We've got another hunger strike going on with my 7 month puppy, you may remember she's been an awkward little ***** since I first started to wean her. 3/4 weeks ago we finally located a wet food called Wainwrights which she happily ate, sometimes finishing her bowl faster than her mother (which is VERY fast!). Then they all went to my friend's for the weekend while we were away, and she tried to encourage her to body up a bit by feeding tins of Butchers, Royal Canin Cavalier dry, goats milk, Bonios, Shape biscuits etc. She scoffed everything she was given, ate really fast, tried to steal the other dogs' food, acted like a normal spaniel. So this friend gives me some of the various foods and we went home - and now she won't eat it!!! She won't eat the Butchers or the Royal Canin, and she'll only eat the Wainwrights if I let the other 2 dogs in and physically hold them back from trying to gobble down the puppy's food. I can't keep putting it down and picking up 10 minutes later, she is so skinny already, she just can't miss any more meals. Everyone at the show while we were away commented on how much better the puppy looked but she is still too thin, I have to get this food down her! Help!!!!!!!

I am starting to wish I was the sort of person who could rehome a puppy of this age, but I am too attached already, but she is nearly always last in the ring and I can't help wishing I'd sold her at 10 weeks and bought in a good quality bitch. She is out of a reasonable quality bitch and by a top winning dog, the previous mating of these two produced 2 gorgeous puppies which I couldn't keep as they were boys, but I can't help feeling disappointed when I look at my scrawny snipey little thing, poor baby!

Hi LucyDogs :-) Please don't take this the wrong way but ... your post is coming across as if you're not really very fond of this dog (I know you say you're too attached as well). Bear with me, if she is picking up these feelings, it may be she's a bit stressed and why she's not eating. Specially if she ate everything given to her at your friend's but refused to eat the same food back at home. It is quite amazing how much dogs pick up on our feelings, even if we think we're hiding them very nicely, they know what we're thinking.

Anyway's that's something for you to think about, and only you can honestly answer.

The other thought, do you think she's feeling threatened by your other dogs in terms of competition for food? As example, my youngest bitch was also a pain to get to eat, probably from around 4 months of age. However, I noticed the 'low value' foods I dropped on the floor she dived for ... carrots & vegetables. The other dogs will eat them but they're certainly not going to get out of their comfortable beds to do so!! She was throwing herself across the room. When it came to meat being dropped, it was the reverse, for everyone. Although I'd been feeding her in her own crate, & everyone else in their crates too, I concluded that at some point one of the other girls had given her the evil eye, so she was reluctant to eat. However, when I put her outside to eat, well away from any of the others, she ate her food very nicely. (I also found that she preferred gluten based rather than the wheat gluten free the others had, that was a bit strange, specially as she eats same as everyone else now). Anyway, we had this going on for months, probably a year. She's still a slow eater but she's not worried about eating her food, and I am convinced she was before, but it took me such a long time to realise it.

I've not seen your other postings re this issue, so if I'm repeating what has previously been covered apologies.

You say she's skinny, but is she fit and healthy? Has she got good coat, high energy levels, etc? If she is it may just be that she's going to take a while to fill out. My first dog was a devil to get to eat, and the first 18 months I virtually tore my hair out, but she would not eat any more than what I would call 'survival rations'. However, she was fit, healthy, beautiful coat and eyes. Then at 18 months she started eating like a 'normal' dog and filled out nicely.

I'd be tempted to stick with the one food type for now, and if that's kibble you can make it a bit more enticing by adding a small amount of hot water, not to turn it to mush but just enough to soften some bits to release the nice smell from it, you may find the smell encourages her. Boil up some chicken pieces in water and use the water as a gravy (I do this with chicken thighs) and add the chicken as a tasty extra.  Add a small handful of raw tripe (the sort you can get at Pets at home in the freezer bags), mix it up with the kibble, or whatever you're feeding her, to make it a bit more difficult to spit the boring bits out.

I hope you get it sorted, I know how worrying it is when you have a dog who doesn't wish to eat. Good luck :-)

You are probably feeling stressed out more than usual because of the situation with you poor Mum. Take a deep breath, I'm sure the pup will come good in the end!

