My mother has a 3 months old miniature poodle pup. She got him 2wks ago & he's doing great apart from being picky with his food. The breeder had been feeding him Bakers complete but he's not that keen on it (neither am I to be honest!) & has dropped himself down to 2 meals a day. He's a happy little thing, always full of play & myschief, has been wormed recently & seems very healthy. I think she would rather he was on a suitable complete food so she knows he will be getting a balanced diet. She has been trying to tempt him to eat it by adding a small amount of fish/veg etc which isn't necessarily the best thing to do I know. He will happily pick out the extras & leave his complete. I'm more used to large breeds & feed part raw, which she doesn't want to do. I was reading about PAH puppy food, would that be worth a try? She did mention she'd been looking at Eukanuba. Having never had poodles in the family before she would really appreciate any advice from those with poodle experience with regard to feeding. Thanks

Aww sounds like little ones teeth are hurting but if not eating proper always best getting the vet to give a once over.

Foods she could try are Naturediet, with Naturediet you can get this at pets at home shop i have noticed most dogs go nuts with this food and will wolf it down in seconds must taste good LOL
If wanting to try a easy raw feeding you can get natures menu frozen at pets at home.
Or if she prefer dry kibble she could try wafcol, james wellbeloved all from pets at home or Burns but you have to get this online.
Hope the above helps :)

PAH and eukanuba are both good quality foods. 

Personally I think any food is worth a try.  Maybe your mum could soak or part soak the food to make it softer on the teeth as little teeth can sometimes be abit sensitive.

As mentioned above Nature diet is good, maybe this could be added to the food to make it more interesting to the little one. :)

Thanks for the advice, Will tell her to get some Nature Diet as well. Appreciate your help.

I have poodles and feed them raw mince etc but if you would rather feed complete fair enough but have you tried soaking it in a little warm water as it makes it smell stronger and if the pup has sore teeth/gums at the moment it will soften the food for him. Poodles if pampered can be picky, My 10 year old poodle was on her own for a couple of years when she was younger and she was murder to feed as hardly ever ate enough to keep a sparrow alive, and what she would eat one week she would turn her nose up at it the next week, now we have 5 dogs (a mixture of poodles and bernese mountain dogs) and it didn't take her long to realise that if she didnt eat her dinner quickly someone else would scoff it :D :D now she wolfs down 2 meals a day without a pause for breath!   If he is not eating his complete and only picking at the 'nice bits' I would make sure your mum adds some Stress or SA37 or something similiar to the things he will definately eat then at least you know he is getting some suppliment.

Thank you for your help fifi. She was soaking the food but he still wasn't keen. I'll tell her what you said about adding SA37. He is eating quite a bit, just not much of the complete food, litlle monkey!

I'm another that would advocate Naturediet or Natures Menu (pouches) for a little dog as both are complete foods...Might be worth having a look at the Wainwrights (not the dry version) as well.

Having said that my friends miniature poodle is fast approaching her 18th birthday and her other miniature poodle lived beyond her 15th birthday and she has fed them on Caesar...Pedigree for small dogs...and anything from her own plate...including chocolate

Thanks for the tips Steeleve Span. Wainwrights isn't one I know much about, will certainly look into it. 18th Birthday, wow, that's a good age.

>poodle lived beyond her 15th birthday and she has fed them on Caesar...Pedigree for small dogs

This doesnt mean the food is a healthy choice,sometimes long lived genes keeps them plodding along :) Was the dog fit,spritely and healthy?Was the coat and skin healthy,eyes clear etc etc.
I've seen old dogs that have lived on c**p their entire lives too,but they havnt been the healthiest of canines :(

>The breeder had been feeding him Bakers complete but he's not that keen on it

Listen to the dog :D Bakers is one of the worst foods going,it's full of sugars,colours,preservatives,cereals and barely,if any,meat,pretty much every thing a dog should NOT be eating on a daily basis  and nothing that it should :(

>poodle lived beyond her 15th birthday and she has fed them on Caesar...Pedigree for small dogs

This doesnt mean the food is a healthy choice,sometimes long lived genes keeps them plodding along  Was the dog fit,spritely and healthy?Was the coat and skin healthy,eyes clear etc etc.
I've seen old dogs that have lived on c**p their entire lives too,but they havnt been the healthiest of canines

>The breeder had been feeding him Bakers complete but he's not that keen on it

Oh sorry if I didn't make myself clear...I wouldn't advocate Caesar/Pedigree for Small Dogs or Chocolate   I would however, advocate Nature Diet, Nature's Menu (Arden Grange dry food) but even with eating food that I would not consider feeding, these poodles are not only long lived but they were both very healthy throughout their lives...Lovely dogs.

Is he actually under weight?  If not then perhaps she is giving him too much?  She should put a small amount of food in a dish and pick it up if he hasn;'t eaten it in 15 minutes.  then offer it again at Lunch time, and then again at tea time.  At three months he really shoudl be on three meals a day.

I'm not sure what he weighs but he feels ok. I'll find out on Monday when they come back from the caravan. He's certainly growing well & seems happy enough in himself. I'll also check how much she's giving him each meal. He seems quite a clever little character & he knows what he wants. I think he's got my mother weighed up already!
I'm no fan of Bakers & I'm sure she wouldn't have chosen that food for him either. The sooner he's off it the better in my opinion!
Thanks again for your help.

The pup weighs 5.1kg at 14wks. My mother is now taking his food away after a set time so he doesn't graze & is hopefully more ready for his meals. He's a picky little thing, though seems lively enough. Does that seem ok for a min. poodle of that age?

Well he is over 11lbs seems quite a size (my medium size breed would be this at about 8 or 9 weeks), but it's all relative what is his weight like to feel, has he a waistline or is he so thin you can see his ribs and spine to count?

If he is nicely covered my guess would be he is getting too much food and so can afford to be picky.

With his coat he looks deceiving, when you get down under all that wool he's lean, you can feel his ribs easily. I think he's eating a bit better since she started removing his food if uneaten. He likes cooked meat, won't eat it raw at all but I suppose as long as he's eating.
Thanks for your help :)