Picky eater

[gracie05]

Hi! Hope someone can help me here with a very, very picky eater. My puppy, Gracie, will be one year old on Nov. 5th (is she still a puppy?). She's a Yorkie-poo and weighs about 4-5 lbs. Her mom was 10 lb. miniature poodle & dad was 3 lbs. yorkie.

When we got her at 6 weeks from the breeder, she was eating Eukanuba. Someone told me that was really bad, so I switched her to Solid Gold. After about 2 weeks of this, I saw that she was throwing up very often. So, I switched her to Flint River Ranch kibble. She's been on Flint River Ranch for about 8 months now. I don't know if she is a picky eater or just a small eater. She eats about once every 2 days, a quarter cup each time. Almost every morning, she will vomit some bile. And then she'll eat her kibble closer to dinner time, but only about once every 2 days.

I thought maybe she's really tired of her food. Rather than trying to give her something really healthy, I would prefer that she eats at least something. So, I bought a can of the Hills Science and started giving them to her in very small portions 3x a day. For the first 2 days, she was really excited and gobbled everything down. But she did throw up after the first meal of Hills Science. And after that she was fine. But when I gave her Hills Science the 3rd day, she would not even go near the food and has not touched it. As far as I know, she has not eaten for 2 days. This seems to be her routine/schedule.

What can I do to make her eat more or be interested in eating? She is very, very skinny.

[Rottweilerlvr]

How much is she exercised? Is she working for her food? Have you taken her to the vet to find out why she throws up after eating?

[suki]

yes, I would have her vet checked, as well, to rule out any underlying health issues. Then buy a GOOD quality food and stick with it. Dogs become picky/finnicky eaters because when they don't like their food, their owners switch. Then switch again, and again. By instinct, dogs will eat to survive. Put her food down, and if she doesn't eat it after 10-15 minutes, pick it up, and wait until her next feeding. Do the same thing. Once she realizes that she has to eat within a certain time frame, or there will be no more food, she will eat, or, go hungry. Sounds like she may have YOU trained. If so, you need to undo this.
Please tho, have her checked by a vet first.

[gracie05]

I got a small dog so that I don't have to take her out to exercise. But I do play with her at home for about 15 minutes a day, running around. And she gets tired and will lay down for a nap. I have asked the vet a few times abt her eating habits. According to the vet, Gracie is healthy. Because I don't know when she eats, I just put her food out all day for her to free feed. Each morning, I throw out what she does not eat, and put out fresh dry food. What good quality food would you recommend?

[BelovedJuggernaut]

I got a small dog so that I don't have to take her out to exercise. But I do play with her at home for about 15 minutes a day, running around. And she gets tired and will lay down for a nap. I have asked the vet a few times abt her eating habits. According to the vet, Gracie is healthy. Because I don't know when she eats, I just put her food out all day for her to free feed. Each morning, I throw out what she does not eat, and put out fresh dry food. What good quality food would you recommend?


Even though she is a small dog, ALL dogs need exercise, not just play time. Adding exercise to her daily routine may increase her drive to eat.

I also second the opinion that she may indeed have you trained. I agree that feeding within a certain time frame and only allowing 15 minutes or so for her to eat will help her understand that she eats within those 15 minutes.

Since she was taken so young, that may be some of the reason she has feeding issues. Keeping her on one diet, combined with training her to eat when you say it is okay should help take care of some of the problem.

If there is no improvement, I would get a second opinion from another vet.

[Rottweilerlvr]

I got a small dog so that I don't have to take her out to exercise.

Please say that's a joke and you didn't mean it!!:(

[suki]

Please say that's a joke and you didn't mean it!!:(


I was thinking the SAME thing.
ALL dogs, EVERY dog NEEDS exercise!!!! can NOT stress that enough.:)
perhaps she would eat more, if she was "working up an appetite"...

[d'tails]

How much is she exercised? Is she working for her food?

Good point!! I love that you said that. I came in late, but that is so important! Thank you!
I too thought a play in the yard was good enough for a small dog. For 5 years I did that. It is so wrong and unfair to the dog to do that. They need to travel. They need to move. They are animals before our pets and we have the obligation to treat them as such.

No better bonding than a walk either.

[DiggityDogs]

If you're switching foods on her like that it will definitely contribute to finicky behaviors, but if she was voimiting after eating flint river for 8 months, definitely go to the vet. 2 immediate possiblities come to mind- the first being a food intolerance, the second being an enzymatic disorder. Problems with the pancreas can create a lack of enzymes that are needed for digestion and can cause stomach upset and gastro-intestinal problems among other things. If that's the case your vet may prescribe enzyme capsules or there are a number of enzyme suppliments available over the counter. Some dogs just naturally don't produce enough and packaged dog food does not have any naturally ocurring enzymes to aid digestion since it's been cooked.

[DiggityDogs]

I got a small dog so that I don't have to take her out to exercise.

And you should spank yourself 5 times with a rolled up newspaper and yell NO NO BAD OWNER! for thinking that you could get away with this. As everyone else has said, all dogs need exercise.

[Rottweilerlvr]

Just wanted to show you how dogs are suppose to eat after exercise... They worked for their food....

http://www.discussdogs.com/gallery/files/370-FeedingTime.jpg

[gracie05]

Well...thanks everyone for telling me that ALL dogs need exercise! I didn't know that, I thought only the big breeds do. I try to walk Gracie now for about 20 minutes every day. When we get home, she goes straight for her water, and then takes a nap. And I still don't see her eating a lot. She's a lot better with the food now as I have not seen her throwing up the last 2 weeks.

Can someone tell me how many cups of food (she's still on Flint River kibble) she should have a day? She's about 5 lbs. I give her 1/2 cup, but she only finishes 1/2 of that (i.e. 1/4 cup).

If I give her only 15 minutes to eat, and she is not interested, and I take the food away - wouldn't I be starving her? When should be the next time I put the food out again? 24 hours later?

Thanks!

[turnerlvv]

You could try giving her two meals a day. Like give her 1/4 cup in the morning and another 1/4 cup in the evening. And if you pick up the food after15 minutes do not worry about starving her. lol She will get the idea in a couple of days. :) The lab mix puppy i am fostering gets 1 cup at 6 am and 1 cup at 6pm.

Good luck with finding a schedule that fits both you and her!! :D