Aurg!! Stop eating that food!! Any suggestions?

TheLost

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Dec 28, 2011
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Molly & Kevin (aka Chunky)
My problem:

Molly (2 years old) is a very-very-very picky eater. After a year of trying all the recommended foods and practically force feeding her we've found one she likes.. Merrick Grain Free Real Texas Beef and Sweet Potato. We also 'entice' her with a scrambled egg mixed in...

Kevin (9 weeks) is a very-very-non picky eater and will clean out any food left in any bowl. He has been on Fromm puppy since he was born but has now discovered Mommy's food is WAY better then his bland puppy food.

We have to feed them in different rooms because Kevin has found out he can eat all of Molly's food then go back and finish his (his nick name is 'Chunky' for a reason). Since Molly is such a picky eater and takes HOURS to finish her food this has turned into an all-day-event.

Merrick is kind of high in protein (38%) which is good for Molly because we are trying to get her to gain some weight.. but Little Kevin probably shouldn't be eating it.

Any suggestions on how to handle this? Its a battle Kevin has been winning for the past week..

We either need to find a way to keep him out of Molly's food... Find a food Molly will finish in one 'sitting'... or start putting Kevin on the treadmill.

Damn dogs!
 

Petra

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I'm probably gonna sound like the worst mom ever now:ashamed: but if mine doesn't eat I take the food away and try again a little later... I give them about 15-20 minutes to decide whether they're gonna eat or not. My Boeboe is also a picky eater but she's also sensitive to lots of foods, so I'm sticking with the one we have and I add what ever I have that can make it a little nicer for her. She's hard to get to eat in the morning but later in the day she'll eat cos she's hungry:) and if she doesn't eat then she'll eat later in the evening. If they're not food aggressive you can teach them who's bowl is who's, in this house it works as long as I don't leave:tongue: If I'm gone for a while they skip that rule:blush2: Sorry I don't have any solutions for you:(
 

Manydogs

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Yes, I agree with Petra. If she doesn't eat in the a.m., take her bowl up, and offer it later. Pups are always starving little sharks! I have to stand in the kitchen when they eat. You probably feed the pup 3 times a day-so offer her food to her then, also. I always worry when they don't eat-but the vet I worked for years ago always said that -as long as they are not sick, when they get hungry enough-they'll EAT!! He said exactly Petra's theory-if they don't eat in 15/20, pick it up!
 

Davidh

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Yep ,that's what we do, if they don't eat in 15 minutes, then it gets picked up and given back later.
 

Marine91

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Same here. When we had 4 dogs 3 were picky eaters and would take their time eating. If it wasn't gone in 15 to 20 we picked it up and put it down a bit later. Another way you can curb him running to Molly's food would be to feed him in his crate if you are using one. That way he knows that is his space even for meals and is safe for both him and Molly. We had to do that when we first got Harlea because the other dog we had was a slight bit food aggressive and we have just stuck with it. We like it because it also gives us a break for our own dinner and time to clean up afterwards before she comes out.
 
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TheLost

TheLost

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Molly & Kevin (aka Chunky)
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We've tried that with Molly in the past... After 15-20 mins the food was removed.

However, after a while she got so skinny we had to stop doing it. We've had her checked out at the vet multiple times and the prognoses is "She just doesn't like to eat". We had her at a healthy weight before she had her puppies and she packed on LOTS of weight during her pregnancy... but after the puppies where born she went back to her 'eating disorder' (if i can call it that).
She's gaining weight again and should be back to an ideal weight soon... But we have to let her eat at her pace :(

We've fed Kevin in his crate but he makes SUCH a mess its just easier to feed him in our laundry room (hard wood floors sweep up easier then a crate).

Molly won't let our other dog get close to her food (she's the dominant dog) and our other dog has learned to give Molly's bowl a wide birth so its never been an issue.. But she'll let Kevin just walk under her and take over the bowl.

Since he's still a puppy he's sleeping in his crate alot... but we'll have to figure something out once he needs less nap-time.
 

KMARINO

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WAIT........WHAAAAT????? :confused: You all have picky eater's and have to take their food up???? Vegas would eat our cat's :poo: If I let him. There is NOTHING he would not eat!!! Amazing to me!!!
 

Manydogs

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ALL dog's love cat's :poo: :faint:
 

KMARINO

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ALL dog's love cat's :poo: :faint:

That is why we have a baby gate into our 3rd bedroom "The Cat Room" where his litter box is and his food. Vegas would scarf both up I think, IF he could get in!!!
 

Manydogs

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Yes, that is what I had to do,when I had cats
andI used to feed the cats on top of the freezer!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> “Sir, here`s a bag of my new test dog treats! The secret is to make them taste as much like cat poop as possible.” @altonbrown#ncscifest
 

Vikinggirl

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Sounds like you got great advice already, sorry I'm not very helpful in this department, as my guys and especially Blossom will eat or should I say inhale their food, and it's usually gone in less than 60 seconds. We have to feed Blossom first because she will inhale her food, then go after Bulldozers, then she will run over to the dog food bin, and open it with her nose, and dive right in, and starts devouring the food in the bin, and if I've forgotten to put the cats food up, she'll go after that as well. She would probably eat until she blew up. Lol. She is so food motivated, I think she would do anything for food, and she would definitely go with anybody who offered her food.
 

Petra

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Boeboe, Bennie Boy and Joey
WAIT........WHAAAAT????? :confused: You all have picky eater's and have to take their food up???? Vegas would eat our cat's :poo: If I let him. There is NOTHING he would not eat!!! Amazing to me!!!

Lolol, my Joey would eat anything I give her... when I have something in my hand and I reach for her the head just opens and in it goes, doesn't even chew it:tongue: while Boeboe will sniff it carefully and lick it a bit before she decides if it's eatable or not:) BUT she will eat cat crap without issues, I've caught her a couple of times when our neighbors cat has sneaked into our yard:fie:

[MENTION=3952]TheLost[/MENTION], I'm sorry you're having such a misson with this, I thought for sure she'd eat when she's hungry:( Mine has gotten a bit spoiled now over the holidays so they don't really wanna eat, but eventually they do... Maybe home cooked food? But that will also be time consuming:( Isn't there some kind of sauce/gravy that is tasty and safe for dogs? maybe if the food is mixed with it she'll like it?
 

2BullyMama

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WAIT........WHAAAAT????? :confused: You all have picky eater's and have to take their food up???? Vegas would eat our cat's :poo: If I let him. There is NOTHING he would not eat!!! Amazing to me!!!


Including sand! :giggle:
ALL dog's love cat's :poo: :faint:


Yep, they can not resist it.... something about the contents, it is like 'crack' to them
 

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