# Won't Eat Kibble from a Bowl



## MarkF (Nov 9, 2009)

My very fussy eater Sammy will not eat his Kibble from his bowl anymore. If he is not hand fed he will starve himself all day. He has gone as long as 1.5 days before we cave in and hand feed him. We already had some weight concerns as he lost weight (just a few oz) in 2 weeks between vet visits. The vet said to feed soft food if that's what he'll eat, but she wants him to eat.

Sammy is almost 5 months old and I'm feeding the same food the breeder used Nature's Abundance. We tried it dry, we tried soaking it in water even chicken soup. He prefers it soaked, but he will still not eat it out of the bowl. If we put anything else in the bowl with the kibble, ground beef or chicken or eggs, he'll everything in the bowl but the kibble. But if we hand feed it one by one he'll eat it all up.

We are using stainless bowls. I have a larger bowl, and I thought that was the problem, so I bought a smaller stainless bowl and still no change.

Any suggestions?


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## SnobunnieNY (Oct 24, 2007)

Try a plate. Boo at first didnt like eating out of a bowl and didnt eat for three days. I tried a plate and he ate off of that no probelm. And we've now gone back to the bowl. It might be the noise that the metal bowl make. I switched to ceramic when we tried again.


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## MarkF (Nov 9, 2009)

SnobunnieNY said:


> Try a plate. Boo at first didnt like eating out of a bowl and didnt eat for three days. I tried a plate and he ate off of that no probelm. And we've now gone back to the bowl. It might be the noise that the metal bowl make. I switched to ceramic when we tried again.


Boo didn't eat anything out of the bowl or just the kibble? Sammy will eat anything BUT kibble out of the bowl. We even tried putting the kibble on the floor (tile) in front of him and he won't eat it unless it has fingers attached.


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## Rita Nelson (Jul 13, 2009)

Mark, have you tried handling the kibble first so that your scent is also on the kibble?


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## MarkF (Nov 9, 2009)

Rita Nelson said:


> Mark, have you tried handling the kibble first so that your scent is also on the kibble?


Nope haven't tried that, but I will tonight.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

1.5 days isn't long enough. Unless they're sick, dogs can go 3 days without food. Are you giving him treats and other food during the day as well? Because if you are, Sammy can last even longer than that! It sounds to me like he's training you into hand feeding him! I mean how great is that... I hold off on food for a day or so (dogs can do this easily, trust me) and then he'll hand feed me! It's great! Some dogs do not like to eat out of a bowl period, but as you said he'll eat other things it doesn't seem to be the case here. He's just holding out until YOU cave.


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## MarkF (Nov 9, 2009)

He has been getting lots of treats (by hand of course) because I just cut his nails for the first time and I gave him a scissor haircut for the first time as well (sunday). Also every morning as I leave for work and he is gated in the kitchen, I give him a few treats (these I give one by hand and the rest I place on the floor near the gate).

OK - I will put on my meanie hat and and not cave into his manipulative ways.

I just don't want to get yelled at by the Vet if he fails to put on any weight again (or worse losses more), we go back to Vet on Monday for his final boosters.


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## Renee (Mar 27, 2008)

I, too, vote for you to try a ceramic plate. 
Miley prefers that over a bowl.
And she makes less mess.
Good luck!


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Did the vet give any reason as to why Sammy is losing weight? If he's sick then not eating is not a good sign.


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## MarkF (Nov 9, 2009)

Lina said:


> Did the vet give any reason as to why Sammy is losing weight? If he's sick then not eating is not a good sign.


He only lost a few ounces he went from 6lbs 8oz to 6lbs 5oz in 2 weeks, but he was a fussy eater. They did not feel he was underweight, but they certainly would like to see a weight gain by the next visit because that will 4 weeks overall and at this age change 18weeks to 22 weeks they feel there should be a weight gain.

They did not feel he was sick, just perhaps more active in our home, still adjusting, and a picky eater.


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## MarkF (Nov 9, 2009)

Renee said:


> I, too, vote for you to try a ceramic plate.
> Miley prefers that over a bowl.
> And she makes less mess.
> Good luck!


Ceramic plate or Ceramic bowl?


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

I would try a a shallow ceramic bowl like these:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3437176&lmdn=Dog

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3437191&lmdn=Dog


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## Gandorf (Jan 16, 2009)

Mark,
Try a paper plate! Our Gandorf loves eating off the paper plate and hold off on the treats for a while, he is training you to give him treats and that is probably why he won't eat cause he is not that hungry.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

try throwing the food on the floor! That's the only way I can get Bella to eat.


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## MarkF (Nov 9, 2009)

lfung5 said:


> try throwing the food on the floor! That's the only way I can get Bella to eat.


Tried that didn't work


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I also got this stuff that is freezed dried meat and I sprinkle that on her food. It helps a lot.


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## MarkF (Nov 9, 2009)

lfung5 said:


> I also got this stuff that is freezed dried meat and I sprinkle that on her food. It helps a lot.


Anything we add he picks out of the bowl and leaves behind all of the kibble. But if we hand feed the kibble he eats.

