This is a placeholder text
Group text
by live4schutzhund on 01 May 2012 - 00:05
Mona do you have GSDs? Sometimes people not familiar with the breed or what a healthy weight is mistake them for being thin.
Post photos
MVF - For real? Perfectly healthy dog starve themselves to death? Never heard of such a thing. Of course if there is an underlying cause for the lack of eating but simply because they are picky? I dunno. Eating is about the most basic survival instinct there is.
Not your dog, off to the vet.
If healthy, there is allot of advice on here from RAW diets to good kibble. I use Earthborne Holistic Lamb Grain Free. Fixed my dogs issues. Iams products I am not fond of at all.
Once your in the clear as far as health etc, give him canned pumpkin to stop the crapping, try the food I use and he's good to go.
Post photos
MVF - For real? Perfectly healthy dog starve themselves to death? Never heard of such a thing. Of course if there is an underlying cause for the lack of eating but simply because they are picky? I dunno. Eating is about the most basic survival instinct there is.
Not your dog, off to the vet.
If healthy, there is allot of advice on here from RAW diets to good kibble. I use Earthborne Holistic Lamb Grain Free. Fixed my dogs issues. Iams products I am not fond of at all.
Once your in the clear as far as health etc, give him canned pumpkin to stop the crapping, try the food I use and he's good to go.
by jra on 01 May 2012 - 03:05
Our GSD was extremely thin when we got her a year ago (she was 2yo at the time) and previous owners had a hard time getting her to eat. It took awhile and some trial and error, but I'm pleased to say that she now looks forward to her meals and even treats, which she had a take or leave attitude about.
Some things we tried after getting her to the vet for thorough check-up were: we changed the food previous owners had left with us (as she wasn't eating any of it), at vet's suggestion we added canned cat food to a new kibble which she started to show an interest in but it faded, tried mixing kibble with canned dog food which had about the same reaction as the cat food, and finally adding beef/chicken broth to kibble - she ended up preferring chicken broth. That was when she finally started to really eat. However, after awhile we noticed that interest in her food was waning again, but she did seem very interested in my other dog's food (hypoallergenic kibble), so we tried that. Strangely enough, that's what she eats and we didn't have to add anything to it. I'm not sure what it was, but suspect that the...fragrance? was part of it - the other dog's kibble has a stronger, and I'm guessing more appealing, smell to it (her original kibble and the one we switched to just didn't have much of a smell to them). I also wonder if maybe she was following the other dog's lead, so to speak, as she's seemed to learn/mimic quite a bit of what my other one does. <shrug> Recently, I've begun adding plain yogurt to their food and thankfully, she's still chowing down.
One other thing that we did was provide daily walks and more playtime than she seemed to be getting before - so maybe she hadn't been eating as much because she hadn't been expending as much, I don't know.
She's still on the smaller side (as everyone seems to point out), but at a healthy weight, looking much stronger, and not near as gaunt as she did before. I hope you're able to figure out and solve the problem. Good luck!
Some things we tried after getting her to the vet for thorough check-up were: we changed the food previous owners had left with us (as she wasn't eating any of it), at vet's suggestion we added canned cat food to a new kibble which she started to show an interest in but it faded, tried mixing kibble with canned dog food which had about the same reaction as the cat food, and finally adding beef/chicken broth to kibble - she ended up preferring chicken broth. That was when she finally started to really eat. However, after awhile we noticed that interest in her food was waning again, but she did seem very interested in my other dog's food (hypoallergenic kibble), so we tried that. Strangely enough, that's what she eats and we didn't have to add anything to it. I'm not sure what it was, but suspect that the...fragrance? was part of it - the other dog's kibble has a stronger, and I'm guessing more appealing, smell to it (her original kibble and the one we switched to just didn't have much of a smell to them). I also wonder if maybe she was following the other dog's lead, so to speak, as she's seemed to learn/mimic quite a bit of what my other one does. <shrug> Recently, I've begun adding plain yogurt to their food and thankfully, she's still chowing down.
One other thing that we did was provide daily walks and more playtime than she seemed to be getting before - so maybe she hadn't been eating as much because she hadn't been expending as much, I don't know.
She's still on the smaller side (as everyone seems to point out), but at a healthy weight, looking much stronger, and not near as gaunt as she did before. I hope you're able to figure out and solve the problem. Good luck!
by Blitzen on 01 May 2012 - 13:05
If it is established that this dog has no physical issues, then it's time to let him get good and hungry. No healthy dog will starve itself to death. Some wil not agree with this, they will feel it's cruel, and they will do everything under the sun to tempt their GSD to eat. Not me, unless she's sick, my dog eats what's offered to her and does it in a very timely manner, or she goes to bed hungry.
Pick a good diet and stick with it. Don't keep switching brands. Place a small amount in his bowl and offer it to him morning and evening. Don't let the bowl sit around for more than 5 minutes. Pick it up and either put it in the fridge until the next time or dump it in the trash making sure the dog sees what you are doing. Repeat. If possible, feed him within a few feet of a dog that eats like its on death row. That may encougage him to dive into his food too.
