Picky eater

My male smooth-haired three and a half year old Chihuahua fusses about his food. In the past he has had digestive problems (diarrhoea) and the Vet put him on the Sensitivity Contol cans of food by Royal Canin. This goes well for a while, except that his stools get very hard and seem to cause him problems, so I mix in some cooked Broccoli etc which also works for a while.
He then seems to 'go off' food and he approaches his bowl as if it's going to explode in his face and then fusses, making a whining noise in his throat, and walks around with his tail down. He's quite happy to eat bits of treats though.This goes on for a few days with him hardly eating anything and then with some tough love from me, ie Taking uneaten food away so that he goes without until the next meal.
He is in fine shape and walks for miles which does not seem to make him hungry when he's in the fuss mode.
Has anyone any advice, please?

Many dogs thought to be in fine shape are actually overfed. You should be able to easily feel the ribs. As long as he is eating enough to hide his ribs, he is fine.

The broccolli is fine. Adding almost any vegetable won't hurt. Unless carefully processed, most of them pass through undigested, but will produce a larger, softer stool, which sounds like in this case, helps. Usually vegetables do little else.

Sorry to hear you're having problems with your Chi not eating.I find I have this every month with Scarlett when her anal glands are due for emptying.

Funnily enough, it was the start of this week and from Wednesday, she has gone back to eating normally.Might be worth checking out?

Lilly

x

Hi Jayne you say...
is this a new thing , how often does it happen.
It sounds more than just a fussy eater. Have you checked your little dogs mouth/teeth for any problems. What kind of feeding bowl do you use.

Thank you all for your replies. He's recently had his Annual Check and Booster and the Vet said he was in 'fine shape'. Also our walks are (weather permitting!) often 5 miles or more, and every day at least one mile. He scampers around and seems very happy.
I've tried different bowls at different heights, even an old bit of clean washable carpet. His teeth are not causing him any problems, he has no gum disease and I use ProDen PlaqueOff. The problem comes and goes, so I'm hoping it's more like you suggest LillyRose. Thank you again for your kind interest.

Hi Jayne the reason I asked about bowls is I have known of dogs who don't like bowls made of certain things, metal bowls for example can give a reflection and some bowls make a chinking noise when the collar tag catches them which some dogs don't like .

How many meals day are you feeding, two small meals should be fine. Have you thought of feeding one of the meals in a kong , maybe that would make it more interesting for your little dog

Thanks Minihaha for your helpful reply. My Chi, Snoddy, is a very small dog, normally weighing 2.2kg. I am told by my Granddaughter, whose dog he was, that he is a 'Teacup' chihuahua.(You get the story!) So everything about him is v small, but beautifully proportioned.He's not ever very driven about food and usually has no problems. I think he may have had an infection because now having got the whole of Cyber space involved in his problem he's fully back to normal and last night was even licking the empty bowl! He reminds me a little of my now 6ft+ Grandson who was a nightmare with food when he was little. A picky eater indeed.
I like the idea of a Kong but think the food may stay inside til it rots, being too much effort to get out. I'll try it however.
Thanks again for your kind interest