Will No Eat

[shepin]

Hi I have a 14mth old GSD, I have terrible trouble getting her to eat, she use to be a very good eater, but in the last 3-5mths I have had nothing but trouble. She may eat well for a week or 2 then not want to eat at all. I have tried giving her variety, and if she like something she will not eat anything else.

Is there any thing I can give her to increase her an appetite

Thanks

[Vehs]

You do have to be careful you are not namby pambying her and turning her into a fussy eater, my boy had recently stopped eating his morning bones, but was eating his evening meal. I thought he was losing weight, but when I weighed him he was still his healthy 40kg.

Instead of wasting food if she doesn't eat it, start giving smaller portions at her meal times. Possibly fasting her for a day (hesitant as she is still fairly young) and hopefully she will be hungry enough to eat.

You can get appetite stimulants from the vet, I use Nutrigel for my cat.

If she's not even interested in training treats and is losing condition then you may have to take her to the vet.

Hope she starts eating soon!

[Axel]

a friend of mine had that trouble with her GSD bitch.

She ended up putting her food out, if Kody didnt eat it within 5 minutes, she would go out, pick it up and throw it out.

The next night, the same thing.

Eventually Kody realised that she either eats whats given to her when its given, or she goes without.

Only took 2 days (she would nibble at it then leave it, so she was getting some food) by the 3rd day, she ate the whole lot and she hasnt had a prob with her eating since.

I dont know if this is what i would do with my dog, i would speak to a vet and ask what the effects are of this. (however some may argue, if the dog was hungry it would eat it, therefore it is not effecting the dog at all.)

BUt i know it worked.

Try mixing good quality kibble (i use pro plan), some puppy mince, and livamol together with some warm water... (livamol will enhance the taste of the food)..not too much, and see how he goes with that?

what are you feeding him now??

good luck

[shepin]

Hi Vehs and Axel,

She is on Pro plan and I find it very good, she has been to the vet and is in good health, I think she is just a fuss bum (which drives me mad). I do add meat to her dry bites but I must mix it in, or she will only eat her meat. She only get 10 mins to eat her dinner and then it is taken away. I am giving her smaller meals as I am wasting too much food. I think I may try fasting her for a day. I will also talk to my vet about an appetite stimulant.

Just may be I worry and fuss over her too much. Will try to not do that too.

Thanks for your replys

[KitKat]

Give the fasting a go...my pair (GSD pup and Rotti x 9yr old) get a fast day once every two weeks or so...it won't hurt the dog if she is already in good health.

I went through this with my GSD pup when he was about 3 months old...after a day and a half i won and he hasn't turned up his nose at anything since

[Dogsfevr]

is she spayed & was there any changes back when she became fussy,like be in season etc etc??

[Scales of Justice]

shepin,

You haven't mentioned her weight relevant to her not eating. Is she thin or just not eating her food but her weight is OK. The reason why I am asking is because you may be expecting her to eat more than she actually requires, and if this is the case pickiness does become a problem with this scenario.

If the weather has been unseasonably hot or for some reason she is doing less exercise than normal these facts may cause a downturn in appetite as she may be actually getting more calorific value from the amount you are feeding than she needs.

Edited to add: If she is 14 months she would have been using more food as a youngster for fast growth than she would at 14 months where a slower phase of growth is taking place. She may need less food.

If her weight is otherwise OK I would actually reduce the amount of food you are giving her by a slight amount to bring back a healthy attitude towards eating and follow what others on this thread have suggested by removing the bowl after 10 minutes.

If she is thin, then you may have to persevere the way you are going and try to find an appetite stimulant.

Edited May 11, 2005 by Scales of Justice

[KOE]

Hi Shepin have a guess who else is being fussy, doesn't want to eat anything but the bloody cat biscuits and chicken wings. So after the last 2 days I put her puppy biscuits in the cat food container and bingo she eats them smartass little tyke.