It can take days and he may become a drama king rolling his eyes and acting as if he's so weak he is going to faint. Don't buy it, when he get hungry enough he will eat a bowl of gravel. He may never be a "plump" dog, he may not be genetically programmed to have much body fat or to be a big eater.
In between, no treats, nada but fresh water. GSD's are notoriously picky eaters and if you keep mixing all sorts of stuff with his food to try to get him to eat, it will never end. Either you win the battle or the dog wins; that is always the owner's option.
Pick a good diet and stick with it. Don't keep switching brands. Place a small amount in his bowl and offer it to him morning and evening. Don't let the bowl sit around for more than 5 minutes. Pick it up and either put it in the fridge until the next time or dump it in the trash making sure the dog sees what you are doing. Repeat. If possible, feed him within a few feet of a dog that eats like its on death row. That may encougage him to dive into his food too.
It can take days and he may become a drama king rolling his eyes and acting as if he's so weak he is going to faint. Don't buy it, when he get hungry enough he will eat a bowl of gravel. He may never be a "plump" dog, he may not be genetically programmed to have much body fat or to be a big eater.
In between, no treats, nada but fresh water. GSD's are notoriously picky eaters and if you keep mixing all sorts of stuff with his food to try to get him to eat, it will never end. Either you win the battle or the dog wins; that is always the owner's option.
by laura271 on 01 May 2012 - 14:05
Yes to absolutely everything Blitzen said!!!
Senta is a notoriously picky eater who is also ironwilled. She's gone six days straight without eating because she didn't like her food (and I feed raw). This last round she went three days without eating but I handled it better. I simply ignored her- I offered food and if she didn't eat it then I calmly picked it up and put it in the fridge after 10 minutes ...no words, no encouragement, no drama. The food relentlessly re-appeared the next day at dinner time until she ate it. She also got to watch Bosco scarf down his food outside ...he eats every meal like it's his last minute on this earth complete with loud, satisfied grunts (like OMG! this is so darn good...nummm nummm!). I haven't had any food drama with her since I got tough. With Senta, catering to her pickiness just escalated the situation. My responsibility ends with providing her with appropriate food, if she doesn't eat then it's her choice to be hungry.
(and yes, she was checked out by the vet to make sure that there weren't any underlying health issues)
Senta is a notoriously picky eater who is also ironwilled. She's gone six days straight without eating because she didn't like her food (and I feed raw). This last round she went three days without eating but I handled it better. I simply ignored her- I offered food and if she didn't eat it then I calmly picked it up and put it in the fridge after 10 minutes ...no words, no encouragement, no drama. The food relentlessly re-appeared the next day at dinner time until she ate it. She also got to watch Bosco scarf down his food outside ...he eats every meal like it's his last minute on this earth complete with loud, satisfied grunts (like OMG! this is so darn good...nummm nummm!). I haven't had any food drama with her since I got tough. With Senta, catering to her pickiness just escalated the situation. My responsibility ends with providing her with appropriate food, if she doesn't eat then it's her choice to be hungry.
(and yes, she was checked out by the vet to make sure that there weren't any underlying health issues)
by Blitzen on 01 May 2012 - 14:05
Atta girl, Laura. If she's like most GSD's she's not finished trying to out smart you and it will happen again. Stick to your guns. Man must always triumph over dog 
by Von Ward Kennels on 01 May 2012 - 14:05
I rescued an Amer. line shepherd years ago that would not eat when I brought her home. she became very stressed and would not eat at all. I
took her to the vet, they ran MANY tests and after $2500.oo they still could not figure out what was wrong. They said they wanted to test her for dissimilated aspergilis which would cost another $2000. or so for the biopsy. I had never seen a dog so skinny. she was at the vets for 5 days and would not eat for them.
I decided to take her home and try the raw diet. Well lo and behold she ate and ate and ate. After a year I had to watch that she did not get too fat! I am so thankful I did not pay for the extra testing.
And by the way, the people who had her before me were feeding her the GSD eukanuba. She would not touch that food for me. So the stress started the no eating but ultimatley the natural diet brought her through.
I have been feeding raw and TOTW ever since. Best diet I can feed. I currently own 6 adult, 1 ten month and 1 ten week old. All Gsd's and ALL extremely healthy.
took her to the vet, they ran MANY tests and after $2500.oo they still could not figure out what was wrong. They said they wanted to test her for dissimilated aspergilis which would cost another $2000. or so for the biopsy. I had never seen a dog so skinny. she was at the vets for 5 days and would not eat for them.
I decided to take her home and try the raw diet. Well lo and behold she ate and ate and ate. After a year I had to watch that she did not get too fat! I am so thankful I did not pay for the extra testing.
And by the way, the people who had her before me were feeding her the GSD eukanuba. She would not touch that food for me. So the stress started the no eating but ultimatley the natural diet brought her through.
I have been feeding raw and TOTW ever since. Best diet I can feed. I currently own 6 adult, 1 ten month and 1 ten week old. All Gsd's and ALL extremely healthy.
by LSU mom on 01 May 2012 - 16:05
You need to get blood work ASAP. It might be kidney failure. They quit eating, loss of weight and increase water intake.
Contact information Disclaimer Privacy Statement Copyright Information Terms of Service Cookie policy ↑ Back to top
