[Discussion] Picky Eaters

I have two dogs. The first is a 50lb tripawd named Jack, who the vet thinks is probably akita/boxer/lab-ish mix, is about as smart as a bag of hammers, and eats anything. Almost anything, he's not too fond of raw spinach or broccoli. But any dog food - if it's in his bowl, it's down the hatch. He doesn't care what I buy, he's going to eat it because he loves to eat.

My second dog, a 18lb Chinese Crested/Chihuahua mix, Toby, is a picky little turd. He's too smart for his own good and occasionally skips meals. Except lately, he'll only eat when it's the end of the night and he's pretty sure he's not getting anything extra/better than what's in his dog bowl.

I'm not sure what brought this on - we switch between brands, but always grain-free. When I can afford it, I buy Taste of the Wild. Otherwise it's Costco's Kirkland grain free stuff (hard to beat the price really...35lbs for $26). And once in awhile, when I'm stressed/have forgotten something/am not near a Costco, we get HEB's Heritage grain free stuff.

Toby has decided he likes the HEB brand the best. And if he's not getting HEB food, he's going to wait to eat. I'm not entirely worried - he SHOULD weigh in around 15lbs, according to the vet, so if he loses a pound here and there, he'll be fine.

I thought that maybe the smaller bites were what appealed to him, so I beat the bigger bits of Costco's dog food into smaller pieces and tried feeding him that. Definitely wasn't a size issue.

They don't get just dog food. They get other stuff mixed in pretty frequently - eggs and other protein that we eat, leftovers that are safe, treats, etc. I'm from a very outdoorsy family, so they're frequently getting deer/elk antlers to chew on, bones from various species of critters, hooves right from the source, etc.

Buying the HEB brand isn't a big deal - it's just a matter of convenience really. We have one container that I use to store stuff and not a whole lot of room, but a small bag of dog food for Mr. Pickypants wouldn't be that big of a deal.

Should I be worried and/or care? Obviously there is a huge size difference between my boys - it's been my understanding that you don't really need a separate dog food mix between the sizes, save for bigger breeds. Am I wrong in that thinking?

Any tips or ideas or criticism?

Dog tax