# 6 months old and is stubborn about eating



## Drewbacca (Jan 6, 2014)

Hey all, my Roya will be 6 months on the 26th and has recently been extremely fickle about eating her food within the past few weeks. She went from eating 5 cups a day to barely 3. This has become an extremely irritating chore to coax her into eating, especially considering she used to wolf down her food. I'm not really worried about her weight, she was weighed at 57 lbs 2 weeks ago, but she's a growing a pup, so i'm more worried about her getting the necessary nutrients and calorie intake she needs. She's currently on Merrick grain-free puppy, and has been since the beginning of december. There's also an inclination from the vet that she has an allergy to chicken protein, considering she's been itchy from day 1, and every food she's been on has been chicken based, so I'll be moving her onto something non-chicken based in the very near future. 

I'm not a believer in giving my dog something better time after time when she turns her nose up at what i feed her. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but i've read stories of owners jumping through hoops for their dogs and i have neither the time nor budget for that. Obviously i'm not going to feed her crap, and I'll add whatever if there's a health benefit from it (ie coconut oil, egg, yogurt), but she also has to eat when i feed her, not when she feels like it. Does this sound familiar to anyone? What kibble would you recommend?


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## Debanneball (Aug 28, 2014)

I feed Fromm Gold LBP. My boy is picky also! I have tried all kinds of toppers from yoghurt to crunched up treats..cheese..left overs. Some days he would eat one cup, the next four.. Many times I sat on the floor coaxing too. Don't know why I worried, it appears he ate what he needed, he didn't starve, close to 8 months his weight was 79.8 lbs...


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## RICO (Oct 11, 2011)

My situation was different, health reasons, but look into The Honest Kitchen dehydrated food. It's expensive, but worth it. I used the Zeal, it's a limited ingredient, and did wonders for my boy. If you mix it with kibble you'll be able to stretch it, and hopefully it'll make his/her food more inticing. Now I feed Merrick grain-free kibble, I was able to take him off THK after he stabilized.


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## nezzz (Jan 20, 2013)

You are making her a fussy eater by trying to coax her to eat. Always keep your dogs on a feeding schedule. Set the bowl down for 5 mins and if the food is not gone, take it away and feed the leftovers without filling up kibble for the next meal time. They need to learn that they cannot eat as and when they want to.

Also, 57lbs at 6 months sounds huge, are you sure you aren't overfeeding?

With regards to the chicken allergy thing, was that something your doctor said based on an assumption or was there testing involved? I wouldn't switch foods so soon until an allergy test was administered. Additionally, have you talked to the breeder regarding this allergy and found out what they were feeding and if the littermates had this problem too?


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

It is not the dog that is being stubborn, in my opinion. 

If the dog is sensitive to chicken and is continuously eating food that has chicken in it, it is making her more and more sick.

This happened to me and the dog eventually stopped eating altogether. 

I would immediately change to a food that has no chicken. There is a reason she is refusing to eat.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

IMO healthy dogs don't just stop eating because "they" are being stubborn and holdng out for the good stuff. I don't believe dogs wake up one day and think "if I don't eat my kibble today I will get something much better", unless you've always jazzed up their food and suddenly stop. Even then I don't see healthy dogs going days on end without eating just hoping for extras.

Your dog is telling you there is a problem. You can continue to discipline her for letting you know there is an issue, or you change to an appropriate food with no chicken and see if that resolves the issue.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

I meant to add that I've had 2 dogs refuse meals regularly, both had medical reasons for doing so. Dealt with the medical issues and problem solved.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

also, trying to "coax" a dog into eating usually has the opposite effect. It makes the dog nervous and less likely eats more often than helps. The dog picks up you being nervous about the food and doesn't know what is wrong.

have her checked out by the vet. be sure she is healthy. find a food that she likes. then stick with it.


