My dog does not eat well..... Very Picky

Question
I was wondering if you have any ideas on how to get my 4pd chihuahua (spelling) to eat better. He does not eat very much and i feel he should eat more. He eats about a half a cup every few days of dry Bill Jack. I just dont know what to do to get him to eat more. I have tried Nutro, and Science Diet but he still wont eat much. Sometimes he throws up a frothy yellowish stuff but never food. I think this may have to do with hunger. The doctor said he may have a sensitive stomach but he WILL NOT eat the food they have for sensitive stomach. Plus I never see food when he does vomit. He only vomits the yellow frothy stuff about 1 a month its like a dry heeve. I would be interested in hearing about a food that has good taste that he may enjoy eating.  

Answer
First of all, half a cup of food is a LOT of food for a 4# dog, but not if he is taking several day to eat it. Most of my bitches are 13-15#, and they get 2/3 to one cup of food a day. The vomiting of bile is usually due to what the dog is eating, and some dogs really benefit more from being fed twice a day as they don't do well on empty stomachs.

You could do better than Bil-Jack (and forget about Nutro and SD!). It is mostly by-products, corn, and sugar. "Chicken By-Products (Organs only, Including Chicken Liver), Chicken, Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Brewers Dried Yeast, Cane Molasses, Egg Product, etc." Ingredients are measured by weight, and an ingredient like "chicken" is 70% water, so would end up much further down the ingredient list if the water was removed. The first listing of by-products claims to be organ meats, but the second one says nothing... which means it could be feet, beaks, and feathers... ANY part of the chicken! The molasses is there purely for taste... even dogs have a sweet tooth (although it probably helps to hold that crumbly meal together).

If you want a food that your dog will dive into, try Eagle's Holistic Select Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meal Formula. It is a bit lower in protein and fat, but I have yet to see a dog that didn't love it's fishy taste and aroma. (Of course, I have schnauzers who are born eating machines, for the most part.) A 4# dog should eat about 1/4 cup of that a day. Eagle foods are great, and some other good products are made by Wellness, Canidae, and Solid Gold.

Part of your problem may be in leaving the food down all the time. Some dogs fed that way just do not eat normally. Put the dish down, harden your heart, and if he walks away from the bowl, do not offer *anything* more until his next scheduled feeding. My worst eater was a nut case due to my catering to him; he drove me crazy. Once I decided that enough was enough and did the above, it took him FOUR DAYS to decide to eat... and after that he dove into his food bowl and never walked away again. He has been a great eater ever since.

Now with a dog the size of yours, I'm not sure the above is practical. Those tiny dogs do have a different metabolism. First try wetting the food with warm water and see if that doesn't stimulate his appetite. Some dogs do prefer having a bit of canned mixed in. Over the years I have used Eagle canned chicken for that (a once picky eater here said that was the only one worth eating*G*). Experiment with yours to see what "floats his boat", but don't start catering to him. Pick the bowl up if he turns his nose up at it.