# Just being very fussy with food....



## ronaldbiggs (Jul 28, 2017)

Hi,

So here goes.. we have a 5 month who as per most Cockapoos (from what I have read) is very fussy with food.

When she first arrived she had been on Pedigree Chum with Skinners mixer. So we decided to change that to something more wholesome for her and moved on to Nature Diet with biscuits from Tails.com, we slowly changed her over a period of 12 days.

She would eat most of the food but started to get fussy, sometimes taking 1hr plus to eat. We then tried taking it away after 15 minutes and making her wait until the next feed....same outcome, sometimes O.K but other times would not eat within 15 minutes.

Over the next three weeks we encountered issues with digestion and she would be going for a poo at least 10 times a day, so clearly not good. We were due to go to the vets and mentioned her toilet issues.

The vets recommended moving to a kibble and removing the Nature Diet, so we promptly ordered some James Welbeloved and moved her away from the Nature Diet over a two week period.

We then found ourselves in a position where the toilet issue had been solved but after 3 days she started to refuse to eat the kibble. Again tried some "Tough Love" and took it away but with no joy. We have now started to add a bit of Sardine to the kibble and initially she was o.k eating, but now has gone off her food again.

Have looked at barking Heads Kibble, but it just seems that we are going round in circles, how many different varieties do we try ?, to be honest I dont care how much it costs me, I just need my girl to eat her food on a consistent basis.

We have also tried taking her for a 20 minute walk prior to food, this seems to have no impact on her eating habbits. As well as filling her Kong full of the kibble.

I guess this is just the "Poodle" side showing through, any advice would be very much appreciated.


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

I am old school, food goes down dog eats it or doesn't, that's it. 

Now that I've typed this I suddenly recall the lengths we go to to get Zorbie to eat anything... but he is poorly and losing weight. 

I never knew poodles were picky eaters, it's weird because Rufus will eat *anything* and he is pretty much all poodle otherwise.


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## campervan65 (Nov 18, 2017)

My 8-month-old Teddy is the same. Isn't interested in his kibble. But will eat the cats food and human food with gusto. I am trying to be tough and take it away until the next meal time, not giving him treats in between and taking him for a long walk before feeding time. He picks at it then leaves it. He is defo not eating enough. I want to give in and give him some cooked chicken or sardines but I'm going to try and hold out. The kibble I give him is Grain free and is made by Golden Acres.


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## LuckyCockapoo (May 29, 2017)

Try something like salmon oil on the kibble. Lucky gets a bit bored of kibble, preferring something mixed in it. But salmon oil always seems to work.


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## Jackson2017 (Jul 4, 2017)

I'm not sure I can help much, I am having the opposite 

Jackson is almost 5 months and is not fussy in the slightest, he absolutely loves food, any food and mostly kibble. He is eating Odd on greyhound dry kibble we bought from the breeder

he eats it so fast, I've been spreading it across the floor so he doesn't wolf it down so quickly

After he finishes his meal he jumps up towards the kitchen benches looking for more food. We are always worried he is starving but he is obviously full but greedy

I'd get the vet to help you out with the medical side and make sure all is ok before you try anything else?


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## GreenEnvy (May 1, 2017)

I'm with fairlie. We put out kibble in morning and evening. Sometimes she eats right away, sometimes it sits there for hours. She'll eat eventually.

If she leaves it too long and the cat gets hungry, her loss.


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## beckymnd (Oct 17, 2017)

Our Bailey was super fussy with Barking Heads. We had him on Fuss Pot too, so mg partner always added some Hi-Life moist meaty bits on top. He'd just pick them off then eat the kibble if he was really desperate.

After doing some research though when I got Dexter, we've switched Bailey over to a Millies Wolfheart kibble, and Dexter is on the same. 

They both chow down the Millies (you feed them a fair amount less, as it's super high in nutrition). Perhaps have a look on allaboutdogfood.com I think it is. Look up what you're currently feeding, my partner was quite surprised to find Barking Heads and JWB were quite average, & then the meaty bits were scored 0.9/5 >.<

Perhaps try out a higher quality kibble


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## Sbmpw (Jul 16, 2019)

My 5 month puppy is fussy. One day he’ll eat well another not. He’s gaining weight so I’m not to worried. I put his food down with a little gravy, he either eats it or visits it over the day. What he really likes is dr John junior food but trying to keep Louie on puppy food till at least 6 months


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