Help!

[persephone]

Picking at food left out for days ... what happens if a dog goes to the vet and is hospitalised-- or to a boarding kennel?

Food left out can attract mice/rats/flies/birds/cats , depending where it is .

It may also make medicating or adjusting diet tricky ..as the dog is not keen to eat, and will just wait... thinking the food will still be there when he's ready.

I leave puppy dry out for baby pups learning to eat .... they need to eat little & often , and to take their time learning to chew..and they don't usually overeat. Adults tho - they get their one or two meals a day .

Feeding at a set time also enables an owner to check if all is OK with their dog.

If, after eagerly eating their meal every day ..the dog eats slowly, or appears to not be hungry, then an owner can get onto the problem early ! If, on the other hand , a dog takes 3 days to finish its food- then there may not be an obvious symptom of inappetance (the first symptom of MANY illnesses/problems)

[Gretel]

Dogs are not designed to graze

[Crisovar]

I have no real knowledge when it comes to these things, I only speak from what i have seen. I personally don't like the idea of only leaving it for 10 minutes. Sometimes they just arent hungry and I don't like the idea that they have to gorge themselves in that 10 minutes or risk going hungry for the next 12 hours. My guy only gets dry food as well. I put it out and leave it. If he doesnt eat it that day, it stays there til the next day, or whenever he decides to eat it. The last lot sat there for 3 days before he finished it off. Obviously this wouldnt work if you're using canned food, but dry food is just that, dry food, so unless it gets wet, it will be fine.

10 minutes is plenty of time for a healthy dog to eat a meal, if it doesn't it isn't hungry.

12 hours is nothing to fast them, if they don't eat the meal here they get nothing for 24 hours. Leaving food out all day just does not happen here.

Edited April 7, 2011 by Crisovar

[Fynesse]

My pup came from a litter where he was the smallest, he had to fight for his food and the first week he was home, he inhaled his food. Im happy that he no longer needs to inhale his food to the point of choking and no long feels that he is going to miss out and starve. I wouldnt really think he is grazing. He doesnt have a constant, endless supply of food, he has his daily ration that he can eat when he feels the need to. I havent had any issues with maggots, mice etc. Each to their own

ETA: Showdog, its not always 3 days, sometimes he eats as soon as I put it down, sometimes he eats it through the night or for breakfast the next morning after our run. He also gets bones to chew through the day while Im at work and small training treats when we are walking, so I guess sometimes he just isnt hungry. No skin off my nose. He gets alot of exercise, is healthy with a lovely shiny coat, so guess Im doing something right :D

Edited April 7, 2011 by Fynesse

[Danois]

Picking at food left out for days ... what happens if a dog goes to the vet and is hospitalised-- or to a boarding kennel?

Food left out can attract mice/rats/flies/birds/cats , depending where it is .

It may also make medicating or adjusting diet tricky ..as the dog is not keen to eat, and will just wait... thinking the food will still be there when he's ready.

I leave puppy dry out for baby pups learning to eat .... they need to eat little & often , and to take their time learning to chew..and they don't usually overeat. Adults tho - they get their one or two meals a day .

Feeding at a set time also enables an owner to check if all is OK with their dog.

If, after eagerly eating their meal every day ..the dog eats slowly, or appears to not be hungry, then an owner can get onto the problem early ! If, on the other hand , a dog takes 3 days to finish its food- then there may not be an obvious symptom of inappetance (the first symptom of MANY illnesses/problems)

All of which ignores that some dogs simply are not interested in food.

I have a picker here and we painfully went through the 10 mins to eat otherwise bowl goes for some time - he was not worried about that and he could easily miss 3 meals in a row and only eat a normal size one on at the 4th meal. As a result I had a dog that simply got skinnier and skinnier on my hands and his health had to come first. No underlying medical issues.

He now free feeds and if that works for an owner then so be it. His bowl goes down in the morning and sometimes when I get home there is some food eaten, other times its not touched. He'll normally then eat some of it early evening, another feed around 10pm and he finishes it off overnight.

I'm not worried about when he boards as they know his routine and I use a small personal kennel. If he's sick enough to be hospitalised then I doubt he'd be eating anyway. As for medication etc - I have a few tricks up my sleeve with high value foods (i.e cheese) which I use.

[Scarlett Dog]

i have a fussy eater but we decided a while ago not to accommodate her fussiness. We worked out her issue was feeling out of a bowl. She was used to having to do something for her food from the training we were doing with her and her getting treats. We've swapped many of her treats for her actual dinner that she got during her training. We tried the same approach- she had her opportunity to eat what we offered her and if she didn't want it then that was it until tomorrow. She went 4 days without eating. It was really hard for me. I thought that she'd never eat again. Then I did a lot reading about how a dogs digestive system is used to having meals sporadically.

Just remind yourself that if he/she is truly hungry they will eat what is on offer. We still have our treats like chicken wings, lamb hearts but she doesn't get these as her everyday meals. Stay strong!

[Lyla]

I agree you need to be tough with your dog, and teach him that you are the boss, not the waitress!

As a side note, as the owner of 4 Labradors, I find these type of threads hard to relate to. There is no such thing as not eating here. Food is gone in 3 seconds (even a decent bone usually doesn't survive past a minute or 2!), and there has never been such a thought as left over food! I even had one guts who swallowed a turkey neck without chewing (very ouch and scary )because he was so concerned that an imaginary rival might try to take it from him. Said dog also got banned from dry because he literally inhaled his food and choked any time he was fed it.

