Shih Tzu picky eater

13 years ago

I'm needing a little support here. My one year old Shih Tzu has decided to be picky with his food. I've been feeding him Nutro Natural Choice small bites (lamb and rice formula), but he's never been all that excited about it. He would still eat it twice a day (usually after sticking his nose up at it for a couple of hours) until recently. I've mixed a little plain yogurt to encourage him to eat and sometimes canned food as well. Being that I don't want to mix in other food for every meal, I tried the Newman's Own Organic just to see if he would eat it. First two bowls he ate, now he's back to turning his nose up. I know a lot of folks do a lot of different things to take care of their fur babies. While I would love to cook for him and/or feed him raw, that's just not going to happen daily (unless he's sick). I just want to provide him with a good quality dry food that he'll eat and that will keep him healthy. Crazy thing is he will eat the nasty junky food. My friend feeds her yorkie yuck food and he gets in her bowl sometimes and is as happy as can be to eat that nasty stuff.

Anyway, would love to hear some suggestions. Maybe there is a magic good quality food out there that they all love??

Featured Answer

User

13 years ago

Dogs will eat if they are hungry. They won't when they are not hungry. Dogs eat on their own schedule, not as humans do.

I have two dogs. One will eat at any moment. The other sometimes does not eat once a day. Reason? She is an extremely active dog and sometimes I cannot exercise her sufficiently on a daily basis. Rain and my own physical limitations prevent me. On the days she gets no exercise, she often does not eat. I only feed once a day, and vary the feeding time by as much as a couple hours to keep more in line with wild feeding practices(they eat when they can.)

She spends most of a nice day outside and hates to come inside. She plays with the other dog, chases squirrels, motorcycles, school buses, and the trash trucks(All safely from inside the fenced yard, running from one side of the house to the other)---but that is not the exercise she needs. Chasing faux prey(soccer balls I kick)is what she craves. She is a whippet mix and has a tremendous prey drive. When I can kick the soccer balls---allowing her full speed chase and ending with a 'capture' as she stops the balls for just five minutes twice a day, she eats when fed.

She maintains a good weight, have no adverse physical problems, and shows no lack of energy, so the vet says not to worry.

Most dogs eat when fed. A few seem to maintain a different system. Yours might be one of the few.

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Comments (14)

Elly_NJ
13 years ago
Make a choice as to the food you want to feed her. Don't add anything to it.

Offer her the food. If she doesn't eat it in 5 minutes, remove it for a few hours (or when she appears hungry). She'll eat when she is hungry enough (sheesh, my dog eats goose poop!).

I would not start adding other treats (canned food, people food) or changing foods, unless you change it to canned food for good.
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weed30 St. Louis
13 years ago
With a dog that small, feeding raw would be pretty simple. I have enough food for a month for my dog, and it only takes me a few hours each month to prep it all. I put together one big batch and then portion it out, so all I have to do is pull a few meals out of the freezer every couple days and put it in the fridge to thaw. Meal time consists of running some warm water over the chicken necks to take the chill off, or nuking the meat mix for 20 seconds. I have a small (7cf) freezer to store everything, with room to spare.

If you want to stick to commercial food, you might try a grain free food like Wellness Core. It's expensive, but might appeal to him. You could also try adding some homemade chicken broth to his food. Make a big batch with no salt, and freeze in ice cube trays or portion cups. Pull a few out of the freezer every few days to thaw in the fridge.
mazer415
13 years ago
Are you waliking your dog a couple of times a day? She may not be hungry because she isnt burning off enough calories. I have a picky eater - he wont touch his food unless he has gone for a walk in the morning. At night, he is usually more hungry because I have taken him out a number of times during the day...I agree. Dont add anything. Just put the food down and walk away. Good luck
cynthia_gw
13 years ago
I personally would be concerned if one of my dogs didn't eat and probably take that as a sign that they needed to see the vet. But if you're sure she isn't ill....well I wouldn't want to eat the same boring kibble every single day of my life either. I've never accepted that it's ok to feed the same food over and over and over to a dog or a cat, while humans thrive on variety. If you have to feed kibble, why not alternate two or three different types of kibble to keep things more interesting? That said, when she's hungry she'll eat whatever you offer!
dabunch
13 years ago
My Shih Tzus have always been ravenous (like their owners-lol), and most are that I know.
First, I would take her in for a check up with bloodwork.
If everything is ok, then I would proceed with regular feeding.

