Guest EvanstonGrey Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Hi all, Just thought I'd ask about something goofy Fika's been doing with her kibble lately - We feed her 3 cups a day, half in the morning and half in the evening. Lately, she's been playing with her dinner and only half-eating it... She picks out the 'goodies' (fish oil pill, some chunks of chicken and veggies) and noses around in the dish, then will gently pick out one piece of kibble at a time and place it on the floor :/ Usually what we end up with is half the kibble in her bowl, a quarter in her belly and the last 25% arranged on the floor around the dish! Is she trying to communicate with me somehow? Is she bored with the kibble? We've been on this variety since the Diamond recalls, not too long really, and she does well on it (Nutro). Am I over-thinking her kibble creativity? Any ideas? Hope everyone's staying cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Sounds like she's trying to become picky and only want the goodies. Try adding water to her kibble and then mix the goodies into the moist kibble so that it's not so easy to pick out what she wants. You can also cut open the fish oil and squirt it all over the food. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EvanstonGrey Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Great ideas, thank you! I take the dish away if she doesn't eat the rest after a half hour or so, and this is certainly not a pup that's going hungry... Maybe she is getting a wee bit spoiled lately! (Anyone else's hound LOVE a fish oil pill? It's Fika's favorite part of the day - blecch!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busderpuddle Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I have started putting a shake of parmesan cheese on Ruby's food and haven't had a bit of kibble left over in days. Quote Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EvanstonGrey Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Whoa, parmesan?!?! I can't believe I haven't thought of this before! I am a disgrace to my NY Italian heritage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreytNut Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I second adding water to make a stew of the food and squeezing the good stuff out of the capsule. My boy Riley would throw me under a train for a fish oil capsule. Quote Kristen with Penguin (L the Penguin) Flying Penske x L Alysana Costarring The Fabulous Felines: Squeak, Merlin, Bailey & Mystic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest issy Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Enzo lurrvvss his fishie cap. Yum. Chews it up all happy and excited. Mixing the food around and making it all tasty (love the parmesan idea!) will definitely help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Smart dog. Picking out what she wants and making a mess for you to clean up with the rest. I don't add stuff to my dog's meals on a daily basis. I think some picky eaters are turned that way because every time they act "bored" with their food, their human adds more and tastier stuff to it. If you WANT to cater to your dog's whims, feel free. I don't care to do that. Kibble, warm water. 2x a day. I do throw in a can of sardines from time to time, and he gets ample treats NOT in his meals. The exception I would make is an ill or elderly dog. If you need to get your dog to eat, you do what you have to do. Sounds like your little girl is just being a diva. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EvanstonGrey Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 a diva? this girl? no way! hee hee these are great tips, i'm pretty sure i'm just spoiling her and now i'm getting what i deserve in terms of kibble cleanup! hard not to give extras to this though! will scale back a bit and my guess is this should stop, it's not the end of the world, but i'd rather not keep playing this game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHead Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 There's no harm in adding healthy extras to kibble IMO I think it benefits them to get some fresh foods mixed in. A few things I do to ensure that everything is eaten is to add a bit of water or broth with it to make a sort of gravy, or else I mix it together really well (sort of gross, but I find mixing it with my hands works the best) so that all the kibbles get the scent of the fresh foods. If she loves fish oil I would buy the pump kind or pop the capsule so the scent of that covers everything as well. Almost every dog will chose fresh meats over kibble, so she is probably not bored with the kibble, just picking out the parts she likes best. In fact, adding a variety of fresh toppings can keep the kibble from getting boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greytpups Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) If Ben doesn't feel like eating, I just pick up his bowl and give it to him at lunch. We're at work so he doesn't get anything until I get home and he knows this. He's a dog but he's not stupid, he won't starve himself. We found that when we gave them pizza bones and food like that, he wouldn't eat his kibble. so no more human food, except for yogurt. He does eat less in the heat too. Brooke is a chow hound, if she ever stopped eating, we're off to the vet. Edited July 18, 2012 by greytpups Quote Jan with precious pups Emmy (Stormin J Flag) and Simon (Nitro Si) and Abbey Field. Missing my angels: Bailey Buffetbobleclair 11/11/98-17/12/09; Ben Task Rapid Wave 5/5/02-2/11/15; Brooke Glo's Destroyer 7/09/06-21/06/16 and Katie Crazykatiebug 12/11/06 -21/08/21. My blog about grief The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not get over the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same, nor would you want to. ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 i must be the meanest person on gt. i add water, once a day fish oil and THAT'S IT! after having a super picky saluki years ago i swore that i would feed kibble and that's it. my d-g i tried everything to get kata to eat. after that experience it was kibble and kibble topped with kibble. when i used to board one of my salukis he refused to eat unless it was DRY KIBBLE! he wouldn't go near wet food! i have good eaters around here. occassionally dh tells me that he wants to feed the dogs(i always scratch my head and wonder what's up?) then he adds yoguart or cottage cheese. upset tummies and picky eaters seem to show up at the food bowls instantanously. the bells start ring, felix wants more toppings! NOPE! i make sure i feed the dogs....kibble - soaked for the greys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kirstenbergren Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 So cute! Fika looks just like my PJ! I feed him once a day and he eats all 6 cups (yes I said 6 cups) of food by the end of the day. Sometimes he finishes it in the middle of the night while I'm sleeping. He also gets a separate bowl of plain yogurt (1 cup) a day around dinner time. Silly picky eaters! I hope she stops soon! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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