In the end it comes down to whatever works for the individual dog.

Edit for clarity.

Edited April 7, 2011 by Got nuthin

[twodoggies2001]

Good afternoon,

I am the first to admit that I may go a little overboard with my dog. I think I have built a massive rod for my back and things have got to change!!!!

He goes everywhere with me (mostly), But thats not really the problem.

I tend to give into him too easily with food. This is driving me crazy bacause the stubborn little bugger wont eat dry food for me. Stupid me gives in and gives him chicken necks, which he inhales........ Next day Ill try again, to no avail. As I said, Its all my own fault, and I think its his eyes that make me give in..... (Cav)

I want to feed him Black hawk, and for the first few days he ate it, and I was rapt, but then he stopped...

Please any suggestions would be great. I know its mostly in my head and I know that he wont go hungry or starve himself if I only offer him the dry... But should I put it down for only 15 minutes and then pick it up and eventually he will get the idea that if he does not eat then he misses out? Or should I leave it on the floor all the time for him?

Whats the best way to MAKE my dog eat what I want him to eat?

All help and ideas are greatly appreciated

You said 'stupid me gives in and gives him chicken necks, which he inhales.......' You and your dog are not as stupid as you think. Your dog is trying to tell you something. He doesn't want or like the dry food. Admittedly, dogs should not be spoiled but what's wrong with feeding him the way dogs should be fed?

[julesluvscavs]

I've never heard of a cav being fussy and not eating dry food ??

Mine get a bit of dry food mixed in with their wet dish and they eat the whole lot up within minutes:)

One of mine inhales chicken necks too.. try chicken wings as they are a bit bigger.

Edited April 7, 2011 by Jules♥Cavs

[cavvysavvy]

Good afternoon,

I am the first to admit that I may go a little overboard with my dog. I think I have built a massive rod for my back and things have got to change!!!!

He goes everywhere with me (mostly), But thats not really the problem.

I tend to give into him too easily with food. This is driving me crazy bacause the stubborn little bugger wont eat dry food for me. Stupid me gives in and gives him chicken necks, which he inhales........ Next day Ill try again, to no avail. As I said, Its all my own fault, and I think its his eyes that make me give in..... (Cav)

I want to feed him Black hawk, and for the first few days he ate it, and I was rapt, but then he stopped...

Please any suggestions would be great. I know its mostly in my head and I know that he wont go hungry or starve himself if I only offer him the dry... But should I put it down for only 15 minutes and then pick it up and eventually he will get the idea that if he does not eat then he misses out? Or should I leave it on the floor all the time for him?

Whats the best way to MAKE my dog eat what I want him to eat?

All help and ideas are greatly appreciated

You said 'stupid me gives in and gives him chicken necks, which he inhales.......' You and your dog are not as stupid as you think. Your dog is trying to tell you something. He doesn't want or like the dry food. Admittedly, dogs should not be spoiled but what's wrong with feeding him the way dogs should be fed?

I would like him eating dry as it is complete and balanced. I am happy for him to have half a cup a day as well as his necks, but I want him eating the dry before I re-offer the necks. Today is D day and only dry will be offered until he gets into a routine

Wish me luck!!!!

[Inevitablue]

Once he is happily eating dry food too then you might find him more interested in training treats.

I always tell mine it's boring salad sandwiches (dry food) for free and anything else of higher value then they have to do a bit of work for, which might only be 'sit' before they got a bone.

I always tended to leave the dry food down for an hour each night, but when a piggy dog came into the family she created the 'eat now' routine.

The theory is that a pack of carnivores learn to eat when food is caught, or they go hungry. So after you have dragged that killed bag of dry food home then he should be excited and eager to eat when it is offered. Hehe... Imagine a lion cub saying 'pfft, I don't want antelope, go get me zebra or I'm not going to eat!'

Edited April 7, 2011 by Jakemon

[Odin-Genie]

Have you though about changing his diet? When I started feeding my dogs Eukanuba (recommended by the vet ) they would not touch the food till I mixed a bit of mince etc. Now they gobble up Canidae without any issues, even though they get barf patties and raw bones. I know Black hawk is a better quality food than Eukanuba but perhaps something with a stronger flavour would work.

I agree with everyone that the food should never be left with the dog all day. I feed my dogs twice a day. They are called when it is food time. They sit nicely before they are allowed to eat. Food is finished within 1-2 minutes. Bowls picked up, washed and put away.

Edited April 7, 2011 by Odin-Genie

[Katdogs]

20 seconds is about normal for my Lab X!

We supervise all meals but the picky dogs learn to eat it or lose it, there's only so long they get. Longer and with greater distance or door separation between the dogs if it's bones/chewy, and there's no real aggression or stealing of food, but the atmosphere is 'eat eat eat', not 'I'll just see if this food is here later, when I might feel more like eating it'.

The cat is the only creature allowed to wander through and take from dog bowls, when she's feeling cheeky.

. I jinxed us by posting here. Our ancient SWF didn't want his breakfast this morning. It has meloxicam on it so I've left it for him inside the house, with the other dogs outside. It's the first time in many months that he's not scoffed down his food.

Edited April 7, 2011 by Katdogs