His Majesty, Mr Picky (very long vent)

[cedarvalleynewfoundlands]

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!!!!

You, my dear, are creating a finicky eater with a capital "F"!!!! As everyone has said, I have NEVER known a dog to keel over and die from starvation when there is food readily available. We now feed raw. Have been for several months, and so far, I absolutely LOVE it!! I never had trouble with getting them to eat kibble. They ate what we bought, and if they didnt, they went hungry until the next meal. Now, we did have some that needed different foods due to health issues, allergies, etc. One thing to be very careful about is that part of what you can be seeing may actually be related to "how much can I get away with" on Moe's part.
Hand feeding a dog is a wonderful way to teach them who controls the food when they are puppies....in a dogs world whoever controls the food is the "boss". However, Moe is actually controlling you when it comes to food, and that isnt a good thing. Moe is still young, and you could be setting a problem in motion that is far larger than simply finicky eating. My advice would be to put Moe's food down, leave it 15 minutes or so, and then pick it up until next feeding with no treats etc in between. And yes, he is VERY adorable!!

 

[BluwaterNewfs]

But that face...its' just too sweet and those innocent eyes, they plead for something tasty.

Darning my flame resistant suit.

You came here asking for help with Moe's eating habits and a number of people have given you good advice on how to solve the problem and the above statement is your response. That says to me you really don't want to fix it.

What would yo do if this was a human child -would you let him get away with this? To me, many of the solutions to our training problems, yes this is a training problem, can be found in how it would be handled if this was a human child.

 

[lacey9875]

My mom's motto was "eat it anyway!"

But that face...its' just too sweet and those innocent eyes, they plead for something tasty.

Oh Sarah! I learned the expensive way how to deflect those pleading doggie eyes.

I gave my lab about 3 pieces of turkey. It took about 12 hours to affect her system, and she bent the bars on her crate trying to get out, and spread poo around my house-2 floors of it-getting outside. My then husband stood outside with a hose aimed at her rear end for over an hour-couldn't get her in a car or house so we took turns staying outside with her hosing her off. Picked up med's from the vet to "stop her up" and then a week later had to go back to un-stop her. It ended up costing me over $600 including damages and medications.

Maggie's beautiful brown eyes cannot break me down now. I just remember the turkey.

 

[Thule's Mom]

My mom's motto was "eat it anyway!"

But that face...its' just too sweet and those innocent eyes, they plead for something tasty.

My Thule went two 1/2 days without eating.... it was a battle of wills.... she won. By the end of the second day, she was throwing up white stuff..... I'm very happy to have found Orijen. I couldn't take much more.:beatdeadhorse:

 

[SarahZ]

Darning my flame resistant suit.

You came here asking for help with Moe's eating habits and a number of people have given you good advice on how to solve the problem and the above statement is your response. That says to me you really don't want to fix it.

What would yo do if this was a human child -would you let him get away with this? To me, many of the solutions to our training problems, yes this is a training problem, can be found in how it would be handled if this was a human child.

My post is a vent of my frustration. But don't worry, no flames here.
I need to hear these things to build up my resolve. I admit, I can be a bit of a softie when he looks at me like he does. The last time we went through a major picky phase that was long, we stripped down Moe's food to straight kibble. But I would like to give him his wheat germ oil and flax oil, and his glucosamine/chondroitin pills, I think they are important and those at least should be part of his diet. It would be nice for him to get some fish if possible because besides being good for him, then he doesn't notice the pills. But, after a while, if it is too good, then he gets all nutty on me. When I add these healthy things, I can't save the kibble if he doesn't eat it, so we toss it.
I'm sure he won't starve if he misses a meal. I just wish he'd "eat it anyway!"
I do one thing right... he doesn't get a bone or a chewie if he doesn't eat his dinner!:sunflower:

 

[SarahZ]

My Thule went two 1/2 days without eating.... it was a battle of wills.... she won. By the end of the second day, she was throwing up white stuff..... I'm very happy to have found Orijen. I couldn't take much more.:beatdeadhorse:

Poor Thule!
Sounds like Thule and Moe have the same stubborn streak!


Dawn, I can't even imagine a house covered in poo! Moe doesn't seem to have a sensitive stomach, a sensitive nose, yes, but his gut is cast iron (crossing my fingers and knocking on wood!)

 

[BluwaterNewfs]

I am not saying don't give the supplements or even the fish. What I am saying, decide on what his diet will be and stick to that. Once he has developed a good eating pattern, and I would give this a good several weeks, if not more. Then once in a while if you want to give a something special fine. I do that AFTER they have eaten their meal. Usually a while after, so they don't associate it with their meal. Usually I used those special treat for training.