Dog not eating properly

We have a Bichon Frisè (did have 3 at one time) who were all fed morning & evening.
Youngest one (the one who is left) was a great one for picking/leaving food and it was suggested we just feed her once a day instead (evening)
Works a treat.

I sympathise, I have a Cavapoo who is extremely fussy/picky with food. Apparently it’s a trait with them so unsurprising that your Poodle would be the same.

I can honestly say that I’ve probably tried 20 or more different foods, all acceptable to her for a few days then doesn’t want to know.

I can’t say I’ve found a solution but I do put her food in the kitchen and shut the door (I’ll be in there too) and not open it until she’s eaten at least some of the food.

Sometimes I have to hand feed a few bites and once her gastric juices are going she generally Eats the rest, sometimes I have to mix the n he4 favourite treats to get her to eat.

Usually manage to get it down her eventually but I understand the struggle

I've had a lot of dogs and in general - the smaller they are - the more fussy and manipulative they are !
They are brilliant at getting their favourite tidbits .
I've known mine do the full tragic act with their food bowls .
Two brothers used to lie in their dog bed with paws in the air as if they were dying .
On one occasion , I called the vet as an emergency .
They bit the vet and his assistant !

Like us - they like variety .
Put less in their food bowl so it doesn't become dry and stale and top it up when they finish it .

If your dog isn't eating for a couple days , vomits or is listless - then it's something to worry about .

I really laugh at the antics of the little dog , who lives next door.
She's trained the entire family to give her endless treats and is completely disobedient .

I used to have a Wolfe spitz she was a small eater she was a picker bought her up on bakers it was only one she would eat she would rather stave herself than try anything else. She did enjoy her Sunday dinner that was only other thing she would eat lol at the end last few months she just barely ate took her to vets and said she was an old lady older ppl don’t eat much. I tried alsorts porridge chicken you name it I tried it but I just had to except our time was coming to an end. Still broke my heart the day she died. 17yrs she was my baby. Also adopted a staffie she loved her food but when she got old she also hardly ate. My nanna used to have a poodle when we were kids.

I have three very picky Pomeranians. They like variety in their food, so some days they have their regular dry food, some days tubs of pate style dog food, other days cooked lamb chops or cooked steaks. Sometimes I feed them by hand, piece by piece. Your poodle won’t starve though. When they are really hungry they will eat. Try varying the textures and tastes and hand feeding occasionally.

Our last dog was picky. We kept trying different foods, she'd be OK for a couple of days, then go off again.

At one time we 12 opened bags in the kitchen, fully accessible to her, and she never touched any of them

I think she probably is grieving.

A friend of mine whose dog refused to eat after the death of his companion, made a great display of spreading a piece of bread with tinned dog-food, then sat himself down at the table with knife and fork poised.

It worked, up trotted the grief-stricken dog and looked expectantly at his master, who pretended not to have seen dog, and pretended to eat with every sign of enjoyment. After a suitable time, he loudly said he was full-up, and rose, took his plate out into the kitchen and emptied the contents into the dog's bowl and the dog happily muched his food.

My cat ate his food all right after losing his brother, but abstained from hunting mice for nine solid weeks, during which time he didn't growl at intruding dogs either.

I knew he had come to terms with his brother's death when he sat in front of a pile of brushwood all day on a drizzly autumn day waiting for an unwary mouse, and when I later heard him chasing a dog to kingdom come!

We've a poochon and she is exactly the same. We took her to the vet and told the same, we took their advice and left her to it. After a couple of days she started eating properly.
Now and again she still tries it on, but we are a lot wiser now.

We have 2 standard poodles. Our eldest was an absolute nightmare to feed when she was younger so I do empathise, the vet couldn't find anything wrong with her and suggested she was anorexic! We tried all the usual methods to try and stimulate appetite and even tried home cooking food from recommended recipes from a dog food expert with little success (she wouldn't eat raw) although she did like lamb hearts occassionally. Our youngest dog joined us a year after her and was a complete revelation- he tucked into anything we put in front of him with absolute joy! His eating enthusiasm did not encourage her however, so I'm not suggesting that as a remedy! I changed the way I feed them 7 years ago, they have dry food in the morning and wet food in the evening, and they have any appropriate leftovers from our meals, they very rarely suffer from tummy upsets and are not overweight. Overtime our girl gradually began to eat just as enthusiastically as our boy, probably by the age of 4 or 5 from memory, she is now 9 years old and he is 8. She was spayed at 2 years of age.

what tests investigations did the vet do? Picky dogs can be picky because eating gives them stomach ache for various reasons.

