# At a loss



## evilpirateduck (May 21, 2014)

Hello all. I have a GSD pup who is currently just about 14 weeks old - will be on Tuesday - and who will not eat her food for the life of her. It seems like it's been slowly spiraling downhill since we took her at 8 weeks.

A bit of background for you; She is the product of my land lord's shepherds, out of a litter of ten. She was the biggest eater in the litter when solid food was introduced, and was easily the biggest female of the litter. I 'took' her at 8 weeks and slowly introduced Wellness CORE puppy and Just for Puppy wet, which she ate with no problems the first few times. Then, she seemed to lose interest. I started adding egg, which kept her attention for a week. Then, raw ground hamburger. I tried a sample of Honest Kitchen. Canidae PURE Puppy, Orijen Large Breed Puppy, and even Nature's Variety Prairie puppy have all been a complete bust, despite the fact that she was literally tearing open the Prairie bag in the store. No type of canned wet food seems to stimulate her, save cat food - and that's actually for the cat. What's more, she went to the vet on Wednesday due to the fact that her eyes are constantly tearing. It's literally like water when I go to wipe her face, and there's usually goop in her tear ducts.

So, we tonight we tested whether she would eat with her remaining litter mates and parents (my room mate kept two of her brothers). And she did! She pigged out.

Here's my issue - they feed cheap brands of dog food, and as a pet store employee and an avid researcher, it's heart wrenching to even think of feeding her Beneful, Puppy Chow, or Iams. And I don't know what to do. I want her to eat healthy - jeeze, I'd like her to eat the best food she can, but when she refuses to touch anything but low quality dog food... Do I give in and let her have the Beneful? Do I supplement with canned? Cooked, raw? Any help here would be appreciated.


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## mydogs (May 4, 2012)

Picky 9 week old here! I bought a can of Solid Gold green beef tripe. The can says "for picky eaters" Mixed it in her solid gold puppy food and she inhaled! I also add a drop of plain Greek yogurt at a few feedings or boiled carrots and chop them in tiny peices. If your pup literAlly won't eat a thing but the food your roomate has by all means feed that! Anything for them to just eat. 

I add different topping each meal. Ground beef, carrots steak anything. Make it like a mush with water and pour over kibble. Good luck
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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

Is it possible it's not the food. Maybe she just doesn't like to eat by herself. Also, it was one time and she may have just been eating with gusto in competition to get some food before the others ate it all. 

Try the cheap food without the littermates around and see what happens. It may have been a fluke.

I have a very picky eater so I understand your frustration. 
Best of luck!


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## evilpirateduck (May 21, 2014)

I'll have to look for the beef tripe. I've heard wonders about it's palatability and health benefits. I've tried greek yogurt, though I have not tried carrots, and she has an interest for a time, but it quickly fades.

My biggest concern is that I do not want to have to constantly switch toppings and foods in order to make her eat.

I did that this morning, Spring. I attempted, first, with her regular food and some Pedigree can mixed in. She licked it, then walked away. So, I gave that bowl to her brothers (who will literally devour anything, doesn't matter what it is) and tried again with the dry Beneful, and added some Kirkland wet food. This time, she ate what was probably a fourth of the bowl, then walked away.

More than likely, it was because her brothers were providing competition. I may try to mix a big bowl up tonight and feed her with them to see if that has any benefit.

I'm also wondering if it would be safe to go cold turkey on her? She's healthy, and I know she won't starve herself. Were I to make what will be her normal food, leave it down for 20 minutes, then remove it and give her another chance the next meal, would I be causing a detriment to her growth? My boyfriend seems to think it may be unsafe, given her age and how she desperately needs to eat at this stage.


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## mydogs (May 4, 2012)

I'm in the same boat as you. I don't want to keep switching toppers but if I have to I will. My girl loses interest as well easily. 

Put the food down. Leave it 20 min. Pick it up. I was going crazy too she literally at 1/2 cup for a few days. Now it's on her. She doesn't want to finish I guess you go hungry til next meal. As long as she's gaining don't baby her. She will start eating. Pick out a few toppers and rotate. 
I also noticed she eats better with my other dogs near her. 


