# 5 months old gsd not willing to eat



## Lakshay (Jan 12, 2016)

Hi all. I have a 5 month old puppy. Everything is fine with him. He is active and all.
But fro. Past few days he is not willing to eat anything at all.
I feed him royal canin maxi junior 3 times a day. But he is not at all willing to eat.
A one time meal he finishes in 3-4 hours. Even only when he is forced to eat.
Sometimes when i add some boneless meat to his food. He wouls only pick up tge meat pieces and wont eat his food.
Yesterday i thought that he mighr not be getting full exercise thus his energy is not burning and his stomach is full so i took him for some light running after that he ate his food.
Today morning i did the same and for more time i took him for running but today again he is not willing to eat at all.

Please suggest something


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## Lakshay (Jan 12, 2016)

P.s - i take him out for walks after 1 hour of him eating food and just for 400-500 metres


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Might be feeding too much.. Especially if he gets snacks (biscuits, treats, snacks) in between... If no fever, vomiting, diarrhea etc, it is probably a phase.. Smaller meals 2x a day.. Activities should be at least an hour before and or after a meal if not longer, not directly before or after a meal.. Don't want gas in the tummy..


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## Julian G (Apr 4, 2016)

Well I wouldn't go running with him, pups need to take it easy on their bones. If you want to exercise him try a flirt pole. Was he eating fine before this? or is this something he's been doing recently? If it's recent then I would definitely take him to the vet. Could be a number of things, could be nothing. But I would want to be 100% sure. I would also give some raw meat diced in little pieces and sprinkle a little bit of salt on it. See if he eats that, if not, go to the vet asap.


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## Augustine (Nov 22, 2014)

If he eats the meat scraps, but not the food.. then I'd say the food is the problem. Or, he is picky and has been unintentionally encouraged to continue being so.

If there aren't any problems with the food (i.e. it's not expired or gone bad), then you're gonna have to give him some tough love. At meal times, set down the food. Leave it for about 10 minutes, then put it away again and do not give him ANY more food until the next meal time. Do this every single time you feed him.

My dog refused to eat for an entire day when I tried this on her, but on the 2nd day, she finally started to eat a little bit at a time. By the 3rd day, she ate every single drop of kibble I put into her bowl.

I have had 0 problems with her being picky since.

Also - if this is a new brand of food, then it _might_ just be that he doesn't like it. But if he has eaten this before without any problems, then yeah, sounds like you've got a picky eater on your hands. It's a fairly common issue.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

My GSD was the first dog that I have ever owned that was finicky about food. When he was tiny and growing like a weed he used to eat all kinds of treats, including fruits and veggies. I think all that variety may have contributed to his distinguishing fine foods from every day kibble..dunno.
I do know that my dogs are smart enough to play me. I'm not going raw, I used a good quality kibble. I add toppers, a boiled egg in the morning and some canned food (4 Health) in the evening. Sometimes chicken broth if I've steamed chicken. 
Whatever they don't eat at breakfast ( a small portion of food ) gets saved in the fridge for dinner. What ever they don't eat at dinner time gets saved for breakfast, but lately nothing has been left over from dinner. I think this nicer weather helps. Also, when it gets hot, dogs tend to eat less.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Are you in Australia?

Would your budget allow for a higher quality food?

*Royal Canine Maxie Jr*. is Grain based: Ingredients: Chicken meal, rice, corn gluten meal, brown rice, chicken fat, barley, wheat gluten, chicken, natural chicken flavour, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), sodium silico aluminate, psyllium seed husk, potassium chloride, dried egg product, salt, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), dried brewers yeast extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), monosodium phosphate, L-lysine, taurine, DL-methionine, choline chloride, glucosamine hydrochloride, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, niacin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2) supplement, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], Trace Minerals [zinc oxide, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite] , chondroitin sulfate, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of Vitamin E) and citric acid, rosemary extract.

*Compared to*

*K-9 Naturals* Ingredients: Beef, Beef Blood, Beef Tripe, Eggs, Beef Liver, Beef Heart, Beef Bone, Sunflower Oil, Brown Kelp, Flaxseed Flake, Beef kidney, Cabbage, Broccoli, Chard, Carrot, Cauliflower, Dried Kelp, Calcium Carbonate, Apple, Pear, New Zealand Green Mussel, Beta Carotene, Vitamin D, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Selenium Yeast


OR


*Ziwi Peak:* Venison – Meat (includes up to 3% finely ground bone) min. 50%, Hoki Fish min. 12%, Venison – Liver, Lung, Tripe, Heart and Kidney min. 28%, New Zealand Green-Lipped Mussel min. 3%, Vitamins (Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Hydrochloride), Chelated Minerals (Iron amino acid complex, Copper amino acid complex, Manganese amino acid complex, Zinc amino acid complex, Selenium Yeast, Potassium Bicarbonate, Calcium Carbonate).


You could also try Black Hawk - Grain Free kibble.



