Struggling with feeding my six-month poodle.
Hi Everyone,
I have a six-month-old male mini poodle. He is on a home-made diet consisting of lean turkey or beef, together with suitable vegetables such as broccoli, pumpkin, carrots and cauliflower. Occasionally, I also give him eggs and small pieces of apple or banana as treats.
We had absolutely no issues with feeding until he reached around five months of age, when it suddenly became very difficult. He started refusing his food. At first, I thought he simply did not like what I was offering, either because of preference or perhaps some stomach discomfort, so I gave him an alternative. He would then eat happily for one or two meals, but afterwards refuse that as well - and this is still happening.
It feels as though he constantly wants variety. Something he refused two days ago, he may happily eat today, then refuse again tomorrow. Sometimes he will even eat food that he refused only a few hours earlier.
I have tried to analyse what might be causing this behaviour. I read online that food with a stronger smell can sometimes encourage appetite, so I tried adding tripe, heart and similar ingredients to his meals. The result was the same: one day he would eat it happily, and the next day he would refuse it. Out of curiosity, I even offered him some commercial packaged food that smells strong enough and voila he ate it once, but refused it the next time, which made me think that this is most likely a behavioural issue and that I may have unintentionally spoiled him.
It has become incredibly frustrating because I can no longer plan his meals properly. I genuinely never know what he will or will not agree to eat from one meal to the next.
In terms of his general health, he seems completely fine: he is energetic, sleeps well and behaves normally. My impression, after trying different options for about a month, is that I may have unintentionally spoiled him and reinforced this behaviour.
Any suggestions?