refusing to eat! help me!

[iheartsammy]

sam is a picky picky eater (she wouldn't even eat the raw meaty bone I gave her ) is their anyway I can make her act more like a dog when i theirs food? She wont eat her dry kibble unless I put canned or shredded cheese in it and my mom refuses to buy canned cuz it cost to much and then told me to put wet cat food in there! Not going to happen! Is their a way I can stop her picky habits and make her actully excidet about food?

 

[LabBreeder]

Has she ever had table food? If so, that could be why she won't eat her dog food. Lay off the scraps and stick to strictly dog food otherwise she'll hold out for the table food. (If this is the case. )

 

[Roxy's CD]

Dogs won't starve themselves, so I've heard.

When she's hungry, and can't take waiting for something better anymore, she'll eat.

Unless you plan on feeding her the things you "bait" her with, like canned food or cheese, stop using them now!

I used canned food a while back to increase Roxy's appetite, and she didnt' eat for more than a week when we ran out of canned!

 

[PoodleMommy]

My dog is SUPER picky too.

She will not eat for days if we let her and when we sit and try and feed her she acts like we are torturing her. I feel horrible.

I would also like to know what to do to make her WANT to eat.

Elissa

 

[dogsbestfriend]

Try working up his appetite. Take him for a long walk, a swim or some other vigorous exercise before feeding him. Not only will he be hungry, he'll also be ready for a nice, long nap!

 

[DanL]

Make her work for her food. Exercise her. Make her want to eat by being hungry because you ran her for a few hours or did some other strenuous exercise.

There was a Dog Whisperer episode about this. I don't agree with everything he does, but he made a great point- the Newfie in the show was pampered and lazy and didn't have to do anything, so it got picky about what it ate. Not saying your dog is like that, but exercise and working for it's meal might help.

 

[ihartgonzo]

I definitely agree with making her work. Like, get a cup of kibble and practice her Obedience, rewarding her with 1-5 kibbles for every exercise. You can also buy a treat ball that dispenses a few kibbles every time she pushes it with her nose, Fozzie loves getting food from that thing! Kongs can work the same way, or you can add some water and freeze the Kong with wet kibble inside.

My dogs get stuff added to their kibble whenever I feed it... like cottage cheese, yogurt, fish oil, goats milk, cooked meats, veggie or fruit puree, etc. But they will happily eat their kibble plain anyday! =D I agree with being sure she's getting plenty of exercise (although, avoid feeding 1 hour before or after exercise) and she isn't being over-fed. Some dogs also just lose their appetite in the heat, and when the kibble is plain she isn't as enticed to eat even if she isn't hungry.

 

[iheartsammy]

thanks guys! I'll try that stuff asap!

hey DanL I saw that episode a few days ago!

 

[tinksmama]

I put tinkerbell on a "no fussy eaters" plan I found on Shirley Chongs site..
it did take about 3 days, but she finally stopped being stubborn. This is pretty strict, but I was tired of the pampered princess routine every meal was becoming...
It said to put dish down at mealtime, call dog over- if dog sniffs,and doesn't start eating right away, even sort of gives you the" is this it?" look, take it away,clean dish,and wait till next mealtime. I'd read before wait 15 minutes, but this worked the other didn't. no treats in between,nothing but water. It's true, my other dog plows instantly to the bottom of her dish. So for 3 days, Tink would at first just look at it,and walk away, i removed her dish. tried again at lunch, same. Dinner, a bite, then walked away. I held firm. The next day, a couple more bites,then disdain. same again all day, BUT,on the 3rd days breakfast, my,my, how quickly that sweet puppy ate her food!
It's tough,but if you're determined,and you have a stubborn pet,this will work.
this a.m., the 4th day, she ate the most I've ever seen her eat. it was great,and it was all kibble, the healthy kind!
So at lunchtime, we did training with extra biscuits for treats,life is good now!