Male not eating during bitches season - Page 1

About 3 weeks before my female went into season my male would not eat, nothing is wrong with his health I've taken him to the vet and all checked a ok. But about three weeks before her season my male would not eat, so I started boiling hamburger and put the broth and meat in with his food and he would eat. Now we are a week into her season and the only thing he will eat is plain meat, he won't eat rice, or dog food, he picks out only the meat and leaves everything else. I'm asking for opinions on what to try to feed him cause he is starting to look really thin. Currently I'm on wits end to try to get this dang male to eat. Also how long after she goes out of season should I expect this. This is his first time around a female in season, and she is to young yet to breed. Help please.

It is not unusual at all for a male to go off his food with a bitch in season, what I think is unusual is somebody's timing is off.... How does he act around her? Most really young dogs don't even know what's going on... so the duration to me seems way too long. Our male will tell us about a week before anyone would be going into heat, meaning he would be hanging out in front of the suspects crate and being all cute and playful, (by that I mean actually discharging) and that's normal since the girls release pheromones around that time to announce to all eligible boys that something is happening.... Is it possible your bitch has been in longer than you thought? It is easy to miss especially in young girls.. Is is possible to separate them if this makes you so crazy? He is still eating something and he will recover his weight after she is done.... Are you sure he doesn't have pano or something else?? I know you said you had him checked out but I don't know what that means unless xrays and blood work were also done.. I know they are both young but how young? I'm just throwing things out here.... you might also consider having him miss a couple meals and see if that helps give his appetite a boost.... or start feeding raw most dogs will not turn that down no matter what is going on around them!! Keep us posted

DiKah is right on with her post. I have one male, only one of several, and when a female is in heat, he will not eat. Because I have several females and their heats can follow one another, he won't eat for days on end unless I "bribe" him with hamburger or canned food or something special. No dog will ever starve itself to death, even when females are in heat. So do not worry about that. But DiKah is also correct that your timing is likely off. Most males, unless very young, know exactly when the time is right and that is typically when you see a male not wanting to eat. Good luck.

As I look at the vet bill and think of the timing, things have been chaotic with deaths in the family, it started about 1 1/2 to two weeks before. My male is two and my female is 9 months. He had a complete blood work up about 2 days after no eating, and all came back normal and nothing wrong. He was still eating the burger kibble mix until 5 days into the season of her. When he started acting funny, like letting her have the ball, biting her back, trying to herd her so he could mount her, I kept a close eye on her to make sure she wasn't swelling. Right now after the 5th day of season he went for three days without eating, that is why I was getting worried and I can now see all his ribs, which is more what I was concerned with. But I think I am going to try some canned food, and see if he will eat that. But thank to all who have replied.

My male as a female goes into heat starts hanging around there kennel run and actually will throw up food to feed the female. As it gets fully into there season he stops eating at all. Since I have on occasion females go back to back heats he does get skinny but eventually eats a little to keep his strength up. After they are out he goes back to eating and puts the weight back on. With a nine month old female, the heat could be very light as far as discharge. I would not take the chance of leaving them together at all as she is way too young to breed. Mike