I switched dry food like 4 times (Science Diet, Eukanuba, Nutro...) in an 18 year lifespan.I did it for variety. They seemed to appreciate it. Nutro is their fave. Plus, I always add a little chicken, beef, turkey or Ceasar canned just for extra flavor- like a heaping tablespoon of moist food, mixed in well. I feed mine twice daily. I put the bowls out. They eat. I put the bowls away until dinner. Same thing over.I only leave water out all day/night. I never have a problem. Even if they don't feel well they want to eat...
Ernestine Clark
9 years ago
my shih is a picky eater as well. I have tried different types/brand of food That she would eat for about a couple of weeks Then she will stop eating it. So i started giving her boil chicken but then i didn want her to get use of eating table food so i started giving caesar she loved the the chicken n liver. the downfall for caesar its not healthy and wet food is not good for her teeth n I really want her to eat dry foods. So I got a bag of dry shih food Fed her a couple as a treat she ate it but when I put it in her bowl for dinner it set there no luck. she will go all day without eating. So what I do I put some in her kennel so when I put her in the kennel for the night when I wake up its gone. i hope this will help. So far it has worked for me. Good luck
dbarron
9 years ago
Basically remember, that they're not stupid. If they think something better might be offered, they won't eat it. If this happens, then your dog has trained you well, to do what it wants. Who is the master?

I'm not against treats, just that I decide what his/her food is....not him.
Ernestine Clark
9 years ago
that is so true dbarron. and your advice was helpful but I think the post was read wrong. I was saying that what I was going through with my shish Tzu changing from food to food until I bought the royal canine shih Tzu food. i was in the process of weaning her off the wet food. she wouldn't eat the kibbles at first so I was giving her the kibbles(royal canine) as if they were treats. then I started putting some in her kennel and when I wake up its gone. it was just a suggestion of how and what i did to get my dog to eat.
agmss15
9 years ago
My guy Joe is half shih tzu. He is picky too. My cats will mug me on the way to the food bowl hoping I spill the food. Not him. I try to follow the advise an exasperated vet gave me regarding another dog (way way pickier). Not get to worried, don't get too complicated and be observant. So he gets fed plain kibble in the am - if he doesn't eat it fairly quickly it gets picked up. In the evening food is offered again whether he ate in the AM or not. If he really doesn't eat for a full day or more I get concerned. But he seems to alternate between eating once or twice a day. If he is sick he gets either rice/meat mix or plain pumpkin puree. Seems to work.
agmss15
9 years ago
Oh also I am amazed at how little he eats. But my other dogs were much bigger or much higher energy.
dbarron
9 years ago
Yes, I agree..when they're hungry they'll eat. And the junk foods referenced above, are sprayed with fats and other flavor enhancers, thus they smell much better to the dog (though underlying nutrients are lacking)....that's also one of the sources of poop eating dogs (the flavor enhancers pass through undigested).
val (MA z6)
9 years ago
When I rescued my first shih tzu, she was 1-1/2 and I tried everything to get her to eat (different foods). I was fostering other dogs, and she took to the Nutro Lamb and Rice, so we ate that for a while. I used Biljac after that, and for years now I have used Solid Gold/Lamb and Rice (hundenflocken), having added 2 more shih tzus to our family. They all eat it and love it, but look for people food. I tend to put a little chicken, rice, or pumpkin (or other veggies such as peas if I have them) on top, just to add a variety and make it a little more enticing to them...I agree that eating the same kibble year after year seems kind of boring to me.

I think several points were made and yes, your shih tzu will eat if not offered something "better" and they are hungry. I would recommend just using a really good quality food, and mine eat twice a day. My first shih tzu is now 15 and in great health except for her eyes which are getting cataracts and some stiff joints (hey, she's old! My joints are stiff too! LOL!) I know you probably worry, but if you consistently try and stick with the food and see if he will eat it. A few days of pickiness might wear off when he realizes that is what is being offered.

I've also heard cottage cheese is a wonderful additive (the rescue I was with for years added some to the dogs food). It doesnt have to be time consuming to add a little dollop of something to kibble, and my dogs seems to think it's a real "treat". IMHO
Gerda Lau Profant
8 years ago
My Shih Tzu Was a good eater until he had to have surgery (He ate my Mother's nylon sock). The vet gave me some special dog food for for his sick tummy, He refused to eat it for several days at the vet hospital so the vet instructed me to use my crock pot and cook him some lean beef and veggies. He never ate any dog food again. I had him checked out at the vet and he is very healthy, just stubborn. Once fI ixed him beef with peas and he spit every pea out as he was eating. I kept putting them back in and got busy and found that his dish was empty. I thought I had it made until I went into the dining room and found every pea under the table.

Shih Tzu picky eater

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