# Picky Eaters??



## winter1983 (Jun 22, 2015)

Just a question. Are your pups good eaters? Mattie doesn't like to eat at meal time and I don't want to leave it down all day and night. My vet said I could mix in some wet so I did but it hasn't made a big difference. She tends to eat when she feels like it. Is this a Havanese thing?


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

I don't know but mine does the same thing.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

winter1983 said:


> Just a question. Are your pups good eaters? Mattie doesn't like to eat at meal time and I don't want to leave it down all day and night. My vet said I could mix in some wet so I did but it hasn't made a big difference. She tends to eat when she feels like it. Is this a Havanese thing?


Just don't LET her eat when she likes. If she hasn't eaten in 10 minutes, take it up, and NO food until her next scheduled meal. She'll learn that when she's hungry, she'd better eat.


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## Sassy's Mom (Feb 4, 2015)

Karen that's what I did with Sassy and she eats now. It's really hard at first you feel like you're starving them but they learn quickly.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sassy's Mom said:


> Karen that's what I did with Sassy and she eats now. It's really hard at first you feel like you're starving them but they learn quickly.


Yes, those cute little faces are VERY good at training US!!!


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## MWilson (May 22, 2015)

The Ninja does the same thing, but the Bandit eats fast. I think he feels as if the winner should get ALL. Unfortunately for him, I do not let him near the Ninja's bowl. The Ninja is a VERY slow eater. Then, he just quits and expects to come back and finish later. I always pick it up, but I'm not disciplined enough to make him wait until the next mealtime. I'm going to try that tomorrow, though, because I'll bet it works like a charm. Don't worry, Winter. You are obviously a good puppy-mom or you wouldn't be concerned about this. Your little one will get the hang of it soon.


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

Both my Havanese, Cuba, and my Coton de Tulear, Tycho, are incredibly picky eaters; I DO take food up after ten minutes or so and sometimes they'll go for up to three days without eating, which I really used to worry about. But they seem fine on it so I've stopped fretting. I don't feed them twice a day any more because neither would touch any food in the morning. I usually bring them downstairs and let them out first thing at about 6am when I get up, then when they come in I give them a small chewy something, then shut them in again while I'm having a shower. Cuba has learned that Tycho doesn't usually touch his chew, asks for the back door to be opened again when I come back down, pretends to go out until he follows her, then doubles back and steals his chew while he's not looking....and then doesn't eat it; but I think she enjoys watching him while he searches for it on his return from the garden, poor boy!


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## Napria (May 17, 2015)

Before getting Baci I had read that Havanese are very picky eaters. I must have a weird one because mine will eat just about anything I feed him.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Lalla said:


> Cuba has learned that Tycho doesn't usually touch his chew, asks for the back door to be opened again when I come back down, pretends to go out until he follows her, then doubles back and steals his chew while he's not looking....and then doesn't eat it; but I think she enjoys watching him while he searches for it on his return from the garden, poor boy!


What a riot! I am afraid Pixel is already beginning to run rings around Kodi too. Poor boys!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Napria said:


> Before getting Baci I had read that Havanese are very picky eaters. I must have a weird one because mine will eat just about anything I feed him.


I know Havanese CAN be picky eaters, but I truly think it is learned behavior. The ones who seem pickiest are either onlies, or live with another picky eater, like Tycho and Cuba.

Kodi was a picky eater until he was about 10 months old, and I went to Europe for 10 days. I left him with a friend who has several large dogs. He was always fed in his ex-pen, completely safe from the other dogs, but just the pressure of all these big dogs gulping their food down near him made him decide that he'd darned well better eat his before they decided to do it for him!  From then on, he has never taken more than about 30 seconds to finish a meal.

Pixel has learned from him, and scarfs her food right down too. She missed a few meals in her first few weeks home, but I think this is pretty typical young puppy behavior. We offer them a lot because they are growing. Sometimes they need it, and eat, other times they don't and leave it.