It might sound strange but perhaps you might consider consulting a behaviourist?  If your puppy is eating well at someone else's house, and not at your own, it sounds like there might be factors at work around her place in your family, dynamics between your family members (canine and human) which are influencing things, and so on.

Pets are greatly influenced by the human dynamics at work in the households they live in.  I think there is so much more research which needs to be done into this area.

Do you take her to a training class?  Do you spend one-to-one time with her, without the other dogs around?  Perhaps it is also you, which she wants more of, not just her food.

I know what you mean Trialist and I probably am a bit ambivalent about her - I love her when she's curled up in my lap asleep, but I'm less keen when she's coming last place at yet another show or refusing her dinner yet again! I don't feed her with the other dogs - my friend did and she ate up fine, but at home, she just stands there watching the others eat, and then they go and eat hers and she lets them. I put the food down and leave her to it in peace, and if she's not started after 10 minutes (we have a webcam so I know what she does) I let the others in to 'threaten' her food and then she will eat most of it. *sigh*

Pedlee you're probably right too, I do feel rather stressed about life in general at the moment! I feel like I'm letting the puppy down because I can't find what she wants to eat, and because I can't help feeling disappointed when I look at her. She is definitely skinny - even if she was fully adult I'd say she was on the slim side, and for a 7 month puppy she should definitely weigh a bit more and have more covering over her ribs. She has a nice coat, so you can see the ribs, but you can feel the ribs and backbone pretty easily. Perhaps she'd be happier somewhere else. :-(

Hi Rabid yes she gets a fair bit of one to one, I take her to puppy classes every week, try to give her some fun training during the week, and she always wants to curl up on my lap or stand on my shoulders kissing me!

Great - does she get treats during those classes and how is she with those, is she very food-motivated and wants to work for it?

Sometimes, some dogs eat more when they have to do something for their food and it's not just for free - even their meals.  You might try, rather than just leaving her alone in a room with her food, doing some clicker training and feeding her her regular food as a reward. 

You might also try feeding her in a Buster cube or wobbly pyramid feeder and see if that works better, because she has to do something to get it.

she'll only eat the Wainwrights if I let the other 2 dogs in and physically hold them back from trying to gobble down the puppy's food. I

Can't you feed them together all the time, and just tell the adults to leave it? I have one Papillon that is very, very picky. I feed the 5 Paps and the Cavalier together, and Ella will ONLY start eating her food when the others are finished and make a beeline for her bowl -I tell them to leave it, she eats. However she will only eat Nature Diet and anything else with high meat content. I don't think she'd ever eat if I fed her on her own to be honest.

Chin up, she's still very young, she might look totally different once older and in better body!

Don't know the breed but I have even had an ELKHOUND :-O refuse to eat as a puppy and get so thin you are worried to take it out never mind to a show and spend your walk looking over your shoulder for a RSPCA inspector to accuse you of cruelty. But they do grow out of it and become a normal greedy dog once adult.

I differ from you in that I do not pander to it, always believed that committing suicide is not in a dogs make up and they had better eat or it would be back in the fridge till the next meal. Eventually they do decided that eating is up to them and they will not get much help from me although I will stew some offal or open a tin of pilchards to add a little to the food but that is as far as I go.

You do need to find out if they are healthy and there is no medical reason for the lack of interest in food but I think most start to loose interest when they change their teeth and then they have a hormone rush followed in the case of the bitch by a season - after that they usually decide to eat.

Why not pull her out of the ring for a few months so she does not get a reputation for always being at the end of the line, continue with training and fun shows and then put her back in the ring when she starts to mature a bit.

Oh yes, very food motivated, loves biscuits and treats. And I've tried all different bowls and tried tipping the food onto the floor, so it's not that.

I don't really want to have to police the feeding all the time, and with her mum being so incredibly fast and greedy there would be a LOT of shouting, I feed her in a separate room from the other adult dog I have too or she will just steal his.

