# So now Holley won't eat much...



## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

After finding out that we weren't feeding Holley enough when we first got her, we increased her food significantly. We were feeding her IAMS, and she would scarf it down without issue. When she seemed to develop a food allergy, the vet wanted to check and switched her food to Royal Canin. Initially Holley wanted nothing to do with the food, but eventually came around. After her stomach issues seemed to clear up, we opted to switch her gradually over to Wellness Puppy. Again, for a little while, she scarfed it all up. Eventually though, she started picking at it. Her stool was never really consistant, but with an all natural, high protein diet we found that was to be expected. Jill and I don't have the ability to leave her food down all day as we both work and Holley is crated while we are working. Since lunch seemed to be her pickiest meal, we opted to switch her to 2 meals daily. She was still picky! We figured, maybe she just doesn't like the taste of the food, and after reading some good testimonials on here, we gradually switched her over to Blue Buffalo puppy chicken and brown rice. She is still captain picky. While yes, she eats about a cup at each meal, she will leave a lot of food behind. We are afraid she might not be getting enough food. Does anyone have any suggestions?

By the way, I tried leaving the food down for about 20 minutes and taking it up, to teach her she eats when the food is down. Well this morning, she threw up a little bit of foamy yellow stuff, I 

Oh this dog, we love her and just want her to be healthy!


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## Keneomac (Oct 12, 2010)

Hi Jill and Dan,

Darwin was also a very picky eater and we found each time we switch foods we would have to soak the food in a little bit of water to make it easier to eat. Then once he was devouring the food regularly we weened him off of the water and he continued to eat the food well! We fed Earthborn Puppy and are now on Earthborn Primitive Natural and he LOVES it! It is grain free and he has never looked better or had more solid poops. With this food he actually gets excited to eat when I grab his bowl! All the other foods we used had grain in them and he just didn't eat well, but now we actually have to follow the guidelines on the bag since he will eat whatever we put down!

As for the vomiting bile. That usually just means Holley has an upset stomach. Try some cooked brown rice to try to calm it down. I believe Gunnr has posted some other solutions to this issue in a recent post as well. I would think it has to do with the fact she doesn't have anything in her stomach...it would be the same as you having an upset tummy!


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## Kailua (Feb 12, 2009)

I hate to say it, but if you've had a chance to read other posts, these dogs seem to be quite picky eaters. I have a two year old and an eight month V. The two year old is picky, but luckily the pup is happy to eat. Check the dogfoodanalysis.com website and see the rating of the dog foods. If they're picky eaters, you want to make their meals count with quality food. Good Luck!


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## labeda14 (Nov 14, 2009)

we had our bouts with maggie also not wanting to eat when she was younger (i'd say in the 3-6 month range)...and she'd vomit bile nearly every night/morning around 5am (scary!). 

we found that with the food that she had grown tired of, if we put a little water in it and tossed it in the microwave for about 30 seconds, she'd eat it right up. we've found that she likes the lamb formulas much better than the chicken. her favorite was the fish & sweet potato from blue buffalo.

as for the vomiting bile, we started feeding her a half cup of food right before bed. we read somewhere, that if a puppy goes too long without food that their stomachs can get quite upset.

i hope that helps! if all else fails, maggie is a sucker for some cheese, so you could always try mixing a little into holley's food.


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

Thank you for all the the advice. I read that about the foamy vomit being due to empty stomach. We do give her treats and all before bed but I think it was just because she wasn't eating enough of her food due to being picky. We did try to add a little bit of warm water to the food to see if that helped but it made no change. We haven't tried the Lamb formula yet but that is something to keep in mind. Thank you.
Last night we tried adding a little bit of canned Blue Buffalo Puppy to Holley's food and she loved it. We just added about a teaspoon and mixed it up in the food so that it all had the scent. Hopefully this works out and she continues to enjoy her meals.


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## tiggers mum (Jan 6, 2011)

When Tigger was young he used to wolf his food down and then end up bringing it back up. I ended up floating his food in warm water to slow him down and to create an aroma as he was fussy initially. Ten years on I have been feeding him on Fish4dogs fish and potatoe for a few years. He has a healthy appetite, particularly if I top his food with the Fish4dogs salmon mousse. I hope you can see his picture somewhere on this forum that I have just posted up. I'm not sure where it went and as I'm a newbie I'm guessing all the way at the moment!!


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

The only thing that works for Copper is to keep switching foods. You can also use a supplement like Nupro, which always works for Copper. A teaspoon and water to make a gravy and she eats anything under it! ;D


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

Thank you for the advice.
We have since started using pumpkin in her dry food per the vet's recommendation. Holley has a sensitive tummy and the canned food did not help with that matter at all so we stopped. She seems to like the pumpkin. She is now hit or miss when it comes to eating. She will either devour it all or she will pick for a while and be done. Still may try another food change but waiting per vet.


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

If you can buy some TRIPPET, for Kian that is his crack cocaine.... I kid you not . When he was getting fussy with his food we would add maybe a tablespoon of that stuff with his kibble and the bowl was clean.
If not, try some plain probiotic yogurt mixed in the food.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

The question is, do you want a Vizsla on crack? That might be a bit too much to handle


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