# Need Help - Max will not eat dry food



## max&me (May 16, 2009)

OK, I am having some problems with feeding Max (GSD 14-15 wks old) and any help / advice will be much appreciated.

I was slowly switched him to Chicken Soup for Puppy Lovers and he really didn't much of it and started getting runny stool. Then put him on a 24 hours fast and gave him cooked rice and chicken meat mashed together and he was fine.

then I wanted to transition him to better food and got him Royal Canine for Large Breed Puppies and he wont touch it. Then I tried to go with even better food, Solid Gold Wolf Cub for Large Breed Puppy and he seems to only eat it when he really has to.

Today I went back to chichen and rice cooked and mashed and he finished it in 2 seconds. I even put together with the Wolf Cub dry food and he didnt touch the dry food.

Even when I give him some canned Nutro chichen type food which is moist, he eats if immediately. I was started to worry that he is sick and thats why he is not eating. But eats certain type (usually non-dry type) food with no problem. Could it be that he just doesnt like dry dod food? If so, what should I be feeding him on a regular basis that he may like.

Please help so I can make sure Max doesnt go hungry and he is getting his nutrition.


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## Iannotti (May 17, 2009)

My pup has the same problem..I went from Merrick Puppy Plate and a whole bunch of different types of Merrick canned which she liked, but isn't really ideal for a gsd pup..I than changed to Buffaloe Blue LBP and she didnt care much for it, I than started mixing it with premade raw from Natures Variety, and she would eat it, but wouldn;t touch the dry..The BB gave her loose poops, and has some grain which I wanted to eliminate, so I tried wellness, didnt touch it...Than after more research I settled for Orijen Adult and LBP..If she doesn;t eat now, tough [censored], I killed myself enough over it. I still mix with the premade raw and she eats no problem, if its an all dry meal I tend to mix with some warm water and she seems to eat it when its wet.


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## atravis (Sep 24, 2008)

Mulder was an extremely picky eater at that age too- still is, actually. 

We were having the same issues as you are- healthy appetite, but only for raw and canned wet foods. Wouldn't touch Wolf Cub (despite being the primary feed of his breeder), and Natural Balance/Royal Canine gave him very runny stool. 

Eventually I got him on AvoDerm chicken/brown rice puppy food, and he seemed to do quite well. I liked it enough to switch over to Adult formula when he was a littler older, and he's still on it today.

Its the only food I've found that he'll eat voluntarily, though it does make him gassy sometimes.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

If the wet food worked, why not stick with it by adding it on top of the dry stuff? Is that an option for your budget?

Also, one thing i noticed is you seem to be switching the dry foods way too much and too often for a young puppy. My advice wouldn be to stick with a good dry food (avoid the royal canin and nutro if possible) with some quality canned and let him get used to it. 
Also, if he likes the chicken and rice, keep feeding that for a little and slowly add the dry stuff so you don't upset his stomach. Every day add more and more dry until he's eating just the dry stuff.

Can you explain how you're feeding and how often? I'd feed 2-3 meals (preferably 3 meals at that age) per day. Give him 10-15 minutes to finish his meal. If he isn't done with his food by that time, too bad. Feed at the same time and the same place every day. A healthy dog isn't going to starv himself, so he'll eventually start eating. From personal experience, this method works wonders for a puppy who doesn't want to eat at first.


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

I went down Jerzey's food and add a little garlic... that seems to help her want to eat. Good luck!


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

I have found that adding a tablespoon of canned to the dry and mix it in so it coats the food works.Mine aren't thrilled with there dry food either.


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## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

Minnie won't eat her kibble dry, but just yesterday I found a good solution. I was going to mix in some wet food just to get her to eat it, but then I spotted the parmesan cheese in the fridge door and decided to sprinkle some on. Well, she ate it all, and today she did the same thing. I don't think a little grated cheese is going to hurt, and she loves it. Yea! Give it a try - it's way cheaper than mixing in wet food all the time!


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## DSudd (Sep 22, 2006)

The problem with mixing things in with the kibble is if you stop mixing in the stuff (even water) you run the risk of the dog not eating it. You also run the risk of them deciding they dont like th food with stuff mixed in it. Yep learned the hard way.

Rocky get his food (kibble with nothing mixed in) for 15 minutes. If he doesnt eat it, he waits until the next meal. If he eats all of his food then he get a treat, sometimes a piece of cheese, a frozen hot dog, or even steak, just depends.

Yes until you find the right food they can be stubborn, DH finally decided he wanted to try Royal Canin and Rocky loves it. We dont have issues with him eating anymore. 

I agree with Lucy Dog, it does seem like you are changing foods an awful lot though. Normally once you make a change in their food it takes several weeks before their bodies completely adjust to the new food. 

OH and they wont starve either. They will eat when they get hungry enough, Rocky has actually held out for 2 days before waiting to see if I would give in and give him a "treat".


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## max&me (May 16, 2009)

thank you Lucy Dog. Yep, I know I have switched too much. Just trying to do the best I can and it has turned this way. Some guy at the pet store first told me to go with the Chicken Soup brand. Then I started reading many discussions on food on this site and while they all have pros and cons, i narrowed it down Royal Canine. He definitely didnt like that. The I read that Solid Gold Wolf Cub is also very good, so I changed again thinking that I am upgrading all the time. Cost is not much of an issue. I am feeding 3 times a day. Given some responses, I did the mix it with grated cheese thing this afternoon and it kind of work. I hope it works. Thanks for your help


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Buy Merrick's canned dog food and mix in a tablespoon or two with his food. I guarantee he will eat it. 

And who cares if they turn up their nose at plain kibble? It's not going to hurt them or you to mix canned and fresh foods into their kibble to make it more interesting and palatable. I wouldn't want to eat that stuff day after day either.









I don't think it's good to let a puppy go on a hunger strike. My cousins did this (because he "would eat when he was hungry") and their puppy became emaciated! I was shocked that on my next visit his hip bones were sticking out! I gave them a can of my dogs' food and they started mixing it and their pup started eating and has had a healthy appetite ever since. They always give him canned mixed in now.


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

A few comments. The trainer I work with would tell me to keep the kibble up and eventually Max will eat it.

My personal thoughts are to add a small amount of yogurt, unprocessed virgin coconut oil or a bit of raw food, such as chicken breasts or hot dogs. Regarding the former two, mix the oil or yogurt with the kibble.

I do wet the kibble a bit.


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## eddye mack (May 29, 2009)

The bottom-line is if Max gets hungry enough, he will eat. He may not like it but he will eat it. Max seems a little spoiled. I also have a 8 month old Max that is spoiled. What about BARF? Good luck.

ed


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## Taylor (Apr 7, 2009)

I do mix in some wet with dry occasionally. but overall my dogs know they have to eat it try. I do put in about 1 tsp plain yogurt, 1 raw egg and some raw carrots 1x a week. also, they get 1 raw meaty bone 1x a week. They eat their kibble just fine.


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## Mozart396 (May 11, 2009)

I used to sprinkle some dried liver on the kibble to get him interested. Bottom line is that if he's hungry enough, he'll eat it. My 4 yr old (non fur kid) is the same. I guess my kids haven't the will to go on a hunger strike.


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## StarryNite (Jun 2, 2009)

My pup had the exact same problem, I had to mix the nutro canned with the dry nutro large breed puppy to get her to eat it and her stools were VERY runny. I switched her to Taste Of The Wild Prairy formula and she just gobbled it down first time (I couldn't get her to eat any kind of dry before that). Now she gobbles it down like it is the canned food and her stools are just as they should be. 

I have also heard others who have said the same thing about this food, it is also no grain.


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