Is your dog or cat a picky eater?

You Say Discriminating – I Say Picky. Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off!

First, is your cat a finicky eater? If you answered ‘no’ you are fortunate to have a rare cat. By far, most cat owners complain about the picky eater problem, and yet no one has come up with a definitive solution for cats that are difficult to feed. What is usually recommended is to serve a variety of proteins and a variety of brands and rotate them often. Since a species-appropriate raw protein-based diet provides the highest quality nutrition it is usually the most satisfying for felines.  But even that is not fool-proof, and many of our lovely feline companions continue to frustrate all efforts to keep them eating regularly. Scientists, please forget about quantum field theory and nuclear fusion and concentrate on figuring out a universally palatable/healthy diet that our cats will happily eat…there’s a Nobel Prize truly worth winning!

Second, is your dog a picky eater? This problem is less common in the canine world than the feline world.  Still, if you have a dog who is picky, the problem is just as frustrating for dog owners as it is for cat owners. Two dog breeds that are commonly associated with this issue are German Shepherd Dogs and Poodle breeds. Mixed breed dogs with either of those two breeds in their genetic make-up are often difficult,choosy eaters, too.

After owning, breeding, and showing dogs for over 50 years, the picky eater curse finally struck me.  My current dogs are Australian Labradoodles, obviously containing Poodle genes, and one is a picky eater. I have struggled with Autumn’s problem for almost four years. I have experimented with suggestions from friends, have read about it in books and magazines, and checked out the internet, and I have finally gotten the picky eater problem under control. Here’s my story; it worked for me, it may not help everyone, but I hope it works for you.

When I realized my dog, Autumn, wasn’t eating her food consistently, my first thought was she might be ill. She was being fed the same nutritious rotation of raw meals I fed all my dogs, so I was puzzled. However, a vet visit quickly ruled out health issues. Since I had never had a picky eater before, my second thought was I simply wasn’t going to put up with her fussiness. When she didn’t eat, I removed the food, refrigerated it, and gave it to her again for the next meal. Although Autumn is an adult and short fasts are not damaging for mature dogs, the longest I could hold out was two days. Of course, I was the weak link. Those big, accusing brown eyes melted my resolve and I began feeding her again. Then we started another cycle of rotating foods with me ignoring or cajoling her and my frustration level rising with each failed meal. Yes, I tried different bowls, surfaces, puzzles, environments, times, and every healthy food available.  Nothing was successful for very long.

Four months ago, I was so upset with her routine of looking into her bowl, glancing reproachfully at me, and then trotting away without eating that I decided something had to change, and here’s what I did. Step one, I cut her meal sizes in half. Formerly, when she ate, she was eating the recommended amount of food for her age, activity level, and weight. She looked great, and I knew less food wouldn’t affect her health negatively.  Autumn skipped meals for three days before she finally decided to eat. She cleaned her bowl, and I began the second step in my plan: rewarding her for her desired behavior. I’m not the greatest dog trainer, but I do know that dogs respond well to positive reinforcement. When she cleaned her bowl I rushed over with dramatic praise, pats, and a favorite small, 100% meat treat.  Naturally, she liked the extra attention and her favorite treat a lot. The next meal went exactly the same way, and the next and the next. After two weeks of steady positive results, I began to hope that the problem was solved. It’s been about four months since I started the halfrations/treat experiment, and all is going well. Autumn is now eating approximately two-thirds of her former rations per meal and enjoying her small treat “desert”.  She has lost about 2 pounds (now weighing 35 lbs.) but is still her healthy vigorous self with no negative results from her new routine.  What a pleasure mealtimes have now become!  She eagerly waits for her bowl, eats every morsel and, if I forget the treat, she dances around me until I remember.

There are two additional hints to make this system work well. One is never to feed treats if your dog is refusing to eat her meals. She is not starving, and it is far more important that she learns to eat her well-balanced raw meals than to let her beg treats from you…tough love here! However, if she is eagerly eating her meals some small treats are fine, but if she becomes finicky again, all treats must end. The second hint is to feed your dog in a smaller bowl. Trust me, you’ll feel better when her smaller bowl looks full at mealtimes instead of her larger bowl looking meager. It’s a psychological trick you are playing on yourself, but it is effective.

Also be sure to rule out problems with the food itself such as rancidity, pests in the food, moldiness, staleness, etc. Sometimes highly sensitive dogs and cats will resist eating meals containing ingredients that may have caused them difficulties in the past. You may not have noticedsubtle allergic reactions, but with their advanced sense of smell, your cat or dog may be detecting something in the food it wants to avoid.

So far, this strategy is working well for Autumn and me, and it might just work for you.  I hope so because I love my dogs and I know you love yours, too. If any of you have other suggestions on how you solved the picky eater problem and would like to share them with us, please email me at carolk@nw-naturals.net and I will be happy to include them in a future blog. Cat owners, please don’t be shy. Honestly, I have no clue on how to make a cat do anything it doesn’t want to do. All suggestions are appreciated! Bon Appetit.

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