I counted out 16 pieces of kibble and mixed in chicken soup with bits of boiled chicken. In 3 minutes the bowl was licked and picked clean with 16 pieces of kibble left behind. Take the kibble in my fingers and he eats it, but it back in the bowl - doesn't eat it.


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## murphymoesmamma (Apr 1, 2009)

Murphy hates bowls! He will even tip his water dish over so he can lap it up from the floor rather than put his nose in a bowl. The pampered pooch however has no problem drinking ice water out of MY goblet. I tell ya, he sure has me wrapped around his little paw!


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## kudo2u (Mar 7, 2009)

Wow - you guys are all super nice! Or I'm super mean.....

I use ceramic bowls, not stainless steel (the sound of kibble in steel bowls is a little scary to some dogs, and the funny light reflections in the water can also make them wary). But other than that, they don't get any special treatment.

Now, if I ever need to switch their food for whatever reason, I do it gradually so as not to upset their stomach, but that's about the extent of it.

We don't do treats at ALL, except after grooming or during training. No more than 3 TINY bites per day (tiny as in the size of a dime for the Havs; the size of a nickel for the terriers). And they definitely have to earn them!

We have open feeding, so the dogs have food available at all times. They eat what we put out....or they don't eat!

Now two of them will grab a mouthful of kibble and carry it over onto a rug, drop it all on the rug, eat their portion, then go back for another mouthful. We allow that. One of them is a very messy eater - she scatters food a foot away from the bowl, then the others come around and (eventually) clean it all up. We allow that, as well.

But there are no picky eaters in our house! We have had picky eaters when they arrive. Give them a week and suddenly they aren't so picky anymore. I'm telling you, the more of an ordeal you make of their food and eating habits, the more finicky they will become, and the harder you will have to work to get them to eat. Just leave food out, stop feeding treats, and pretend like you don't even care. When the bowl is empty, refill it.

It may take a lot longer than you're comfortable with - I once had a dog go 5.5 days with no food. But trust me, the dog is NOT going to starve itself!!!

UNLESS - and I said this before - UNLESS there is something wrong (some sort of illness or underlying cause they are not eating - injured gums, a painful tooth, inflamed throat with trouble swallowing, etc.). If there is something wrong, it's important to cure that underlying cause ASAP, and by all means, give them whatever it takes to get them healthy!

But if they are just being stubborn - you're the human, you're the adult, and you have to enforce the rules. If that means you have to be more stubborn, then so be it!


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

We have a very picky dog in the family and they were having a terrible time getting him (a yorkie) to eat his kibble. I suggested they try giving him Bil-Jac puppy food (which Milo was on with his breeder) and he loved it. You might want to give it a try. I recommend switching to something else when he's grown since it seems to be higher in calories.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I go with what Lina says. It is not possible for dogs to be picky eaters. They will eat poo given a chance. Stop with the treats and put the food before him for 10 minutes or so and then take up the food. Don't give in. Next feeding time do the same time. He will get hungry and go to eating. My Rosie was the tiniest thing when I got her and the breeder said it was because she was a pickie eater. That only took 2 days to cure. She is a heavy eater--anything that is put before her. Her treats are the extra egg or chicken I put in her food bowl. Never for anything that I am training her to do. Her reward is lots of hugs and play time. That has worked for all the dogs I have had over a lifetime. We don't give treats to toddlers for every little thing so why do we think that we should give a dog who has the brain of a 2 year old a treat every time it does what we want?


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

If he isn't sick, I'd feed him twice a day (food in a bowl), putting it down around the same time each day and picking it up 15 minutes whether it is empty or still full. Continue this every day without giving any treats (except for a kibble or two as treats during grooming if you have a grooming session during this time). He may skip every single meal for two days, but I haven't heard of a Hav skipping both meals on Day #3.

Also, scheduled feedings is much better for getting your dogs to eat regularly instead of free-feeding. Dogs are usually not picky eaters if they know the food is only given at set times.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Havtahava said:


> If he isn't sick, I'd feed him twice a day (food in a bowl), putting it down around the same time each day and picking it up 15 minutes whether it is empty or still full. Continue this every day without giving any treats (except for a kibble or two as treats during grooming if you have a grooming session during this time). He may skip every single meal for two days, but I haven't heard of a Hav skipping both meals on Day #3.
> 
> Also, scheduled feedings is much better for getting your dogs to eat regularly instead of free-feeding. Dogs are usually not picky eaters if they know the food is only given at set times.


I totally agree with you Kimberly.


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## waybrook (Sep 13, 2009)

Panda will only eat off a paper plate - no bowls allowed! She also will only drink from a water bottle or a plastic bowl - no metal anything....

She was picky when we first brought her home, but a couple of days of no treats and 2 15 min. opportunities to eat and that straightened right up. She wasn't about to starve - just tried to assert her dominance - if she had won on that point - we'd have been on to the next issue.... It's hard though to watch them not eat, but it will be better for her and you in the long run...


