Very POOR eating habits has resumed, but this time worst than before
L
Cough, cough, cough, please cease communiting on my posts if you are only about condemnation and and being judgemental. Who the hell do you think you are to say my dog*s eating habits are a result of me? How dare you when he entered my life this way and was this way from birth
You dont help, you criticize and condem, stalk and find posts and bring them to other topics to make an issue out of it. Stop jumbling stuff up, if anybody is rude here it is you, I just wont tolerate your crap. You dont even READ a whole topic or post you grab bits and pieces and not have proper knowledge of what is being said. Look, I dont have time for you today.
I agree 100%. It sounds like he is just waiting for the next tasty thing. Stop giving him Nutrical and stick to one food.
You mentioned that you've tried dry kibble, wet canned, home cooked, raw, and porridge. Just use kibble for now. At this age, I think he can safely go 2 days without eating. Keep offering it 2 times/day (don't give in) and he will eat eventually.
You mentioned that you've tried dry kibble, wet canned, home cooked, raw, and porridge. Just use kibble for now. At this age, I think he can safely go 2 days without eating. Keep offering it 2 times/day (don't give in) and he will eat eventually.
L
Two days with no food? He was weaned on Royal Canin but it seems he will not eat that, I have about three different brands, one french, Royal and some other from Switzerland he wont touch them. I will try that and see as I really want him to go back on some kind of hard food in the mornings and at least get a treat in the evenings when he hits the 6mth marker. You are sure to stop the nutri cal?:yikes:
It sounds strict, but he needs to learn that food comes from you and he has to eat when it is offered. If you have to, underfeed for a little while. Your goal is to keep him hungry (and interested in his food) without starving him.
Only use one of the foods that you have. Don't mix them. Make it as straightforward as possible.
Since he is so small you need to be careful, but like I said, I think he can go two days. And yes--discontinue the Nutrical. It is not proper nutrition for sustaining a growing puppy.
(Herschel was picky for a few months when he was a puppy. We tried adding things to the food and he would eat every now and then but it was never consistent. We finally stopped letting him push us around and now he eats every single meal, whether we add something or not. It gives us the freedom to make his meals more exciting while guaranteeing that he will eat. Nala tried being picky but we didn't budge. She figured it out in two days. Tricks don't work so well the second time around.)
Only use one of the foods that you have. Don't mix them. Make it as straightforward as possible.
Since he is so small you need to be careful, but like I said, I think he can go two days. And yes--discontinue the Nutrical. It is not proper nutrition for sustaining a growing puppy.
(Herschel was picky for a few months when he was a puppy. We tried adding things to the food and he would eat every now and then but it was never consistent. We finally stopped letting him push us around and now he eats every single meal, whether we add something or not. It gives us the freedom to make his meals more exciting while guaranteeing that he will eat. Nala tried being picky but we didn't budge. She figured it out in two days. Tricks don't work so well the second time around.)
L
God only knows I dream of this. I dream that this puppy will eat a whole meal. I just offered him his 8pm final dinner meal. he refused it. He has been eating the green tripe for two weeks nightly with no problems. Now he refused it. So I will offer it again at 9pm, then nothing. So this will really make four days he has been doing this. Since Friday evening actually.
But if he refuses all the feedings for two days and he has no nutri cal wont he become sick and go in to hypoglycemia?Oh I forgot to mention, I was told to get a second dog, as two dogs are better than one, plus it encourages them to eat, dont too fancy this idea but what do you think?
I would not recommend you to get another dog just to deal with issues of eating and food. I actually think this might be the worst reason for getting a second dog that I've ever heard. I also agree with you that you should not have to force-feed him, and would discontinue the Nutrical as someone else suggested. He's large enough and old enough now that it's time for him to be able to eat food.
I agree with the other posters that there may have been too much variety given and that pulling back to just one or two food sources would be best. I do feed my older dog raw but I have had him for 6 years and I can read him very well. I know what he looks like when underweight, when overweight, and when just right. I know what his normal level of energy is like and would be able to identify a dramatic change.
I want to say this without being offensive, as that is not my intention. But it sounds like maybe you were a little too exuberant with food choices at the beginning. The dog might not know what to expect in his food dish from one day to the next -- raw, cooked, tripe, kibble, cheese, treats, yogurt, carrots...? This may have created some pickiness, as was suggested. His thought may be, "Well, if I don't fancy what is in my bowl tonight, maybe she will get desperate and something even better will be there tomorrow!"
