Picky eater?

Some of yous may remeber hearing a little about this before. I wasn't really concerned about it too much before as we were still experimenting new foods & times of feedings & the like and also his weight was still perfect.

Copied becuase thats a lot of typing. Sorry it's so long but I wanted to include as much detail as possible.

Kaige has always been somewhat of a picky eater. Well maybe not exactly picky, more like he likes a variety of foods.
I feed him 1.5 cups twice a day, although he only actually eats about 1.5 cups of kibble during the course of a day.. Often times he will either not eat a meal or just pick at it over time. Seeing as I have 3 other dogs, 4 cats & 4 ferrets, all whom like to eat dog food, leaving the food out for him to free feed is not an option. I have also tried feeding him at different times during the day, thinking he'd eat more mid day or the like, nope, still nothing.
He is at an ok weight, although I think he could gain just a couple pounds. Seeing as we are even more active the last few weeks and he's still eating the same amount he was before I have a feeling before long he'll need to gain more than just a couple pounds.
He has had blood work done at the vets and everything came out ok, so no pancreitis or thyroid problems or the like.

Seems as if after just one or two meals on the same brand of food he gets bored with it. I've tried mixing multiple brands and still the same results. I have paid close attention & even keep a journal, there is not one food out there that he prefers over others. It's the same reaction with every kind of food so far.

Here's a list of the dry kibbles I have tried (the ones that offer different flavors I have tried them all that I can find), both seperatly & mixed with other brands (and this has been going on for about 9 months):
Innova
Innova Evo
Canidae
California Natural
Merrick
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul
Nutro Natural Choice
Wellness
Wysong

I am thinking about trying the following foods, they are a little more pricey & harder to find though. Not sure what the results will be but I guess it's worth a shot.
Blue Buffalo
Solid Gold
Fromm

He used to eat an all raw diet but I was so sick of not having any freezer space for myself. I tried buying in smaller amounts but that got to be way to expensive for me. But he did eat the entire meal & thrived on it. Unfortunatly I can't afford the price or the space of a chest freezer at this time.

For those that feed the same or of similar quality of food, how much do your Aussies eat per day?

Has anyone else experienced this?
Did you find a kibble that worked?

Darn, I just stopped by the natural petfood place by my work on the way home -they have tons of free samples of good dog food. I'll pick you up a bunch before we leave for Ohio, if you'd like?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kfamr

Darn, I just stopped by the natural petfood place by my work on the way home -they have tons of free samples of good dog food. I'll pick you up a bunch before we leave for Ohio, if you'd like?

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Most of the foods I have tried before he loves.... but only for the first few meals, then after getting a few meals of that food he is suddenly no longer interested in it.
I have a feeling I'm going to have to try a small bag of each kind, seeing if he's still interested in it after a couple days.

But I figure it's at least worth a shot. Who knows maybe he will eat one of them with so much gusto, gusto that I have never seen before that, that it will mean that he really does love that brand. lol

Most of the pet food stores near me only carry samples of Innova, Nutro & other brands that are usually of lesser quality.
There is a natural pet food store that opened up not too long ago that carries some great foods but they have no samples. They are a little bit of a drive for me but if I were to find something that he really likes it would be worth it.

Before I get spammed for offering my dogs too many kinds of kibble in such a short time, let me clarify the situation a little more.

I personally think a variety is ok for a dog, as long as the foods consist of similar nutrients & the like. I know lots of folks don't agree with that but I've done a lot of research on raw diets and change is good. After all in the wild (I know they aren't wild dogs) but they do eat a variety of things, their diet changes daily. But please, no discussion on this subject, this would be for another discussion altogether. lol

I mainly feed him Innova or Canidae. But because he is so picky I will occasionally buy a small 3-5lb bag of the other brands to see if he likes them. Some he does, but only for a day or two, then he stops eating them so I mix it in with some of his main food to try to use it up. Then the same thing happens he likes it for a day or two then nothing. It's not like he always gets a different kind of food at every meal or the like, only for a few days 1-2 times a month, just as a trial.

And some more info for the heck of it:
It is not too uncommon for him to go 1-2 days without eating much at all, if anything at all.

Now my other dogs gobble all their food right up. I have no issues with them what so ever.

Even the breeder has told me a few times that he's never really been too fond of eating. She once said that she would never worry about him getting fat even if he was lazy because he doesn't like to eat a lot.

Sure there are things I can sprinkle on his food and he will gobble it all right up but I don't want to go that route. Thats also catering to his needs, making him just as picky if not more so.

I feed Blue Buffalo to 3 of mine and they love it and do great on it.
I really don't have any advise though.

Gonzo was a very picky eater, he ate less than 1 cup of kibble a day and he was still usually a few lbs overweight. I've definitely noticed that when he gets raw in the morning and kibble at night, he eats the kibble a lot more happily.

Could you feed raw for one meal, or raw every other day, to just Kaige? You could also try adding an egg, chicken broth, pulped veggies, meat, scraps, etc to make his meals more tempting every once in a while. Have you tried soaking it in warm water?

Scruffy eats about a half cup of kibble in the morning, sometimes less. And about 3/4 cups at night. He's only 22 lbs and looks very thin. But he's healthy and the vet says it's OK for him.

When he doesn't want to eat breakfast, I drop about 6 pieces of dry cat kibble in his bowl to get him started. If that doesn't work, I don't worry.

At night, I add a sprinkle (just a very little) of garlic powder and a spoonful of plain yogurt. Most of the time he eats it all.

As long as your dog gets a variety, he will expect a change every few days. Stick with one GOOD kibble and he will eventually eat whatever he needs.

I can't leave food out because Bella Mae would eat everything and she's already overweight abit.

I had a similiar problem with Nikka. She's extremely picky and eats when she feels like it not when I want her to. I can't leave the food out since Bear is on a diet and if left out he'll wander around and finish everyone elses bowl as well. In addition Nikka is exteremly energetic and part pointer so already runs on the very slim side because of body type, so any skipped meals and you know it. I now feed Canidae and she loves it, but I went through about a year of trying just about every food (even the cheaper lower quality food (I was desperate)) Before I found Canidae I started adding sauces, some sort of gravy, or even soup broth to the food (, not much, and usually low fat and not heavy, just enough that it coated the food and made it more appealing to her). You might try keeping the same food just alter the type of coating/sauce you put on it so he wont' get bored. It's usually easy to do/inexpensive and you can make it in advance and put it in the frig. For me it worked well until I found a food she'd eat.

My poms are very picky also and being older I can't get them to go to raw food. Anyway I just recently began using Solid Gold and they love it. I agree with the variety statement. I try to give my dogs a variety of different foods all the time. Have you tried the California Natural food that comes in a roll? My dogs LOVE it but usually only get it for a treat but it is actually a food.

Thans for the tips everyone. I've been discussing this with another site as well and got some great ideas there too, although most of them do not belive in variety and most don't feed raw either, just more people with different opinions than I.
I thought I had a plan all worked out, sticking to just one food, feeding him seperatly, as soon as he walks away from the dish take it away from him, feeding him any left over food as training treats throughout the day. But after thinking about it I'm not sure if that's what I want to do, even so I'd have to wait a week or two to start it as my b/f is moving in with me this week & my house is a mess. There really isn't room to seperate him until we get things set up & straightened out. That and if I pull the dish up right away I know he will eat even less as he walks away as soon as I put the bowl down.

I think what I am going to do is add a tiny bit of gravy or canned merrick to his food once a day. While still possibly searching for a new diet that he truely loves to eat.
And I will also try hard to get my house & pocket book situated so that I can afford & fit a chest freezer or at least enough money to feed only Kaige all raw again.