is it ok to bribe your dog when...

[LMT]

Adicus seems to be having fits of this himself. It makes jme feel guilty... My thinking is that he must not be working hard enough for his food. I've been trying to tire him out each morning, as he seems to eat better when he's "worked" for it, but that's not always the case... Today we threw the stick until he no longer wanted to run and then just drank water, didn't look at his Innova. And now he's been whining to me, either to go out or cause he's hungry. I don't know. Yesterday he couldn't eat enough...

Boys will be boys... Best of luck to you guys. I am going to keep on the tough love thing and not resort to bribing, just yet.

[kathryn]

Cinder is a pretty picky eater also.  I used the satin balls as a way to put weight on them and also to entice Cinder to eat.  For us, using the Merrick canned food has helped a lot with her picky eating.  I also put a bowl of food out over night so if she gets hungry she can eat all night.  Could you do something like that for him?  That way it's down while the kids are asleep and they can't play in it.  Mine all eat the same food and I don't have a real food hog that will eat it all just because so I don't worry about any of the others eating the food.  I hope that makes sense.

[schelmischekitty]

\I also put a bowl of food out over night so if she gets hungry she can eat all night.  Could you do something like that for him?

unfortunately, i have three food hogs.  because i feel scout and diesel a different food from my other dogs, anyone else will gobble it up the second i turn my back.  also, scout it a huge HOG and has eaten so much she's made herself puke all night, because she'd go and eat more right after she puked a huge pile up (they found out how to open the trash can we keep all the dog food in, mind you it "locks")  as for the merrick food, i'd like to try it, but i'll have to see if i can get it here!  we only have one store in the entire county that sells innova UGH.

[Butts Mom]

Oh I know exactly what you are going thru.Butt is a very picky eatter too.Heck lots of the goody toppings I have tried he eats off the top and leaves the dog food and his is always a mix of wet and dry.We have been using California Naturals Chicken and Rice for awhile now and he is just starting to say nah to that.If you try that in can it smells sooooooooooo good,I think that is why he liked it.Now he is starting to turn his nose up at that too though.I would like to try Nature's Variety,but no one around here carries the canned food.The only thing I have found that works with Butt on a regular basis is for me to sit on the floor and feed him his food out of my hand,and that doesn't work everytime.I wish you luck,if you find something that works,please let me know,you never know it may work for Butt too. I will say this thread made me feel better knowing I don't have the only picky dog.

[schelmischekitty]

have you tried one of the Mixables™ Variety Packs?  i just saw them on the petsmart website and thought maybe it would work since it's a variety pack.

Wet food that's made to mix with your favorite dry dog food. Transforms your dog's ordinary bowl of food into an extraordinary meal!

The unique gravy found in Mixables has been specifically formulated to trickle down, coating the dry food kibble while chunks of beef, chicken, turkey or lamb and garden grown vegetables, pasta, rice, potatoes and other irresistible ingredients stay on top to tantalize your dog.

The 12-pouch Variety Pack contains four servings of each recipe. The 5.3-ounce (150-gram) pouches provide the perfect daily portion for medium to large dogs.

Country Flavors variety pack flavors:

Grandma's Country Stew
With hearty cuts of beef, savory potatoes, garden carrots, green peas and smoked bacon in our juicy meat sauce.

Outback BBQ
With tender marinated chunks of beef, delicious spiral pasta, smoked pork and farm raised carrots in our hearty pan gravy.

Cape Cod Picnic
With delectable cuts of turkey, sweet candied yams and garden cut green beans, blended into our special pan gravy.

International Flavors variety pack recipes:

Colorado Cookout With cuts of braised beef, hearty steamed potatoes, country carrots and peas in a rich beef gravy.

Greek Banquet With slow cooked lamb, garden grown carrots, green beans, and brown rice served in our chef's special sauce.

Tuscan Grille With tender seared chicken, delicious egg noodles, steamed potatoes and green peas in our Italian-style sauce.

[Butts Mom]

I haven't seen that,I will have to give it a try though.Heck I'm wiling to try anything.All the other dogs I know love me,because I give away all the food Butt won't eat

[schelmischekitty]

TRUST me i know how you feel about dogs loving you ha ha.  my other dogs think diesel's food must be a treat b/c it gets switched so often.  i'm going to try to go to petsmart and get some of the mixables.  it says it's made just to coat dog food, so maybe it will work   

[kathryn]

I've never seen the Mixables either.  I order the Merrick food from their website and they are delivered right to my door.  I usually buy the variety pack of foods like the Lunch Box and the Mix boxes.