I agree with the other recommendations. Select a high-quality puppy kibble. Feed that (and only that) for a few months. Train your dog to accept the food that he is offered, and don't be derailed by his "pickiness."
Your dog must learn that you can be consistent and that you have what it takes to be calmly in charge. You know more than he does. Panicking, getting angry, and offering him inconsistent choices sends the message that you do not have what it takes to be in charge. A dog may pick up on those vibes and it will impact your relationship in other areas.
Please stop getting mad at your dog. He is not trying to make you angry. He is just responding to messages you are sending which, from the way you describe them, sound confusing. You have mentioned at other times that his other behaviors also make you frustrated. You then get frustrated by the people who respond to your questions and try to help. All of this could lead to stress for your dog who is just a puppy and trying to figure things out. Hang in there with him and with us.
Again, not trying to inflame. Just commenting on what I've read. You ask a lot of questions, which is good. But, it's confusing because you are often mad at the responses.
I agree with the other posters that there may have been too much variety given and that pulling back to just one or two food sources would be best. I do feed my older dog raw but I have had him for 6 years and I can read him very well. I know what he looks like when underweight, when overweight, and when just right. I know what his normal level of energy is like and would be able to identify a dramatic change.
I want to say this without being offensive, as that is not my intention. But it sounds like maybe you were a little too exuberant with food choices at the beginning. The dog might not know what to expect in his food dish from one day to the next -- raw, cooked, tripe, kibble, cheese, treats, yogurt, carrots...? This may have created some pickiness, as was suggested. His thought may be, "Well, if I don't fancy what is in my bowl tonight, maybe she will get desperate and something even better will be there tomorrow!"
I agree with the other recommendations. Select a high-quality puppy kibble. Feed that (and only that) for a few months. Train your dog to accept the food that he is offered, and don't be derailed by his "pickiness."
Your dog must learn that you can be consistent and that you have what it takes to be calmly in charge. You know more than he does. Panicking, getting angry, and offering him inconsistent choices sends the message that you do not have what it takes to be in charge. A dog may pick up on those vibes and it will impact your relationship in other areas.
this is terribly frustrating and sometimes, I really get mad. <snip> He is supposed to be at three meals a day now, he wont even have one
Again, not trying to inflame. Just commenting on what I've read. You ask a lot of questions, which is good. But, it's confusing because you are often mad at the responses.
L
Nah, not at all mad at your post. Yes, he may be confused, but he gets routenely since he arrived here 10ml of plain yoghurt of Kefir when feeding kefir he gets it until the 500ml is empty which can takes weeks if it does not go bad before. He gets this with his vitamin b and cod liver oil capsule, this is a consistent routine, he knows when he sees my syringe and tablet what to do, jumps on my lap, he wont drink it on his own becaue of the funky sour taste. So this is routine and consistent. He has never been offered differnt meals each day. When I did Kibble he was offered it for a couple weeks until he didnt eat it anymore. Then on vet's recommendation he suggested home cooking the meat porridge with multiple meats etc. He has been offered that for a couple weeks now of which he has been eating it each morning. however since Friday he seemed to have stopped completely. He has been fed Green tripe with mashed potatoes and mashed carrots a little bit to balance off the tripe nightly for a couple weeks. He has not refused it. Now he is refusing it. At first he was getting it alone and then I put the potato and carrots in little by little. Now the carrot and potatoes are strong smelling in there he wont eat it. I tried him on it alone, he wont eat it. Sop basically he has been getting pretty much the same thing. On occasion when he has an appetite to eat at mid day or 2pm I will offer some potato and sardine per vet's recommendation, he will sniff and not eat it. Lol. He nibbles on raw carrots, apples, cheese as training treets, liver bits as training treats amounting to probably 1gm. Anything in the line of treats are given only for training and for no other reason. he does not get yummies just for grins. If he eats a mornign meal I will reward him with a stick of raw carrot which he may nibble a bit on, same with apple it is rewarded for eating not for grins. According to vet, he can also get a raw meat bone at midday feeding which he gets ONLY if he eats his morning meal.
