I guess I'm just after a bit of reassurance. My Golden Retriever is nearly 7 months old. In the last week or so, he has been a bit 'teenager-like' :) in that: he won't let me cut his nails, although I have done this every week or so since he was 8 weeks old, and the breeder did it before I had him; he wouldn't let me put drops in his eyes, although he has had them before and was okay then; he was reluctant to let me clean his ears, although again I have done this since he was little. The most worrying part is that he is not eating very much. I feed Royal Canin maxi junior, and he was quite happily having two coffee mugs full per meal (2 meals) until about a week ago. Since then, he has eaten up to half of that amount. Some days less. I usually mix something with it (grated cheese, pedigree puppy pouch, pilchards, tuna, etc.) but never very much. Even that is not tempting him. I put his bowl down for 20 minutes, then pick it up until his next meal. I don't offer anything else if he refuses what I have put down.
He's otherwise okay - drinking normally, pooing okay (although smaller amounts), loves his walks and playing with other puppies and dogs. He sleeps a fair amount, but he always has done, so I'm not too worried about that.

Is there anything to be worried about, or should I just stay firm with him and wait until this 'teenage phase' passes (could be waiting a long time :D )

Thanks,

Sarah

If you are worried out your dog not eating properly I would suggest taking him to the vet to check that there is nothing medically wrong with him first as this could be why he doesn't like you touching him.

If he is okay then I am sure someone will be one soon to give you behavioural advice - I used to have a similar problem with my akita and it turned out I was actually feeding her too much plus she was testing my place in the pack. Was quite simple to cure - cut down on the food and only left it down for 5 mins not 20 and as soon as she walked it away I picked it up straightaway.

hi

gosh 5 mins to eat your food,leave the food down all day and let him eat when he's hungary ,better that he eats than not eats,i don't think he's testing your place in the pack at all ,if you only leave the daily ration down it can do no harm he may feel hungary at a time when the foods not down.

Thanks for your reply. But what happens when I get another dog? I hope to have a companion for Dylan in a year or two - it would be no good if Dylan was used to just having his food down all the time. I wouldn't know who was eating what :)

Sarah

I have to be honest, I leave Will's dinner down if he doesn't eat it - he likes to graze, I have 2 dogs too, but when Phoebe has eaten hers, she normally leaves his alone ;)

Thanks for your reply. Rightly or wrongly, for tonight's meal I gave him pasta with pilchards and sweetcorn. He wolfed the whole lot and licked the bowl clean. So I guess he's just being fussy. I never thought he would be picky - he has always eaten whatever was put in front of him. Should I just continue as I have been doing and just put his food down for 10 minutes or so?

Sarah

I know some may disagree, but i do feel dogs should be given a food they find palatable. I don't mean they should be encouraged to be fussy, just that once a goood food is found that they like, maybe stick to that one.

I feed Nature Diet, Nature's Menu, raw tripe and brown rice, scrambled eggs, sardines and a mix of various rewards in training which may be chicken or cheese.

I feel dogs enjoy some variety as long as they are not callling the shots all the time .... i also feel they get used to different foods and so aren't so likely to get upset tummies.

Lindsay

Lindsay

Couldn't agree more I feed mine on a mixture of dry and wet food which they love.

I would never leave food down all day as a) it is unhygenic and b) you are teaching the dog that it can choose when to eat - not good if you want to be able to train it well.

My akita responded so much better when I followed this routine - at the end of the day unless there is something medically/mentally wrong with the dog it will not starve itself, so will eat.

My Malamute went through a stage where he wouldn't eat..or picked at his meal. I read about leaving food down for 10 minutes and then picking it up and started doing that. He now eats almost anything I put down ..and he knows he won't get too long to eat it ;) He has raw minced beef , plain mixer biscuit with added sardines /egg/leftovers/ yoghurt ...whatever there is ;)

Melody :)

Hi Melody,

How old was he, and how long was it until he was eating properly again?

Thanks,

Sarah

Only a few days ...he decided that waiting around really wasn't going to get him anything :)

He was about 12 weeks old at the time I think

Hi Sarah,

one of my show golden went through this.

All I did in the end was hardened my heart put his food down he have 20 mins
to eat it.If he did not eat this it was picked up and nothing else offered till
next meal time absolutely no treats.
It was a battle of wills but after few days he soon cleared all his food everyday.

Gundo is also 7 months but I feed him once a day on JWB he gets sardines 3 times awek
fed in the morning.The only other treats he has are in the show ring.

Have to say this works for me and hes in fantastic condition.

It is a worry when they don't eat but they are not daft he will have you jumping through
hoop seeing what your going to offer on the menu next.

Good luck,

Briony :-)

I remember being told once (i think by the vet) that dogs don't actually need to eat everyday. In the wild they don't have breakfast and dinner every day so they learn to eat when the opportunity arises, i.e. when they make a kill or in our case when we put the food down. If they don't eat one meal then they will not starve, but they are more likely to eat the next lot of food they are offered if they refused the last lot and it was taken away. WIth young children you would not give them a bowl of food and tell them to eat when they want, very unhiegenic as mentioned before. Also from a training and toileting point of view you can not guarentee that the dog will be hungry when you want to train, or may eat just before you are due to go out and so is likely to need to go outside soon after. I wouldn't worry too much if your dog shows no signs of illness and is refusing food. They will eat when hungry!