Finnicky , full, or what???

Comments

• CrimsonO2

  January 2012

  Are you free-feeding him or on scheduled feeding? A little plain yogurt mixed with the kibble will go a long way to whet his appetite. I have had Shiba-owning friends tell me they have gone as long as 2 days on scheduled feedings with their Shiba before their Shiba's stomach grumbled and the dog gave in and ate voraciously.
  
  Jesse
• jellyfish

  January 2012

  I don't know if he is finicky or being stubborn, but I can say that Toki gets fed 2 cups a day (plus extras throughout the day for treats) and does fine, his body doesn't look under or overweight, so I'd guess your feeding the right amount. I've read that bag, I couldn't imagine feeding that much, especially since TOTW such a rich, nutritious food. But that is just my opinion.
• Crispy

  January 2012

  I think the bottom line is... as long as your pup looks and acts healthy (without lethargy), he's probably okay. I try not to baby my dogs into eating anything. If they don't look interested in a meal, I pick it up and try again in half an hour. I'll do this twice or three times (depending on which of my dogs it is) and then take the meal away until their next one.
  
  I suggest trying to feed Jake three times per day with a cup each serving, if that's the amount he normally eats out of his current meals, and see how he does on that kind of schedule. Five cups of food seems like a lot for a 16 week old puppy, especially of a good quality food like TOTW.
• shibamistress

  January 2012

  Five cups a day does seem like a lot, but I haven't fed kibble in so long I really have no idea. My method of feeding is pretty similar to Crispy's....if they don't eat, I pick it up, and I'll try again in a bit, but if they don't eat the second time, they have to wait til their next meal (and I only feed once a day, so that's a long wait). Bel is most likely to not eat, and sometimes it is clearly just she's not interested in dinner (chicken) because she's quite eager to eat whatever I have.
  
  I suspect he's just not that hungry, and as long he seems healthy, he's probably fine.
• Losech

  January 2012 edited January 2012

  Yeah, as long as he's growing well and at a good weight, it's nothing to worry about. I don't have much of a clue as to how much to actually feed though. I've never owned a dog bigger than 50 pounds and both of my kibble-fed dogs only eat 1 2/3 and 2 cups each day. And like Crispy said, I'd probably do three one cup feedings a day and see how he did.
  I also do the "Here it is, you've got 10 minutes. Eat it now or wait until the next mealtime." thing. Works fine for my dogs.
• sunyata

  January 2012

  Wow... That IS a lot of kibble. I feed TOTW, and my Shibas get a half cup twice a day.
  
  Since Jake is a puppy, he will probably need a little more than that... so I would do as Crispy suggested and feed a cup two or three times a day and see how he does with that.
• *JackBurton*

  January 2012

  Yes make sure you provide some sort of wet food bribe on top of your kibble. I pickup a can of wet food, scoop out a spoon full and mix it in. I would aim for 3 cups a day. Feed him twice a day and on a schedule. Every now and then you can feed him some plain yogurt (like the mountain high stuff). About a half a cup. When I pull out the yogurt.... Kaede acts like I brought crack to a crack house.
  
  Side note Kaede does not like the TOTW chicken. She loves the other stuff.
• shibamistress

  January 2012

  Sean I laughed out loud about the yogurt "crack"! And it's also funny, because my dogs eat raw, so when they get even the tiniest bits of kibble (I used TOTW as a training treat) they act like the kibble is crack! They're like "meat, that old stuff. But wait, there's KIBBLE!!!)
• Saya

  January 2012

  Saya loves plain greek yogurt she gets tiny bit as a treat or snack in her kong.
• Crispy

  January 2012

  I feel so militant in my feeding now that I read what others have posted.
  
  The only time I've ever added "bribes" on top of food is when my dogs are very ill*. Other than that, I rarely "bribe" my dogs to eat. It goes up my butt when my boyfriend or my grandmother put "people food" on top when the dogs are acting finicky. I feel like it just tells them that they should wait because the kibble is boring and a person will come along soon and sweeten it up.
  
  
  *Russell sometimes slips into episodes of extreme lethargy/poor appetite and tends to lose weight quickly so I'll sprinkle freeze-dried raw on top or give him something tasty
• Nekopan

  January 2012

  I agree with Crispy. I don't want my animals to hold out because they think something better might come along. The only time I have used bribes is for my cats when I tried to switch them to raw. I would also do it in the case of illness or a very skinny/underconditioned dog. My pup gets about 15 minutes to eat and then the bowl is taken away until next mealtime.
  
  As for the food guidelines, I have heard pet food companies suggest you feed much more than necessary so you have to buy more of their food. I don't know how true this is, but I would say if your pup is in good condition and has plenty of energy (not lethargic) you are feeding enough. If he starts to look skinny, up the food amount, and if he is getting fat, decrease it.
• shibamistress

  January 2012

  I dunno....I don't think of it as bribes. I feed my dogs all sorts of things--mostly raw chicken or fish, but they also get lots of table scraps, and various treats. Pretty much, anything that is edible and won't hurt dogs, if I see bits of it, instead of throwing it away, they get it. They always get to lick out the yogurt cups before I throw them away, for example (and yogurt cups also make a delightful toy!) I tend to think a varied diet is good for them, and I don't vary the diet as much as I could, because the basis of their diet is chicken and it's the cheapest, most available meat for me to feed. So I try to give them other things too.
  
  
• Nekopan

  January 2012

  Oh, I believe in a varied diet too, especially with raw. This probably sounds contradictory to what I just said, but let me explain. When there is something I want my dog to eat, I want him to eat it and not just wait for something "better". Say if you feed kibble, and he turns his nose up at it once, you add some chicken broth. To me this is a bribe, and the dog could start to expect it, and never want to eat plain kibble. That doesn't work for me. It's part of the reason why I meal feed, sometimes my time is limited and I don't have the time to accommodate a picky dog.
  
  Any table scraps, licks of my yogurt container (I totally do this!) and etcetera are treated as bonuses. I don't usually feed them at meal time. I think this helps to distinguish between "you must eat this" and "have some of this, it's yummy". Maybe I'm wrong, though.
• *JackBurton*

  January 2012

  Well consider the source. I refer to wet dog food a bribes and yogurt as crack so go figure
  
  I really do not see an issue with giving Kaeda some wet food with her kibble. That said I have been know to make up some cooked chicken and rice too for tummy issues. Now if K knew how to bring me a beer from the fridge then I thats a reason to bribe.
• sergeant0844

  January 2012

  Wow! Thanks a lot everyone! I think my plan of attack will be the "here it is, get it while i'm giving it" and pull it in 10-20. I can only feed twice a day (school), so i think I'll start out at 1 1/2 - 2 cups and see how that goes. Also, I think that I'm going to start holding out the yogurt ( I have done that too and he goes nuts for it) and the eggs for "special" occasions. I am more of a militant mind set (go figure...former Marine) and Jake is not skinny at all so I think it's time for stricter "this is the way it is" guidelines. He'll be okay. If he's hungry, he'll eat. If not...I bet he will be in twelve hours. thanks so much for the help again, guys.
• Crispy

  January 2012

  Good luck with Jake! I bet he'll do just fine. Why haven't we seen any picture spam on him yet?? Did I miss it? I can't believe I'd miss an Akita puppy spam moment.