hi there could any one tell me if they have any idea why my pup might not be eating properly hes 6 months and just recently he has stoped eating properly he eats in dribs and drabs hope you can help me

Hi Dave
Have you changed his food? Have you been giving loads of titbits either with food or separately?
Is he displaying any signs of illness?
Try mixing his food with some natural yoghurt, just enough to stir in and coat his food. If the yoghurt doesn't work I'd suggest a trip to the Vet's tomorrow. :)
HTH
Nicky

When mine never ate very well I just added some warm water on top and mixed it up, they just loved it. I agree if nothing works a trip to the vet.

Hi Dave

How many meals a day are you giving him - if you are still on three it might be time to go down to two meals now

Christine

Just a thought but Max our Dobe started doing the same. We cured it by simply feeding him consistantly around the same time each day. But if he left his food for more than 15 mins then we took it away until next meal time.

Max realised this is short order and now food is always eaten straight away or removed.

Just an idea that worked for us :)

Daren,I think thats a shame that your dog had his food taken away after fifteen minutes why? I have labs who absoloutley throw their food down,but my newest dog A GWP takes his time eating and so does my small dog its much more pleasanter watching them eat than the labs which food doesnt even touch the sides.
Can you tell me why you take your dogs food after 15 mins ? Just wondering thats all.I would think it would make them greedy or could make them food agressive .

If someone took my dinner away from me I'd be pretty annoyed :)

Mattie

I think you may be at cross purposes here? If you have a constant but slow eater, you wouldn't take the food away. If you have a picky eater, or one the wanders off & looses interest, then a good training tip is to put food down for say 10 mins, then remove it until the next meal. Food left constantly down can encourage grazing eaters which isn't what a lot of people want :-) Food put down for a set time focuses the mind :D

Mattie,
"But if he left his food for more than 15 mins
I really think he's referring to the dog abandoning his food, not taking his own sweet time for chowing it down :)
I'd have to agree with the 'method', especially after dealing with my sweet occasionally finicky eater :rolleyes: Nipped that nonsense in the bud at a very young age. She eats slowly, but steady -- which is quite ok imo :)

I'm not saying that it is necessarily the right thing to do, but many many dog books recommend removing food that the dog hasnt eaten, so its not at all an unusual suggestion.

Hi Dave

My mums dog the same. Turned out to be teeth and gum trouble. Nothing serious but enough to cause pain upon eating and would only eat when starving and then little.

worth a thought.

regards
Jackie

Not that unusual for a pup to do this, in fact it is almost the norm. Drives you mad, you worry they wont grow and if you want to show just as they are old enough they look awfull. Try a little meat with his food, I do mean little, I find mince and gravy, offal in gravy, cat food in gravy or pilchards in tomato sauce works well. If you have no other dogs you could feed ad lib, leave food down all the time but not food with gravy on it, just the dry. Try changing the food onto junior and may be a different brand. Pet stores will give you samples of different foods if you ask. Relax it will pass, only to return again at about 13, months when his testostorone really gets going. Ja:)kie

Hi Jackie

Thanks so much for the advice but I was actually answering someones elses problem. My mums dog is an adult now and has no more problems. I was simply trying to let Dave know that the food may not be the problem but the teeth and swollen gums.

A trip to the vet sorted my mums dog out in no time. It was just a small infection that would not shift until antibiotics were administered.

Thanks Jackie anyway, so kind.

regards
Jackie

Hi Jackie, confusing aint it, I was not answsering you, but feel free. I find it difficult to place the reply where you want it. Still you get used to going down the posts to sort out who is answering what. Ja:)kie

Hi Jackie, nice name...........grin

Oh I see, just call me one braincell. I didnt think all on thread would get a reply but its quite nice isnt it.

Thanks once again and speak to you soon.

regards
Jackie 2 or Jackie II or jackie one braincell.......:))))

Pack it in, I is the only Brainless one here :P

LOl keep ya syrup on, I have one braincell and the battery on that is low. But it beats brainless I guess.

regards
Jackie one cell

:P ;) :D

Hmm, mind if I butt in, ladies???? Just got this email laugh and thought it was rather fitting to your 'brain cell' conversation :P

Subject: Buffalo & Beer

A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.

"In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first.

In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
--------
now please, no one take this as gospel truth ;) :D :D

Gosh that explains a lot, my dad always said he was.......hic......Einstein and I didn't believe him.........oooopss.......:))))))

thanks every one ill try them i have tried leaving it down for him and he is getting better thanks again

All dogs are different, my Cavaliers usually are fairly quick. I do however find that the boys are slower and sometimes need coaxing (much like men in general - sorry) but I do have a 19 month old bitch who will not eat unless she is 'safe' behind a gate, I have two others who always eat in their indoor kennel, the rest - well I don't think they even think - if it is food it goes down and as quick as possible.

You could try adding a blob of butter or marg to the food (this will also put shine on coat) or maybe try adding human meat catering offcuts (I buy these very cheaply from the supermarket deli counter and use for special treats or when they are a bit 'off', these are also good for getting bitches to eat after whelping.

Good luck anyway

Alice

Hi Dave when my pups go off food, i give them scrambeled egg and plenty of it.

My 5.5 month old pup recently went off her food. We always give her a mixture of dry kibble and wet (cut from those sausage rolls for dogs). Both are a complete food. Anyway, before she'd chow down no problems, but one morning we ran out of the sausage so she only had dry kibble, and ever since then she's been off her food. She'll usually eat the sausage first, and leave the dry all day until I think she gets too hungry and will finish it off about 6 hours later. Before she'd come running when she saw me with the dog bowl, but now she doesn't seem to care, and would much rather play. Has she just decided she's sick of her kibble or is there something else happening here? On the odd occasion I add a little variety (bit o meat or yoghurt mixed in) she finishes it right off.

Having the same problem with mine too.

I have tried:

Tuna
Rice
Egg
Mince
Chicken & chicken stock
Sausage
Cheese

and he is really not interested, even when the dry complete food is missed out....still bounding about like a nutter though.

If your pup is between 6-12 months old it's probably due to sensitive gums. Try soaking it in a warm liquid to make the food's texture softer. If this doesn't work, try mixing wet food with the dry food. If this doesn't work you may have to resort to completely wet food or home made food.

If nothing works, take him to the vet to get him checked up.

By the way, in my opinion it is a good idea to take the food away after an alloted amount of time because if you allow particularly aggresive breeds to take their time, they may become insolent because they are closer to being self-reliant and independant and may feel they don't need you as much. It's ridiculous to allow them to determine when they want to eat and when they don't because they respect a strict hierarchy. This strict hierarchy suggests that only the alpha dog is allowed to determine when they and the rest of the pack can eat. The average dog owner doesn't want a dominante dog or a picky eater. Furthermore, you wouldn't want other unwanted animals or pests to get to the food and you certainly wouldn't want anything poisonous or bad for his health to fall into the food when you don't notice. I'm not saying all dogs fall victim to this problem. It's simply a theory....pack theory.

Besides, 15 min is more than enough time for a dog to eat a cup full of food. I've seen some dogs shovel their food down in 15 seconds and love it.