I can't get my pup to eat!

[Lesley Gilks]

Rigsby is now 9 months old and is in rude health.  He's developing a beautiful, shiny coat and gets on great with all the local dogs.  I've restricted him to a short runs and longer lead walks and I'm looking forward to exploring more of the countryside in the next couple of months.  My main issue is that he won't eat.  He is what I would describe as "skinny" rather than "thin" and even after a more strenuous walk, he sometimes will not eat.  To begin with, he was on the standard Royal Canin junior mix but I was feeding him 3 times the recommended amount so put him on the more rich biscuit but he turns his nose up at it.  I've tried reducing the amount and mixing it with tripe, I've even tried a standard biscuit but with the same result.  Any suggestions will be gratefully received!

[Howard Glansfield]

I have had the same problem with various setters over the years and the only advice I can give  is to try various things until you find something that Rigsby will eat.Arthur is now 17 months old and is ,like Rigsby, thin but healthy.He is a tall dog and only weighs 28k.He seems to like his food rotated so for a week he will eat one variety of dry food then he refuses that and will eat another.This is for his breakfast and supper but for his main meal  he always eats original Pedigree Chum mixed with some Tuna....which I have to hand feed...ugh!

I have sort of stopped worrying and I think that is part of the answer as, I am pretty sure ,Arthur eats better when I am not worried.If he refuses to eat then I remove his food and he is learning that that happens.

My other two will ,now,eat anything put before them! But didn't when puppies.

[Wim Dokter]

Mabey he finds it to hard to eat?

Mabbey try an other brand?

[Fran Griffin]

One of the main problems people with MANY breeds of dogs have is that they are trying to feed a carnivor diets which are chocked full of grains and bulk, then they wonder why their dogs are regularly turning their noses up and then walking away from it, or picking at it when they realize there is nothing else on offer.

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html

Humans are the ONLY species on the face on this planet that eat cooked food.  Over the years, humans have become dependent upon sugar loaded carb loaded foods and now diabetes, cancer and  other diseases are epidemic as a result. The dog food industry is the end product of what has already gone horribly wrong with humans but worse - because we are omnivors - dogs are not.

Some raw foods can be almost as  bad as dry foods because they contain ingredients which will not give the animal the nutrients it needs to function properly,.  Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way.  Now my girl is on a GOOD quality raw diet, has digestive enzymes, she is doing amazingly well.  She would without doubt have been dead long ago had she been made to eat dry food which would have put even more pressure on her digestive system which was already faulty.

One of the people who attends my puppy classes had real issues with her husky puppy eating.  She switched him to Natural Instinct with meaty bones and organ meat, digestive enzymes, and you should see him now.  He is 6 months old just over 20kgs, and eating far less because what he is eating is providing him with  what he requires.  His owners have said how amazed they are with his behaviour.  He has stopped food stealing, going mad during the evenings, much calmer generally, and his puppy biting is nowhere on the scale it had been.  In fact they noticed a difference in just over a week ! Instead of chewing up furniture he now spends his time gnawing his meaty bones, which is exactly what I found with my youngest dog when she was that age.  My youngest is now 2 years old and if anyone says  that raw feeding is bad, dangerous and all the usual regurgitated mutterings then they want to come and see her and see the power and speed she is giving me in her agility training. My 5 year old male is drop dead gorgeous, and when people see the condition of his coat, they ask how on earth I have got it like that !  My older dog, who the vets said should have been dead by now, is racing around again, and yesterday I started doing some fun agility with her which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Please people - we are ALL biological systems which have evolved over millions of years to live successfully on this planet.  What ARE WE DOING??????

http://www.naturalinstinct.com/

http://honeysrealdogfood.com/video.php

Raw meaty bones - essential - organ meat - essential

My dogs thoroughly enjoyed lambs hearts for dinner yesterday that I got from the butchers,

Digestive enzymes from here:

http://www.evolutionorganics.co.uk/dr-mercola-healthy-pets/category

None of  this is as expensive as it sounds, as they eat less than recommended because it provides  them what their bodies and brains require.