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## MiasMomma (Jun 14, 2015)

At nearly 6 months old, Mia also eats everything. I'm feeling quite lucky based on all the Havi picky-eater stories. Fromm game bird, sprinkled with a teeny bit of shred cheddar when she gets some in a bowl. She gets a lot of her meals from my hand via rewards, puzzle toys, etc..


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

I think we (or at least I) worry too much, honestly; and also, the guidelines on how much dogs should eat are largely made by the food producers who want you to buy more and probably over-estimate therefore. There is much evidence now to suggest that animals (including us human animals) fare far better on lower consumption - what we would consider starvation-level diets are clearly linked with longevity. In many ways it's easier to have a dog who self-regulates rather than one that eats anything on offer whom the owner has to regulate. The only bit that's tricky is if they actually really are unwell and off their food for that reason, which is hard to spot in a dog that isn't all that keen on food even when it's thriving. But patterns are pretty clear in the end; Tycho can go for three days with nothing and then he'll eat happily every day for another two or three and then decide on a break again. Cuba is less complicated and eats most days but not always. And there are other give-away signs if they are not well, so at least most of the time the worrying seems unnecessary and I've stopped!


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

When I had 2 dogs and fed them together, it was a breeze. There was competition for food. One was faster than the other so I had to watch that the faster one (the dominant female) would not eat the male's food when she was done with hers. My Hav is not treat motivated and so training isn't so simple.


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

Zoe093014 said:


> When I had 2 dogs and fed them together, it was a breeze. There was competition for food. One was faster than the other so I had to watch that the faster one (the dominant female) would not eat the male's food when she was done with hers. My Hav is not treat motivated and so training isn't so simple.


Mine are not treat-oriented either, but I discovered that if, at puppy class, I gave the treats to the trainer and then got her to give him a few from her and then "lend" them to me, Tycho thought they were something interesting, exotic and rare and he loved them!!! Gotcha!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Zoe093014 said:


> When I had 2 dogs and fed them together, it was a breeze. There was competition for food. One was faster than the other so I had to watch that the faster one (the dominant female) would not eat the male's food when she was done with hers. My Hav is not treat motivated and so training isn't so simple.


One thing to remember about "treat motivation" is that this is largely a learned behavior. SO many people say their dogs are not treat motivated, but if you use their meals for training to get them started, and they learn that the treat is part of the "game" of training, and that it MEANS something, it starts to have a lot more value. (So, for these dogs, you are turning something that might be a secondary reinforcer INTO a primary reinforcer). People also forget what a strong motivator play can be, especially "personal play" (play routines that include just the dog and handler, with no toys or food)

Our dogs (or few of them) will ever have the drive of the working, herding or hunting breeds. It's not bred into them, and this is one of the things that makes them much easier to live with than those other breeds. It's one of the reasons we love them. But that means that if we want to train with positive methods (and do more than household manners type training) it's up to us to build our dogs' interest in food, toys and personal play.


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

Absolutely, Karen. The whole treat thing is so often to do with the owners wanting to gratify their own nurturing needs, anyway, hence the problem with overweight dogs in some extreme cases. Pamba, my first Coton, used to bring me the clicker and drop it at my feet or on my lap, her way of training me to get on with the training that she loved; we used to do a lot of shaping together, and the solving of the puzzle of what it was I wanted was enough for her - there frequently didn't have to be the addition of any treat, the click and the reward of my praise, were what she worked for.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Lalla said:


> Absolutely, Karen. The whole treat thing is so often to do with the owners wanting to gratify their own nurturing needs, anyway, hence the problem with overweight dogs in some extreme cases. Pamba, my first Coton, used to bring me the clicker and drop it at my feet or on my lap, her way of training me to get on with the training that she loved; we used to do a lot of shaping together, and the solving of the puzzle of what it was I wanted was enough for her - there frequently didn't have to be the addition of any treat, the click and the reward of my praise, were what she worked for.


That's awesome! People newer to clicker training need to know, however, that a clicker needs already to have become a STRONG secondary reinforcer before it is used without a treat following it EVERY click.


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

krandall said:


> That's awesome! People newer to clicker training need to know, however, that a clicker needs already to have become a STRONG secondary reinforcer before it is used without a treat following it EVERY click.