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## Drewbacca (Jan 6, 2014)

nezzz said:


> You are making her a fussy eater by trying to coax her to eat. Always keep your dogs on a feeding schedule. Set the bowl down for 5 mins and if the food is not gone, take it away and feed the leftovers without filling up kibble for the next meal time. They need to learn that they cannot eat as and when they want to.
> 
> Also, 57lbs at 6 months sounds huge, are you sure you aren't overfeeding?
> 
> With regards to the chicken allergy thing, was that something your doctor said based on an assumption or was there testing involved? I wouldn't switch foods so soon until an allergy test was administered. Additionally, have you talked to the breeder regarding this allergy and found out what they were feeding and if the littermates had this problem too?


i'm afraid i misused the word "coaxing". what i really meant was as of lately, (the last few weeks) i've had to redirect her toward her food for her to eat. she'll sniff, do some sort of "imaginary burying" of her food with her nose, then walk away. eventually she'll eat, or graze a little, after being redirected a few times. she's always on a feeding schedule. i keep the bowl down for no more than 15 mins with a few redirects before i pull the bowl up and is given at the next meal. trust me, i don't promote free eating. that was the first thing i did when i got her was put her onto a feeding schedule and routine. maybe too much time to eat, but she's on a schedule.

i can assure you that 57 lbs for her size isn't huge. she's very lanky, almost dopey, and very lean. her parents are about 80-90lbs so she's expected to be big. i'm definitely not overfeeding either, i'm going by what the merrick bag says, and adjusting accordingly. she's not even eating what the bag's guidelines dictate

as far as the chicken allergy is concerned, it was based on an assumption. however, i've talked to multiple vets (she's seen 4 already regarding her itching) and that seems to be consensus given that every food she's been on has been chicken based. each vet has also said that they can't allergy test until she's 2, because it would be inaccurate given she's a puppy and it's something she could grow out of. i switched to grain free 3 months ago, apparently it takes 90 days for the allergen to leave her system entirely. clearly it's not grain because there's been no relief. i talked to the breeder, and of course my dog is the only one he's heard an issue about. aside from her itching, she's very healthy. stools are fine, very playful and happy and has a great temperament.


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## Drewbacca (Jan 6, 2014)

Saphire said:


> IMO healthy dogs don't just stop eating because "they" are being stubborn and holdng out for the good stuff. I don't believe dogs wake up one day and think "if I don't eat my kibble today I will get something much better", unless you've always jazzed up their food and suddenly stop. Even then I don't see healthy dogs going days on end without eating just hoping for extras.
> 
> Your dog is telling you there is a problem. You can continue to discipline her for letting you know there is an issue, or you change to an appropriate food with no chicken and see if that resolves the issue.


i have to disagree, but then again, there are two schools of thought to everything dog related. regardless, her food will be changed to something non chicken based. what are your thoughts on fromm lamb and lentil?


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

My first thought to ease the itching, no grains, as well as controlling proteins easily, would be a RAW diet.

As I don't feed kibble, I can't give you any suggestions. There are many here that can, hopefully they will speak up.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Drewbacca said:


> i have to disagree, but then again, there are two schools of thought to everything dog related. regardless, her food will be changed to something non chicken based. what are your thoughts on fromm lamb and lentil?


That food has lentils, peas, chickpeas, and more peas.

Aside from that, it contains egg.

There was a food that had fish that was recommended here, I will look for it and let you know what it was.

As far as allergy testing, the dog doesn't have to have a full-blown allergy to react to a food. They can simply have a sensitivity. It will get worse and worse and worse as the dog is exposed repeatedly to the thing that is causing the sensitivity.

Last but not least, if a dog makes burying motions when presented with a food, they are clearly not wanting to eat it for a good reason.

What I don't understand is why people get so upset about this and insist that the dog eat what it doesn't want to eat.

How would you like it if someone who controlled your food gave you something you didn't like, every single day? Just because it's a dog doesn't mean it can't have food aversion.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Fish-based foods:
Orijen 6 fish, Canidae Salmon, TOTW Pacific stream, NB fish/potato, Wellness Ocean, Evo Salmon/Herring, Acana Pacifica. 

Check the ingredient list to make sure it doesn't have chicken, chicken meal, or egg.


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## Drewbacca (Jan 6, 2014)

Sunflowers said:


> Fish-based foods:
> Orijen 6 fish, Canidae Salmon, TOTW Pacific stream, NB fish/potato, Wellness Ocean, Evo Salmon/Herring, Acana Pacifica.
> 
> Check the ingredient list to make sure it doesn't have chicken, chicken meal, or egg.



great thanks. will def try a fish based food


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