# My German Shepsky Is More Than A Picky Eater :(



## CatDogMom93 (Sep 12, 2020)

I'm not sure if this the right place to post/ask this, but I need some serious advice. I have a neutered male German Shepsky and he's a beautiful boy; absolutely beautiful, sweet and loving. However, he has this picky eater syndrome but it's more than just pickiness. He refuses to eat his food, no matter what brand or tricks to coax him into wanting to eat. We've tried adding warm water, can food, shredded beef treats and even crushed cookies but none of these tricks/methods work! We can't afford the expensive brands of food like Blue Buffalo, TOTW, much less the Purina Pro-Plan so right now, he's on Purina DogChow Chicken flavor. He has a sensitive stomach (which our vet stated Sheps suffer from gastrointestinal issues) so chicken flavor is mild and easy on his stomach. I also know he's part Husky and needs the richer meats like beef, lamb, salmon, etc but with his sensitive stomach and picky eating habits, it's tough. He's not medically sick and hasn't eaten anything he shouldn't have. Yes, we have cats and birds but their food is put in another room where he doesn't venture. He sticks around the living room all day until we go to bed so it's not like he snuck and ate the cat/bird food.
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Now, I'm sure those of you who are reading this, are thinking "That's just a picky eater, so what?" but I'm here to tell you that he's more than picky. He refuses to eat his food altogether! He shows no interest in it at all, even with the can food mixed in with it. Our vet for some reason (we're thinking about switching) refuses to give him an appetite stimulant so we went over his head and purchased Entyce; an appetite stimulant for dogs and that was a waste of money because if anything, it made him lose his non-appetite even more and he fought off the hunger stimulation. This dog is ridiculous, I just don't know what else I can do. We do the method where we leave the bowl down and if he doesn't eat then take it away, but that doesn't work. Perhaps we don't do that enough, I don't know!
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I'm his handler/trainer and my mom argues with me when I suggest methods that could work so avoiding arguments, we push them aside and go back to older methods that don't work. He wears a training shock collar and my mom thinks that because he wears it for training, has interrupted his interest in eating but he started this not-eating far before we ever considered the idea of using/purchasing the collar. Over the last 3-4 months, it's grown worse because at least in the past, he nibbled on a few pieces that coaxed him to eating but now, absolutely freaking nothing! He doesn't have a cold for if that were the case, we'd completely understand for he wouldn't be able to smell the food.
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He's as active as he can be with toys around the house and he chases the laser spot but now it seems, he's lost interest in that too. We live in Las Vegas, so right now, it's still Summer and he doesn't like the heat so I can't take him for long/short walks to stimulate his appetite. My mom and I love him to death and it's breaking our hearts for we'retrying everything to get him to eat but he just isn't meeting us halfway. He looks at us with his big brown eyes and our melts like soup because you can see it in his face/eyes as if he's pleading, "What's wrong with me? Help me?" but what can we do?
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I'm not sure if this post will take the photo, but if it does, here's our boy. His name is Aguilar and he's a German Shepherd-Husky and will be 2 years in December.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Well clearly he eats or he would be dead. So what does he eat?


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## CatDogMom93 (Sep 12, 2020)

First of all, thank you for your concern. It's very touching. And in answer to your question, to be truthfully honest, I don't understand how he's alive without eating. Like I said in my post, he's refusing to eat but perhaps he's surviving on water alone which isn't a good thing because I happen to know that if a dog, no matter the breed or age, if they drink too much water they'll bloat and that will most definitely present gastrointestinal issues further. He eats in spurts, going three to four days without eating and then nibbles on one or two pieces, and if lucky a handful. Tonight we are going to try adding in some of that FreshPet moist food in with his dry and see if that works. If not I'm at a loss then I know for sure we have a zombie dog, haha 🙄


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

That is exactly what I was thinking. And please never use a laser pointer, that causes OCD.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

1. If you must feed Purina, upgrade to Purina One -- it's marginally more expensive, but you migth end up feeding less of of it, so it's probably a wash. There are printable coupons widely available online, which you can match with a sale at Target to get it very cheaply. I know this because it's what my elderly dad fed his very picky GSD for years, and it was a budget stretch for him. Avoid the lamb flavor -- it sets off diarrhea in quite a few dogs.

