Indy Girl Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 We have a 17wk female staffy. We brought her from a breeder and followed her diet advice of lots of cooked vegies, fish, mince bones etc. Our girl loved all that but started to get an upset stomach, very gassy and loose stools. Our vet said to cut back on the prepared food, and put her on a good quality dry food with just bones and necks. We started on Eukanuba puppy and mixed it with her old food. She just picked out the meat and left the dry, we then tried Hills Science with the same result. We were advised to stop all other food and just feed her dry until she gets used to it, ("she will eat it when she's hungry enough" they said). She eats a few mouthfuls of the dry and stops. This has been going for 9 days now and our pup is definately not eating enough. She's only 7.8kg and looks small for her age. She is happy and healthy in every other way, and her stools and stomach are better. How can we get her to eat the dry food? Thanks for your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Either with "tough love" offer her half a meal of dry at night, what she doesn't eat in 10-20 minutes, take away from her and offer her nothing but water untill the morning feed and do the same again. You have to be strong to do it that way and there are no treats or snacks in between. You can dampen the dry with water or a broth and add some mince, cheese, etc and mix it though, the same rule applies, half a meal is offered and untill she can and will eat it all she gets nothing else untill the next meal. You could look into barf as an option, i have never used barf so i don't know where to start, but there are plenty here that do and could help you to get a balanced barf diet happening. At her age she should be a Stafford hoover and eat just about anything I would also call the breeder and let them know what is happening, they may also be able to suggest soome slight changes that will return her digestion to normal. Chicken necks are very good as well, combined with the other foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ojay Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 C'mon, you can't really blame her for not wanting to eat the boring, dry, crappy stuff when there are juicy veg n meat to be had! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefe's owners Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 I agree with the "tough love" approach... when she is hungry enough, she WILL eat. You can also try to make the food more interesting by adding raw meat, or other stuff, but that might defeat the purpose if you want her to eat dry food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 I agree! Why can't she have low fat chicken/beef mince, a little grated veg (NO cabbage, onion ,brussels sprouts, etc) with a little boiled rice mixed in?This, plus bones (go easy on fatty marrow-give marrow bones cut across,not lengthwise) may help settle her. Poor baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravensmyst00 Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 We started on Eukanuba puppy and mixed it with her old food. She just picked out the meat and left the dry, we then tried Hills Science with the same result. We were advised to stop all other food and just feed her dry until she gets used to it, ("she will eat it when she's hungry enough" they said). She eats a few mouthfuls of the dry and stops. I found my bullmastiff turned his nose up at Science Diet - his breeders dogs did the same thing. You can try adding a bit of chicken stock to the dry to soften it a bit. But I agree put it down for her if she doesnt touch it in 5 minutes take it away. You will soon find that she will begin to eat it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefe's owners Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 This has been going for 9 days now and our pup is definately not eating enough. She's only 7.8kg and looks small for her age. She is happy and healthy in every other way, and her stools and stomach are better. Now, if she is happy and healthy and everything looks alright, them maybe you shouldn't worry about it Maybe she is a small dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starrycav Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 I'm struggling with this problem too. My 7 month old cavalier girl is very fussy. I've been told to leave the food down for ten to twenty minutes, then take away with no fuss. What my girl tends tends to do is not eat for two days, then she will eat most of her daily allowance at dinner: never eats any other time of the day, morning or midday. She may eat for the next two days, only at dinner, then starves herself again. She looks terriblely small and thin. I have tried numerous dry foods. She was at one stage eating only chicken necks, but I was told numerous times by my vet that they were no good. I felt like a bad mother.I guess I have to persist, but it gets me down. So I know where you are coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 If it was me, I would persist with the raw food options and not dry food Eddie has never had dry food Can I ask was there a reason the vegies are cooked? They are better raw and put through a food processor so they are basically pulp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefe's owners Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 What my girl tends tends to do is not eat for two days, then she will eat most of her daily allowance at dinner: never eats any other time of the day, morning or midday. She may eat for the next two days, only at dinner, then starves herself again. She looks terriblely small and thin. I don't understand the "eat most of her daily allowance at dinner" bit. it is that if you were supposed to feed her 1k of food a day she would eat that amount? Here's what we would do: supposing you want to feed the dog 800 grams of dry food a day. we will split that in two serves of 400 grams, morning and night. The bowl with food will be given to the dog, you let