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

The puppy won't starve herself enough to cause harm without a medical reason. If she's only eating half a cup at a meal then that's probably all she wants to eat at that moment. You mentioned eye goobers, if she's not feeling well then she's not going to want to eat just like when we have a cold or flu. Has she been dewormed at least twice?

Personally I don't have a problem with toppers; I just make sure they are healthy ones. I feed Fromm's four star grain free line (which my extremely picky eater poodle loves) and swap flavours each bag, really it doesn't need toppers but I like adding variety. I use warm water, Tripett (canned tripe), raw egg, coconut oil, salmon oil, greek yogurt, and sometimes a little meat or vegetables if I'm making dinner at the same time. 

Personally I'm not a fan of pack feeding just for the sake of adding competition. I think that would create a stressful environment and could easily lead to resource guarding. Each of my dogs has their own bowl and is fed at the same time about 10' apart. Delgado eats much faster than Jazzy but the rule in my house is no bugging the other animals when they have food or a treat. My family has 8 dogs (9 if my parents have a foster) and if we are all visiting together they get fed at the same time. Same rules though, they all eat from their own bowls and there's no bugging another dog until they are finished.


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## mydogs (May 4, 2012)

I wouldn't pack feed either at her age. My 6 dogs have own bowls and fed same space apart. They know not to go near the others. My puppy though will stop eating and roam so I put her back to her dish. She will finish hers when they are done or with me kneeling by her. She loves Greek yogurt so if I even add a smear of it to get her to finish I do. 


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## wolfie13 (Jun 14, 2014)

I'm having this same problem where mine won't eat much, I'm trying to get him into a better weight. I'm actually going to try different more high quality food and see if it sticks, also planning to top it with 100% pumpkin, yogurt, and carrots. I plan on alternating each topper just so he will eat more.


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## mydogs (May 4, 2012)

wolfie13 said:


> I'm having this same problem where mine won't eat much, I'm trying to get him into a better weight. I'm actually going to try different more high quality food and see if it sticks, also planning to top it with 100% pumpkin, yogurt, and carrots. I plan on alternating each topper just so he will eat more.



I use a different topper each meal but always a drop of yogurt. Tonite was the Instinct raw beef medallions just 5-6 pieces. 


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

I think it was Joanne Plumb that imparted this nugget - in all her work with dogs, she's yet to see on starve itself to death.

Put the food down. Dog doesn't eat. Pick the food up until next feeding time. Repeat as needed.


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## mydogs (May 4, 2012)

middleofnowhere said:


> I think it was Joanne Plumb that imparted this nugget - in all her work with dogs, she's yet to see on starve itself to death.
> 
> Put the food down. Dog doesn't eat. Pick the food up until next feeding time. Repeat as needed.



Well back to square one. Not babying this pup anymore. I put her food down she sniffed walked away. I picked it up. I have 5 other dogs to worry about. She can stay hungry. Not leaving it down for 10,15 mins or coaxing her to eat. You eat when I put it down or you don't. Now she can wait until noon. It's frustrating. Maybe to teach her a lesson I will wait for dinner. 


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## mamajag (May 1, 2014)

We had this issue with Gretchen when she first came home. She wouldn't eat. I offered food 3 times a day for 10 minutes with her restricted to the kitchen during that time. She learned to eat when food is presented. She didn't starve herself. Gretchen is now 18 weeks and has been doing two meals a day for a while. She weaned herself off of lunch at about 15 weeks. If she's not eating I'd keep offering 3x a day, though.

Now I give her 1/2 can of wet food mixed in with her kibble, but I do that because she truthfully isn't all that fond of dry food or dry treats. She'll eat without it, though. She just doesn't enjoy it as much.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

I didn't read through all the posts, so I apologize if this is a repeat but I know in my experience (and from what I've heard from others) many dogs just don't seem to like Wellness. My parents dog, who scarfs just about anything you hand her, stopped eating on wellness. 