2. For not much more money, you could upgrade to Diamond Naturals Chicken & Rice (= Costco Kirkland = Tractor Supply 4Health -- all the same food, with different labels). At Costco, it's under $30 for 40 pounds, but you will be feeding less of it than Dog Chow. (That's less than $4/bag more than Dog Chow 40# bags on Chewy -- if you have a Costco membership this is a great deal! Otherwise, if you buy the Diamond version on Chewy, it's about $10/more bag.) For that little bit of extra money, it's a much better food, and it's highly palatable to most dogs -- IMHO it's the best value you can find in dog food right now in a budget-friendly food!

Either one of those options are more bang for your buck because there's less filler and junk in the kibble.

If he's got diarrhea chronically, or an inflamed anal area (bright red, often with lots of butt licking), and perhaps issues with anal glands, then you may have a food allergy, not just a picky dog. They stop eating what makes them sick. However, if it's just not eating that's your issue, try upgrading _just a little _to one of the two I suggested, which might end up costing you much in the long run, as dogs often need to eat a little less of a good food than they do of a cheap food to maintain themselves.


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## CatDogMom93 (Sep 12, 2020)

I never knew laser spots could cause OCD in dogs 🤷🏻‍♀️ And it's not all the time anyway, only when I run them for exercise especially before his last walk for the evening which helps him poop believe it or not... We have a strange-strange dog!


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

CatDogMom93 said:


> First of all, thank you for your concern. It's very touching. And in answer to your question, to be truthfully honest, I don't understand how he's alive without eating. Like I said in my post, he's refusing to eat but perhaps he's surviving on water alone which isn't a good thing because I happen to know that if a dog, no matter the breed or age, if they drink too much water they'll bloat and that will most definitely present gastrointestinal issues further. He eats in spurts, going three to four days without eating and then nibbles on one or two pieces, and if lucky a handful. Tonight we are going to try adding in some of that FreshPet moist food in with his dry and see if that works. If not I'm at a loss then I know for sure we have a zombie dog, haha 🙄


How long have you had this dog?

ETA if he is pooping he is eating.


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## CatDogMom93 (Sep 12, 2020)

Honestly, like I said in my post, it doesn't matter what brand or quality of dog food I purchase, he will turn his nose up at it! People reading my post are thinking I'm not feeding him enough or feeding him crappy food. We were warned by our vet and read everywhere online, that the food at Costco isn't very healthy for dogs. And it won't make a difference even if I were to try Purina One and cut back on the meals...he won't eat it because he hardly eats his 3 cups now!


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## EgansMom (Apr 18, 2020)

Find another vet and take him.
Dogs are not "picky eaters" unless they are feeling ill.
If his appetite is that low - it's a health problem.
The different health problems that can cause decreased appetite are to long to list.
Take him to a new vet.


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## CatDogMom93 (Sep 12, 2020)

I've had my shepherd since he was 3 months old and in the beginning months everything was fine! It started when he reached at least one year old and gradually it got worse until now he will go three to four days without eating. And yes I know, if he's pooping he's eating but I'm trying to tell you that he is not eating so where that poop is coming from is beyond me because we leave his food bowl down all day until we go to bed, not a crumb is touched and then in the morning I give him the food again and still nothing not a crumb is touched. So...can you explain that?


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Okay then -- sorry I can't help. Good luck!!!


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## Pytheis (Sep 23, 2016)

I mean, biologically, he has to be eating to produce poop. So the literal only way to explain it is that he is eating something. Maybe he’s eating other food that you’re not aware of, even though you say he has no access to other stuff. Maybe he’s eating your other dog’s poop outside. Who knows. But he has to be eating.

Also, what kind of vet warns you against Costco brand food but is okay with you feeding dog chow? That’s like feeding sawdust. Completely useless and terrible for the dog. I’d recommend a new vet and a new food.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Dogs can go days without eating and for what you are spending trying to force him you could afford a different food. But really the food is of no concern. 
Lots of dogs are picky eaters, but my suspicion is that he is eating something else. Dogs don't live on nothing, water doesn't cause bloat and you have a high energy young dog that you are exercising with a laser pointer and arguing with your mother about an e collar over. When it's hot we exercise late at night or early in the morning, we don't just not exercise.


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## Gwyllgi (Aug 16, 2017)

Is someone in the family, secretly feeding the dog without your knowledge? 

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I wondered that too. Is a family member feeding him? Is he getting food out of the kitchen trash or sneaking food off the counter? Could a neighbor be feeding him outside?

