still doesnt eat

[jumblejack]

hi to all....my 8 mth old puppy still doesnt eat tht much as we expected,...so what we did was we went to the pet shop and bought solid gold chicken recipe ( adult food) and we r not going to give him any more canned food cause i think it is spoiling him. and also the built up of tar on his teeth. for the first 2 days he ate very well...pure dry food...but after that lost interest and not eating well....so we r juz putting the food bowl on the floor and fill up wif dry food for the whole day,.,.this whole day she didnt even take a single bite....so we r just doing this tml and again and again till she knows that there r no more canned food and onli dry food..i am aware tht dogs do not starve to deatha dn will eat when they feel hungry....i am also aware tht my dog is healthy and she is playing fine and drinking water as per normal...
what do u all think of this?

[Carrie]

Is your pup of proper weight? How long have you had her? What breed? Has the vet checked her recently? Why do you think she's not eating enough? How much do you feel she should be eating? So many questions. LOL.

[calgal]

Your dog could in reality "could" starve to death. Puppies cannot go more than a day without being at risk for convultions. Starving a puppy is not the way to get it to eat. There is nothing wrong in mixing a little bit of human or canned food in with the dry kibble if eats it. Has your puppy been Vet. checked?

[Novel]

I have to disagree with calgal. Your dog will eat when it is hungry unless there is some medical reason for it to abstain.

Carrie brought up some very good questions. How much does the pup weigh and what breed is it? I do not encourage enticing a dog to eat. This can make a very fussy eater that you will have problems with for a lifetime. I speak from experience. When I stopped giving in to Topper, i.e. special foods to make him eat, he actually started eating, on his own. I also understand that at one point you were leaving food out for the puppy, I'm glad you stopped. Puppies should not be allowed to eat as much as they want, that can lead to growth, joint, development and weight problems.
I put this in another thread, and I'll just briefly summarize here, but puppies should be hungry after they're done eating, not ravenous, but not full and lethargic. If you ate until you were stuffed every time, you wouldn't be surprised to be gaining unnecessary weight. The mother dog doesn't let the puppies drink until they are full, otherwise they wouldn't constantly be following her around trying to get a drink....

[Carrie]

I agree with Novel. I think what Calgal might be thinking of is with Chihuahuas and I too have two Chihuahuas which you cannot let go without food all day long, especially pups or they can get into a state of hypoglycemia, life threatening. But with most dogs or pups of "normal" size, they should be fine and will eat when hungry as long as there's no medical problem going on. Catering too much will indeed produce a dog who is a picky eater and who will train you to cater to him. Put the food down for him for 15 or 20 minutes and then pick it up and put it away till the next scheduled feeding time. As long as it's good quality, nutritious food, he'll be fine. You can ask your vet how much to feed him for his weight, breed, size etc. And just watch his condition. You should be able to feel his ribs when you press along his sides with a medium amount of pressure. They shouldn't show but shouldn't be way buried in fat either.

[Novel]

What Carrie said!

[jumblejack]

hey guyz thanx so much for ur replies...went for a vet check up and she is perfectly fine.....nowadays my puppy( pembroek welsh corgi) weighs abt 8kg and she is 8 mths old.....solid gold kibbles is a good food right? and nowadays i juz leave the food down as in the required amt of food for her per day on her food bowl....so now she eats whenever shes hungry...note that i dun fill up her bowl after she has eaten all of them cause tht is the required amt of food per day for her....so how do u all think of this?

[Novel]

I'm glad she is on a pretty good kibble, if you're going to feed kibble. I'm glad that the vet declared her in good health. I'm also happy that you're only feeding her the amount directed for her age on the package. However, I would not leave it down for her all day. I would split the amount into 3 meals, and when it is meal time, put down the bowl with the food in it. After 15 minutes, the bowl gets picked up until the next meal time. She may not eat it all at first, but eventually she will. You want a dog that has an appetite, and looks to you as the food bringer. If you leave the food out at all times, she has no reason to associate you with the food, and you don't want to lose that part of the bonding process and hierarchy placement.

[Carrie]

Well, that's OK. I, personally prefer not to free feed as it can tend to make a dog picky. But if your dog likes it that way and you know how much food she's getting and you don't have another dog getting into her food, it sounds fine. I couldn't do that with my dogs that I have now because one of them is a pig and would take all the food away from my Doberman if he had the chance and the Doberman would let him, believe me. That guy would love to free feed. He doesn't like a bunch all at once, which is fine with me as they're quite prone to bloat and a little here and there is easier on his tummy. I had a GSD like that and I left the food down all day for him. He'd pick a little here and there throughout the day. It's mainly personal preference....doesn't make that much difference.

I'm glad your mind is at ease about your baby. That's great!

[Carrie]

Novel brings up a good point which I didn't think about. In the beginning with your pup, that really is a nice "tool." I guess later on, you can decide if you need that or not.

My Doberman is not always that "into" his food. He'll eat a little and then leave it so I'll pick it up and put it away on the counter. A couple of hours later, he'll give me the signal (presses nose against edge of counter and stares at his bowl. LOL) that he wants some. So, I laugh and give him some. (I always do what I'm instructed to do. LOL. just kidding) So, he is a little spoiled. I don't make him wait all the way till dinner. I'm so paranoid about bloat that I'd just as soon not have him gorge a bunch all at once. But with most dogs, I'd go with what Novel says.

[Novel]

Thanks Carrie...

I do almost the same exact thing with Topper. I feed him constantly throughout the day, but, I'm still in control of putting his food down for him. Before we had the garbage disposal in the house, Laney, I left his food down, but he ate even less then. Now he eats for the most part, when I put food out for him. Still is a source of anxiety for me, because he needs to be at a certain weight to show, but.. finally we have it under control.

That said, I think feeding that way is for some unique situations, and I wouldn't want a new dog owner to self feed, because I'm sure you would agree, it usually makes for a lethargic and overweight adult dog. I tried to think of other reasons that we feed like we do, and I had to settle on the "food provider" thing.

I know when I've worked with shelter dogs and aggressive dogs, food was always a great tool, to establish a bond, trust, and the beginnings of the proper order to things.