# 10 month old Pup will not EAT, help!!



## CharlestonPirate (Jul 14, 2010)

Our pup has always has been a very picky eater, but now he has not ate in 3 days. Energy level is great; all he wants to do is play at my parent’s house with their dog. Anyone else have similar issues with their shepherds, sounds like a common problem with the breed?

We have tried several different foods over the past 10 months, dry kibble, wet the kibble with warm water, mixed can food in with his dry kibble, you name it, we have tried it. The boy will not eat on a regular basis!! Any suggestions anyone can share with me?


----------



## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

CharlestonPirate said:


> Our pup has always has been a very picky eater, but now he has not ate in 3 days. Energy level is great; all he wants to do is play at my parent’s house with their dog. Anyone else have similar issues with their shepherds, sounds like a common problem with the breed?
> 
> We have tried several different foods over the past 10 months, dry kibble, wet the kibble with warm water, mixed can food in with his dry kibble, you name it, we have tried it. The boy will not eat on a regular basis!! Any suggestions anyone can share with me?


Is he intact? If so, this is quite normal with the boys, all breeds at this age. You will make it worse by indulging him. If he is otherwise healthy, don't give in by trying a new food.


----------



## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

It is not normal for a dog who is getting plenty of exercise not to eat at all for 3 days. It is also not normal for a dog to go off of their food often. The only time I have ever had this happen was when there was a digestive issue or food allergy. Gsds are prone to a lot of digestive issues. 

What do his poops look like? Also, has he been checked for parasites recently?


----------



## Miss Molly May (Feb 19, 2010)

I went thought the same thing for the first 10 mths of Molly's life and it was always a struggle to get her to eat! We tried Wellness, Orijen and mixing Merrick canned food but nothing work. We decided to try feeding Raw and holly cow her apatite exploded she just loves it! Not sure if you have any interest in feeding Raw but it worked great for us!


----------



## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

BowWowMeow said:


> It is not normal for a dog who is getting plenty of exercise not to eat at all for 3 days. It is also not normal for a dog to go off of their food often. The only time I have ever had this happen was when there was a digestive issue or food allergy. Gsds are prone to a lot of digestive issues.
> 
> What do his poops look like? Also, has he been checked for parasites recently?


Excuse me? Intact males will go for days without eating. It is quite possible this boy was in contact with a female in season or there is one in the neighborhood. Let's hear the answer. This age is the worst for a number of reasons. We already know that in just 8 months this dog has been switched several times.


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i have never heard of this. why will an intact male not eat for days?
all of my GSD's have been male.



sable123 said:


> Excuse me? Intact males will go for days without eating.


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

my dog stopped eating on 2 different occasions. switched foods and everything was fine.


----------



## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

Oh boy!
ALL my boys go on hunger strike (except one) when a female is around in season!!
The one who doesn't...would prefer to eat AND breed the female at the same time!! LOL.
I've had one male go 5 days without more than a bite or two of food.....so YES, stud dogs can be a huge pain in the butt!
*as for the OP problem.....if one of our dogs "try" to get picky..(and there is no health reason)...we simply let them go hungry. We give them their food...wait 15mins...take it away until next day.
Most dogs get picky because they become spoiled...they "expect" a change of foods to become offered.
JMO
Robin


----------



## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> i have never heard of this. why will an intact male not eat for days?
> all of my GSD's have been male.


At that age 10 months they have hormone waves and they simply don't want to eat. At about age 3 it stops unless there is a bitch in season around, then all bets are off as to when they start eating again. There are always exceptions to this but young males with there gonads are notoriously inconsistent eaters. 

People make it worse by switching foods during this period. 99% of the time nothing is wrong with them except they are horny.


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

I have had GSDs who in their youth who were abysmal eaters. One spent a week at the university for tests only to find nothing wrong. Since then, I have known several who would refuse meals and only eat enough to maintain an embarrassingly thin frame. I would say it is not uncommon in my experience. Yes, the males are notorious for it but I know picky eatin' females too. 

This being said, it is important to not overlook a health issue. Is it possible for this to go on without a health issue? IME, yes.


----------



## Deuce (Oct 14, 2010)

He's a dog...he'll eat what you have down in the bowl when he's hungry  No, in all seriousness though I do agree to check into health issues before anything else.


----------



## Teecap71 (May 24, 2011)

Has anything come about this? Our 10 month old (still intact) is definitely becoming picky in eating. If this hormones intact thought is legit it almost males sense for ours. We recently put him into a day care to be able to get his energy out on work days when we can't be home for longer periods of time. They said he's been trying to get on every dog there...since then he's been eating alot less too. 

Were just worried bc he got skinny a few months back due to stomach problems and now he's not eating so he's staying thin.


----------



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I'd make sure there was nothing wrong (vet visit)... but if your pup WILL eat a treat like cheese/liver/pizza or something, then I'd guess it's just picky. And my Elsa wouldn't eat for DAYS and would lose weight and that was 'normal' for her. 

There are great suggestions on http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/feeding-our-puppy/162644-pup-doesnt-want-eat-picky-eater.html


----------