Take the ecollar off him when he’s eating and for at least 30 minutes after of he eats anything. They are worn tight and it could affect his ability to swallow comfortably. The collar I see on him that says Service is too low if it is the ecollar. They should be worn very high on the neck,


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## EgansMom (Apr 18, 2020)

"He has a sensitive stomach (which our vet stated Sheps suffer from gastrointestinal issues) "


CatDogMom93 said:


> He refuses to eat his food altogether! He shows no interest in it at all, even with the can food mixed in with it. Our vet for some reason (we're thinking about switching) refuses to give him an appetite stimulant so we went over his head and purchased Entyce; an appetite stimulant for dogs and that was a waste of money because if anything, it made him lose his non-appetite even more





CatDogMom93 said:


> We were warned by our vet and read everywhere online, that the food at Costco isn't very healthy for dogs.


So your vet thinks he has gastrointestinal issues. What did your vet really tell you to do - that perhaps you are not doing because of finances ?
Also it seems you may be young and have a little learning to do - why is this dog wearing a shock collar at 2yrs old ?


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## Shadow Shep (Apr 16, 2020)

This is weird


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## Hellish (Jul 29, 2017)

Cat food or litter box snacking?


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## Justjo303 (Aug 31, 2020)

I am not sure about your pup or anyone elses but i know with my 11yr old GSD that when he is under stress he will not eat. Also not eating anything could be a result of an underlying health problem the vet is not seeing so I recommend another vet or look at his lifestyle and possibly pay attention to his behavior besides the not eating?

before anyone attacks no i did not read the full thing because i have a puppy trying to eat my phone atm 😳


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## NadDog24 (May 14, 2020)

We had a border collie who wouldn’t eat anything. We switched to raw and she started eating. Will your dog eat raw meats?


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

Not to feed regularly but will your dog eat bacon, sausage or hot dogs with vigor? Maybe your dog chow is rancid, are you able to keep it cool in Las Vegas or is it sitting in the kitchen?


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

Why the shock collar? 

I would take that off and use it only if absolutely necessary when training. As has been said, it may be making it hard for your dog to swallow.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Wearing an E collar for a longer time can cause ulcers from the pressure of the points. Why do you need an E collar? Please post a picture from a side profile and from above, both while standing so we can see his body. What's up with the position of his front legs?
And by the way your dog is a mixed breed, not a breed called Shepsky. That is just made up for marketing purposes.


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## Orphan Heidi (Sep 21, 2018)

My son had 2 shepskys who were fussy about food. He usually fed cheap, low quality garbage too.
I talked him into feeding partially raw and home cooked good meats from the supermarket. Guess what?
No more picky eaters. They gobbled their good wholesome meat. And put on weight. And their coats got glossier.
Shepskys are very smart and he's telling you to up your game and treat him to decent food.
You wouldn't want to eat stale, tasteless crumbs of junk either, would you?


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Could we all stop calling them Shepsky's? Please? 
It's a designer dog name to encourage people to view them as something they aren't to drive the price up.
The OP's dog is clearly eating something, and my guess would be that Mom is the culprit. In my experience anything that they have to steal or beg for is far higher value then whatever is in their dish.


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## Jake78 (Feb 24, 2012)

How long has he had the "shock" collar, where did you buy it? How high and what are you using it for? Definitely take it off for feeding, and put down his food 2x a day, in the morning and in the evening, and pick it up after 15 minutes. Do change his food, some dogs will stop eating if they hate their food, my first GSD did that when he was a pup.


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## Dr Rob (May 30, 2020)

CatDogMom93 said:


> First of all, thank you for your concern. It's very touching. And in answer to your question, to be truthfully honest, I don't understand how he's alive without eating. Like I said in my post, he's refusing to eat but perhaps he's surviving on water alone which isn't a good thing because I happen to know that if a dog, no matter the breed or age, if they drink too much water they'll bloat and that will most definitely present gastrointestinal issues further. He eats in spurts, going three to four days without eating and then nibbles on one or two pieces, and if lucky a handful. Tonight we are going to try adding in some of that FreshPet moist food in with his dry and see if that works. If not I'm at a loss then I know for sure we have a zombie dog, haha 🙄


Try boiling chicken. Cut it up and put on his food. Save the broth and wet his food with the broth It’s worth a try


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