Eating is boring.

[jodysh]

At least this is what Malcolm seems to think? Especially in the morning. We get up, go potty, come inside and I put out fresh food and water but he just wants to play.

He'll eat if I carry his bowl around and hand him pieces of kibble. But...I'll be going back to work next week and obviously I'm not going to get up 3 hours early so I can have time to hand feed this little maniac breakfast lol.

So I'm thinking I need a food ball or something. There are lots of options, so I thought I'd ask for recommendations from anyone who uses or has used such items.

Thanks in advance!

[Ace's Place]

Hi! I can't remember how old Malcom is, but Ace was somewhat indifferent to his food .....until now. He's bigger and I think hungrier. Plus I recently started to keep the same kibble for consistency, but I get different flavored toppers - so one week the wet food portion is lamb, the next chicken. This week I started salmon but he stuck his nose up at that flavor - so now I know! The topper change has not affected his tummy at all either. Sometimes I also add in some chicken to get him started since I also have to get to work. Not an answer to the food ball question, but just some other ideas. Good luck!!

[jodysh]

Malcolm is 5 months and 3 weeks old. So basically 6 months I guess

Thanks for the ideas that might be a good way to get him eating in the morning. I still also like the idea of the food ball for him to keep him busy during the day when I'm gone and I don't put him in day camp.

He's also still teething so I guess that could be part of the issue. I did just give him a bit of yogurt which he didn't finish - this concerns me a bit because he ALWAYS gobbles down all of his yogurt.

[Ace's Place]

I have a homemade treat ball - lol - that I leave for him just to get him over the hump of the initial separation. One of his tennis balls happened to have a clean rip across the middle. Every since then it gets stuffed with some treats and hidden under a pillow when we leave. These doodles are so smart, this dog now goes directly to the couch and pillow and stares at me waiting for the game to start. It's so funny!

[Nikkiey]

We got Juneau two different treat balls. The first one we bought from Petsmart I think and he's fine with it. It keeps him entertained somewhat, but usually after 10 minutes he's done with it - regardless if there are still good smelling treats left in it or not. It's a harder plastic so it's not something he can chew on or pick up properly (though he does try)

The second one we bought is from Costco and it's a softer plastic material and also a little bit smaller in size. He's able to pick this one up and carry it around which seems to appease him a lot more! Whether there are treats in it or not, he still loves to play with it.

[jodysh]

Ace's Place - that is funny They are little smartys...sometimes I think Mal is too smart for his own good lol.

Nikkiey - that second link didn't work I was looking at that ball in your first link though. I was leaning toward this

one

one

I saw on Amazon...

But Mal would probably like something easy to pick up too. He's a small guy.

[Nikkiey]

Oops! Here's the link: Tricky Treat Ball | Dog Treat Ball

This one is soft enough that I can squish with my hands, but still tough enough that Juneau can chew it and play with it without destroying it in minutes. But with that being said we don't let him sit there and use it as a chew toy as I'm sure he'd probably do some damage to it.

[jodysh]

Oh now that looks like a good one. I might have to get my Aunt to take me to Costco over here and look for it. I'll look on Amazon first I guess.

Looks like it's the same brand as the first one - OmegaPaw? So the second one was made better then?

[jesstat]

We have similar issues with Diego. I've ended up going with the food topper route now but only because he destroyed his treat/food ball a few weeks ago and I haven't replaced it yet.

We had a "Tug a Jug" or something like that. It was a hard plastic bottle that we filled with his dinner. There was a rubber neck to the bottle so he could carry it around and also a rope. His preferred method was the rope end because when he flung it, more treats came out than just by rolling it around.

He ended up destroying it by trying to outsmart it. The bottom of the jug twisted off like a jar to load the food in and Diego decided he could probably twist it off to get all the food out...

Good luck!

[Moe]

I was just in Bed Bath and Beyond and they had some dog puzzles. They are not for feeding a dog, just for fun but I found a bunch on Amazon that looked like they would be fun for a dog. Has anyone tried dog puzzles?

[Jasper'sMomma]

I have tried the puzzles and they are great but too light. My dogs will play with it and move the pieces around but I have to hold the base still. Other than that it is a great concept and my doodle will play with 'em.

[deepnite10]

id never seen such a picky eater as my Toby..he s fed 2 small meals a day..the bigger one just befor bed time..at time s he ll only eat one and let the other sit..occasionally he won t eat anything..

and i do know that if he does nt eat, tough..he can wait till his next meal..but, i break down everytime and end up trying to hand feed him..

sometime s it s helpful to get him excited by letting him out the front where he can play with the kids next door or their dog..at time s i ll rearange the food on the plate..at times this works and other times it does nt..

i don t know if this would be helpful..but, i just wanted to share that your not the only one suffering..

and of course im so happy when he does finish his meal and waits around for more..

[jodysh]

It's good to know I'm not the only one! LOL Malcolm hasn't cleaned his bowl out in I don't know how long! Since the first weeks he was here probably lol. I waited to put his food down this morning for about an hour and made sure he was watching me. He was all excited and jumping around like he couldn't wait to eat. He took a few bites and then moved on to his Betty (dino plush toy, his favorite) lol. Oy, this child!

I ordered the small IQ Treat Ball by OurPets. We'll see how that goes. Some of those other dog puzzles look really cool. I'm putting a couple on my wish list so I don't forget about them in case I want/need something else to try

Thanks all!

[Nikkiey]

Originally Posted by jodysh

Oh now that looks like a good one. I might have to get my Aunt to take me to Costco over here and look for it. I'll look on Amazon first I guess.

Looks like it's the same brand as the first one - OmegaPaw? So the second one was made better then?

You know how Costco is, one minute they have things, the next they don't! We actually bought two, one for Juneau and one for our friends' dog Elroy. I wouldn't say that the second one is made better, I think it's just made differently.

The first one I think was made with the intention of just rolling it around and getting treats from it, where as the second one was made with the intention of being rolled around, thrown, used as a toy and a source of ever changing entertainment. Plus it's a comfort to me to know that Juneau can pick it up with ease and carry it around. With the first ball he always trys to get his teeth around the ball and I'm afraid one day he's going to suffer from a case of lock-jaw because he tries to open his mouth so far!

[jodysh]

Yep I know about Costco lol. Sam's is the same way! Annoying.

Well that one I ended up ordering is hard plastic so he won't be able to pick it up. We'll see how he does with it. Planning to look around for something like that one you have from Costco at some point. Or not depending on how he likes this one maybe.