Need Help, No Appetite Still !

[Red Mal]

OK to cut a very long story short one of my dogs has never really had an appetite. He was a fussy eater as a pup and after many trips to the vets and various tests over a 2 year period, NOTHING is physically wrong with him !!!

He eats around a third of the food he should be eating and then only when he can be bothered. We have tried absolutely everything, trying to find out if this is a physcological problem or what !

He just has no appetite and looks at food like a chore. He has over the years been given different foods to see if he's just fussy on taste, yet nothing has tempted him enough to eat a whole meal.

This wouldn't bother me, but he's underweight and now at the age of 2 I was expecting him to fill out some and mature, yet this hasn't happened, and I'm not happy about leaving him this way. I understand they can take upto 3 to mature, but he shouldn't be looking underweight as he does at this age.

I've also tried satin balls for weight gain, but again they have to eat enough of the stuff to make a difference, and it didn't, as he only ate a few. I've tried other supplements for weight gain and varied the amount of meals a day, but am now stuck for what to try next.

Has anyone else had this problem, all ideas appreciated

[shmoo]

if you arent already doing this.. try it.

feed him at the same time everyday, morning or night. put his food bowl down and let him know its there. after 20 mins take the bowl away, even if he hasnt touched it. after 3-4 days he should be eating. no dog will let itself starve.

[Red Mal]

Believe it or not we've tried this too

When we did it, he wasn't bothered at all. He would still only eat tiny amounts, so deprivation seems to make him happy, wierd dog ....lol

[t-time]

There is a product here called Nutrigel which is an appetite stimulant and vitamin additive. It is available at most petshops, produce stores/vets etc. Is there a similar product available there?

Another product called Thrive D which is an old fan with Greyhound people particularly.

If those products or something similar are not available, I reckon your best bet would be to contact Greyhound people over there and see what they give for this issue. A lot of the products used by racing greyhound breeders are high energy, super enriched vitamin formulas for that extra power needed to win that race!

If all else fails, I would be happy to post you some but I think the Nutrigel would be "out" because of the new terrorism laws banning liquids!

Edited to add: have you tried raw meaty bones with this dog?

Edited September 4, 2006 by t-time

[petmezz]

hi

i would go with the Nutrigel stuff . this is what i would do.

Morning give a small handfull of mince with a dose of the nutrigel.

arfternoon give a small amount of kibble (high quality brand high in fat and proteen, low in grains)

night give a small amount of mince with a dose of nutrigel.

attempt to give a dog soup possably leave it out all day as an alternative water supply for your dog (please maks shour their is a fresh water supply to.).

exercise the dog! in some strains of northen breeds they actually need to get exercise to stimulate the need for eating.

following this your dog will hopfully gain all the nutriance it needs. gradually start increasing the amount of food over months. and rember northen breeds where selectivly breed to require little food, and run sometimes for days with out eating.

[KOE]

Sounds like Oliver to me (my GSD) after nearly 18 months of trial and error and every sort of dog food imaginable and a thin run out looking shepherd, we have come down to this

Chicken wings raw

Each day he eats

3 cups of Bonnie Working dog (the others give him the poops)

500 grams of paws cat mince from coles

1/2 can of Optimum Puppy

2 tablesspoons of strawberry or blueberry yoghurt

This dog used to have a hard time eating and was awfully skinny and believe me I tried everything but have found something he likes so this is what he gets, now the girls dont want their eukanuba anymore so they get the same minus the yoghurt, he has actually put on weight and now looks like a normal male shepherd should, by the way the nutrigel did not work with him.

[Skipy]

Can I just ask if he likes anything? There must be something (even if its table scraps that are not that good for him) that he likes. Could you trick him by putting whatever he likes with his actual food.

[haven]

I had the same problem with my GSD, it took about 2 years to get him to eat a decent meal on a regular basis because he suffered so much anxiety all the time. You need to consider if there is an underlying cause that needs to be addressed in order to solve the problem.

