shes a toy breed and is such a fussy eater.ive never known a dog to go on and off her food so much.ive not even got to the bottom of the 7.5 kg and shes refusing to eat it and im so annoyed.well frustrated anyway.shes been getting really fussy with it the last few weeks and ive been giving her less just to get her to eat it but now shes come home from the show and ive offered her food and shes sniffed at it and walked away and is looking at the other dogs food.

the same stuff but bigger bites.ive tried giving her that instead but she just wants it because the other dogs have it cos she wont eat it.
iive tried giving her dinner in the same sized bowl as the others but she wont have that either.

im going to have to change her food again!!
theres not much eles im prepared to feed.i could try RC but its a pain in the bum ordering different foods for different dogs.and whats to say she wont go off that as well.she isnt two yet and we've been through 4 brands already!

If she were my dog I would put her food down and if it wasn't eaten within fifteen minutes I would take it away again. No dog will willingly starve itself but they are all very good at training their owners if we let them :-) I wouldn't be changing her food at all unless it wasn't agreeing with her - but that doesn't seem to be the case it sounds as though she has learnt to be fussy.

Not eating for a few days will not harm a healthy dog. I have a small terrier who will often not eat anything for three days and I treat him as I have said above. He is healthy and full of energy just not interested in eating every day whereas my other dog will eat anything and everything put in front of him.

I'm with Harley on this one.  As long as there is no 'medical' reason for her to be on different food, I'd feed them all the same and leave her to it.  She won't starve.

I too have a terrier that has always been a bit casual about food, but he is a self regulator and I've learnt to trust him.  If he doesn't eat it, he isn't hungry :)

One thing you can try - if you have dogs that are ok around each other and food - is to let one of your other dogs eat what she has left in her bowl.  You may need to adjust portion sizes, and watch them all closely but it can work.  My fussy one sometimes doesn't really want to eat, but isn't prepared to stand by and watch his greedy pal scoff the lot.  Very effective, but exercise caution :)

yea thanks sounds like your right.and i do leave food down for 15 minutes only.have done since i got my first pup.the only bowl ill leave down is troys as hes such a slow eater and is normally still sorting through which bits he wants first and bits til last...the bowl is always empty tho lol.

i think i shall try giving bella her food and see what happens there.

I agree with Harley as well. My Cavalier Spaniel can go three to four days without eating a thing. He looks at it and turns his nose up as if its not good enough for him. We used to fuss around and try different things and he still wouldnt eat. Now we just let him eat when he is ready. On the other hand we have a weimaraner who eats everything and anything.

Hi, with the other posters about chopping and changing food. However, I've got an 18 month bitch who has been a total and complete pain to get to eat. Purely survival rations. She's been raised on AG, then a switch to another wheat/gluten free feed as it was more convenient to get. She's had me tearing my hair out and worrying myself silly, I've gone down the route of adding 'nice' things in an attempt to get her to eat, of thinking she's just being fussy so she'll eat what given or starve. A few months ago I changed her to a wheat based food and she's eating every single scrap of it.  It appears, certainly with her and by some of the research I've done, that some dogs really do not like wheat/gluten free food!  She's now eating the amount I think she should be having for her weight and even taking the kibble as treats.
Might not be the solution in your case, but worth considering if you're wheat free.  Hope you get her sorted, I know it's quite worrying when they don't eat as much as you think they ought to be.  The main thing though, is she fit and healthy? If she is, maybe she's really just eating all she needs.

hi ya sorry taken so long,yes shes fit as a fiddle and healthy.shes just picky i think.shes fed on hills science plan puppy food.

> im going to have to change her food again!!

LOL, she's got you well trained :-D

I agree with the others. A fussy dog is a hungry dog in my house (same goes for the kids!), they soon learn to eat what's given to them :)

she certainly has i hate to admit it.i used to say the same if they dont eat they'll go hungry but im gettin soft lol.

all stopped now tho she will HAVE to eat it sooner or later.

Ive had this problem with my pug pup hes being really fussy just now think its the age of 6 months thats doing it lol.

I emailed Arden Grange and they sent me a VERY helpfull email and so far its working, i cant praise there customer service enough!

Our eldest gsd was just the same when younger, she hardly ate anything, tried putting the food down leaving for 15 minutes, didnt work, she went 2 weeks without hardly eating a thing, vet check, nothing wrong with her, started adding tasty bits in her food, she'd eat for a while then go off that, she just grew out of it i suppose, she eats everything now and is a fit and bonny 8 year old, despite looking so puny as a youngster.
Try not to worry, i know its stressful.

Goodness annastasia, its like I had typed that, exactly the same story as me and my 1st male shepherd! I remember being so worried as he would look at his food and walk away and sit next to the fridge! Cheeky monkey, he was very thin but after the penny dropped with him that he had to eat it or go without, he grew into a fine looking dog, very different to the lanky teenager he was before!

Ive got the same problem with a cocker spaniel he goes about three days before he polish's off a meal. He is first to the fridge or biscuit (dog) tin. But I stick with putting it down and picking it up, after the second or third day he gets the hint "Hey this is it".

BC eats everything you stick in front of him and he is on his origibal Beta from his breeder, same ingridients as well, its its not broke with Jake we didnt try to change it. But the other one phew!!

But I remember a Dr saying once (about my son) not many children have been known to starve themselves to death, so I stuck with it with him and he eats anything as an adult.

Dont look at him or you'll feel guilty!!

There was some stuff I used to get at the chemist years ago that increased the dogs appetite if they picked at food that gave them an appetite
I cant remember what it was called, perhaps one off other posters may remember name of it and put it on the site
Stan Berry

It was a brown paste, Vitamin B complex primarily.

Is it Enervite??

Yeah I think that was the one, going into town this morning and will pop into chemists and check out if still available, etc will post when I get back home

Hi Brainless
Checked out 3 chemists and one health food store yesterday
2 chemists didnt have any idea, 1 said Enervite had name changed to Orovite7 this contains vitamins B1,2,3 and 6 it comes in a water soluble powder form (orange flavoured) which would be suitable for syringe feeding.
Another 1 that I found in health shop is in tablet form and is B1 this states on box that "It helps support a normal appetite"
It is by Health Aid (www.HealthAid.co.uk) and for humans is one a day and cost £5-99 for 90 tablets, it is sold simply as vitamin B1  100mg
Stan Berry