For sure. It took some time to connect the primary and secondary reinforcers and get the message clear what the clicker actually meant, but she took to shaping immediately and was very clever at it; even when at the beginning I was treating every single time (vital, as you say) she would often not take the treat and be ready to work out the next bit. Tycho, on the other hand, if you sit there and wait for him to begin to do things you can reinforce, just sits there too, as if to say "well, if you aren't going to tell me what to do then I think I'll just have a bit of a sleep", and curls up in a cosy ball and goes to sleep! Cuba is more like Pamba - she doesn't bring me the clicker, but if I pick one up she is instantly alert, and will try all sorts of things so that shaping is really easy with her. Treats then mean something special, the special something being that I am giving her my full attention and she is learning new things to do.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

I thought Sophie was a picky eater up until a couple of weeks ago, turned out she was having a terrible time with teething and was in pain. (she is quite stoic but would actually scream out when chewing on a toy, etc. Vet had to help 2 baby teeth out and pain was gone). Once I started to soak her food she ate like a champ and now that her baby teeth are finally out she still eats great.I have heard too that Havanese can be picky eaters. Not the case with dachshunds that's for sure


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## Bruce Watt (Dec 23, 2014)

They are picky eaters. I know the conventional wisdom is to pick up their bowl if they don't eat within 10 mins but I have decided that Coby can eat when he wants to. Where's the harm? If he takes 2 days to eat his bowl, fine, If he eats it in a few minutes, that's fine too.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Bruce Watt said:


> They are picky eaters. I know the conventional wisdom is to pick up their bowl if they don't eat within 10 mins but I have decided that Coby can eat when he wants to. Where's the harm? If he takes 2 days to eat his bowl, fine, If he eats it in a few minutes, that's fine too.


That's easier to do with only one dog, though it can make potty training harder. There's no way to make sure that each dog gets what s/he needs and no more if they are left to free feed. Little dogs can gain weight FAST! ...And once they've trained you to leave the food down, why hurry? They know it will always be there when they want it!

Also, in honesty, I've heard of very few "picky eaters" who weren't eating kibble. Given a better, more interesting food, most gobble it right down. And, if not, their owners pick it up and either put it away for later or toss it, because it's not safe to leave non-dry foods out for extended periods.


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## Bruce Watt (Dec 23, 2014)

Coby an only dog so competition for food not a problem.
Dry food, so leaving it not a problem.
Proper amount for his weight, so weight gain not a problem (besides, he skips meals and gets tons of exercise).
Only toilets on his walks, so potty training not a problem.

Go Coby!


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## Hsusa (Dec 21, 2014)

I've never had a problem with leaving food down for Sheba. She generally finishes it within an hour at the most. But, that being said, I am very careful not to give her too much of her kibble. I measure it out, and the amount I give her is definitely on the low side of the recommended amount. I only wish I had someone to measure out my food for me.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

LOL Helene, and someone to cook for us too


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

YES to that, Helene and Dee Dee!

Thank you Karen and everyone for the interesting comments on treats and motivation. I hadn't thought about it much from that point of view but I am remembering that Zoe comes and sits from in front of me when I am in a certain chair. She looks all happy and attentive. I interpret that as wanting to learn the commands I have been working on. She happily does them and gets her tiny treat. She does seem to enjoy learning.


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## winter1983 (Jun 22, 2015)

She's getting to be a better eater. She still has days where she eats more than others but it's picked up. I give her some wet on top and that gets her more interested.
M


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## AbrilsMama (Jun 24, 2014)

We bought Abril from a Breeder and she had quite a few eating I think at the same time. When we fed Abril, she would wait till we went out of the room and then tried to push the mat that the dishes were on over the food and the dishes under the cupboard edge. But through the year, we have tried to feed her when we eat and she will eat now when we are in the room and does not try to hide her food. I just thought it might be because of the many dogs.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

How is Mattie eating now?

