Picky Eaters

iriskai

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#1
The Whippet I want to gain weight is 'meh' about food more often than not, and the Whippet in good show weight (could lose a pound since we're transitioning to a 'sport' weight), would happily eat me out of house and home. TRADE APPETITES, PLEASE.

They both get Earthborn Holistic (switch 'flavors' on occasion) 2x a day, and Ezra looks great aside from being thin. He's sleek and shiney, good muscle tone, no allergies that I'm aware of, not lethargic etc.. I've been picking up his food after 10 minutes, or if he's wandered off after a couple bites. It works sometimes.

I'm not worried about him starving himself, he DOES eat, but not what I want him to and sometimes not more than a couple bites. He needs weight on him. He's too ribby and I can see his hip bones. I'd like to eventually get him in the conformation ring, but not when the general public keeps asking me when I rescued him!

I was doing warm water over kibble for a while but haven't been lately. I caved this morning and put a spoonful of THK and some warm water over his kibble. He ate most all of the cup and a half I gave him. Don't really want to encourage this pickyness, but I'm thinking a lot of his deal right now is he's a teenager, well, 20ish months. He's from slower to mature lines so I'm guessing his poor little boy hormones may be throwing him for a loop. Thoughts?
 

JacksonsMom

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#2
My Jackson has always been a picky boy. But to be honest, I like to see him eat at a certain time, so I just mix with wet food for his dinner. It's not something I mind doing, I like giving him some moisture, and variety. He's so little (17lbs) that a small can lasts us a whole week (I just need a dab to mix in with the kibble, plus a little water, then it mixes well). But if you don't want to continue using wet food, or another enticer, Jackson would not eat Earthborn dry by itself either lol. As far as kibble goes, that he will voluntarily go eat dry, he loves Acana, Fromm (but gave him soft stools, so had to stop) and basically any 'lower quality' kibble he seems to be obsessed with - Royal Canin, Purina, etc, don't know what it is but he is obsessed whenever we go to a friends house where their dog eats that, etc.
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#3
A lot of that is purely being a young and intact male. Have you tried adding oils to his food? Veggie, olive, etc? How about a peanut butter sandwich? Overly cooked oatmeal helps as well. Make sure when you feed he is kept calm for 30 minutes after, like a crate, to help ensure the best digestion.

I battled this with my boy and some of it was just plain old try your best and wait for them to grow up.
 
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#4
No suggestions here, iriskai, just friendly support. My young male is the same way. What I mix in with the food just kind of depends on the day. Canned food, yogurt, applesauce, salmon oil, sometime I just give it to him dry and tell him to suck it up and deal.

My Jackson has always been a picky boy. But to be honest, I like to see him eat at a certain time, so I just mix with wet food for his dinner. It's not something I mind doing, I like giving him some moisture, and variety. He's so little (17lbs) that a small can lasts us a whole week (I just need a dab to mix in with the kibble, plus a little water, then it mixes well). But if you don't want to continue using wet food, or another enticer, Jackson would not eat Earthborn dry by itself either lol. As far as kibble goes, that he will voluntarily go eat dry, he loves Acana, Fromm (but gave him soft stools, so had to stop) and basically any 'lower quality' kibble he seems to be obsessed with - Royal Canin, Purina, etc, don't know what it is but he is obsessed whenever we go to a friends house where their dog eats that, etc.

I think our dogs have the same eating habits. lol. Hudson would like it if I fed him Diamonds like my sister's dog.
 

iriskai

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#5
Thanks, guys. Glad to get a little confirmation that on the adolescent boy thing - I've only ever had bitches, and Mimi would happily eat herself to 150# if I let her.

I'll try olive oil tonight and see what sort of response we get. If that doesn't work, I may just go for canned (maybe cat food.. since it's smellier?) and mix in a spoonful with water for broth.

Good thought about the digestion time. They're both fed in the morning before I go to work and he's crated while I'm gone. In the evening they're fed before I eat, so they're typically napping on the furniture at that time.

I'm not positive what kibble he was on when I got him in February, I'm thinking Pro Plan.. He shed a lot and was kind of dull. The breeder had him back for a couple weeks and I think he was on Fromm there, then switched to Earthborn when I got him (as that's what I was feeding Mimi).
 
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#6
My dog is a very picky eater too. He would rather starve then eat bad kibble. I tried out a few brands until I did find one that he liked. It was Purina One with either Chicken or Beef. Looking at the kibble ingredients, it seems to contain more straight up meats that other brands. However, it is slightly more expensive too, but I am more happy that my dog enjoys this kibble b/c sometimes I do not supplement it with anything else.

I know it isn't a organic brand but sometimes one must think about happiness, which equates to longevity too.
 

iriskai

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#7
Ended up adding a tablespoon of canned with warm water - he ate it all. Mimi appreciated the extra. Whiney, needy, sweet, pain in the rear dog. :) Gotta love the boys.
 

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