Nova I tried the not pandering to it for 5 months and this skinny little runt is the result. I daren't let her get any thinner! She's only entered in a few more shows so I will cut right down (can't give up altogether on my show addiction!) and hope she bodies up as an adult. I couldn't really let her go, she's so lovable apart from at feeding time! I tried pilchards / casserole steak / chicken etc without success.

When could I cut down to 1 meal a day?

Perhaps making a huge batch of Satin Balls, and feeding continuously throughout the day.  Freeze large batches and thaw a day at a time... Hand feeding like this may also help alleviate the feelings of frustration you seem to be feeling with her... I can imagine that your emotions are running high at the moment with your mum...

Are they at all balanced though? If I fill her up with the stuff I found by googling satin ball recipes, she won't want to eat her complete dog food! Still I am getting pretty desperate, might be worth a try.

Have you tried adding raw tripe or a small amount of grated cheese? How about feeding from a treat dispensing toy? Our last Dobermann got quite fussy as he got older so used to have his kibble from one of those balls with a hole in (not ideal as I always like to soak kibble for big dogs. It did mean that he ate it though).

They are balanced enough for her at the moment.. if she is not eating much at all, then anything she eats is a bonus, start worrying about balance when you have her eating regularly...

The Satin Balls are made from fatty mince(meat protein and fat), flour (carbs), eggs(egg white is best protien you can get) (include shell if you can for calcium) molassess and you can add peanut butter if you want.. it contains a lot of nutrients and calories...

And she will eagerly eat ALL of the above once or twice....but not consistantly.

I have gone into this problem in some detail both here and in person.

If I were you Id buy in a quality bitch from a line that is known to eat well. You will stop wasting entry fees and hopefully wont perpetuate this trait into the next generation where you have this problem for ever more.
Some lines just do not eat as puppies.

sorry if I sound like I have found the pancea of dog feeding but my fussy chix change totally when at about 5months I changed her to raw meaty bones now she will wolf down a whole chicken drumstick in mins which relative to her size is fast. As for mince I can hardly walk from one end of the kitchen before its gone.

I would try BARF as a last resort for her. :)
Mine are totally different since I stopped trying to feed them processed complete some years ago.  They would eat tinned Chappie when we're travelling.

Some lines just do not eat as puppies.

Interesting -you learn something new every day! I know I've heard people mention Cavaliers not wanting to eat, have always thought it odd as those I've had (just 5 over the years) have been vacuum cleaners. I have known papillons to not want to eat, some (not mine) that even has to be handfed at times, but didn't know it could be carried on in the line. Something to watch out for then for sure. The one I have who's hard to feed (unless fed around others, like I said) most likely will not be bred from anyway.

Same here Marianne - I know which line Toolz is thinking of, but I've never had a problem with any of my Cavaliers before either. Hubby is dead against raw feeding so no chance of RMB or BARF. Toolz I know in many ways I should sell her for a pet and buy in a quality bitch, but although she drives me mad I do still love her so I don't think I could really do that. Hubby would not be keen on adding a 4th dog to the household so soon either....

I'm looking after a year old spaniel at the min as his owners are off on hols.  When they dropped him off, they told me not to worry if he didn't eat for a day or two cos he's just not a big eater and won't touch dried food.  Well, he's been here for 5 days and not refused a meal yet!  I feed him in the kitchen with my lot where he needs to 'hold his own' so to speak but it's done his eating the world of good.  He also had some other issues which we have eliminated but unfortunately for his owners, the only way they can rectify all his issues is by getting him some canine company!!
As for adding a 4th, just tell hubby someone offered you the pup of a lifetime and you couldn't refuse.  That would be rude!!lol.

Lucy, I'm so sorry that you are having such a tough time at the moment. Since your pup ate so well when she was staying with your friend, is it worth considering asking your friend if she could have your pup to stay for a while? Perhaps this would take some pressure off both you and the pup.

Reading this thread has reminded me of my first Elkhound, he would not eat as a puppy and I used to throw his food out on the grass for the birds, he would go straight out and eat it. So once he had missed a few meals I would throw it out to the birds knowing that Fred to go and eat it.

