# Why the change?



## wakefield622 (Aug 17, 2009)

Mandy will be 6 months on Jan 6th. She weighs around 48-50 lbs. For the last few days she upped her food from 1.5 cups 2 times a day to 2 cups 2 times a day. Now this morning she would only eat 1 cup out of 2 and tonight...nothing. A few weeks ago you may remember she had yogurt in her food and I took that out and she seemed to enjoy the kibble better that way. Now were back here again. Do I just stick to the 15 minute rule as I have been and when shes hungry she will eat again? 

I always thought GSD's were "food driven" but she really is not. She is on Blue Buffalo Puppy. 

What would cause a dog to just not want to eat? Her poop is normal and her activity level have remained the same. I am thinking tomorrow morning to just give her one cup and tomorrow night one cup again.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Don't get concerned about it. They go up and down sometimes. Jax would snack on her food. Sometimes she would eat the whole bowl and sometimes I would put it up.

I would stick with the 15 minutes (or 30 minutes even) just so she doesn't start free feeding habits.

I only get worried if they stop drinking, are lethargic or vomiting. Being off their food isn't completely abnormal.


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

I agree with Jax08...I even encourage my boy to free feed because at 2 yrs he is only 60 pounds and leave TOTW down for him all day so he can snack. I just have to watch my piglet girlie to make sure she doesn't snack for him cause she is perfect right where she is but will eat till she bursts...your girl will be fine


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Sometimes they are hungry and sometimes not....just like us







Now that I've added RAW in the mix I've had NO problems with my dogs not eating when I put the food down for that sitting. I still do some kibble at night. Sometimes Cotton, my pickiest, isn't all that hungry at night so I pull the food up and put it down again later and then she eats. I wouldn't worry too much unless your dog completely refuses to eat. Do listen to your dog. There are plenty of folks that wished they had listened and there was something wrong with the food during the recalls of 2007 and later. Blue Buffalo did have a small issue with some cat food during the recall but they seem to be on top of things now. Had to use Google Cache to get this now:

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:kZ4a...n&ct=clnk&gl=us


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

Pups go through growth spurts where sometimes they are bottomless pits and they sprout up. Other times they back way off their food because their growth hits a plateau and their bodies do not need as much.


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## wakefield622 (Aug 17, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the information. I am going to not worry! & continue with the 15 minute rule feeding. I will update and let you know how she does.


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

Also, If i can add my 2 cents. Dogs also get bored of the same thing day in and day out. Maybe try adding a little bit of something new every few days. You would get tired of eating a ham sandwich for breakfast lunch and dinner...day in and day out.

I would try adding a small amount of cottage cheese, yogurt, cooked hamburger, raw egg, boiled egg, shredded cheese, chicken stock. Not all at once, but change it up a bit.


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## wakefield622 (Aug 17, 2009)

As soon as I posted I went outside to check her poop and it had tapeworms in it. So, it all makes sense now. Right before this happened her appetite increased to an extra cup a day and all of a sudden this! I also noticed she was pooping a lot more prior to this just didn't put 2 + 2 together. So, I assume she got this from fleas. We noticed her scratching and she has been treated with flea treatment as well as de-worming.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

What do you use for flea treatment? I like Advantix and if you are in a warm area then I would use it year round. I never, ever use an OTC flea shampoo. I had a cat that I had to just about drown getting the stuff off of him. He was foaming at the mouth, running in circles...it was terrible.

You may have to do a series of de-worming treatment to kill the worms in all the stages.

Is she on any heartworm preventative?


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## wakefield622 (Aug 17, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Jax08What do you use for flea treatment? I like Advantix and if you are in a warm area then I would use it year round. I never, ever use an OTC flea shampoo. I had a cat that I had to just about drown getting the stuff off of him. He was foaming at the mouth, running in circles...it was terrible.
> 
> You may have to do a series of de-worming treatment to kill the worms in all the stages.
> 
> Is she on any heartworm preventative?


Yes, she is on heartworm - HeartGuard. 

When Mandy was like 3 months old...We tried this "natural" spray flea preventative and it was terrible. My husband had to use dawn to get it off her...I then (which I should have done before using it as I do just about everything else!) researched it and it had so many complaints....It was called Natural Defense by Sentry. 

Advantix looks good. I think well give that a try!

We used Hartz for flea control...It worked on our cats so we thought we'd try it with Mandy...now of course I am regretting it hearing all sorts of bad things.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Hartz is terrible. That is the shampoo that my cat had a reaction too and many other people have noted problems with it. You would be much happier with Frontline Plus, Advantix (both include tick control) or Frontline, Advantage (only for fleas) and there is another one that alot of people use but I can't remember the name.


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## wakefield622 (Aug 17, 2009)

Mandy went to be groomed today and they told me when we picked her up they did not notice any kind of flea infestation. So..I am thinking maybe the Hartz we used killed the fleas? Why would she continue to itch? An employee at PetSmart heard my husband & I talked and asked what kind of food she was on & we told her Blue Buffalo and she didn't say anything after that...as BB is a good quality food. She said she could possibly have an allergy to something outdoors? Could it be the food? She is on her last bag of Puppy BB...When it is done we would like to switch her to the BB Wilderness. What do you all think? We also picked up a Brewers Yeast Supplement today to see if that helps w the skin/itching.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Instead of using brewers yeast(some dogs have reactions to it) I would use a human grade salmon oil along with 400iu vitamin E daily. You can give up to 4000mg of salmon oil daily for an 80# dog
That will help with the coat, along with humidity in your air to stop the dry skin/itching.


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