That being said. I think we worry too much about our dogs eating and actually create picky eaters. She has realized that if she doesn't eat, you will offer her something different, perhaps even better than her last meal. And something tells me that when its not meal time, she is still getting plenty of snacks throughout the day (ie treats)...So in other words, she is not starving. She is waiting for the better offer. The problem with growing puppies is I'm not so sure about skip meals, if she were an adult I would say go tough love all the way. No treats, no extras, she gets 15 mins to eat and then the food is taken away...However that is not recommended with puppies. Just remember switching her food all the time will only create a picker eater...If you can get away with just adding a bit of wet to every meal, that maybe the way to go.


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## Mister C (Jan 14, 2014)

mydogs said:


> Well back to square one. Not babying this pup anymore. I put her food down she sniffed walked away. I picked it up. I have 5 other dogs to worry about. She can stay hungry. Not leaving it down for 10,15 mins or coaxing her to eat. You eat when I put it down or you don't. Now she can wait until noon. It's frustrating. Maybe to teach her a lesson I will wait for dinner.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I agree with your approach.

My old dog Maddie was a very picky eater. We catered to her and it grew progressively worse over time. 

My new pup refused his breakfast the first week we had him. I took it up after 10 minutes. He ate very well that night. 

A couple of days later, he refused another meal. But when I reached for his bowl at the 10 minute mark he rushed his bowl and started eating hungrily. Ha! He hasn't refused a meal since.

Btw, we are feeding the pup pre-made raw (K9 Kravings). We made our own food for Maddie (she ate like a queen) but oddly enough, near the end of her days, the only thing she would eat was cheap dog food.


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## mydogs (May 4, 2012)

Well she ate her entire dinner. I give zero treats throughout the day. She hadn't eaten since 7am. She gobbled it up. I won't be catering to her anymore. It's kibble with a spoonful of canned or yogurt. No more switching or coaxing her to eat. 


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## evilpirateduck (May 21, 2014)

Thought I should go ahead and make an update on this thread, despite it being much later than I probably should have.

In response to the 'Eat it or don't under the next meal' method, I had tried that. Simply put, boyfriend thought that it wasn't fair and that we would 'stunt' her if we continued. So, for his peace of mind (and my sanity), we went on adding toppings etc to her food. She's currently 10 months and 76 pounds and if I hear that we stunted her from him I might punch him because she's already OVER the standards top end. >n>

However, now, it seems she may have grown out of her picky stage. Lately, I've simply been putting the bowl down with either a little bit of shredded mozz in it, or an egg, and she has no problem downing the bowl. Granted, I've also reduced her portions by about a cup (she seems to eat 3 to 3 1/2 cups a day no problem, but 4 was too much). She also has been getting better with eating in the morning, which had been a consistent problem in the past.

I totally agree with the idea that, in over worrying, I created a problem. Now that I've sort of just accepted it and gone with it, it seems to have slowly disappeared, for which I'm grateful.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

I was pretty sure you weren't going to report that the dog starved itself to death....  Thanks for the update. Boyfriend needs a whack on the head, eh?


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## evilpirateduck (May 21, 2014)

I had hoped she wouldn't be the same way the breeder's first shepherd was!

Supposedly, Tabitha would literally REFUSE dog food, even with tidbits and toppers mixed in, to a point that she would lose weight. He said he let her go almost a week and a half once and she simply snubbed the bowl every time, no matter how hungry she was, no matter how often she was vomiting from an empty stomach. He had her vet checked, too, and they found nothing. Though, she was also... mentally unstable. I think she was the one that had chewed all of her littermates tails off, so... Her mental condition might have had a part in that, too.

Eventually, he just figured it was easier to feed her what he ate, and he's a darn good cook. He was also single, at the time, so it made little difference to cook for two.

I'm REALLY glad I don't have that problem lmfao. It would have been horrible to deal with, since I'm having a hard time cooking for US, let alone her as well.

... Yeah boyfriend needs a kick in the ass. His view of the purebred world is... disjointed, to say the least. It's frustrating to hear him talk about the akc as 'discouraging the ownership of dogs who do not meet standard' and that 'dogs who don't meet that standard are the second class citizens of the dog world'.

He comes from an entirely different environment when it comes to dogs, though. He grew up feeding really crappy food and not training or walking the dog and thinks that, because his dog was great and lived to be 15, all dogs are the same way. -sigh-


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