Know this must be driving you mad but I am sure she will start to eat soon and if her health is suffering then you should try anything you can to alleviate the problem including feeding by hand. Suppose you have tried putting it in different type bowls and plates and adding a little of what you have been eating.

Lucy my eldest, ok a different breed was a nightmare as a puppy to feed. He wouldn't eat anything much and was so slim it was untrue and for our breed, well.. Anyway I turned to BARF in the end for him and he gained his appetite and we've never looked back. He's been back on complete and we've mixed it up a bit and on a mix of the both right now but it took many months for him to eat more than a few meals in a row at any one time.. Don't give up hope..
Try a bit of raw breast of lamb for her, its slow releasing so you should see some weight being put on her by doing this over a period of time(if she'll eat it)

One of my GSD's was like this and she looked like a hat rack. A grehound trainer suggested the following:
Starve for a day, then on the second day work out what a quarter of the daily ration would be and split this into three meals. Any food that is either refused or left, must not be added to the remaining food. The aim is for the dog to still be hungry after each portion.

Continue feeding this quantity until the dog is clearing each meal, and looking for more. Only then increase the food very slightly, keeping the quantity the same for a couple of days.

Absolutely no tit bits should be given between meals, as they could dampen the appetite.

I did this and within three weeks, I had a dog that was clearing the bowl every time.

Whilst doing this he also suggested a supplement, I am pretty sure it was this one, but can't be certain.

At first I was worried thinking she couldn't afford to lose any more weight, but to be honest she didn't go any worse and within a couple of weeks was starting to look better.

I have toyed with the idea of seeing if my friend would have her for a bit but I'd miss her! When she's snuggled up by my side like this I wouldn't be without her for the world - I just wish she would eat. She did eat it all tonight albeit slowly, so perhaps she is going to settle down again. It did occur to me (daft I know but her mother's completely different) that she is just coming into her first season and perhaps that's what's made her awkward again, she might feel funny? I should have thought of it before but because her mother is totally unchanged in her seasons I didn't think of it at once. Anyway she's definitely staying here with me, I know some people can rehome dogs because they don't win but I couldn't do that, and perhaps she will improve as an adult, and if not she can be a rally obedience star! Of course I could still use the 'this lady offered me a puppy and it's the chance of a lifetime' line in a year or so.....

I might have to try that Goldiemad, perhaps she's still just not hungry enough. Thanks!

Hi LucyDogs
Pups and dogs that won't eat are a right pain aren't they? I had a male stay with me who wasn't at all food orientated and he dropped a fair amount of weight despite my best efforts. He seems to have passed this trait on to his 5 month old daughter that I have and struggle to get her to eat 2 meals a day.  If she shows no interest I pick up the bowl & she is offered it at the next mealtime. She has just finished teething so I've made allowances for that and is truly going through the 'uglies stage' so won't be near a ring (if ever)! The rest of my dogs eat like it's always their last meal so I feed the young one seperately as the older ones would hover like vultures and she would walk away. I'm loathe to keep switching her food around and since she was weaned has been fed F4D + Nature Diet puppy - she seems to like it a bit more with the jelly from Butchers Tripe mixed in.

I've never had this before with a pup and it frustrates me too,  so I sympathise with you!

It sometimes seems to work if my hubby sternly tells her to eat and puts her in front of the bowl, but I'm not convinced this is really the right approach? Won't it make her more stressed about meals?

I has a terrier puppy that was the same and wouldnt eat no matter what I tried.  Someone suggested giving him Malted Kelp from Dorwest.  I was at the stage when I would try anything so tried it.  All I can say is that it worked and he now eats like any normal dog.

http://www.dogtraininginfo.co.uk/garlic_liver.html

I usually keep some of this around........magic dust :-D .............. to use, literally a small pinch or so over the top of the food. not guaranteed but works at least 95% of the time.
Chris

> Can't you feed them together all the time, and just tell the adults to leave it?

That is what I have always done, and I stand in the middle as referee.

I start this as soon as pups are no longer in the litter.  If they wander off and try to go in adults dishes they get told off by them, and get led back to their own dish which adults are not allowed to steal from.

