# Refuses to eat except when hand fed



## cll (Aug 10, 2011)

Hi there,

I have Sam when he was 8 weeks old and have already decided to feed him raw (this is cause we have a Golden who is doing very well on raw). I thought that Sam will take to raw like our Golden and thought he would relish the chance to eat and eat and eat.

Most unfortunately. feeding time has been a challenge. We tried the cold turkey manner at first but he was losing weight. Fed him some premium kibble and help ease his transition but then he was also not feeding well. After a couple of days, we thought maybe we should hand feed him. So that is what we did! Hand feeding him now for almost 2 weeks and if we don't do that, he will just not eat. He shows total disinterest in food.

We are at our wits' end as to what to do. We have tried to crush the chicken thighs, we have tried to feed it whole, we have given all parts of the chicken and somehow, we end up feeding him most times. 

Otherwise he is active and loves to play.

I would appreciate any advice and suggestions.

Thanks.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

He is 10 weeks now? I would have him gone over by a vet to just make sure there is nothing physically wrong with him. 

Next..........*Stop* hand feeding him. You are creating a spoiled eater. I, personally, would probably have him go hungry (no matter if I was feeding raw or kibble), but this is not my puppy, I can not see how much weight he is losing, nor how much he could afford to lose (since most puppies are too fat). You have to decide for yourself what you are comfortable doing. I would put the food down for 15 minutes. If he eats, great. If not, pick it up and put it away until the next meal (I feed puppies 3X per day). 

I would make sure the chicken isn't ice cold and hack it up a bit with a knife so the pieces are manageable, but still large enough he has to chew. Have you tried any other RMB (like turkey)? Maybe quickly searing the meet (VERY quickly so it doesn't cook) will make it seem a bit more palatable. 

Maybe someone who has had a picky eater can jump in here. I have never had a pup or adult that wouldn't eat for more than one meal.


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## cll (Aug 10, 2011)

Thanks Lisa.

He will be 10 weeks soon. He is thin . Can feel his ribs too easily. My wife and I are tempted to let him fast but seeing him thin makes us hesitate. We did try to fast him once and he went without food for 18 hours and yet his problem recurred. 

We do feed him 3 times a day or rather try to ;(. Tried some beef and pork as well but he does not show much interest. We don't have turkey here so easily in this part of the world. 

We did as you mentioned with the chicken. But we have not tried searing it yet. We are planning to do that for his next meal. 

Wuld definitely appreciate any similar experiences or advice. 

CL Loh


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## BlackthornGSD (Feb 25, 2010)

Can you feel his spine/hips easily? You SHOULD be able to feel ribs--that alone doesn't mean he's thin. 

How much does he weigh? Does he have muscle in his shoulders and thighs?


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

I agree with the tough love approach. Assuming that he is otherwise healthy, he won't starve himself. Abby was a picky eater and we had to just suck it up and wait for her to decide to eat. She was also a slender-built dog so she looked thinner than she actually was. We put her on self-feeding ( MANY here will disagree with this) and there was/is always food available. She remained slender (still is) but never became thin or under-weight. The vet always says she looks great. She is now 2 years old 25 inches and 70 pounds. She eats whenever she wants to and never pigs out or goes hungry.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/members/paddyd-albums545-abby-picture7744-20110406.jpg


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## cll (Aug 10, 2011)

Abby is gorgeous. . 

Sam, is almost 10 weeks and he is around 13-14 lbs. Can feel his spine and hips. There is some muscles over both shoulders and hips. 

Just seared some chicken breast for him. Didn't eat up everything. Otherwise he is playful. 

We have a Golden as well. He keeps wanting to play with the Golden. 

Toys that move and wiggle appeals to Sam most. His prey drive is good but his food drive needs more working on lol...

Tough love sounds like the way to go. Our biggest problem with him eating is the lunch and dinner. Mornings are a bit easier, probably he his last meal was 12 hours ago.


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## DunRingill (Dec 28, 2007)

Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but 10 weeks and 13-14 pounds sounds small. I'd have a vet go over him....I always worry about dogs that aren't interested in food. All of my dogs are PIGS when it comes to food!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

If you are set on feeding raw to your pup, get some fresh(frozen) green tripe. Though you may have to order it, it can take a few days to get to you....tripe is a good nutritious kick start. 
In the meantime, I would maybe scramble an egg, melt some cheese over it and mix it with some ground meat(chicken if that is what you are feeding first). Chicken necks are usually what I start pup on, then go with the dis-jointed wings(they have less skin) on to the backs, or thigh, legs.


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## BlackthornGSD (Feb 25, 2010)

DunRingill said:


> Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but 10 weeks and 13-14 pounds sounds small. I'd have a vet go over him....I always worry about dogs that aren't interested in food. All of my dogs are PIGS when it comes to food!


It's definitely on the small side. I consider 13 pounds in the normal range for a healthy 8 week old. 

I agree with a vet check, check for worms, coccidia, giardia--just to make sure.

I would offer food regularly throughout the day, only for 15 min, alone in a crate, take it up after 15 minutes. I'd probably offer food up to 5 times a day.

If I were feeding kibble, I'd say to mix in some yummy canned food and water while I was worried about his weight. If your pup is interested in kibble and not raw, I'd feed kibble for now and offer raw regularly as a supplement and maybe transfer to raw once he is more mature and a better weight.

Either that or try different raw foods until you find something he likes....


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

BlackthornGSD said:


> It's definitely on the small side. I consider 13 pounds in the normal range for a healthy 8 week old.
> 
> I agree with a vet check, check for worms, coccidia, giardia--just to make sure.
> 
> ...


What SHE ^^^^^^ said.


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## cll (Aug 10, 2011)

Just an update. 

We decided to switch back to kibble and add some raw as a supplement. Gave him some kibble for his lunch and he took most of it. 

We have been playing hardball for the past 36 hours. He only nibbled his food and took in minimal. What we did was to bring our Golden in and eat with him. Sam, our GSD pup will tend to eat whatever our Golden would eat. It's still not enough. Barely 1/3 of what he should be eating. 

So today, we decided that just give him kibble and whatever else he would want. He still doesn't take to it ferociously as what we would expect a GSD pup to but it was still better that raw. Decided to keep at that for the next 2 weeks and assess the progress and may consider Raw then.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

What about adding some canned tripe (Tripett) to the kibble or a high quality canned food? My cousins had a pup who was starving himself--he was so skinny that I was really worried about him! They finally broke down and started adding a high quality canned food to his kibble (Orijen) and he started eating with gusto.


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## cll (Aug 10, 2011)

cll said:


> Just an update.
> 
> We decided to switch back to kibble and add some raw as a supplement. Gave him some kibble for his lunch and he took most of it.
> 
> ...


A good news to share.

We went to kibble and canned food as I mentioned after trying all sorts.

After 3 meals, I decided to add a bit of chicken breast and the chicken breast just disappear from the bowl. We also decided not to hand feed him and stop that completely. Left the bowl longer than the recommended 15-20 minutes.

We find that he does take his own sweet time to finish his meal. We decided not to pressure him and continuing mixing raw with his kibble and canned food. (I know some people do not recommend that). I slowly increased the portion of raw and then I discovered that only the raw meat is eaten and he left our the kibble and canned food.

Today I decided to be brave and omitted all canned food. Guess what?  He finished all of it in 15 minutes.

I really don't know what transpired this change of behavior. We speculated that he was getting hungry and the taste of canned food with kibble convinced him that getting a more original food is better .

Whatever it is, we are pleased.


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