Doesn't have to be much, Dad, but just a little zing, please!

We have an Australian Cattle Dog who is more finicky than a cat! **shaking head**. He literally will NOT eat if he doesn't get something in his food! This isn't a minutes or days thing, but rather weeks...and even months! The dog will absolutely NOT eat if he doesn't get something.

All it takes to make him happy is just a simple teaspoon of something, just a different flavor, or something "special" (in his mind). It's not like a big bunch of goop and leftovers, but just a simple taste. That's all this little boy needs to eat his dinner.

We regularly take our dogs to the vet (or have the vet come to us, cattle and all), and invariably the vet will tell us our dogs are too "fat". They're not "fat", but they could be better. Well, not with this dog! They constantly tell us to "put some weight on that dog".

I wish I could have someone beg me to eat to keep my waistline up, but that's what we have to do with Cisco. Turns out just a simple taste of some food is enough to get him to eat his dinner (before his piggy Australian Shepard brother gobbles it up first).

Just a little zing, please, Dad!

I love our dogs more than most people! Almost ALL people, to be honest!

ETA...shoot, tonight I gave him just some simple teaspoon (maybe less) of juice of some beef we made with brussel sprouts. That was all it took! He's a happy boy right now!!!

Just a little zing, Dad! Just a little.

In other words, spuds and gravy dammit!

Sounds like a fairly easy solution.

Maybe you should change his name from “Cisco” to “Costco”... You know, as a little “sample” at every aisle?

Blueys are notorious for being true blue.

get used to it.

Dogs - my old "Number One Son" won't eat half the time, gone to all caned food, still have to get him started with hand feeding. 15 years old, still trim but now feeble (have to help him get up).

My two (mom&son) bully dogs are just obese and eat any and everything.

Yet still, every one likes a bit of extra taste - back when we had 9 dogs, they all got to share one can of great chunky dog food - that did the trick.

Now that I've only got three and the youngest is 7, feeding is a lot more problematic, expecially since the big dog leaves leftovers for the fat ones to chew on.

ganjoa

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I read your post to my Mom. She asked, "Did you write him back and tell him we have one too?"

Oh my gosh! My Maxx is the same way! Like you said, it does not take much and sometimes I think it is ridiculous, so I make a game of it to see if I can trick him.

I thought the tablespoon of tomato soup was not going to work, but after he licked it and tasted something different he ate the whole thing.

Mistakes. Found out he likes:
Bananas
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Peas
Pimento Cheese
Any kind of bread, including tacos and tortillas Just break it up and sprinkle it over his food like croutons.
Of course junk food like pretzels, especially the peanut butter filled ones, potato chips and pop corn.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Cisco is a hoot, we call him a Mexican one moment, an Paisano the next moment, a Chinaman the moment after that.

He's a dog of all cultures. He just needs a "taste" of something to get him going and eat his dinner.

Never any onions though!! Never!! Sometimes he wants things which have onions in them, and that's a "NO-GO!". But, we always hold some 'juice' back for him or some simple little treat. All we have to do is 'kick-start' this little boy to get him to eat. He has more energy than any dog I've ever known, he runs faster than the wind, he loves his home in the country (big country), but he just won't eat...without a little "taste" of something.

Cisco knows when the weekends are, he's figured it out. On saturday morning he's all over us at about 4am (but we usually get up at 3am). When he was a pup we jokingly told him there was this place which had a "free window" where they gave out food for free (McDonald's). Now you can't keep that boy out of the car/truck on Saturday mornings!!! He's goin' no matter what you say!

The funny part though is, even though you're getting him his favorite food of all (an Egg McMuffin), he'll still drop it, and inspect it, because he's just that picky. He doen't like hash browns (what dog doesn't like hash browns???), but his Egg McMuffin's are his favorite at the "free window". I have to roll up the window to keep him from ordering himself. He knows the sign, he knows the way, and he gets more excited the closer we get! By the time we get to the order board he's talkin' it up about what he wants.

If a dog could ever speak, it's this dog! Even the people at McDonald's love him...he's a hoot! Gawd forbid I bring the Australian Shepard, because that dog really speaks. He's got more dog words than most humans I know. Nobody can get a word in edgewise with him!!!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

They can be full of surprises. I learned my Maxx may have some distant Australian Shepard Cattle Dog genes. He is a dual registered purebred Siberian Husky, but I think some other pony is in the mix somewhere.

Some neighbors came to visit without invitation and he decided they should go home. He very gently herded them and led them home. He came back home with his chest poked out looking all proud of himself.

He did not try to bite them or attack them. They seemed to know what he wanted from them and they followed him home.

I don't know how he knew how to do that???

Visitors in the front yard.


Maxx looking proud.