Pup will get 10 minutes with her food, and I will stand over with my cup of tea to ensure the others waiting for their chance don't steal it.  Then if uneaten it goes away.

Even though I don't allow the others to eat pups food pup would have been used to Mum eating any left over puppy food when they were fed as a litter, though there was always enough food for even the slowest/submissive pup to have their fill first..

> Someone suggested giving him Malted Kelp from Dorwest.

off to order some now :)

some useful trade secrets here :) thanks folks

Well she does like liver cake, so perhaps I'll give this powder a try. I looked at the malted kelp tablets too, will try that if the garlic/liver doesn't work. Thanks!

I know how you feel Lucy - my pup that is not a pup any more :-) seems to have got skinny all of a sudden and wouldn't finish her food - which of course meant that as she got thinner my bernese (never one to pass up an opportunity to have some free scoff) got fatter. I spoke to her breeder and she said to try giving her Asda Hero dog food in jelly (this is the dog that's turning her nose up at ultra expensive Eukanuba!), tripe and chicken wings. We did that and it certainly got her eating, we are also giving her full fat Goats milk rather than the semi skimmed they normally get as a treat. She is still a bit skinny - only been on it for a couple of weeks but at least she is eating every meal. I might try the garlic and liver stuff or the malted kelp for her and my setter - she is another fussy madam but is not skinny, just right so it doesn't worry me too much if she decides not to eat. The day the Bernese refuses food is the day I know I have a problem! :-D
Dogs - who would have them? - I don't go to this much trouble feeding my kids!! :-D

I used Goldiemad's suggestion (with added Brewer's Yeast Tablets) when my youngest bitch decided not to eat at 5 months.  I have come to expect it at this age but this youngest one was the worst I've met so far and really couldn't afford to lose any more weight.   

She now eats really well, just won't keep still long enough to put any weight on - Ho Hum!

I know just how you feel. Have tried almost everything mentioned to get my girl to eat more.Started when she was 7 month. She has just started to eat more this last month and she will be 2 in April.......I put it down to my brother teasing my boy with treats while visiting.  full fat philly cheese, lurpak butter and peanut butter, all said with his marks and spencer type voice lol.

Sounds silly but the boy is laid back and well behaved but when with my brother he becomes so greedy and this, IMO has triggered something and gave her an interest in food. She wasn't bothered if he stole her food and I couldn't work him up like my brother. She was checked by vet and otherwise healthy with energy to spare but like a bag of bones under her coat.

Today she has eaten 2 chicken wings for breakfast, lunch was sachet of JWB and tea was pound of minced lamb,

Well she's still mucking about, will eat the food but only if I have the others in to 'threaten' the food. She does look better, still ribby but not so much of the hollow flanks. Weekly weigh in tomorrow! I think I'll try to get myself on a waiting list for a really good kennel's show potential puppy next year and keep Hetty for rally obedience and companion shows, unless she blossoms!

As you really don't want to part with her-and if you're not planning on breeding from her-would spaying be an option which would probably solve her weight issues and eating problems.

I don't suppose you are going to like this suggestion but horse manure is almost guaranteed to get her eating. Give her a little & nothing else for a few days. She probably won't look back after that. Might have to ditch the husband though!

I wouldn't spay at only 7 months, though I might consider it when she's fully adult. I prefer not to neuter unless it's necessary, so we'd have to see what a behaviourist thought. It's another thought to tuck away for the future though. Tried a different bowl and a different area in the kitchen in case she's taken a dislike to that spot on the floor, but no better today. Weird little dog!

lucydogs,i feel your pain! i have 2 king charles(not cavaliers) and as posted before, the older one, now 2,was a devil for not eating,unless the girls were near his food once theyd eaten theirs.since getting my 2nd charlie who is now 8 months, hes eaten far better,as the pup thinks its a game to try and eat from his bowl if he moves from it.they are both quite lean,but having struggled to get weight on them,ive been told charlies are notoriously slow to mature and body up,and more so, certain lines,so am much more relaxed about it now,we enter less shows depending on their stage of maturity and body condition and have resigned ourselves that as long as both are active and have some meat on em,they will body up in time.its not unusual for my 2 charlies to not eat the breakfast meal at all, but they do clear their food in the evening.my youngest is a very promising puppy but shes just way more immature looking than others her age so is being shown very sparingly in the puppy classes.one thing i have noticed ,is, my older dog has remained a smallish adult,whereas some of the more mature puppies he was up against have become like shire horses compared to him now in the big boys classes! too big! sometimes slowly and surely is best..am confident itll all come together in the end! hope your pup bodies up when shes ready,roy.

Lucy dogs as you know I can really emphathise and know the "Oh Not again" moment when the plate is turned away from. It's not good.
Some good news however- I am at the end of ten days of feeding Natures Menu frozen nuggets (lamb) to Pixie and she likes food!!!!!
Like you I have had so many problems getting this beautiful girl eating but hope to have her at a reasonable weight for Crufts.

I think you have nothing to lose by trying these- Pixie has gone from being completely unintersted in food to standing at the freezer staring at it when meals are due and gobbling evry last nugget.

I think your girl sounds similar to mine- I started on 4 of the nuggets per meal with the aim of raising it to 6 per meal which I am now at. Too much in the plate can put her off. She occassionaly remembers that she should guard it for a while instead of eating it but I just distract her and she soon gets on with it.

Like you I had days I could have cried- Good luck

ETA- I also wonder if they pick up on our frustrations at meal times and as I becomeing more relaxed so is she. She also likes apples and pears when I have mine- previously no interest in anything- so i just give her a bit and both happy

She turned her nose up at Natures Menu I'm afraid, sigh. Hubby suggested she might like the Wainwrights mashed instead of cut into small chunks, but that didn't help either. She's even going off Shape biscuits now!! (I only give these a short time after meals have been eaten, not within 8 hours of a mealtime coming up, so as not to risk filling her before meals. She has put on 1/2 lb in the last week, hooray, though it's still a battle to get the food down her but it's clearly doing good once we've persuaded her to eat. I think you're right that she picks up on our stress, I do try to just pick the bowl down and leave her to it but hubby does tend to order her sternly to eat which I don't think he should.

When can you cut it down to one meal?? That might help!

Cutting to one day a week may help if she iis just not hungry enough when her meals come but if it's psychological it probably won't. I odn't think people can undersatnd until they have had this - I certainly didn't before. You will find something that works- I'm sure. Have you tried raw mince (pre frozen) Not the dog packs but the human stuff - Pixie will eat that too. Good luck

One meal a day I guess we mean? She's only 7 months so suspect I will have to wait another month or two. Hubby won't allow raw feeding, but I tried lightly cooked casserole steak with pasta, she ate it for 3 days then went off it. The frustrating thing was she actually enjoyed this Wainwrights, cleaned her bowl with no trouble for 3 weeks, but it's all gone pear shaped after she stayed with my friend. Oh well, at least she is putting the weight on, if we can keep her eating reluctantly until I can cut down to one meal a day that might help. I feel sorry for my adults, being used to stand over her food bowl trying to eat it just to make her eat. I have to give them a biscuit afterward to thank them!

Oops yes! at one a week she would be thin- my head said one thing and my fingers typed another.

Have you tried a Vitamin B supplement?  There are a couple on the market designed to increase appetite in fussy eaters; they do seem to work but may take a few weeks.

No haven't heard of that, thanks - will get some if this liver/garlic powder doesn't do anything. Tonight she wouldn't eat it even with one of the other dogs 'menacing' the bowl. I had to virtually handfeed it to her and pretend it was rewards for doing sits and downs, less easy with wet food! Also tried her in a different room and that was no good. I wonder if I should take back the new box of Wainwrights we bought at the weekend and exchange it for some Cesar or something, that was the other trial pack that she ate that time I just tipped everything into a different bowl and let her choose.

She ate it today as training rewards, following me eagerly around the kitchen and wolfing it down in exchange for sits, downs, stands, waits and recalls. Weird little puppy! I suppose it's not the end of the world if I have to train her twice a day for the next couple of months!!