Picky eater?
The Havanese is a very talented dog, they were once used
as circus dogs to entertain families and children with their amazing
antics. Yet, you may find that your the one jumping through hoops to
get him to eat!
Always rule out the possibility of an
underlying medical condition with your Veterinarian. Especially if your
dog suddenly stops eating. My first reaction is to check their mouth, I
once found a bobby pin stuck on a tooth in a young dog's mouth. Look
for loose teeth also, teething can make a puppies mouth too sore for
eating. In the event of teething the responsible thing to do would to
make the food easier to eat, offer moist food.
This article is
really about the picky eater. One important note about the Havanese is
that a high percentage do not eat very much food, some ten pound dogs
may only consume 1/4 to 1/2 a cup on a daily basis. We feed our puppies
free choice, that is they have food available at all times. However,
when you bring your puppy home and/or at twelve to fourteen weeks of
age (depending on their size) you may want to combine housebreaking
with a feeding schedule.
So you place the food down and Rosie
mossies on over, picks up one kibble, walks across the room, lies down
and takes her sweet time savoring the flavor of the tiny piece of food
and so it goes until she decides that three are enough. You think that
perhaps she does not like the food and should get her something new.
STOP! This is where we can complicate things more than they need to be.
Keep in mind that if Rosie is urinating and moving her bowels then she
is eating and digesting her food.
Try an experiment, take a
few of Molly's kibbles and place them in a glass covered with 1/2" of
water, see how much the kibble expands and it may give you an idea that
those few tiny kibbles are enough for your little Molly. In my
experience the guidelines on most food instruct you to give your pet
way more food than they actually consume. Use your dog as a guide, you
know them best!
Don't go to the store and try this brand and
that brand, you can actually do more harm than good. You should never
abruptly switch your dogs food, this can cause digestive upset.
I have an article on how to properly switch foods that I would be happy to provide you with.
Provided
that your dog is over twelve to fourteen weeks old, begin a feeding
schedule. You will want to feed the young dog and the picky eater small
meals 3-4 times per day, start with 1/3 cup for the dog 10lbs and under
and then guage how much they eat during any given time, if they eat it
all, give a little more, if they don't eat it all give less the next
time. The amount they eat will vary with the time of day. see what
satisfies them, Use your dog as a guide. Leave the food down for 15
minutes, if they do not eat, take it away and offer it at the next meal
time. This will train your dog that the food disappears after a certain
time and that it is best to consume it when offered. BE CONSISTENT! I
repeat BE CONSISTENT! This is key to training.
If Tiger is
just not getting it and you are truly concerned, even though the Vet
says he's healthy. Then you may elect to grate a moist food over his
kibble. A nice choice would be a food roll like Natural Balance®. This
is my choice because it is a complete food and is not as messy as some
canned foods. You can slice up the roll, reserve a piece or two for the
week and place in the refrigerator and freeze the left overs, it lasts
a long time. If you cut it up in pieces and mix it in the kibble, your
dog will pick out the pieces and leave the kibble, trust me! This is
why it is best to grate it over the kibble.
I recommend adding
variety to your dogs diet. If you are preparing dinner, there are some
things you could share with your dog. It is important that you not
place these foods into their food dish or give it to them as a
replacement of their regular meal or feed them from the table if you
want to avoid begging, pleading and crying at your table.
When
preparing foods, set some unseasoned morsels aside. Peas, cooked
carrots, green beans, potatoes, asparagus, whole grain pasta, cooked
boneless/skinless chicken, a small slice of cheddar cheese, cut up
hardboiled egg. Give these things in moderation, too much of a good
thing can cause digestive upset. You will get to know what your dog
enjoys and how much he can tolerate. It is important to point out that
you should not give your dog fatty or salty meats as they can cause
kidney failure which can be deadly.
Be smart know what foods are poisonous to your dog. Visit www.ASPCA.org for Animal Poison Control and more information.
Rotating
the diet, some believe that it is good to rotate the dog's diet every
six months, there are so many choices out there. Stick with a high
quality holistic food and remember to introduce this new food gradually
over a period of five to seven days.
As always, I am very big on
not supporting companies who torture and kill animals in the name of
pet food research. You should know who these companies are, you would
be surprised to find out that many Veterinarians carry brands by such
companies, ask for alternatives! The purchase of these brand allows the
inhumane treatment of these animals. Your choice is important.
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