Switching to a raw diet helped immensley, but what eventually got my guy eating regularly, although it sounds rather backwards, was fasting him once a week.

[Stitch]

Rolled oats is good for putting on a bit of condition.

I mix extra rolled oats with the Vets All Natural dehydrated veges, plus raw beef or chicken mince and chicken necks.

Fed twice daily this really puts the weight on. Start with small amounts with the hope of gradually increasing the portions.

Dogs really love this mix.

[New Age Outlaw]

Vam paste, often used by greyhound trainers, is a vitimin and mineral suppliment high in vitamin B, which can help stimulate appetite. Might be worth a try?

Edited because I can't spell!!!

Edited September 5, 2006 by New Age Outlaw

[Rozzie]

Bonnie Working Dog put weight on my GSD Luther... nothing else did...

[fido666]

Can I ask if he has any other symptoms such as Diarrheoa or vomitting bile on a regular basis? I ask because Duncan hardlly ate until he was 2, it was only fairly recently after an endoscopy we finally discovered he has Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Now his diet is sorted out (would you believe he is intolerant of chicken of all things) he has a fantastic appetite, so much so I'm now worried he's getting fat.

I know how worrying this can be, I just couldn't work out why he wouldn't eat but would you if it made you ill? I know you've had you Mal checked out but Duncan had heaps of vet visits that never turned up anything either. I have fingers crossed you get this sorted out soon.

Regards,

Corine

Edited for spelling.

Edited September 7, 2006 by fido666

[Tilly]

Might be worth checking with your vet - I know they gave our cat an injection to increase her appetite. It worked well.

[Jed]

I'd get some blood work done on him to make sure he is AOK. There are some digestive problems which are difficult to spot, but which will stop the dog from eating normally. Malabsorption for one. With any problems like this, there are some symptoms - wind, diarrohea etc., but you may need a specialist vet to arrive at a diagnosis.

If he is OK, it may simply be that he will fill out when he is 2, and he may never be a "big eater".

Some or all of these things may work too

Slice liver thinly. Bake in a slow oven until it is hard (leave the house while doing this, it stinks) and when dry, put in an airtight container, grind it between your fingers, and sprinkle over his food.

You can use liver treats too the same way

Vegemite - which may be unobtainable, or too expensive in UK - smeared on the food works well.

Vitamin/mineral shots from the vet. I am not sure what they are called in UK, but your vet will know.

Try him on milk + a couple of raw eggs mixed through it, or cook rolled oats and add milk and eggs to that. Add a little Glucodin. Whole eggs are fine.

If he has never had cows' milk, he may be intolerant to it. Pups have an enzyme, lactase, which enables them to digest cows milk - it goes from the system as they mature, but if they are fed cows milk from puppyhood, they retain the ability to digest it.

In any case, most dogs can digest cows milk, but if he is not used to it I'd begin with a little just in case.

BBQ chicken!

Try cooking him a stew with some fairly fatty meat, add a few veges, thicken with flour and water, and feed warm. Or thicken with flour and water and rolled oats. You can also add about 1/2 a small tin of premium canned dog food for fussy eaters .... they come in tiny tins here (at about the same price as caviar!!) and are good for tempting appetite.

Cut up lamb flaps and lightly fry them - so they are browned on the outside. Pour the fat over them and feed warm.

What does he normally eat?

I once had a dog which was like this. She would eat something new for a couple of days, and then refuse it. She also had intermittent diarrohea - not terribly bad - we visited 17 vets for varying diagnoses - often worms (which was not the case) before we found one who diagnosed her correctly. At this stage, although her coat was glossy, she was skeletal. We were lucky to save her.

[Red Mal]

Hi, thanks so much for all the replies. Had probs with PC, so couldn't get on here :D

All my dogs are fed RMB (Barf Diet) and I include supplements, veg, fish, yoghurt, raw eggs (whole) etc and have done since having them. I feed a very varied diet, so not create boredom and each of my dogs have diferent tastes for diferent meats, but with this one, I have also tried every kibble on the market and pre-prepared frozen meats etc. Just nothing gets him excited ;) I also fast once a week, to give their jaws etc a rest and the others don't even notice and do well. I also give them goats milk sometimes as Cows milk is a no-no to most nothern breeds and the few times I have tried, they have had upset tummies.

