Help BeBe, will you?

Jarred Santos · May 25, 2023

Help BeBe, will you?

G'day members! BeBe, also known as @chook yard, is one of our new forum members from lovely Queensland.

I just thought it would be a wonderful idea to share her question with you in the hopes of getting ideas and suggestions she could use. Below is her post:

'Over the years, I have been a Burmese mother until late last year was given a Maltese/ Tzu pup whom I named Ollie. Ollie is now 8 months old and is a "fussy eater". Each day is a challenge in what to serve him, as I have no guarantee that it will be eaten.

Kibble will clean his teeth, so he has that once a day (if not eaten, I take it away) along with beef/pork mince, chicken, and giblets with probiotic sprinkle over the top of the serve. Any ideas would help me greatly.

'

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So, dearest members: what do you think BeBe @chook yard can try feeding Ollie that's a safe bet he'll like?

webbclan@ozemail · May 29, 2023

Jarred Santos said:
Help BeBe, will you?

G'day members! BeBe, also known as @chook yard, is one of our new forum members from lovely Queensland.

I just thought it would be a wonderful idea to share her question with you in the hopes of getting ideas and suggestions she could use. Below is her post:

'Over the years, I have been a Burmese mother until late last year was given a Maltese/ Tzu pup whom I named Ollie. Ollie is now 8 months old and is a "fussy eater". Each day is a challenge in what to serve him, as I have no guarantee that it will be eaten.

Kibble will clean his teeth, so he has that once a day (if not eaten, I take it away) along with beef/pork mince, chicken, and giblets with probiotic sprinkle over the top of the serve. Any ideas would help me greatly.'

--

So, dearest members: what do you think BeBe @chook yard can try feeding Ollie that's a safe bet he'll like?

webbclan@ozemail · May 29, 2023

Ollie is not going to starve. Sounds like he is in a battle of wits with you. Offer him food and take it away after a reasonable time. if he hasn’t eaten it repeat next day. Could go on for several days. Who is going to give in first? Make sure he is not being topped up with treats or anything else edible.

clyons · May 29, 2023

Jarred Santos said:
Help BeBe, will you?

G'day members! BeBe, also known as @chook yard, is one of our new forum members from lovely Queensland.

I just thought it would be a wonderful idea to share her question with you in the hopes of getting ideas and suggestions she could use. Below is her post:

'Over the years, I have been a Burmese mother until late last year was given a Maltese/ Tzu pup whom I named Ollie. Ollie is now 8 months old and is a "fussy eater". Each day is a challenge in what to serve him, as I have no guarantee that it will be eaten.

Kibble will clean his teeth, so he has that once a day (if not eaten, I take it away) along with beef/pork mince, chicken, and giblets with probiotic sprinkle over the top of the serve. Any ideas would help me greatly.'

--

So, dearest members: what do you think BeBe @chook yard can try feeding Ollie that's a safe bet he'll like?

8 months you say. Is he teething? Does he like his kibble in a wobbly toy, that's a good game. Too much fuss so he leaves it for attention. Just a few suggestions.

kerrikennel · May 29, 2023

Some dogs are grazers, which doesn't work well with fresh food as I think goes off so quick. This is what we do.

Feed pup his food, after he leaves the bowl its collected and stored for next meal time. No food between feeds, dry food is served as a meal too, not randomly during the day. If he's a young pup he should be getting 2 to 3 small meals a day.

Tipsy · May 29, 2023

My 8yr 5mth Havanese Maltese Shi Tzu does not gobble his food down like most dogs do, he will eat till he has had enough then leave it for "ron" He will only eat the ALDI strapz and he enjoys bones... He gets wet food of Kangaroo chicken mix, Chicken and Salmon and also gets his Kibble, His weight has stayed between 7 and 8 kg.... I think it depends on the dog oh and his 2 legged slaves and how they treat them, leaving it there until its eaten is my view as when they get hungry enough they will eat it

Jen77au · May 29, 2023

I feel you! I have 3 Malshis, aged 16, 14 and 4. They are well-known for their painful fussy eating habits. The eldest won't eat pork mince, (we cook their mince and veg meals and freeze them), the 14 year old will only eat if everyone in the house is with him, even then it's debatable! And the youngest won't eat anything unless it's hand fed to her, even then she'll refuse it!

