Food for a picky-eater puppy

[clyde.bay]

I have a six month old GWP puppy who is a notoriously picky eater. We’ve had him since he was 12 weeks old and have switched his food several times already - he will eat a new kibble at first but then stop eating within 2 days to 2 weeks. Right now he is eating Costco Nature’s Domain salmon and sweet potato. He used to like it, but then started being picky again. We were mixing food in with it to encourage him to eat (sweet potato, eggs, coconut oil, pumpkin, wet dog food) but he has gotten so picky that he will suck the wet food off kibbles and then spit them out. We would prefer not to feed too much wet food since it is crazy expensive to feed him enough for his age and size (would cost approximately $20 a day).

If he were an adult dog, I would be more inclined to let him leave the food and operate on the philosophy that he’ll eat when he’s hungry. But since he’s a puppy and still growing, I would like for him to at least eat close to the recommended amount. Right now based on feeding instructions on the bag he should eat 7.25-9 cups a day. He probably eats about 3-4 cups with encouragement/flavour enhancers and will not touch plain kibble. Last time he was at the vet, the vet said he was underweight for his size and I think he’s started to lose a bit of weight. He has also started to suffer from dandruffy/itchy skin since the fall weather started. We were advised to feed him oil, but he won’t touch any food with oil now.

Looking for advice on brands of food that are palatable for picky eaters - either in a puppy or all life stages formula. We prefer to feed higher quality foods (grain-free, high meat, not made in China), and are located in Canada. If it is sold at Petsmart that is a bonus since that is the only pet store near us that occasionally has sales. I am willing to pay for higher end food but would prefer if it were not on the top end of the price spectrum (aka Orijen prince range). Brands we’ve tried already:
Now Puppy Food (I believe it was turkey, duck and salmon)
Merrick Texas Beef and Sweet Potato
Taste of the Wild Puppy Food (I think it was bison/venison)
Nature’s Domain (Costco)

[S1969]

Sorry, no food advice but I want to see a picture. I’m a big fan of the GWPs.

I’ve never had a picky dog, thankfully, but a friend has one and she found that he was sort of a junk food junkie. He flat out refused the grain free foods. When she was showing him and he got too thin to look good in the ring, she switched to Purina Pro Plan. I think he might still be on it. It’s not a bad food, but a lot of people don’t think it’s a “good” food.

Maybe ask the breeder what they feed?

[clyde.bay]

@S1969

Sorry, no food advice but I want to see a picture. I’m a big fan of the GWPs.

I’ve never had a picky dog, thankfully, but a friend has one and she found that he was sort of a junk food junkie. He flat out refused the grain free foods. When she was showing him and he got too thin to look good in the ring, she switched to Purina Pro Plan. I think he might still be on it. It’s not a bad food, but a lot of people don’t think it’s a “good” food.

Maybe ask the breeder what they feed?

Thanks! I will try to get a picture up. The breeder fed Puppy Chow (I think just because it was a cheaper way to feed a litter of 10 temporarily) which we transitioned him off immediately. We have considered that we might have to pick a junkier brand. It’s frustrating because he seems to like new foods until we buy a big bag of it, then immediately refuses to keep eating it

[rubles]

This will be brief. Put good quality food down ( there are many to choose from), walk away, leave food down for 20 minutes. If not eaten in that time remove it. Puppy is not offered anything else edible 'til next scheduled feed time. Repeat, if necessary.
Fresh water available 24/7.

[clyde.bay]

@rubles

This will be brief. Put good quality food down ( there are many to choose from), walk away, leave food down for 20 minutes. If not eaten in that time remove it. Puppy is not offered anything else edible 'til next scheduled feed time. Repeat, if necessary.
Fresh water available 24/7.

I get that, but he is currently attending obedience school and we have to practice training between classes which means he gets treats. We tried training with his regular kibble but he spits it out and loses interest in training. Not obedience training the 50 pound monster is not an option.

[Donkaloosa]

I’d suggest picking a food and sticking with it, not changing it if he’s being picky. I have fed my obedience dogs Purina Pro and Purina One for years, and they have done well on it and snarf it up. They have beautiful coats and lots of energy. Have your treats for training, put the food down at meal time, pick it up if he doesn’t eat in half an hour. If you after to his pickyness, it will become a life long PITA.

[Simkie]

I’d consider that perhaps his inappetance is a sign of something else, and treat him for ulcers. Famotidine or omeprazole could totally change his relationship with food, but you may have to work to find something he’s not averse to, if ulcers do wind up being the problem.

[Laurierace]

Treats have nothing to do with meals providing you aren’t feeding him so many treats that he isn’t hungry for meals. Some dogs need higher value treats than others which is fine, just use them in miniscule portions like a pea sized piece of cheese for example.
I can not for the life of me think of what you could feed a dog that would cost $20 per day. My secret weapon for picky eaters is Stella and Chewy’s freeze dried raw sprinkled over their ration.

