[nagdu] annoying behavior

Tue May 25 17:40:09 UTC 2010

It is my understanding that shepherds can be prone to bloat, and one of
the ways to guard against bloat is to feed 2 small meals rather than one
big one.  Just a consideration.
Tracy

> If you do decide to reduce the number of meals per day, just be carful
> that
> she does not get an empty stomach.  Some dogs will vomit if they do not
> keep
> enough food in their stomachs.  The solution to this is, as mentioned in
> another email, to give them just a small snack, which can be something
> bland
> and low in protein such as milk bones, or to give them pepsid, but,
> usually,
> neither the dog nor the owner enjoys giving the dog pepsid (from personal
> experience).
> Lexia used to play the feed me from your hand game with milk bones.  She
> would eat her regular food from the bowl, but she would not eat her milk
> bone snack from her bowl, so I basically did the same thing with picking
> up
> the bones and getting closer to the bowl.  Eventually, she got the idea
> and
> stopped insisting that I feed her that way.  However, being a lab, she has
> never had a lack of interest in food.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Cathryn Bonnette" <cathrynisfinally at verizon.net>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 6:17 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] annoying behavior
>
>
>> Hi Marsha,
>>
>> I've handled 2 shepherds who were not interested in food.  What I did
>> was
>> to
>> eliminate 1 feeding time at first. A healthy dog will not refuse food
>> forever. You could try fasting Emma for 1 day so she should be hungry,
>> then
>> offering her food in the morning and leaving it down for a specified
>> time
>> period. They suggest half an hour or so. If she doesn't eat it, put it
>> away,
>> and try again at the next feeding time. Since cat food has approximately
>> 9
>> times the calories of dog food, and can cause heart problems, I
>> personally
>> would take the cat food up during Emma's feeding times, but that's just
>> me.
>> I have had 3 shepherds so far, and all of them like to eat out of my
>> hand.
>> The way I handle that is to start the dog eating with 1 or 2 pieces of
>> food
>> in my hand. When that is gone, and the dog sniffs my hand for more, I
>> take
>> another few pieces out of the bowl and let the dog eat it. After the dog
>> has
>> the taste of the food, she will want more. I keep my hand close to the
>> bowl
>> or even over the bowl as the dog eats. After 3 or so repetitions of
>> this,
>> the dog sniffs for more and I only have 1 piece in my hand as my hand
>> rests
>> in the bowl so the dog will transition to getting the food from the
>> bowl.
>> As
>> far as wanting you to be n the room, I think that is just social
>> behavior.
>> When my dogs act that way, I have put their food down when    we are
>> fixing
>> and eating a regular meal so the dog can eat at the same time. (That
>> assumes
>> you are being consistent about no begging.) Since I eventually
>> discovered
>> that the food problems were health related, the behaviors were
>> persistant,
>> but these techniques worked.
>>
>> If you like, contact me off list at catthrynisfinally at verizon.net.
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Cathryn Bonnette
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Marsha Drenth
>> Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 10:13 AM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> Subject: [nagdu] annoying behavior
>>
>> Hi Listers,
>>
>> Emma is having a bit of annoying behavior, and I am not sure how to
>> solve
>> this problem, thus why I am writing.
>>
>> I feed Emma twice a day, on a pretty regular basis. She gets her food in
>> the
>> kitchen every single day. So in other words our routine is very normal.
>> I
>> even put her food in the same spot almost every day. She is a shepard
>> granted, so maybe this is normal. I am not sure.
>>
>> So for the problem. If I am not standing right there with her, she will
>> NOT
>> eat her food. If I am needing to do work at the sink, or some place in
>> the
>> kitchen she is fine, but once I walk away, out of the kitchen she stops
>> eating. And in some cases has gone for the cats food. I have caught her
>> in
>> those situations, and given her a nice firm Fooyie. I have even offered
>> her
>> the cats food, and when she goes for it, given her a Fooyie. Its
>> annoying
>> because, I would like her to eat, and for me to go on with my business
>> of
>> the day. Not to stand with her and hold her hand while she eats. If she
>> walks away from the food, I do not give her the chance to go back to it.
>> And
>> if I am not in the room, and the cat is, she will chase after the cat,
>> and
>> again not eat.
>>
>> I know, I know, shepards aren't that interested in food, but I want her
>> to
>> eat. Emma definitely falls into the GSD's who do not care about food.
>>
>> Any suggestions on this matter. I am more concerned with her not wanting
>> to
>> eat while I am in the room. The cat food bowl is across the room, not
>> next
>> to her, so she has to leave her food to get to it. Maybe I am over
>> reacting
>> in this matter, its just annoying!
>>
>> Thanks for any suggestions in advance,
>> Marsha and the Emma brat!
>>
>>
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