[nagdu] Not eating

[Meghan Whalen]

I know you haven't had him long, but has he done this before?  It took 
four months with my second shepherd to get her on a reliable eating 
schedule.  It was really hard for me, but I decided she would eat when 
she was hungry, so I gave her about 20 minutes to eat, and if she 
didn't, tough cookies until the next meal.  If she had a completely 
empty stomach, she would throw up bile, so if she missed breakfast, I 
would just give her a treat around lunchtime so her stomach was not 
completely empty.  I gave it later in the day so that she would not 
learn that not eating earned her a treat.  When we were somewhere where 
would have a very full/busy schedule, like a convention or something, I 
would maybe crumble a treat and mix it into her food if she did not seem 
interested, but that was only when I was worried she would be working 
too hard and burning too much to be held over by one treat.  This is a 
shepherd thing, and if you have only had him for a short while, he could 
have reached a phase where he realizes this is not short-term, and the 
stress of the new adjustment has caught up with him.  You could also try 
feeding him half as much as he usually eats for a few meals to get him 
in the habit of emptying his bowl.

Just a few tricks/ideas that have worked for me in the past.  Of course, 
if you think he is sick, disregard all of this and take him to the vet.  
Good luck!

Meghan


On 2/12/2012 2:35 PM, Mark J. Cadigan wrote:
> Not eating
>
>
>
> Hi,
>
>
>
> My dog is being extremely picky about eating over the past 10 days or 
> so. He has gone a few days without eating anything. He is still 
> drinking water, and will eat treats with no hesitation.
>
>
>
> As you may know, I am feeding him Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Food, Hi 
> Prairie Canine Formula with Roasted Bison & Venison.
>
>
>
> Out of desperation I tried filling his bole with some of the remaining 
> natural balance salmon and sweet potato, Fidelco provided with the 
> dog, with the same result.
>
>
>
> I will fill his bole with food, put it out, leave it there for 45 
> minutes or so, then put it back in the food container untouched. This 
> will go on for 4 meals, and then I decided to make him eat. I sat 
> there, and fed him out of my hand for the entire 2 cups of food. This 
> has happened twice, in the past 10 days. One would suspect that after 
> the 2nd day, he would be quite hungry. I am concerned there is 
> something more going on hear besides him just being picky. Instead of 
> eating, he chews on his bone and stares at the food.
>
>
>
> Suggestions, comments, ideas?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mark
>
>
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