Sophie was very picky a while back but turned out to be her teething. She ate better but then lost interest again and would skip meals. I just yesterday switched her to the home made diet. It was so fun to watch her eat her dinner last night. I have it mixed with kibble so the change isn't abrupt but she never pulled her head out of the bowl and licked it clean! When she looked up at me finally her eyes were as big as saucers. LOL.

She ate like that this morning also and ran to the bowl rather than standing across the kitchen staring at me. 

I would never do home cooking without some great guidance. I found an amazing holistic vet (3-4 hour drive each way but she's worth it) that I took my Hallie too when she had a lot of issues as she got older and she had me home cooking/supplementing for her and it did miracles for her. So between that and I know several people who have gone for her for years and their dogs thrived into old age on their custom diets (two I know of were 19) so I feel confident cooking for Sophie now also. But wouldn't be a good idea to try home cooking on your own.

Right now only the meat and eggs are cooked the rest is raw once she's an adult we will probably switch to raw. Plus all of the supplements we add. 

Anyway thought I'd report in with the big change in Sophie's eating habits.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Dee Dee said:


> How is Mattie eating now?
> 
> Sophie was very picky a while back but turned out to be her teething. She ate better but then lost interest again and would skip meals. I just yesterday switched her to the home made diet. It was so fun to watch her eat her dinner last night. I have it mixed with kibble so the change isn't abrupt but she never pulled her head out of the bowl and licked it clean! When she looked up at me finally her eyes were as big as saucers. LOL.
> 
> ...


Who wouldn't rather have a nice, home cooked dinner than... hard, dry biscuits!


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## winter1983 (Jun 22, 2015)

She's eating better! Some of it was probably teething but some is just her appetite. I'm very slowly transitioning her to Orijen which she likes a lot. Still mixing it with her old wet food and some rice. I'll probably keep mixing with rice as Orijen is high protein with no grain. She loves it though. Still has days where she has more of an appetite than others. I pick up after 30/45 mins.


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Rudy eats all his food in a few minutes. I give him 1/4 cup of Royal Canin Puppy Mini (dry) twice a day. I plan to switch his food slowly in a few weeks to either Orijen puppy or Fromm Gold puppy. He's doing very well on the Royal Canin puppy food, but I have heard it's not the best food to give him.


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

I just hope when we switch, his "poop score" won't change.:whoo:


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Has anyone ever used Orijen puppy dry food? I


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## winter1983 (Jun 22, 2015)

That's what I just switched Maytie to, Orijen puppy dry. She likes it much better than the ProPlan. I did a lot of research, I'd say Orijen or Acana. I mix some white rice in with her food as its very high in Protein. It's not that much more than the Royal Canin I fed my Yorkie. I'd have given her this if I'd known about it before she died. With the Orijen, I mixed it in slowly and she had like one softer poo but no diarrhea. Good luck


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## winter1983 (Jun 22, 2015)

That's Mattie not Maytie lol...


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Is the Fromm Gold puppy dry food easier than Orijen puppy dry food to transition to from the Royal Canin puppy mini dry food?


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Or A Taste of the Wild (salmon flavor) Puppy dry food. How is this food for a 4 month old puppy? So these are the dry foods I'm considering to switch to: Orijen puppy, Fromm gold puppy, or A Taste of the Wild (salmon flavor). I heard the Orijen may be too much protein compared to the Royal Canin puppy. I'm sorry for the questions. I just not sure which food to choose. He doesn't appear to have any allergies. He does not scratch. The breeder had him on Royal Canin, but now I think we are ready to change. Would appreciate any input.
Thank you.


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## winter1983 (Jun 22, 2015)

Of those I've only tried Orijen. I mix in some grains. It's high calorie too so they don't need as much. The ingredients are all locally sourced so you know they aren't from China. Acana is the same people and it has less protein. You might look that one up. I think switching from any lower 'quality' food, like I did, there will be a change with their tummy. Mattie is 6months and on the puppy food. She's been transitioning for a week. It's ok to go slow with the mixing. No major tummy issues yet and she loves the new food.


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## winter1983 (Jun 22, 2015)

Acana will be what I try next if this isn't the right choice.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

dogfoodadvisor.com is a great resource to research various dog foods and review their star ratings.


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