[clyde.bay]

@Donkaloosa

I’d suggest picking a food and sticking with it, not changing it if he’s being picky. I have fed my obedience dogs Purina Pro and Purina One for years, and they have done well on it and snarf it up. They have beautiful coats and lots of energy. Have your treats for training, put the food down at meal time, pick it up if he doesn’t eat in half an hour. If you after to his pickyness, it will become a life long PITA.

Thanks, maybe we’ll try that brand. I’m trying not to give in to his pickiness but I can’t help feel bad when my vet criticizes me because he’s too skinny.

ETA: Our intention has always been to get a brand and stick to it. It’s just frustrating when he refuses to eat and I keep having to explain to people why he’s skinny.

[clyde.bay]

@Laurierace

Treats have nothing to do with meals providing you aren’t feeding him so many treats that he isn’t hungry for meals. Some dogs need higher value treats than others which is fine, just use them in miniscule portions like a pea sized piece of cheese for example.
I can not for the life of me think of what you could feed a dog that would cost $20 per day. My secret weapon for picky eaters is Stella and Chewy’s freeze dried raw sprinkled over their ration.

The $20 a day would be if we gave him exclusively the wet food we mix with his dry (he would love to just eat the wet food). It is $4 a can and the recommended feeding instructions for his age and weight is 4-5 cans (he is 6 months and 55 pounds). We bought a brand today that has freeze dried raw mixed in - hopefully he’ll eat that.

[clyde.bay]

@Simkie

I’d consider that perhaps his inappetance is a sign of something else, and treat him for ulcers. Famotidine or omeprazole could totally change his relationship with food, but you may have to work to find something he’s not averse to, if ulcers do wind up being the problem.

He has plenty of appetite for wet dog food, (stolen) cat and people food, and treats. If he doesn’t like the food we bought him today, we’ll ask our vet. I’m assuming the ulcer treatments aren’t OTC?

[Laurierace]

I would stop the wet food for a while if not forever. The problem with the dry with raw mixed in is it is super easy to pick around and just eat the raw nuggets. Sprinkling a little raw over the bowl seems to flavor the whole thing. Don’t give in and buy a junk food kibble just because he likes it.

[Simkie]

@clyde.bay

He has plenty of appetite for wet dog food, (stolen) cat and people food, and treats. If he doesn’t like the food we bought him today, we’ll ask our vet. I’m assuming the ulcer treatments aren’t OTC?

They’re all otc.

And yes, that’s typical. High value, interesting food is gobbled up. As is new food. But then they feel crappy enough times after eating, associate that with the food and start refusing that particular kibble. So you try something new, and it’s exciting, so he eats…and the cycle repeats.

If an anti ulcer med doesn’t do it, I’d see how a course of cerenia changes things. That is rx, though, and leads to bigger questions.

[rubles]

@clyde.bay

He has plenty of appetite for wet dog food, (stolen) cat and people food, and treats. If he doesn’t like the food we bought him today, we’ll ask our vet. I’m assuming the ulcer treatments aren’t OTC?

So he has plenty of appetite for what he wants? And so you provide it. He’s training you very well. Smart dog. What breed is he in words, not letters? Please put the cat food out of reach.

[jreventer]

7-9 cups of food per day for any dog sounds extremely excessive, so maybe he is just not hungry for that much food? I have very active, working dogs, and I have never had a puppy/adult eat more then 5 cups of food a day (plus training treats). And these are dogs that are very active (not sled dog active but quiet active). Unless he is a great dane this just seems like too much food. The bags are often wrong! Some things to try
-Make him work for his food, try making him search food out in the house and yard, use puzzle feeders, snuffle mats. My picky eater but working dog will turn her nose up for a bowl of food, but if I scatter that same food in the grass she will spend 30 minuets finding every piece.
-Stick to one brand
-Realize you have a high energy breed-they will be lean while growing if not always!
-Put his food down and if he does not eat it is comes up until the next meal. I have had two very picky dogs, they were picky as puppies and never truly out grew it. They would skip meals for up to 2 days. And I let them. They learned for the most part to eat at meals. Sometimes they will still skip a meal but not often.
-Use things for training treats that are complete meals, things like Natural Balance food rolls cut up, freeze dried food, etc. This way he is getting healthy calories while training.
But I suspect you are trying to get too much food into him.