the bowl for 15 minutes. if it doesn't eat, then you take it away. then the next time, repeat the process, 400 grams for 15 minutes. if she eats all and is still hungry good! a hungry doog is a heatly dog... she will most certainly eall all the food next time. If she would not eat the food, then take it away again... Remember, half daily food ration X 15 minutes, twice a day Stick to that routine and she will start eating that you give it and when you give it, that's the way is supposed to be. And that is a good routine independently of what you intend to feed it, whether is dry or raw food. I don't like feeding the dogs once a day, as I think is way too much food, and could lead to digestive problems. Also, you eat normally three times a day, don't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 (edited) Your dog may have been getting an upset stomach and loose, gassy stools because you were feeding too many and/or the wrong kinds of vegetables. To be quite honest I don't regard vegetables as a necessity, my dogs get a few very occasionally but certainly not on a regular basis. Why don't you go back to what you used to feed, but keep vegetables to a minimum, you may find that this fixes the problem. I would feed her chicken necks, wings, carcasses, lamb flaps (excess fat removed), brisket bones, canned mackerel/sardines/salmon/tuna, two or three raw eggs per week and perhaps a little yoghurt (real yoghurt such as Jalna, not the sugary yoghurt desserts) now and again. Give her any vegetables that you may have left over, but don't give her too many. See how she goes on that diet, if she's ok then you don't need to feed her dry food at all. Edited March 29, 2006 by Miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Girl Posted March 29, 2006 Author Share Posted March 29, 2006 Thanks to everyone for all your repolies and advice. We fed our girl as per usual tonight and again she turned her nose up at the dry Science Diet. We took it away and put the dry food in the blender with her mince and some warm water. Turned it into a stodgy pulp but she ate almost everything, biggest meal she's had in a week. We'll keep going and blend it less and less as time goes by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starrycav Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 I don't understand the "eat most of her daily allowance at dinner" bit. it is that if you were supposed to feed her 1k of food a day she would eat that amount?I don't like feeding the dogs once a day, as I think is way too much food, and could lead to digestive problems. Also, you eat normally three times a day, don't you? Well she is supposed to have 1 and a half cups of dry a day, but at most she will eat is 1 cup, normally 3/4 of a cup. I offer her food in the morning, but she always turns her nose up at it. I would definitely prefer her to eat her food twice a day, but I can't seem to get her interested in the morning, no matter if I split her daily allowance or not. So I figured as she was looking so thin to offer her full serving when she tends to eat. But I will try splitting her meal again if it is a big no no to feed her once a day. Thanks for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tiggy Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 She's only 7.8kg and looks small for her age. I remember when I took Sophie for her 12wk vaccination she was 7kg and now at 5 months she's 13kg if that helps. I would highly recommend Barf! This is what I fed Sophie from day one and she's never had any tummy troubles and she's healthy, has a beautiful coat(except the hair loss on her face from Demodex but that's another story) and is growing at a steady rate. I would weigh your pup on the same day every week and note her weight gain, Sophie was putting on 1 kilo every week until she got to over 10kg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffy-Lover Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Buy some plain natural yoghurt and dollop a spoonful on the biscuits and mix it all in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Perhaps she does not eat it because she does not like it - just like you don't like some foods... Jodie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 If you want to feed a raw, whole foods diet, then do so. Just reduce the veg/fruit component b/c a dog doesn't need much vegetation compared to meat/bones/offal. IMO dry foods are mostly bad...with a few exceptions. But don't offer a 'vet' food b/c they're not the best available canine nutrition IMO. You could go for something of higher quality or you could resume a raw foods diet. Just do appropriate research into what is better for your pup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsapittybaby Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 Buy some plain natural yoghurt and dollop a spoonful on the biscuits and mix it all in. I agree...or a little cottage cheese may also make it a little more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum 2 Bailey n Chelsea Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 I had this problem with Bailey for a while so I ended up changing dry foods to Purina as it is made from lamb instead of beef. Yes it is not the most expensive brand but my vet suggested it and Bailey loves it!! I also started mixing it with tuna (in oil), and adding eggs. I think Bailey will always be a picky eater but he does now eat his food at night. He also loves chicken necks, wings, frames etc........ What your doing now seems to be working though so good luck with it!! Mel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeyboy Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 my staff has never really gotten into eukanuba... doesnt seem to mind advance dry food, which i reakon is nutritionally better than eukanuba... sometimes i used to pour the eukanuba in a bowl and mix a raw egg in with it which softens it a bit, with mixed results depending on the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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