[Dailydrool] Finicky eating

[Riche Churchill]

I totally agree with not "giving in" to picky young dogs, unless there is a medical problem. But my four are in their teens (2 at 15, 1 at 13 and a third at 10 -- but he is 4 times larger, so technically as old as the others) and their not eating drives me nuts.
I would do and DO whatever it takes to get them to eat, partly because I panic if they don't. I do not switch kibble, though some "expurts" say one should, but I do utilize yummy toppings and vary them. And, ever since I started cooking a chicken stew mixture for their topping instead of using the various canned foods, I have not had a single instance of the dreaded "turning away of the head" and refusal to eat. I don't know why it should be so, but after using the chicken-stew-topping, the anal gland problems disappeared and it is no longer necessary to buy pumpkin or go to vet for expressing.
AND, it makes me feel ever so virtuous... not to mention extremely popular at din-din time.
Riche
ninedogs04 at yahoo.com