Do you have a picky eater in your fur family? I do. My girl Lally Beeber is SUCH a picky eater!
This is how our morning breakfast goes:
- I fix breakfast for Moose and Lally.
- Moose’s dish is set in the kitchen. Moose starts to eat.
- Lally’s dish is set in the hallway. Lally sniffs her food and walks away.
- I sit down to “protect” her dish from Moose. Lally may come back and sniff again.
- Lally curls up at the far end of the hallway and pretends to sleep.
- Moose finishes his breakfast in 17 seconds flat and comes to see if Lally has left anything for him.
- I distract Moose to keep him away from Lally’s dish.
- Lally comes back and checks Moose’s dish.
- At this point, Lally may or may not come and eat her breakfast.
We dance the same dance at dinnertime, too. I have to face facts: Lally is a picky eater.
Moose is the type of dog who will eat whatever you put in front of him, as much as there is, until it’s all gone. Lally will only eat when she’s hungry (or if there’s chicken involved).
Larger breeds (who need more fuel) and dogs from large litters often don’t grow up to be picky eaters. In a large litter of puppies, the young dogs learn quickly to compete for food or go hungry — and eat whenever food is available. Smaller dogs and dogs from smaller litters don’t have that competitive drive when it comes to food.
And don’t worry that your dog is going to starve if she doesn’t eat for a few days. The dog’s digestive system is set up with a big stomach and a short intestinal tract. When they are hungry and/or there is food available, they can fill up their stomach tanks. They aren’t going to suffer internal damage if they don’t eat every day. In the wild, arctic wolf packs will kill and eat only every four days or so.
Once your picky eater is truly hungry, she will break down and eat.