I will try him on another kibble and hope it will work, if not, I am at my end and will not knwo what else to do. Vitamin B is supposed to increase a dog's appetite, it does not seem to phase him any. the thing is this, I didnt want to put my dog on commercial only, but if he will go back it will be a blessing, then I can top it up with meats as a special reward.
He is only 3lbs and has not grown an ounce in a couple weeks. Now we went away for a few days. It was the first time he slept in another house since he came here. He didnt eat much over the weekend, so I am wondering if he felt uncertain even tho he was totally enjoying himself where we went for a mini get away. Now that he is back home, he may be confused and thinks he may have to leave again? I dont know.
I am just noticing the total refusal to eat since we went and came back. Normally he will eat some little thing even if he misses a main meal.BTW I heard evening is the most important feeding? This is exactly the meal he is not wanting.
He is also refusing the morning feeding now so I dont know what to do.I was not getting a dog just for him to have company to eat lol. Of course it will have to be a dog I like and want. But I have to be cautious as not all breeds may get along with him or him with them and the breeds I was thinking of who knows.
You did not mention in your previous post that you had gone away for a few days. This disruption in routine may have caused him to refuse food, yes. This is the kind of information that would be helpful for us to know.
Again, not trying to make you angry, but it may help you to know that this is the kind of post that confuses and frustrates the posters who respond trying to help you. First, the dog won't eat anything -- has not eaten anything since Friday! Now, though, he jumps in your lap to get his yogurt, sometimes he'll get a little hungry in the afternoon, etc. In previous posts, you mentioned that he was only eating Nutrical, yet in this recent post you do not mention it at all. It seems like you post a question with great urgency, then when people try to offer help, you explain to them why their help is not needed. It does get confusing for people here.
As to the dog, I'd continue with the same routine that has been recommended. Three times per day, put the bowl down for 15 minutes then take it back up again. I have never seen a dog who would not eat when hungry unless there was something medically wrong. I know you may feel it is a breed characteristic, but I would like to take a poll on this board of the number of people whose dog's breed description does not include the word "stubborn." You have gotten lots of good advice in this thread and others.
I don't understand why you're feeding the yogurt and the supplements, but that's just me. If he's eating that, he will surely start to eat something else. Potatoes and carrots do not harm dogs, but I don't think they're necessary. You were adding them to the tripe, but I wouldn't do that. If you find something that works, don't be too eager to move onto to the next thing or start adding in more foods. Just stick with what works for now. Your dog is very young. There are a lot of years ahead of you for trying new foods and experimenting. Don't rush.
Be patient and try to control your anger with him.
Again, not trying to make you angry, but it may help you to know that this is the kind of post that confuses and frustrates the posters who respond trying to help you. First, the dog won't eat anything -- has not eaten anything since Friday! Now, though, he jumps in your lap to get his yogurt, sometimes he'll get a little hungry in the afternoon, etc. In previous posts, you mentioned that he was only eating Nutrical, yet in this recent post you do not mention it at all. It seems like you post a question with great urgency, then when people try to offer help, you explain to them why their help is not needed. It does get confusing for people here.
As to the dog, I'd continue with the same routine that has been recommended. Three times per day, put the bowl down for 15 minutes then take it back up again. I have never seen a dog who would not eat when hungry unless there was something medically wrong. I know you may feel it is a breed characteristic, but I would like to take a poll on this board of the number of people whose dog's breed description does not include the word "stubborn." You have gotten lots of good advice in this thread and others.
I don't understand why you're feeding the yogurt and the supplements, but that's just me. If he's eating that, he will surely start to eat something else. Potatoes and carrots do not harm dogs, but I don't think they're necessary. You were adding them to the tripe, but I wouldn't do that. If you find something that works, don't be too eager to move onto to the next thing or start adding in more foods. Just stick with what works for now. Your dog is very young. There are a lot of years ahead of you for trying new foods and experimenting. Don't rush.
Be patient and try to control your anger with him.
L
No no no, I jumble up stuff sometimes lol.
He has been a problem eater ever since he came to my house and was so at the breeder. he will be offered nutri cal if for 24 hours he has not touched a nibble. This not eating properly for four days is nothing new, it just returned. He had statred to at least eat two meals a day there for a little while.