If you stick with the RC (or any other dry kibble) you can try the following:
*Purchase ground/minced meat. You can change to a different meat when one if finished. This gives the dog variety and interest!
*Put about 1/4 to 1/2 Cup of the raw meat into the bowl, add hot tap water and stir into a "soup" consistency.
*Add kibble and stir well.
*Let this set on the counter for about 15 minutes. The time allows the juice to soak into the kibble AND it creates an aroma the dog can smell and anticipate!
*Mix again before putting bowl down for him.
*Only allow the bowl down for 15 minutes. If he doesn't eat, pick it up and save in refrigerator until dinner time. Then offer it again.



Adding fresh meat will enrich your dogs diet with vital nutrients.


Moms


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## Lakshay (Jan 12, 2016)

Momto2GSDs said:


> Are you in Australia?
> 
> Would your budget allow for a higher quality food?
> 
> ...



Hello
I am located in india. And the best brands in food include RC OR eukanuba here. 
He would avoid food as much as he can. But if i add chicken to it he would gulp down the chicken and kibble to some extent. 
At the sane time he is hungry too. He would go to the kitchen and would find sometging interesting to it.
He just avoids kibble
And also how much should be the exercise time and distance
in one interval


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Lakshay said:


> Hello
> I am located in india. And the best brands in food include RC OR eukanuba here.


In India you can also get Holistic Select by WellPet, which would be a better choice.

It can be purchased here: Buy Holistic Select Nourish Puppy Anchovy And Online | Best Prices in India: Rediff Shopping Rs. 4,856.

I would still add some "ground meat soup" to his diet.  
You may want to slightly boil the meat, then cool before using. Make sure when boiling meat that you rinse it with clear water to remove the cooked fat before serving. The cooked grease/fat can cause diarrhea.

Moms


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## Oscar John (Mar 6, 2021)

2021 and I'm facing this very same problem. Did any of the above advise work? How is your pup today?


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## Orphan Heidi (Sep 21, 2018)

Oscar John said:


> 2021 and I'm facing this very same problem. Did any of the above advise work? How is your pup today?


Try upgrading your food. Lots of dry dog food is garbage and I don't blame dogs for going on strike and quit eating it.
I feed either semi-raw or home cooked food and my dogs have never refused any good food. But then they've never been fed dry dog food.
I think sometimes owners go for convenience and cost rather than what's good, healthy and tasty for the dog.


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## Oscar John (Mar 6, 2021)

Orphan Heidi said:


> Try upgrading your food. Lots of dry dog food is garbage and I don't blame dogs for going on strike and quit eating it.
> I feed either semi-raw or home cooked food and my dogs have never refused any good food. But then they've never been fed dry dog food.
> I think sometimes owners go for convenience and cost rather than what's good, healthy and tasty for the dog.


We have been giving her home cooked food as well... but she is really trying our patience


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## Orphan Heidi (Sep 21, 2018)

Oscar John said:


> We have been giving her home cooked food as well... but she is really trying our patience


What type of home cooked food? All meat? What does she really like?
I typically buy supermarket human grade meat- chicken quarters, pork ribs, beef ribs, canned salmon, canned fish, canned tuna, raw eggs, beef liver, chicken livers, etc. Most of meat is semi-cooked.


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## Oscar John (Mar 6, 2021)

Orphan Heidi said:


> What type of home cooked food? All meat? What does she really like?
> I typically buy supermarket human grade meat- chicken quarters, pork ribs, beef ribs, canned salmon, canned fish, canned tuna, raw eggs, beef liver, chicken livers, etc. Most of meat is semi-cooked.


The food is meat, beef, chicken... cooked with turmeric... she has stopped accepting brown rice...


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## Oscar John (Mar 6, 2021)

Now only accepting 2 meals a day... so we have increased the portion... also smuggle RC puppy kibble into one of the meals... just so that she is getting her complete diet


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

What does your vet say?


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## Oscar John (Mar 6, 2021)

WNGD said:


> What does your vet say?


The Vet says give whatever she eats. Also, he says that she is healthy.... So, the challenge of feeding her is our own


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Oscar John said:


> 2021 and I'm facing this very same problem. Did any of the above advise work? How is your pup today?


The OP has not been on the board since October 2016.


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## Orphan Heidi (Sep 21, 2018)

Oscar John said:


> The food is meat, beef, chicken... cooked with turmeric... she has stopped accepting brown rice...


Try cutting out the tumeric and see if it helps. Some dogs are very fussy about additional spices.
Have you tried any of the canned fish I mentioned above? Raw eggs?


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## Oscar John (Mar 6, 2021)

WNGD said:


> What does your vet say?


The Vet says that she's fine


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## Oscar John (Mar 6, 2021)

Orphan Heidi said:


> Try cutting out the tumeric and see if it helps. Some dogs are very fussy about additional spices.
> Have you tried any of the canned fish I mentioned above? Raw eggs?


Ok... No, have not given any raw eggs ( the vet didn't agree) and no canned fish either


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