please help...he's not eating - Page 1

hi everyone, this post is a little long, but if you could get throught it i would greatly appreciate your help. 

my pup is almost 10 months old, and up until a few weeks ago he's had a great appetite.  i feed him raw (twice a day) and give him supplements, and he used to eat just about anything i put in his bowl (about 3-4 lbs of meat per day, excluding bones and treats).  a few weeks ago he started being picky about what he eats.  he wouldn't eat as much at first, so i figured maybe he wasn't hungry or didn't get as much excersize as usual.  but then he started to skip meals.  it's a crap shoot...sometimes he'll eat, but usually he'll come up to his bowl when i give him the ok, takes a peek and a few sniffs, turn around and go back to his place.

is it possible that he's done growing and doesn't need to eat as much?  this is my first dog, so i wouldn't know. 

i also thought he might have had bloat or something.  he didn't go #2 for a little while.  he normally went 2-3 times a day, now he started going once a day (if i'm lucky). 

i should also add that about the same time this started happening he was let out of the house to play and do his business (i was at work) and he ran away.  he was missing for about 3-4 hours before he was found (and i had a heart attack on my way home to look for him).  the next couple days he wasn't really acting the same; he looked depressed.  he seems to be coming out of it slowly.  i'm assuming this could also be a reason he's not eating?

we also got another puppy about a month and a half ago.  they get along great (when they're not trying to bite eachother's throats).  they eat, run, and play together, share toys and take each other's bones.  could this have anything to do with him not eating?

please help   he's giving me gray hair, and taking years off my life

This may sound funny, but my dog, Theo von Ryan, will not eat in the house, he doesn't touch any people food from off the table, or take food from our plates, he doesn't get into mischief, he is very well behaved.   I was setting his food on the floor in his bowl saying go ahead eat up, & he would just walk away, so finally, I open the back door, put him & his food outside, and in minutes it's gone.  Some dogs don't like you to see them eating I guess............right now I'm trying to fatten him up on Bil-Jac dog food, he does love the taste, Theo plays hard too, he loves to fetch, but I guess he is just trying to be a good boy, nothing wrong with that!!!

LOL mine is the opposite, little princess hates to dine alone.  I am supposed to sit with her while she has her dinner.  She has me well trained to do thet too!

thank you for the reply mirasmom...i actually tried to feed him outside, on the deck, by hand, in the bowl, without the bowl, on the floor, on his bed, but nothing seems to work.   sometimes i give him chicken thighs and he usually gobbles them right up, but last night he just licked it a couple times and stared at it, then ran away to get a toy.

i should add though, he'll still chew on marrow and knuckle bones, he just won't eat food.

3-4 pounds a day???? thats a lot of food!!! raw bones, ie: turkey necks and chicken can bind them up. how many times a day are yu feeding? i would feed him once a day half of what you are feeding and give him 10 minutes to eat. after 10 mins. pipck up his bowl and move on!! build his drive for the food. lay off the marrow bones until he is eatting his food. good luck!!

My dogs go nuts over raw chicken anything, that's strange...... maybe he's a toy hog & is afraid the puppy is going to take his toys.  My girl Sam doesn't let any of the other dogs touch her toys when they're near her, she's a big beefy bitch, really one tough looking girl, she tends to put on weight like a lab does, I have to keep an eye on her weight.     Is your dog's weight ok, I wouldn't worry to much unless he started to lose some.  I would start feeding him once a day, probably in the late afternoon.   Oh and also make sure he's getting enough water, that keeps things going smooth!

I agree with CMassgsd   that's alot of food, if you do switch to feeding him once a day, cut some of that out.  Also, that's true about taking the food away after about 10 minutes, why should he eat it right up, when he thinks it will always be there for him to decide.    But feed him the same time each day so he catches on.

3-4 lbs a day excluding bones and treats is way to much food unless he's a 150-175lb dog..LOL.  He should be getting anwhere from 2-3% of his anticipated adult weight per day.  I have an 80lb adult that gets about 24oz per day, give or take and a 7month old (that I figure will be around 75-80lbs at adult weight that gets the same amount.  A certain % of that is RMB and the rest is meat & organs.  He's probably not eating daily because he's stuffed from one meal.

WestDog1  You cracked me up!!!!!!!!!!!