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Scooter would only eat off a plate and now that's just what we use for all 3 of them.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Not eating isn't such a bad thing for me to deal with...it's the diarrhea that ALWAYS follows that I hate. If Tucker doesn't eat at least a little, twice a day, he throws up and then the next day starts the backside messes and baths. Yuck. He's 2-1/2 years old, and he's always had this issue.


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## Mojo's Mom (Jun 6, 2009)

You could try another food. But mostly, don't worry if he doesn't eat for a day or two...he will eat. A vet once told me he had never seen a dog starve itself to death.

Your puppy is, among other things, picking up on your anxiety about his not eating. I have been through this, not with puppies, but with older dogs. The more you stress, the more he'll be "picky" and the more you pamper and cater to him, the worse he'll get.

Put the food down. If he eats, he eats, if he doesn't he doesn't. He will, though, and when he learns that you won't stress about it and hand feed him, he'll get over this stage.

Mojo was a poor eater through much of his early puppy-hood, and I would stress over it because of what I'd been through with my senior dogs, some hard stuff that had nothing to do with Mojo. But he always ate eventually.

I will note, though, that Mojo always had a hard time with kibble that wasn't tiny. I still feed Halo, because the kibble is very small. Mojo will eat Life's Abundance if he's down at his sister's house, but he won't eat it at home because he doesn't really like the bigger pieces of kibble (big compared to Halo, or to the Science Diet small bites that Mojo was initially raised with).


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

I had a Pom that clinked a plate hard on the floor and that was it for her and plates or bowls. She did that when she got older so she ate off of a napkin. This wasn't a give it time and she'll eat...she would starve first, literally. You might try putting the food on a paper plate or a few napkins


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> Never for anything that I am training her to do. Her reward is lots of hugs and play time. That has worked for all the dogs I have had over a lifetime. We don't give treats to toddlers for every little thing so why do we think that we should give a dog who has the brain of a 2 year old a treat every time it does what we want?


Well, it isn't quite the same. Dogs may be smart, but they don't share our language the way a young child does, and they are a different species that is pre-programmed to think DIFFERENTLY than a human being no matter how smart they are or are not.

I'm sure you can teach many dogs to do the basics required of a pet dog without food reinforcements (though I bet it's slower) but when you get into more complicated things, and particularly if you believe in positive training methods, you need a variety of strong motivators. Praise is certainly one, as is play. But you are really limiting your options if you refuse to use food reinforcers.

Food used during training shouldn't be a "treat", either. It is either a reward for successfully completing a behavior, or a lure to help shape a new behavior. Luring should be very short-lived, and reward treats should fade to intermittent rewards over time.

Food rewards shouldn't make a dog a picky eater either. The food used for rewards needs to be factored into their caloric and nutritional intake for the day. It shouldn't be "extra" or you'll end up with a pudgy (or picky!) dog. When Kodi has a morning training class, he doesn't even get breakfast in the morning. I know he'll get plenty to eat at class. Likewise, if he has an evening class, he doesn't get supper. If it's a non-class day, and I am doing our typical intermittent short training sessions throughout the day, I keep in mind how much food he is getting (never as much as during classes, where many activities are new) and factor that into what he gets at meal time.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

JASHavanese said:


> I had a Pom that clinked a plate hard on the floor and that was it for her and plates or bowls. She did that when she got older so she ate off of a napkin. This wasn't a give it time and she'll eat...she would starve first, literally. You might try putting the food on a paper plate or a few napkins


Kodi would eat the paper first and then the food!ound:


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> Well, it isn't quite the same. Dogs may be smart, but they don't share our language the way a young child does, and they are a different species that is pre-programmed to think DIFFERENTLY than a human being no matter how smart they are or are not.
> 
> I'm sure you can teach many dogs to do the basics required of a pet dog without food reinforcements (though I bet it's slower) but when you get into more complicated things, and particularly if you believe in positive training methods, you need a variety of strong motivators. Praise is certainly one, as is play. But you are really limiting your options if you refuse to use food reinforcers.
> 
> ...


Well said , I couldn't have said it better.


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## MarkF (Nov 9, 2009)

Update - We stopped all hand feeding and within 2 days, Sammy started eating all of his kibble dry from the same stainless bowl we were using originally. Not only that but he's eating better, at more than 1/2 cup per day plus a hard boiled egg yoke. We now put out a 1/4 cup in the morning, after is it gone we add a bit more (about 10 pieces of kibble) for him to pick at all day and then we do a 1/4 cup at night. He now finishes everything, his bowl is empty when he goes to sleep.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

good going. I would even eliminate the ten free grazing kibbles too. Great to hear.


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

Mark, I had to giggle when I read this whole thread. I originally wanted to suggest a differet type of bowl and then a different kibble. 
These pups are SO much like children!! If you are willing to feed him by hand, why bother eating it from the bowl!!!! 
I am so glad to hear that Sammy is now eating after cutting out the hand feeding. I wonder sometimes if I am the MEAN Hav owner, but my guys get their kibble as their treats, which they get maybe once a day - sometimes not even all day. They love, and gobble up their food at dinner time. I have never had to pick up dishes after 15 minutes!!


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