The dogs have been on Canidae since we changed it and have been doing great on it. Hunter who is now 68 pounds will eat anything has for Sierra she has not been eating the food, Hunter gets 4 cups a day and Sierra gets 3 cups a day but last night she did not touch her breakfast so she ate that for dinner. There is still a new non open bag of food left I was thinking we could change foods cause if we try and put something on it like wet food or a type of gravy she will want that all the time and we did try the warm water but then she got board with it, what should we do?
Dog not eating that much?
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So you don't find your dogs have any GI issues with the changes??I rotate between Orijen and TOTW flavors with different flavors of California Natural wert foods. My lab will eat anything, but my GSD needs variety
Both my GSD puppy and our mixed breed seem to get bored with their food, but I didn't want to change things and end up with "pudding poop".
Our previous GSD that has since passed ate the same food everyday for his whole life, but he had EPI, so he would have eaten anything as he seemed to be always hungry.
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Not much runny poo since I switch them into each other. For instance when I only have 1/4 a bag of TOTW left I slowly mix back in Orijen until the TOTW is gone and they are back on Orijen only. When the Orijen is almost gone I do the same with a different flavor of TOTW. I got sick of switching foods all the time thinking something was wrong with them and have found switching every 2-3 weeks is so far working best
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Great idea!!
We have gone through a great deal of trauma with our dogs over the last 2 years; lost one to lymphoma, lost the other 1.5 years later to complications after bloat/GDV surgery. Every time one of the dogs turns their nose up at their food, my "crazy lady" inside voice goes bananas thinking they have some horrible terminal illness. Yet my rational voice thinks that if I had to eat the same thing every day, I'd go nuts.
As we get to the last 1/4 of this bag of food I think I will switch in something different and rotate as you do.
Thanks for the advice!!
We have gone through a great deal of trauma with our dogs over the last 2 years; lost one to lymphoma, lost the other 1.5 years later to complications after bloat/GDV surgery. Every time one of the dogs turns their nose up at their food, my "crazy lady" inside voice goes bananas thinking they have some horrible terminal illness. Yet my rational voice thinks that if I had to eat the same thing every day, I'd go nuts.
As we get to the last 1/4 of this bag of food I think I will switch in something different and rotate as you do.
Thanks for the advice!!
what kind of flavor of evo should we get them? Last night Sierra did eat but that was at 9 at night and she did eat today this morning, and I even see Hunter acting different he eats anything well almost anything and how I have seen him take some food and like spit it out like a toddle then eat it again I guess it is his way of saying this old stuff again.
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I recently started rotating with Orijen LBPuppy for Stosh- he got bored with his usual brand, was barely eating, wasn't gaining weight. I would leave the food out overnight and he'd pick at it. I imagine the cooler weather has helped, but now he's eating like mad and loving the Orijen mixed in. And I started picking up his bowl after about 20 mins and giving it back at the next meal, now he's sure to eat it when he has the chance.
today or tomorrow I will be buying some canned BB to mix into her food and see if she likes it. One time she ate rocks and my sister who is a vet tec brought over some canned pedigree to help Sierra cough up the rocks she did eat after hours of waiting on our part but Hunter kept on taking it, I know people say the dog will eat no matter what but Sierra is either picky or thinks she is a diva.
I got some canned she liked it but then we just eat the wet food, then we give her beef broth she likes it but we still have to tell her to eat my family and I have noticed with Sierra in the house she has bad gas but Hunter does not. So once again we are back at level one finding a food she likes I would get evo but with been owned by someone else I do not want it to change their formula, what other top grainless brands are there?
Nothing, do nothing, add nothing, change nothing, ignore her.
She will eat. Take the food away if she doesn't eat and wait till next feeding.
Don't give in, don't rotate.
Dogs don't get tired of foods, owners do. Why? I really don't know. I guess guilt.
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How do you know that? I'm seriously asking... is there a link that says they really don't?? I've noticed the same thing in Riley, she'll ignore her food that she's been eating since we got her, but she'll keep swiping mouthfuls of Tuckers food, which is totally different (brand and flavor).
I'm going to try the switching business anyway just because I know *I* like variety, I see no reason not to offer my Riley girl some variety, provided it's not turning her stomach into a disco.
I've seen more than a few threads on here that many folks do this.. sounded like a good idea to me.
ETA: I'm also going to grab some cans of moist food and really give her a party in her bowl. Tucker always turned his nose up at it... so far Riley hasn't shared his eating habits.
Because it makes no sense from a survival standpoint for an animal to get tired of a particular food. Eating problems unless there is a real medical issue causing it are created by switching foods all the time, mixing foods and using toppings.
When you change the routine, they expect you, as the pack leader to change it again and again.
It is simply ridiculous it use toppings and combinations of foods. The dog won't starve and by sticking with the routine you ensure the dog only eats enough for its caloric needs and you reinforce dominance.
It also better to stick to one food because the dog will always digest it more efficiently and you will save money and pick up less.
Same food, same time, same amount, same response....
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but there's no evidence that it's harmful to change their food? If it's not hurting her, I see no reason not to offer her variety.
why is it "ridiculous" to offer different flavors of food? Is picking up poop really that difficult? I'm not trying to be snotty I'm just really trying to understand why it's ridiculous to offer my pet variety. I give her everything else under the sun.
and does 'survival standpoint' even come into play here...?? she's not living out in the wild. She's lounging like a lazy fart on my couch while my kids sit on the floor. lol
Do what you want then. Keep worrying about what new flavor to offer her and keep dealing with dogs that don't eat. In my kennel, dog that don't eat go hungry until they comply with the rules.
Plain and simple.
I have a business to run outside of the dogs, kids to raise, charities to support, football games to go to, clay targets to shoot at.
The dogs do quite well and are quite happy here.
You are just wasting time and money. Try it my way for one week. The tails will be wagging and bowls licked clean and then you have time for something else.
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And back to the OP....
My understanding is that dogs will fast themselves. If my dog misses one meal, I don't get worried about it. if they stop eating completely, or start losing weight because they are refusing to eat their food and only eating a portion, then I get worried.
Although I agree to some extent that a dog refusing food goes against survival instinct, I do think that some dogs get bored with what they are eating. But I can't speak Dog so can't be 100% sure. Nor do I have any experience in animal behavior so I'm not going to pretend to know the answer to that.
I know I had a terrible time with Jax when she was on kibble. Some days she would eat, then go a week without wanting to eat. I finally went to RAW and haven't had a problem since.
Personally, I would put her food down. If she doesn't eat it in 15 minutes, pick it back up. As long as she's eating, drinking and behaving in a normal fashion, I would continue to do this. Are there any signs that she may be sick? Lethargy, vomit, diarrhea?
If this goes on for days where she won't eat, then you may have a problem. I would switch food but not because I think they are bored. I would switch because there might be something wrong with that food that they know about and I don't. Had that happen with a bag of food and I didn't pay attention until I had one lethargic dog and two other with bloody diarrhea. Switched foods and all were good.
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lol. I guess it's a good thing I have ample free time since apparently it's going to be a full time job purchasing dog food.
I don't see how I'm wasting money and/or time though.. regardless what I feed them, I still have to use money to purchase the food (and based on what I saw yesterday, all the foods I checked were within the same price range) and I still have to take the time to go get the food.
I don't think doing it this way is bad and your way isn't bad either (even though you seem to imply changing is bad). *shrugs*
I've been feeding my dogs "your way" all along... they aren't all that excited about their food like you think they should be. hence my investigating changing it up.
good chat though. glad it works well for you and yours.
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