But seriously when Rielly went like that I took him to the vet and he said he may have hookworm so tested his poo and that was it, he had to have a course of worm tablets over a couple of week period.

hope she eats soon Inca I suspect.

[holly]

There could also be a medical reason for the condition.

My Mum's dog was a fussy eater, it was nothing to come home for a visit to watch her dog lazing on the leather couch and Mum hand feeding him roast chicken I tried to talk Mum into stopping it but she said he will not either any other way.

Two years later his spleen twisted around his stomach, it was not torsion, his spleen was an odd shape and overly long. After his spleen was removed and Mum finally switched to BARF, she has had no problems with the dog.

A bitch I know of, had an enzyme defiency and when put on Enzyplex her condition and appetite improved also. Nutrigel, also stimulates appetite

You may have a fussy eater, but for less than $150 (I hope that is all it will cost you) you can have a full blood work up and maybe an xray just to make sure there is nothing wrong.

If her physical turns out to be all normal, then you go onto mind games to stimulate eating.

[shepin]

Hi eveyone and thanks for your reply's

Inca is 27.4 kgs weighed at the vets on Monday, she is not desexed as I show her..She has had one season when she was 12mths, The vet said she is having a phantom, which we are treating now. Inca started getting fussy about 3mths before she came into season as she stated to come into season, then she would stop and than she had a season 2mths later. Her condition is fairly good, but I would like to see just a little more on her. will attach a photo

She may be alright but it is worring when they do not want to eat their dinner.

having trouble with photo will try again

[holly]

Shepin she is in the right body weight range.

Keep an eye on these funny phantoms and short and irregular seasons, sometimes it can be early signs of Pyometra later.

Edited

Edited May 11, 2005 by holly

[shepin]

sorry it will not let me load the photo

Edited May 11, 2005 by shepin

[Miranda]

If she had a season at 12 months, she would be due to have her pups had she been mated. Some bitches go off their food at this time and this could be the reason for the food refusal. Even though she actually isn't in whelp her hormones are telling her that she has/is about to have puppies.

[Guest magnum]

Hi Sheppin,

we too have a very fussy girl, however she did bloat 14 months ago but it seems to get fussy when she is due for her season.

We did feed Proplan but now have our dogs on Advance with fresh meat & have found this excellent with all the dogs fussy or not.

When Bridgette is having one of her days we simply cook some chicken & add that to her meal as she tends to drop condition quite quick.

Good luck with Inca

[shepin]

Thanks Magnum, I will try the cook meat if she does not start eating soon, she is quite happy today so may be the hormone's injestions the vet gave her for her phantom is working.

Thank you every one for your ideas. Will let you know when she eats..Thanks again

[trina]

Goats Milk increases appertite!!

[shepin]

I have to buy goats milk for my daughter, so I will try it.

Trina do you give the milk before dinner or with dinner.

[trina]

I usually just give it out during the day - But I feed my dogs twice a day am & pm !!

It seems to work!! As I also have a dog that is picky (she seems to be better now) but now just can't keep the weight on her!!

[GSDluver]

Hi,I also have a fussy gsd bitch,when she first went fussy I took her to the vet and she had what they said a secondary infection,she healed and ate well again up until her first season,too her back to vet incase she had this infection again and she was fine,they thought she might have been preg which I nearly died but thankfully she's not so anyway she has remained fussy I started putting some tin pal food in with her biscuits,about a table spoon or two and she eats that quite well,although I have started her on missing link and sprinkle that on her food and she is eating her meals with that on top.

[haven]

I got a GSD from the RSPCA when he was 2 yrs. It took over a year to get his appetite up, he use to starve himself for up to a week at a time and I couldn't walk him regularly or he would lose too much weight! His problems were mainly a result of his extremely nervous disposition, but I resolved the issue when I switched to a natural diet. I also found that fasting 1 day a week helps. Now I have trouble keeping him out of the rubbish bin!! I'm proud as punch at the moment because he's almost a tad overweight!