[Lesley Gilks]

Thanks for all the feed back.  We've hit a golden patch as for the past two days he's eaten everything I've given him. 

He's gone off the Royal Canin I was feeding him so I tried Waggs which he has enjoyed.  I've also given him pasta with tuna/pilchards/sardines, which he really enjoys, and milk with egg yolks for a mid morning snack.  I think the key is variety and smaller more frequent meals.  I've also reduced his walks to gentle strolls so that anything he does eat is used to build him up rather than him running it off.

[Philippa Mockler]

you are doing great, but I would be careful of the milk , cus can ruin the stomach, maybe water it down, best of luck )

 

[Jennie Benstead]

I agree with Fran

My two oldies passed last summer and most of their lives left most of their dinners,  I spent a lot of money trying to get them to eat, I would throw away more than they ate.

Yes they had long lives Wilma was 16yrs and Penny 13yrs but were they totaly healthy no.

Ear infections bald itchy skin patches etc.

I started to research dog food and was so shocked at what I found even those most expensive ones are not good for our dogs.

 

I now have two youngsters who are on a total raw diet BARF.

They eat everything that is put down for them yes including the bones.

As I do all their food myself I know what they eat.

Rileys Coat is so shining I get stop in the street and asked what I put on it.

I say its not what I put on it, its what I put in him that counts.

I know there are a lot of people that dont agree but for me and mine this is the way to go.

And it do's not cost more.

Clearing up after them is also much easier as they dont do huge poops, puppy biting ended at a few months.

My only gripe is that  Riley is still a little sod lol. (would not want him any other way)

 

 

 

 

[Fran Griffin]

Haha,  I bet RIley's coat is just like Barkley's, Don't need fancy shampoos and things with him to enhance his coat.  You can almost see your face in it. It even has a blue sheen on it.  Can't understand why people are just not getting it.  The dog HASN'T evolved.  Their jaws still move up and down AND NOT side to side like an omnivour's jaws do.  Their teeth are sharp and NOT flat or a combination of sharp and flat like ours. 

It might seem hard, but I think people need the hard truth.  If you really cannot give your dog food which is species appropriate, then please get yourself a horse, or a rabbit, or something else which is not a carnivour.  Would you dream of pumping meat into a horse?  then please people - stop pumping grains into your dog.  You ARE genetically altering them, if some are surviving on a daily diet of it now, future generations WILL suffer.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315145/Is-pet-food-poisoni...

[Jennie Benstead]

Am in full agreement...

 

I must say it did scare the bejesus out of me when at 8wks they were crunching away on a chicken carcus / wings.

I have had people say to me that they can choke on bones and I say have you read how many dogs have choked on kibble.

My dogs also eat  fruit and veg Bananas are there fave( this is by choice as a lot of BARF feeders dont)

 

This is natures way and thats what makes it right.

[Deb Bouttell]

We do a mainly raw meat/ bones/ veg (done in the processor because it's easier to digest) diet with the odd handful of Arden Grange in the morning- with goat's milk which is easier to digest than cows.

Pleased to say they all eat well. We've had them in the past that just won't eat- very worrying but then if you worry you pass that to the dog so it's a vicious circle!

[Lesley Gilks]

Rigsby loves raw carrot and he has bones to keep his teeth clean.  I never clean his teeth and they are pearly white with no sign of tartar.  He also has a very shiny coat.  I fed my other setter oily fish and his coat was also luxurious so I put it down to the fish oils.

[Thomas&Merete-Kennel Alvertoppen]

When the dogs learn that the consequence of not eating, is that they will go hungry until the next day (or the day after), they very soon learn and will eat anything you feed them.

[Denise Brend - (Devacott)]

I have a bitch who will not eat enough unless she is hand fed. When given food to eat by herself she will go 3/4 days of eating nothing then eventually she will eat a tiny bit each time, not enough to fill a sparrow, so ended up just bones. Her energy level is amazing and she is fit and healthy according to the vet, but for me to be able to show her I have to feed by hand......but Im happy, but I just hope that one day she will get it!!!!!