If you are on Facebook, join the Maltese Shih Tzu Australia page. There are so many helpful people on there. A lady by the name of Funda Berk, I actually think she breeds them, but she is exceptional with her knowledge, would be the person to ask.
As painful as their eating habits are, I find these little Velcro dogs well worth the battle! Welcome to being owned by a Malshi! X

Skeeta22 · May 29, 2023

I have two Toy Poodles, the breed has been known to be very picky eaters, mine are not. Their dry food goes down in the morning and if not consumed within 5 - 10 minutes it is removed. Night time dinner, is either cooked veggies and chicken with rice or fresh meat, and the same applies as with breakfast, their meal is put down and if not consumed in 5 - 10 minutes it is removed. Do not offer treats during the day. If your dog is hungry it WILL eat what you put down, it will never allow itself to starve so hang in there. Fussy eating pets have never been an issue in my household no matter what dog breed or cats, they are what you allow them to be. God luck and just hang in there.

Liz49 · May 29, 2023

webbclan@ozemail said:
Ollie is not going to starve. Sounds like he is in a battle of wits with you. Offer him food and take it away after a reasonable time. if he hasn’t eaten it repeat next day. Could go on for several days. Who is going to give in first? Make sure he is not being topped up with treats or anything else edible.

Yes I'd agree with the first suggestion. We have a small chihuahua/mini foxy cross. He, I believe started on normal dog food. We now (he is coming up 12) only feed him once a day. Mostly he gets raw meat. No biscuits. He will refuse to eat sometimes. So I just put it in the fridge and offer it up the next afternoon. He is not starving. We as humans have forgotten how to eat when hungry. Because we have 3 meals a day and snacks we think our animals will want the same. Some can take it some can't but the truth is animals are instinctively knowledgeable about what they need and when they need to eat and drink. One bowl of food, once a day, maybe the chicken necks for teeth, they do chew on bones in the wild. Forget about the "extras" the vets tell you they need. They don't. Also don't give him too much chicken as it's not that high in nutrition and keep the meat to low fat. Small dogs don't digest fat very well. You will save money and have a very healthy dog

Jen77au · May 29, 2023

L

Liz49 said:
Yes I'd agree with the first suggestion. We have a small chihuahua/mini foxy cross. He, I believe started on normal dog food. We now (he is coming up 12) only feed him once a day. Mostly he gets raw meat. No biscuits. He will refuse to eat sometimes. So I just put it in the fridge and offer it up the next afternoon. He is not starving. We as humans have forgotten how to eat when hungry. Because we have 3 meals a day and snacks we think our animals will want the same. Some can take it some can't but the truth is animals are instinctively knowledgeable about what they need and when they need to eat and drink. One bowl of food, once a day, maybe the chicken necks for teeth, they do chew on bones in the wild. Forget about the "extras" the vets tell you they need. They don't. Also don't give him too much chicken as it's not that high in nutrition and keep the meat to low fat. Small dogs don't digest fat very well. You will save money and have a very healthy dog

also chicken wing tips from Coles are great for the smaller floofs. Malshis are known to love chicken, but it isn't, as previously stated, the healthiest option. I should have mentioned my 3 are all rescued so as to how they were fed and what, previously, unfortunately we don't know. I mentioned the Facebook group before and some of them also recommended a raw diet. It's a bit of trial, error and a lot of patience with furbabies sometimes.

mylittletibbies · May 29, 2023

I have two tibetan spaniels and two toy poodles. I have no worries with feeding, they all eat when their food is put down for them.
All pets, cats or dogs, are only as fussy as you allow them to be. It's a human problem.
Your little puppy will not starve, it will eat whatever you give it when it soon realises that is all that is on offer.
My sister in law always feed her dog by hand, insisting it wouldn't eat otherwise. Funny when I looked after it for a fortnight it only refused the first night, hung out for a while the second night and from then on ate every night, no problem.
When she returned, it was back in the old routine. Human problem!!!

phantomrose101 · May 29, 2023

We have always had dogs. Big, small and in between. We feed our adult dog twice a day, small portions. If he leaves any, we remove it shortly after and then present it at the next meal. He is not fussy. When I babysit my brother and sons dogs, it takes me about a week to train them to eat their meals. Both dogs are pampered at home with a constant bowl of kibble available and little snacks throughout the day. Our chihuahua is very pampered but not at meal times. Also, sometimes he just isn’t hungry, so leaves some food. This is normal. My difficulty was training my husband to stop sneaking his boy treats!