We have had blood work done on him many times and every other test imaginable, except the one where they want to take out his intestines to 'have a look' He's been cleared of Malabsorbtion related problems and Pancreatic deficiencies, including Zinc Deficiency. He had teeth, jaw etc x-rayed, camera down his throat endoscopy, eosophagus checked etc, all coming back clear. He has twice had an injection to stimulate his appetitte, but nothing happened, which the vet thought nothing of.

His coat, eyes, vigour, behaviour etc is all fine, he's absolutely fine in him self, which is a consolation. He only suffered bouts of diarrohea as a pup when he first came home from the breeders, but nothing since.

We've tried Sorb-Vit B with him which is a weight gain product to help poor-doers etc, but you need a appetite to eat it in the first place and as soon as we add anything to his food or mince, he leaves it.

We've tried deprivation if he walks away and he's not bothered. We've tried feeding at different times of day, different amounts in meals, feeding others before him/after him, you name it.

He gets exersised twice a day with the others (quick walk round the block in morning and longer walk in evening) and now the weather is getting colder here, he will be run twice a week also, but again this doesn't improve his appetite and we've even tried reducing his exersise sometimes, for fear that it is making him lose weight

I've researched lots into this breed, hence having 4 of them, and understand their food intake/work ratio, but this dog eats hardly anything regardless and you can see his expression change, when you give him food to "oh no, not eating again"

He is the dominant boy in the pack, yet he will happily let one of the others eat his food, while he sits and watches them ???

The nutri gel sounds good but does it come in a tablet form, as I said, anything mixed in his food (liquid) he disregards, so it needs to be a tablet that I can pop in his gob before he eats. Vam paste ??? Again is there anything similar in tablet form ?

Why do you think he just has no appetite ? As I said I woulnd't be bothered as my others often go a few days without eating for various reasons, but he is thin and never puts on weight, which I don't like and he was 2 in June, so should be filling out by now anyway. My other 3 are all much younger than him (under 1) and have twice the body mass that he has !!!

Does anyone have a routine for gettign them excited at meal times. I've tried lots, but maybe a few new ideas could be an idea ???

Thanks again guys, you really are a knowledgable and caring bunch

[Jed]

Is he thin? He just may not need a lot of food. Some don't.

they want to take out his intestines to 'have a look'

I had an exploratory done a while back, because we weren't getting any closer to the solution to the problem. Dog was fine, problem was revealed. Expensive though!!

Try the liver sprinkles. IMHO, they work with a lot of dogs.

[WreckitWhippet]

I would also be consider a Zinc supplement. A lack of Zinc in a diet can suppress appetite and the sense of taste .

I can see that someone has also suggested the Vit B group as a supplement, this can often be very good for dogs that stress. Stress is not always obvious and the Vit B's provide some relief from nervous tensions etc. I like the Greyhoudn supplement called "Rebound".

I've been down this road a couple of times, if there is no physical issue ( which your vet has stated ) then, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

[Muttaburra]

Just curious, what is his relationship like with your other dogs? Have you tried feeding him separately away from the others?

[Miss Capri]

Hi there,

Nutrigel comes in a tube and is very thick, it is designed to stimulate the appetite as well as a great suppliment. It can be used as a total food replacement in sick animals. But used along with food it stimulates the appetite and and is a good weight builder.

Because it is so thick and sticky it can be given straight to the dog, once placed in the dogs mouth it is hard for them to spit it out so they swallow. Most dogs love the taste even our most fussy eaters learn to love it in a very short time.

regards Miss Capri

[t-time]

Hi again Red Mal

WOW! Sounds like you've been through the wringer with this boy

Just wanted to add that with Nutrigel, you can rub it on the gums...no tablet necessary.

I'm interested to know how long he will starve himself?