Why is it that when people from the show world say that your dog could do with putting some more weight on, and your reply is well she doesnt eat much, they then say well force feed it, i dont know about you lot but i wouldnt dream of force feeding any of my dogs i think it is barbaric, i wouldnt like being force fed something i didnt want so i wouldnt put my dogs through that either, are these people that hell bent on getting a rossette that they would put there dogs through this, it does make you wonder what the poor dogs go through, thank god i still enjoy showing and dont care where i come i love my dogs and thats all that matters.

I wouldn't dare force feed Holly - she's got teeth :D :D :D

Seriously though, surely changing the food or adding bits to it would be better?

Fiona
x x x

Never hear anyone say that - how on earth would you force feed a dog. I have one at the moment who is to thin, common with young males, I encourage him to eat but can not imagin how one would force feed. What breed do you have, I'm speechless. Jackie H

Metpol Fan (Diane) has two GSD's and a cocker:) I have nothing really to add to this except for how on earth or why on earth would you want to? How is Lady doing by the way Diane?

Stacey x x x

Then I supose it is the GSD people who have told her to force feed, would still like to know how. Jackie H

Actually no it wasnt, she has a gun dog type, not saying what you never no who comes on here:D

So it was only one person, think it was probably a bad joke, the usual thing in the show ring is trying to keep the dog in hard condition, ie lean and well mucled, it takes good food and lots of excercise, even toy breeds should be thus. Jackie H

Hi Metpol fan,
Totally agree with you.....I would'nt have to force feed mine, Bodie my GSP is the greediest mutt I have ever known .

Hi Metpol, first time I`ve heard that!
Had to force feed a sick dog water so he didn`t have to go back on a drip but thats it! All the dogs I know woof everything thats put in front of them :)
Christine2

Diane, its not force feeding as such that gets to me, its people who want some way to make a dog gain weight so that it does better in the show ring. I've aways thought that lean dogs live longer and healthier lives, and now there is plently of research to prove it.

So while most of my dogs have always been on the lean side for the ring, that's the way they stay (always assumming that they are healthyof course ). This is a real hobby horse for two of my vets (one of whome shows dogs himself), and I take it for a regular ride too :-)

I had to force feed a dog myself and believe me showing had nothing to do with it .
It was a collie that just decided she did not need to eat . It was after she had surgery, to remove a part of her gut that had gangrene .
prior to that she did eat . so for three weeks I pressed food into her mouth morning and evening , my fingers were raw as she kept her mouth tight closed and when I got the food in she gnawed my hand as well as the food . on the third week I had enough I felt so fed up I went out one morning and just could not do it again.
I put the food down and said Heidi eat that or die if you want to , and suddenly she started to eat.
Some dogs stop eating and it is alarming, it is like anorexia truly and not so uncommon as one might think . I have had the problem twice and I must say if I was not prepared to do what the vet said then I could well have been accused of neglect. Iwonder if anyone else out there experienced this , not just a poor eater mind .one that would not eat. Mari

Hi Mari

I have a friend who has GSD's, judges, stewards etc and she has to hand feed/force feed one of her GSD's. She bred this litter and ran on a dog and a bitch puppy from the litter in the view of keeping both of them. When they were sixteen weeks old she had a phone call from a man desparate to have another dog as his had been killed in a RTA. She thought about it long and hard and decided to let him have the bitch puppy. Both the dog and bitch were inseparable and when she left he pinned for her and wouldn't eat. The vets told her to starve him and he will soon eat, after a month of not eating and him looking like a bag of bones she decided to start hand feeding him, and she has had to do this for the last 4 years. He is a wonderful English Looking GSD who is so gentle and loving, but will just not eat, she thinks that he is anorexia as well, and if she didn't actually open his mouth and put the food in he would starve to death. Call if force feeding if you like but what would you do in this situation when nothing else is wrong. The thought of food just disgusts him really !!!!!!

Dessie

I've had to force feed my Boxer Harvey. If Harvey doesn't eat twice a day everyday then he bleeds so I had to get him to eat something to ensure he didn't make himself ill. It was extremely difficult and of course you have to hope the dog doesnt associate the unpleasant experience with food itself or I would really be in trouble.

This happened to a friend of mine also. Her dog stopped eating at about 6 months and wouldn't touch anything. You could put a roast dinner down for him and he would walk away. She was also told that he would eat eventually if left but he didn't and after trying all sorts of things, she ended up feeding him pureed food using a syringe for several years. He finally started eating normally when he was used at stud (not recommending this as a cure by the way :)) and is now a happy healthy normally eating veteran. As far as I am aware none of his progeny have any feeding problems - so it seems like it was a one off - who knows why?

But I can only imagine doing it in such extreme circumstances - not just to add a bit of weight!

Janet