RhodaStarr · May 29, 2023

My Malt/Tsui is quite fussy. I got him as a rescue at the age of 22 months. He is now 8yrs old. 3 yrs ago, I tried something different. Lean stir-fry meat raw 68grms after defrosting, a quarter cup of top kibble, and florets of cooked cauliflower and broccoli (quarter cup) with a dash of salt-free stock. I freeze the meat and buy the frozen Cauli and Broccoli from Woolworths. $12 for meat, 2kg kibble for $22.00 (lasts for about 3 months), and the mixed vegetables for about $5.00 which lasts for 2 weeks. Caesar dances when his one meal a day comes out. He does have a hard biscuit in the morning after his walk. Rare beef jerky treats when we go out for the day. He has been approx 7kg since changing his diet.

Ricci · May 29, 2023

It's a battle of wills and at the moment you are losing! Your pup won't starve if it goes a day or two without food and like the old adage, hunger makes the best chef, your pup will eventually learn to love what's on offer.
We used to breed Miniature Schnauzers and they can be very picky. We subscribed to the "feed them six days out of seven" school of thought. Animals in the wild don't eat every day and our pampered pooches don't need to either.

SGH · May 29, 2023

webbclan@ozemail said:
Ollie is not going to starve. Sounds like he is in a battle of wits with you. Offer him food and take it away after a reasonable time. if he hasn’t eaten it repeat next day. Could go on for several days. Who is going to give in first? Make sure he is not being topped up with treats or anything else edible.

SGH · May 29, 2023

Yeah, the vet put our mal on a special diet years ago and he toughed it out for three days before he gave in and started eating. He was put onto a rice and vegie bowl followed by a roo tail. But I have a friend who cooks up turkey and roo mince for her fussy eater.

starrysnan · May 29, 2023

We have an 11 year old Tenterfield terrier who loves his food but lately he prefers anything with kangaroo in it from dog rolls in the chilled pet food cabinet to tinned or sachet varieties. May be worth a try.

PepeLePew · May 29, 2023

I have an Australian Silky Terrier/Miniature Poodle aged 2 1/2 years. The day I got her at 8 weeks old, she came with a couple of sachets of ADULT meat chunks with vegetables (had no choice but to use one that night and gave other one to neighbour for his dog). The next day I got her Puppy biscuits which I moistened with water and lessened the water over a few weeks until she was just eating dry food, which is what was recommended by the Vet.
The only treat she gets every day is a Dental Chew, also advised to do this by the Vet. Also told not to use Wet food for the first year and then only to give it as a special treat or reward. She gets a small can for her birthday and at Xmas & Easter time but it is always mixed with her biscuits.
Every day for a few months I spent time training her and using small hard treats to reward her so she became accustomed to biscuits quite quickly.
Her bowl is always full and she eats when she is hungry. She still only weights 4.5kgs.
My grandkids stay with me every lot of school holidays and she gets very upset and refuses to eat when they go home. Sometimes this can last for 4 or 5 days but she will always get hungry enough to start eating again.

Jarred Santos · May 29, 2023

I looked around and found some websites you and other members in similar situations might find helpful too, @chook yard:

Supernan1950 · May 30, 2023

Jarred Santos said:
Help BeBe, will you?

G'day members! BeBe, also known as @chook yard, is one of our new forum members from lovely Queensland.

I just thought it would be a wonderful idea to share her question with you in the hopes of getting ideas and suggestions she could use. Below is her post:

'Over the years, I have been a Burmese mother until late last year was given a Maltese/ Tzu pup whom I named Ollie. Ollie is now 8 months old and is a "fussy eater". Each day is a challenge in what to serve him, as I have no guarantee that it will be eaten.

Kibble will clean his teeth, so he has that once a day (if not eaten, I take it away) along with beef/pork mince, chicken, and giblets with probiotic sprinkle over the top of the serve. Any ideas would help me greatly.'

--

So, dearest members: what do you think BeBe @chook yard can try feeding Ollie that's a safe bet he'll like?

Try making Ollie an omelette my dog Jutta absolutely loves an omelette for breakfast with a little cheese in it.

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