussy.. And that the dog is showing they are in control by making you feed something else.
> x


completely correct! no such thing as a fussy dog, just a fussy owner! pick a food and stick to it.

in relation to the original post, it sounds like you just have a dog that is not driven by food and this is perfectly acceptable. as long as she is of a healthy weight, i would leave her to it. my colleague has a dog that doesnt eat much, he puts food in the bowl and leaves it for the dog, and he eats it whenever he wants to, and when the bowl is empty it gets filled again. he has a cavalier king charles spaniel who is 7 years old but still looks like a sprightly young pup instead of a lot of the overweight cavvies that you see around these days. 
So i would say pick a food and just leave it for the dog, she will eat when she is hungry


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