picky eater - Page 1

 My pup just turned 4 months old.  When we brought her home she was eating Royal Canin Maxi Baby Dog.  We switched her to the Maxi Dog Large Breed puppy a few weeks back.  She was eating fine, about 4 cups a day.  For the past few days, she has gone off her food.  Just a nibble here and there.  I pick up her food if it hasn't been eaten in 15 minutes.  She could go for a day without eating.  She is pooping and peeing fine.  Would the large protein content in the large breed puppy be filling her up with just a few bites?

 It is not uncommon for dogs to eat less now and then, or even not be hungry. I often find people overfeeding their dogs for the amount of exercise the dog is getting. If the dog is otherwise fine, then I suggest just reducing the amount you are feeding. Also, just so you know, RC makes a special variety for German Shepherds. I have found that feeding the Large Breed food for GSDs on a steady diet does not give them the best nutrition for energy and coats.....

Many of the large breed puppy foods are for dogs older than 4 months.

You may find that the amount you are trying to feed too much or the larger kibble is just too much work for your puppy.

Protein content wouldn't be doing it.  Did you mix in the previous food with the new food?  Sometimes a sudden switch can cause finicky eating.  If your weather's been hot and muggy, that can also cause dogs not to eat as well.  Exercise levels, teething issues, etc. can also be a factor.

We had a puppy that was finicky.  She's 1 1/2 now and still is to some degree.  We found that  either mixing in some Natural Balance dog food roll, some cooked liver, or liver sausage usually does the trick.  I like to add "real" food in the form of meat, veggies, yogurt, etc. and that often will get a puppy (or dog) to eat.  I wouldn't worry if she has been eating regularly.  We've used RC Large Breed Puppy for several of our puppies and it's a good food.  It's gotten really expensive lately though, so we've switched to Blue Buffalo brand foods and our dogs really love this food; actually moreso than RC.

Are there any other dogs around her at feeding time?

That's a lot of Maxi-Puppy for a 4 month old GSD.

SS

Sounds like she may be teething. Her gums would be sore and its uncomfortable to eat.

Soften her food up with some warm water for about 10 mins. and add some raw ground meat or a quality canned food to entice her appetite.

It could also be the food itself. RC is owned my Mars I believe and you can bet the quality of ingrediants are not very good.

I wouldnt use a kibble that doesnt garentee they use human grade ingrediants. If you new were the ingrediants come from, and the poor quality they use you might be a bit disgrunted with what you put into your dogs.

Good luck with you pup.

Yup RC is not a very good quality dog food. Try Canidae or Innova.

Before feeding Canidae, check out this consumer affairs link. Canidae has changed their formulas and the new formulas are making many dogs sick.  The lady I get my dog food from, told me Canidae WAS her top selling dog food, but now buyers are bringing half bags of food back and wanting their money back because the new formula has been causing vomitting and diarreha.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/canidae.html

I've been hearing alot of bad things about Canidae recently. Shame too as they have always been a good food.

My dogs only get kibble 2x a week along with suppliments. The rest of the week they get raw meat and bones. The only reason I even give them kibble is with their suppliments or when we are traveling and can not brng the meat with us.

We have always had great luck with Natura products (innova, california natural, evo).

Feeding raw is cheaper then feeding a good kibble, a bit more work (packaging it all up) but well worth my time knowing that my dogs are eating the best they can. Their coats look so shinny like they have been dipped in oil, mucle tone is fantastic, bright clear eyes and very clean white teeth. My shepherds hardly shed at all. Energy levels and stamina are off the charts.