I didnt mention going away because he has been a problem eater from day one. But I suspect this has disrupted him in some way psychologically. He comes to me for the kefir or yoghurt because he THINKS he will get a treat, he usually get a tid bit of some kind, just a really tiny piece of something so he comes. He does not willingly open his mouth, I have to force feed the Kefir. He has always given me big big eating problems. Just these past four days have been really weird as he if now refusing his favorite green tripe, so this worries me.
He has been a problem eater ever since he came to my house and was so at the breeder. he will be offered nutri cal if for 24 hours he has not touched a nibble. This not eating properly for four days is nothing new, it just returned. He had statred to at least eat two meals a day there for a little while.
I didnt mention going away because he has been a problem eater from day one. But I suspect this has disrupted him in some way psychologically. He comes to me for the kefir or yoghurt because he THINKS he will get a treat, he usually get a tid bit of some kind, just a really tiny piece of something so he comes. He does not willingly open his mouth, I have to force feed the Kefir. He has always given me big big eating problems. Just these past four days have been really weird as he if now refusing his favorite green tripe, so this worries me.
L
I do as Vet and nutritionist recommended, not by my own choice or doing. He has never eaten a commercial diet wholeheartedly or for long, so since he had to be put on cooked or raw when he came here or part cooked part raw he had to get the proper nutriton. He is on vitamin B to give him an appetite. If he was not of this he wont even drink water. The Kefir or yoghurt is a Probiotic and it is extremely beneficial to dogs
Oh by the way, I encourage you to do the poll as I will like to see how many other dogs have given problems. But some do, but I wonder how many give this much trouble?
Oh by the way, I encourage you to do the poll as I will like to see how many other dogs have given problems. But some do, but I wonder how many give this much trouble?
Herschel....I'd agree with you with a bigger dog, but a Pom or a Chi....other tiny breeds are subject to hypoglycemia if they go too many hours with no food.
LB....you have problems with your dog. He's "mad" at you so he is on a hunger strike to get back at you. And he poops on your bed for the purpose of further antagonizing you. He's spiteful and manipulative. He's got a problem with you and is devoting his child hood to pre-meditated, long term retaliation. You've got some fun in store for you.
Since you know so much about dogs, I'm surprised you can't solve your own problems. You obvously don't need or want any advice from us. In fact, you resent it. So, why ask?
People, eh-hem, hint, hint.......I'm growing convinced beyond a shadow, this is just another one of those hungry creatures. Let us stop the feeding.
LB....you have problems with your dog. He's "mad" at you so he is on a hunger strike to get back at you. And he poops on your bed for the purpose of further antagonizing you. He's spiteful and manipulative. He's got a problem with you and is devoting his child hood to pre-meditated, long term retaliation. You've got some fun in store for you.
Since you know so much about dogs, I'm surprised you can't solve your own problems. You obvously don't need or want any advice from us. In fact, you resent it. So, why ask?
People, eh-hem, hint, hint.......I'm growing convinced beyond a shadow, this is just another one of those hungry creatures. Let us stop the feeding.
You misunderstood me.
What I meant was that many, many dog breeds are reported to be "stubborn." Not just poms. My breed was reported to be "impossible to housebreak" and many told me I should just get used to cleaning up after him for his whole life. However, with absolute consistency, he has housetrained beautifully and has not had an accident since he was 3 months old.
He depended on me to be calm and consistent.
You have a picky eater, yes. I worry that hearing that poms are picky eaters and stubborn has led you to have more frustration than you otherwise would. I also worry that you allow your concerns about his eating to create tension for you and the puppy. You have a dog now. Your dog happens to be pomeranian, but advice that works for other dogs will also work for yours, if you let it.
Again, you have received good advice here.
What I meant was that many, many dog breeds are reported to be "stubborn." Not just poms. My breed was reported to be "impossible to housebreak" and many told me I should just get used to cleaning up after him for his whole life. However, with absolute consistency, he has housetrained beautifully and has not had an accident since he was 3 months old.
He depended on me to be calm and consistent.
You have a picky eater, yes. I worry that hearing that poms are picky eaters and stubborn has led you to have more frustration than you otherwise would. I also worry that you allow your concerns about his eating to create tension for you and the puppy. You have a dog now. Your dog happens to be pomeranian, but advice that works for other dogs will also work for yours, if you let it.
Again, you have received good advice here.