My poodle cross is a fussy little madam. Won't eat kibble. But always happily eats Butternut Box food. Its lightly cooked and preserved by being frozen instead of being cooked at high temps like tinned or kibble.
Personally I'd feed raw if I could be organised enough. With BB you take out 5 days worth at a time and leave it in the fridge.
Bramble has half a pack twice a day (100g per meal)

Single dogs of this breed are often picky.
If she is unspayed then it could easily be hormonal. Spaying would help.
If she is spayed then think about what you feed. Do you give scraps from your plate? If you feed a plain kibble then that will be boring. There is no reason why you can’t mix scraps,tinned tuna ,pilchards, meat ,grated cheese etc with her kibble.
You could try a better quality kibble perhaps.
You could try scatter feeding to make it a game.

Your vet is absolutely right. Your dog is more than likely being fussy. Choose a good quality dog food, preferably raw or wet and put it down for 20 minutes. If it doesn't get eaten, put it back in the fridge and try later. Dogs don't suffer with the same problems as us if the food is served again. They have have a much shorter digestion tract so food moves through much quicker so they don't get the increase in bacteria we do. That is why dogs can eat carrion which would kill us.

My JRT now 14 likes to eat her dinner in 2 halves. First half at 4.30 pm we then cover it over with a tissue because of flies etc. At bedtime she removes the tissue and finishes her dinner. It's her way of eating. We originally fed her at about 6.30pm but she started to request it earlier and earlier, she keeps tapping us and going into the kitchen until you comply. All our dogs over the years have had different habits and we have had to learn what they were. Our first dog only ate two in every three days and we learnt to accept that was her way.

Nanjust60

No she is not old she is 2 we list our other dog a few months ago that was 11 and she wouldn’t eat her food until our other dog was fed , we have tried chicken I think like you say just persevere with her

I think this could be the issue.
I lost one of mine just over 2 years ago and for around 6 months afterwards, the behaviour of the remaining two was very different... hopefully a little time, gentleness and nice treats will help!

Maybe she is grieving. Time should sort the problem out.

Dog feeding game

Our dog won’t eat from her bowl, so we put it in a treat training game, with several small bowls with lids. She enjoys lifting the lids and eats every scrap.

Thank you all yes up to date with everything thank you for all your tips

As she is a young dog is she up to date with worming treatment? Worm infestations can put them off their food and young dogs are more susceptible.

Nanjust60, dogs are skilled at training their people. My daughter’s dog is fussy at home, won’t eat unless her kibble has toppers added. When she stays here, she eats what I give her. My dogs get high quality kibble, I add warm water to make a gravy, they get sardines added twice a week, scrambled egg once a week and occasionally cooked mince. But if I just fed kibble, I know they’d eat it
Mine ‘earn’ breakfast and tea, they’re walked before meals so they’re hungry. They sit, wait before being told ‘take it’
I really wouldn’t worry, dogs won’t starve themselves,

No she is not old she is 2 we list our other dog a few months ago that was 11 and she wouldn’t eat her food until our other dog was fed , we have tried chicken I think like you say just persevere with her

Try buying some fresh chicken or chicken livers, cook and give small quantities.

Your Vet has said the dog is fine, so don’t stress. Put the food down and remove the bowl after 20 minutes, whether the dog has eaten or not. Don’t leave it there for the dog to graze, as and when it wants.
Dogs are creatures of habit and actually don’t like change, so try to stick to feeding at the same time and place every day and I wouldn’t vary the food choice too much.
We and our friend dog owners (numerous animals) just stuck to a dried (Skinners) mix which was never varied, for life,

I have two dogs, one will eat everything that is going the other picks at her food and often misses a meal. I have stopped worrying about the picky eater as she seems healthy enough. I ring the changes a bit with their food but otherwise just accept they are different