can any one help me i have a 7 month old cavalier that will not eat he will eat some thing one day then nothing for 2 day i have had him to the vet they say he is just fussy any ideas  thanks

Are you feeding dry food? if so a little veg oil over the top is usually enough to tempt mine if they are having a fussy spell, but some are just fussy and will eat when they are hungry! I wish I was so disciplined!!

You may be overfeeding so he fills up one day and is not hungry after.  You then fuss so he gets attention for it and does it more.

What is his body condition like.  I hazard to guess that he does not look starved.  Most CKCS you see will be fat so don't compare.

You should be able to see a waist and feel the last two ribs without digging for them, and feel his spine with a  light covering of flesh.

I would cut down his daily ration by a third and lift his bowl after 15 minute and give nothing until his next meal.  If you have been tempting him with choice items he will be holding out for the treats rather than eat his food.

You may be overfeeding so he fills up one day and is not hungry after.  You then fuss so he gets attention for it and does it more.



Ditto.. I am ashamed to say I thought mine were fussy till a while back realising I was feeding 2-3 times the amount they needed and wasted..  I feed them what they need now they are sitting waiting for their food :-)

We create our own problems :-)

Hello Skye,
Cavaliers from certain lines are incredibly fussy eaters and you will find the people from other breeds will give you all sorts of advice that may work in their breed but will cut no ice with your pup!
I've had several breeds of dogs over the years but nothing prepared me for the cavalier appetite. They LOVE something one day and will recoil with revulsion from it the next. All I can sugest is having a real favouite ( my dogs LOVE raw chicken wings) and keep that back as your emergency standby when all else fails but if you feed that everyday it will lose it's appeal. I show mine so find it very difficult to do the starvation thing but dont get involved in the manipulation thing, just feed and lift it up after 15-20 minutes. You will probably get a thin( but healthy) pup that will probably grow out of it at around 12months.
I stress that not all cavalier lines are like this but very, very many are.

I meant to add..... when they are mature they often swing the other way and become eating machines..... you've probably seen the results in your local area, little fat waddling hairy box shaped souls.

I have had an anorexic bitch in my breed that are normally pigs,a nd also two that were not greedy from 5 months to two years and would occasionally leave meals, which worried me no end.

They were all without exception healthy and as they matured/got old became greedy.

The one who I label the anorexic would have been an acceptable weight for a sight hound, but too thin for my taste, and it meant she never ate enough to grow a really good coat.  We got a lot of seconds with critiques saying, needs to body up, and out of coat.

In the end the only thing to do was to be firm about not overfeeding on days when she would eat and lifting the food until next meal/day.

With one that is really fussy (not just overfed so not hungry), it is important that waht they are eating is high quality nutriton so they get maximum nutitional benefit from what theya re eating.

My girl was on Arden Grange Prestige until she was three years old, a food I would normally only feed to lactating bitches or young pups, as it is much more nutrient dense.

hi my dog went through a stage like this at about seven months till he was about ten where he would not eat his food. i never really understood why he done this. however somone did tell us not to leave the food bowl down for them if they have not ate it after 15 minutes to pick the bowl up, which learns them not to be fussy apparantly.

i have an irish wolfhound with the same problem. she will not eat conventional puppy food unless i am putting in some of our dinner (scraps)!!!  it is really annoying as i just want her to eat as she is going to be a big dog.  spoke to the vet who said it was ok to do this in moderation, but that i must make sure that the dog does not train ME into thinking that she wont eat dog food!!!  (too late!!) :rolleyes: