Hi everyone,my 1 year old Akita has always been a fussy eater,partly my fault as I would mix in raw mince,sardines and stuff in with her Royal Canin.But i am now trieing to get her to eat just the Royal Canin,so i have I am following the advice given to me on this board.....leaving her food down for 10 minutes and if she doesn't eeat it,pickk it up and only leave it down at the next meal time.Ihave been doing this from monday morning,and she hasn't eat a thing,is this normal,I am now starting to worry about her,as she seems to be losing weight.Any further advice would be greatly appreciated.

As long as she is healthy she WILL eat when she is hungry. It sounds like a battle of wills at the moment ...make sure you win it ;)

You have successfully shaped your dog over a period of time NOT to eat unless something else is added (if you are as good at training other behaviours your dog will be brilliant) :D

I am not trying to be flippant and I understand you are worried about your dog but "undoing" something that you have successfully "taught" takes more time than training it in usually!

IMHO I would not get worried unless she is not drinking IF you have decided that she MUST ONLY eat Royal Canin alone for the rest of her life.  She has convinced herself that you WILL give in eventually because experience gives her that expectation.  It is after all only Wednesday; I would bet that by tomorrow evening she will cave or Friday at the latest; this is not a long time in the great scheme of things and what might happen if you were starving her because of a dicky tummy.

I have to ask, why is this so important?

Personally I believe in "start as you mean to go on" with dogs and children (possibly partners too) :D however I fail to see what benefit there will be TO THE DOG in insisting that she eats this and only this therefore can I conclude that this is for your benefit?

Your decision, be aware that IF you decide to give in now, IF you make another decision to "test" your dog at some future point she may go without food for much longer......................................

Think my reply was much better...shorter too

:p :p :p :P

O my o my ..another Hamish..shut up Reddoor!! smack hand!! :-(

Thome,when I was adding extra "stuff" to her complete,she would at first clean the bowl for about a week,then gradually she would only eat the extra's and not touch the complete,so I would change the "extra's " to something else and the whole cycle would start again.I don't envisage feeding her RC alone for the rest of her day's,but I would like to be in cpntrol of what she eat's and when.

i am all for control...............:D

I had this problem with my two and I was under the impression that bull breeds were greedy!!!  Now personally I did not engage in a battle of wills.  I work with my dogs to make their mealtimes as enjoyable as possible.  I accept them as individuals much as I enjoy different food to my partner, they enjoy different foods to each other.  I prepare their meals with fresh meat and natural biscuit and they have fish, eggs, cheese and much other variety.  Poppy prefers her meat raw in her special bowl and Jack prefers his cooked (well warmed in microwave) and served on a plate!!  I get alot of stick from people about my dogs having me well trained but to be honest I get so much satisfaction from watching them clear their plates and knowing I can list what has passed their lips.  I am a student nurse and also have a part time job but I always manage to find time to prepare their meals and I take great pride in their health (fresh breath, sparkly teeth, bags of energy, and a shiny coat which is not a result of fats and oils added to a cheap dogfood.)   I appreciate that this method of feeding will not suit others and that many people have success with complete dog foods but for me and my dogs this is how I overcame 'fussiness.'

Something that has just occured to me ..... (and no im not starting another raw v complete fight!!!!)

Dogs, when fed on complete dry, will often get fussy, when offered different variations added on top..... bit of cheese, bit of sardines, etc etc, until they wont eat anything, in the hope of something better..........

So advice is usually given 'give it what YOU want it to eat and nothing else'....... which will work, dogs arent thick, they wont starve. So many people give their dog the same flavour food day in day out for the rest of its life.

I feed raw, my dogs rarely get the same meal two days in a row.......

Not once do they, once they have become used to raw food, turn their noses up and wait to see if something better will appear........

Just a thought!

Em