[SonnysMom]

Many years ago we had a lab puppy that grain free was too rich for him. We also had a picky older adult dog. We had them both on California Naturals and also a third dog who really wasn’t too picky. At the time they had an all stages food that was appropriate to feed to both puppies and adults. It is a limited ingredient food which if something is upsetting his stomach a little bit then you are less likely to have it hidden in the CA Naturals.
I also tend to be of the type to put the food down for 15 minutes and pick it up if they haven’t finished it. No meal until the next scheduled time. We feed twice a day. They can have training treats in between but not much else. I will admit to sometimes adding people food to the dog food. But we generally keep it to meat, vegetables, salad. No much pasta/bread.

The other thing that helped with the picky eater was to wet the food with warm water. I think it made it smell better to her.

My aunt used to have picky dogs and she would wet the kibble, let it get soft and then feed it. That was their preferred texture.

My old lab was very active. My vet constantly would comment on how muscled he was especially for a neutered male lab. He only ate 4 cups of food a day and weighed 80 pounds. It was not a grain free food. I think the amounts that you are looking to feed him are pretty high. IME Most bags way overstate how much food that the dogs should get.

[clyde.bay]

@rubles

So he has plenty of appetite for what he wants? And so you provide it. He’s training you very well. Smart dog. What breed is he in words, not letters? Please put the cat food out of reach.

German Wirehaired Pointer. The cat food is out of reach - I mostly mean that he will lunge for a kibble if it spills off the cat shelf. He doesn’t really ever end up actually getting any human or cat food - just shows an extreme amount of interest in it and trying to steal it. The only thing he gets outside of his meals is freeze dried beef liver training treats.

[clyde.bay]

@jreventer

7-9 cups of food per day for any dog sounds extremely excessive, so maybe he is just not hungry for that much food? I have very active, working dogs, and I have never had a puppy/adult eat more then 5 cups of food a day (plus training treats). And these are dogs that are very active (not sled dog active but quiet active). Unless he is a great dane this just seems like too much food. The bags are often wrong! Some things to try
-Make him work for his food, try making him search food out in the house and yard, use puzzle feeders, snuffle mats. My picky eater but working dog will turn her nose up for a bowl of food, but if I scatter that same food in the grass she will spend 30 minuets finding every piece.
-Stick to one brand
-Realize you have a high energy breed-they will be lean while growing if not always!
-Put his food down and if he does not eat it is comes up until the next meal. I have had two very picky dogs, they were picky as puppies and never truly out grew it. They would skip meals for up to 2 days. And I let them. They learned for the most part to eat at meals. Sometimes they will still skip a meal but not often.
-Use things for training treats that are complete meals, things like Natural Balance food rolls cut up, freeze dried food, etc. This way he is getting healthy calories while training.
But I suspect you are trying to get too much food into him.

I agree it seems like too much food, but it might be because we were trying to feed him an all life stages food which recommends that puppies eat much more than adults. We switched him to a puppy food yesterday, and the recommended daily intake is 3-4 cups for his size and age which seems more manageable.

We have been using bits of freeze dried beef liver as treats. The suggestion to make him work for his food might help - it has been effective for him in the past and maybe will work again.

[sisu27]

I just lost a dog to GDV and he was raw fed so I can’t imagine feeding that much kibble. Scary.

Even with raw we train with the dogs actual meals. No meal before training. I did do costco hot dogs boiled within an inch of their lives but its counter intuitive when I go to great lengths to feed my dogs the best I can find.

If cost is the only thing that keeps you from feeding raw it shouldn’t. It would cost me far more to feed Acana and Orijen.

Where are you located? My raw company delivers for free. I am in Ontario.

I am careful not to feed too much liver.

I would also like to see a picture!

[rubles]

Several years ago A 2-year old Cavalier King Charles puppy was rescued by his breeder, a friend of mine from a dog pound in spite of a signed contract with the breeder to return him to her if the buyer couldn’t keep him. When he surrendered the dog to the pound he also surrendered all the information from the breeder. This dog wa set for euthanasia by the pound vet because of juvenile cataracts. So he came to me after the buyer’s home, where he was well-treated, the pound, his breeder’s home in a short period of time stressed out and not eating. Breeder said he seemed to prefer his food from a plate, not bowl so a plate was provided and he ate once from it. Then I noticed he ate half in, half out of his crate so I tried that with limited success, then I switched from dry to tinned, changed brands, added and removed gravy over the following week–he remained a picky eater. Desperate for a solution I found a web-site devoted to cavs and a member posted the following as best as I can remember. Think of the above bowels, plates, wet, dry, different brands, gravy or not and when you find yourself on your hands and knees on the floor begging your dog to eat this is what you do. Remove food after 20 minutes re my first post to this thread. My Cav was very thin too causing worry. Luckily he is an eager eater just like my other dogs now. When I got to the hands and knees part I was laughing out loud.
So your dog’s a pointer and I hope he starts eating properly soon.