Food issues

[LissG]

Wolf is 7 months old. I usually feed him Orijen large breed puppy mixed with Fromm large breed puppy (the orijen was too rich for him to eat out right, so it's a 50/50 mix). All of a sudden he refused to eat his meals, but he was more then happy to run around like a nut, chase the cats, chase me, play tug, train, and eat lots of treats/bully sticks. I did take him to the vet, who got a urine and blood sample from him. The vet said he seems to be in perfect health as the blood has come back perfect (still waiting on urine results). So I'm thinking I have a picky eater. This dog normally inhales his food and is a bottomless pit, he'd eat anything....which is why him not eating worried me and I took him to the vet right away. Right now I just mixed peanut butter in with his food and he finally ate a meal for the first time in 2 days. Any suggestions on a high quality food that has different flavors so I can mix it up without having digestive issues (his tummy did NOT like it when I was trying to change him over from Fromm to Orijen).Or any suggestions on other things your GSD loves mixed in to make him eat his healthy food lol?? I just spent a fortune stocking up on Orijen and Fromm too *sigh*

[LissG]

oh and is it normal or common for a GSD (or any dog) to LOVE one food one day and then the next day not want to be bothered with it???

[chelle]

I really don't know, but I can say my dog occasionally just skips meals. He's fed twice per day and some days, for whatever reason, he just doesn't want to eat. He sniffs it and walks away. It is pulled up in 15 - 20 minutes and the next meal he always takes.

Two days might get me worried, though... but I don't want to "feed into" pickiness. For one meal I add a tablespoon or so of wet food and pumpkin. Peanut butter? Hehe, lucky dog!!!!

[LissG]

hmmm pumpkin....i never thought to try that!

[chelle]

Originally Posted by LissG

hmmm pumpkin....i never thought to try that!

The pumpkin is more about adding fiber, to get better poop. But you might consider adding a little wet food to pique his interest.

[qbchottu]

I have a picky eater that sometimes refuses dry kibble. I add a couple of tablespoons of canned food and add water to make a thick gravy. She usually inhales her food once I do this. I like Wellness 95% meat, Wellness grain free core or Merrick canned foods. My dogs like Merrick working dog stew the best (has green tripe). These brands are on the expensive side but you can easily stretch it out for days if you just add a couple of spoons a meal.

[LissG]

that's a good idea too! thanks!

[BlackGSD]

Originally Posted by LissG

oh and is it normal or common for a GSD (or any dog) to LOVE one food one day and then the next day not want to be bothered with it???

I've never had one do that. I've had GSDs for over 30 years, as well as dogs of other breeds and have NEVER had a dog that didn't gladly eat what ever I fed it. Even if it ate the same thing everyday for YEARS.

I will NOT jump thru hoops to get a healthy dog to eat. I feed them dry kibble, if they were to not eat it, they would get NOTHING until the next meal. No treats, bully sticks ect.... A healthy dog won't starve itself if it has food available.

[LissG]

Usually Wolf is like that-eating anything I put in front of him....his urine test came back and he has a little infection, so he's on antibiotics. Hopefully he'll go back to his chow hound self soon and not stay a picky eater!

[doggiedad]

on two occasions my dog stopped eating
his food. i think he stopped liking it.
i switched brands and he ate like a champ.
i mix a lot of things in my dogs kibble:

organic yogurt, cooked boneless and skinless
chicken breast, raw ground beef, fresh fish,
canned fish (in water no salt added), apple,
pear, blueberries, table scraps (no seasoning),
salmon oil (human grade), fresh sweet potato,
green veggies, raw egg, whole egg (gets the shell
ground), i could be missing something. i switch
his kibble often and there's always 5 or 6 different
brands of can food available. i use the can food
as one of the toppings for his kibble.