I know that coaxing him to eat is a bad thing to do... I just don't have time to wait around for him to eat. Every time he FINISHES his bowl, I always give him a good rub down and praise him. But not until its empty. And I do ignore him while he eats. He comes in, I set his bowl down, say EAT and then turn around and get my breakfast ready. He'll start to wander, sometimes he'll go back upstairs, and then the other two finish and go for his food.

I guess the leaving it for 5 minutes idea would work... I just dont want for him to lose all the 10-15 lbs we've put on him so far. I know he'll go a couple says without eating much.. and drop a lot of weight.. Thats what he did a couple weeks ago when we had him fixed. Didnt eat the night before (by request), the morning of (by request), or that evening.. He lost some noticeable weight in those 36 or so hours.He was very skinny when we got him 3 months ago... 35 lbs at 5 months.. Hes around 47-48 lbs now.. and even now the vet said he could stand to gain some more. Well we're feeding him as much as he'll eat.

I guess I should mention that this is mainly a problem in the morning. Usually, at dinnertime he'll eat fine. He does tend to be a picky eater with treats too. Doesnt like the ones our vet has, or those 'bacon' strips..

And Id prefer him to get used to eating his kibble and water as opposed to him requiring a 'special sauce', cheese, chicken, etc. Thats not a good habit. My past dog came like that from the Humane Society.. She thought she was royalty. lol. And we're not stepping back down to a Purina food.. I like the progress (appearance-wise) he's made with the Nutro Natural Choice..

Thanks for the input!! =)