# Picky Eater. Need Help



## Blondie (Oct 10, 2009)

Have you tried a local feed store for options? My puppy eats, no devours her food in record time. She eat Blue Seal Stages~puppy formula. I don't think it's available in Florida, but you could try Exclusive which is made by PMI nutrition and sold in most farm and feed stores. It's got testimonials you can read up on. Like anything, it's all trial and error.
Good luck


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

It may just be how he is, but there are also dogs with stomach irritations and they don't do so much eating as it's painful. The cat food is super tempting which may be why he is interested in that.

Put down his food if he doesn't eat after 10 minutes, pick it up. Measure his food and repor t to your vet (and here...because I'm curious!) -exactly- how much of his food he eats each day for several days.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Honestly, barring illness, most picky dogs are made, not born. I would rule out any physical causes first. If he is healthy and at a healthy weight, then I wouldn't worry, although I would try to keep the cat food away from him as it can be hard on their stomach.

If he is not sick but is too thin to be healthy, I would follow RedDogs advice.

And of course, one almost sure fire method to cure this is to to get another Golden! A little competition is a wonderful appetite stimulant.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Cat food smells soooooo good to dogs!
Sergeant may be getting more calories then you know from the cat food!

My in-laws (bless their hearts) created an EXTREMELY picky dog....they needed a dog sitter for several weeks so the dog came here. I told mother in law that I was not going to cook for her dog. She was ok with it so long as she didnt have to look into her sad eyes. After three days of refusing to eat and being without her personal chef...she decided her dog food was pretty good and would clean her dish in 10 minutes.
Hearing the other dogs enjoying their meals helped without a doubt!

Mother in law was amazed! Of course when she got back she started her doggy catering service once again! 

LOVE Red Dogs idea of _measuring exactly_ how much he is eating....be sure to keep the cat food out of reach!!!


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

I would put the cat food in a room with a gate, or on top of a shelf so he can't get to it first of all. Cats generally have more protein in their food and more flavorings on it to get the fussy critters to eat it, so of course dogs like it more too.

Then, offer him one or two MEALS a day. Put a cup of food in a bowl, place it down, wait ten minutes, remove the uneaten food and go about your day till the next mealtime. If you do this for a few days he'll figure out his options and eat. It sounds like maybe he's got the bowl of food out all day, in which case he's going to graze here and there and not really seem to eat much. Which you can do, but I have yet to meet a free-fed dog who isn't a walking coffee table (and usually with owners who swear the dog is picky!). 

Being thin at his age is a very good thing, provided he's not extremely thin. Most goldens are thin as puppies (being overweight can damage their joints) and around the one or two year mark they start to put on the weight and fill out (sometimes too much filling out). 

Lana


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