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My GSD is not eating/being very picky about her dry-dogfood

2K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  Quixotic 
#1 ·
I've gone through switching several times already in the past year since I've had her. I've already asked what are good additive to put on dry-dogfood to increase her appetite in another thread but nothing seems to stick. She'll eat for a couple weeks and then get picky again. I've tried every type of meat already.

I'm going to give it one more shot with switching from beef to Purina Turkey & Venison (recommended) and then maybe giving up trying to feed her dry dogfood altogether.

wondering if its OK to just feed her wet dogfood instead and only one can a day? Some things I've noticed are she will typically not have fully-formed stools on wetfood and I'm also worried about her teeth rotting or if she needs to chew to keep her gums healthy.

Thoughts? Thanks for the advice.
 
#12 ·
I've done this....it doesn't seem to work.

I simply CANNOT RELAX until she has eaten. I start to get worried but have had her vet-checked and all her results came back perfect. Vet said not to worry if she is normal weight (she looks great nowadays btw).

BUT THAT SAID....I get a lot of anxiety over her not eating for some reason.
 
#5 ·
Is the princess starving herself with the "wrong" food, would she look skeletal if you don't give in? I had a Whippet who sometimes just wouldn't eat his kibble, multiple times in a row. I planned to take him to the vet if he would skip four meals in a row. Never happened. I give my dogs a variety of food but refuse to give in to their demands. Good job doggy, training your human!👍😜
Give her the food of your choice and allow 10 minutes. If she leaves it alone, put it up for the next meal time. Don't bribe her with broth or anything unless you want that to be part of her diet. If she doesn't show up for her food, don't even put it down. They learn quickly.
 
#6 ·
We feed a mix of kibble and fresh meat. With no kids at home or in school any more, I can afford it, for now. If our job situations got impacted by COVID, then the fresh meat would be a thing of the past and they'd just have to eat the kibble.

Both our dogs seem to like Purina Pro Plan. We have fed that about 70% of the time, also some Fromm's Gold Large Breed. The male is 5 months, seems big for his age and eats voraciously. The female is technically still a "puppy" through 24 months, but her growth has tapered a lot. She eats slower, always has. Although they stay inside with A/C turned on much of the day, the older pup's appetite seems to slacken a bit in hot weather.
 
#7 ·
We buy a rotisserie chicken from Costco on a regular basis. We typically eat the breast meat ourselves and the rest of it goes to the dog. We can stretch a whole chicken over a whole week, taking a small handful of meat only, put it in a cereal bowl full of
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water, microwave to where it’s almost too hot to eat, and pour that over his food. He never leaves any leftovers lol I had a trainer tell me that pouring heated up water over dry food releases all the fats in the food so it tastes better, and it makes it easier to digest, that totally made sense to me. I feed Victor food (picture) and our 3 year old does very well on it.
 
#9 ·
Most create picky eaters by feeding people food, canned food etc. dogs will not starve themselves but will put on a show. Feed dog food only, I rote flavors of one brand as others said Give the dog 10 min to eat the food if not eaten pick it up and wait till next meal. They learn quick but some can play the game longer
 
#10 ·
I have found that my dogs will refuse to eat mid to high end foods. I started feeding them low end foods and they eat it with relish. I take the money I save and use it to supplement with fresh raw meat with bones.

Sometimes people by a large bag of dog food overestimating how much their dog will eat or out of convenience. The food can get stale, or even rancid, and the dog might be reluctant to eat it.
 
#11 ·
Yes, you can feed only canned. A dog’s natural diet contains so much more water than kibble, which is dehydrating.
It is a myth that kibble cleans teeth, on the contrary, the fillers in it are sticky and cling to teeth, causing decay.
Find a wet food that she does well on, and make sure you feed the appropriate amount for a dog her weight. The manufacturer will have instructions and recommendations.
As for chewing and cleaning teeth, a turkey neck once a week, raw, will keep those choppers shiny and sparkling.
 
#13 ·
Of course you do. It is not normal for a dog to refuse food. In general, dogs are pigs, and will scarf down anything.
That’s why they will hang out under the table, if allowed, and get into the garbage.
To me, if a dog refuses a certain food, there is a reason. They have such a keen sense of smell, and I trust that.
Eating should be a pleasure, something they look forward to, and do with enthusiasm. Find a food she loves, and mix it up. Add a bit of sardine packed in water. Add a few blueberries. Add a tablespoon of puréed pumpkin. Add a tablespoon of plain yogurt.
I will admit that for me, it is fun to fix meals for my dogs, and it gives me joy to watch them dig in as if they haven’t eaten in days.
 
#14 ·
My 6/7 month old started leaving her food this week or picking at it and then walking away. I almost wonder if it's something with the new bag (same food as before), as she never left the previous ones. However, to the pup's advantage, I've been cooking lots of bacon lately, and I have a Mason jar with grease in it. I decided to just leave it out and pour a tablespoon or so over her food--no delay then!

Bacon grease works for her.
 
#16 ·
Sabi would have eaten the fridge. She would have eaten until she exploded. Shadow may or may not eat depending on her mood, the weather, what's on TV.
If Sabs left food in her dish I worried. Shadow sometimes goes a couple of days without eating.
@Lauren Kelly your dog not eating is a you problem not a food problem. I suspect in a short time your dog will turn up her nose at this food as well. Then what?
 
#18 · (Edited)
@Lauren Kelly your dog not eating is a you problem not a food problem. I suspect in a short time your dog will turn up her nose at this food as well. Then what?

I read a petfood review of Purina Venison & Turkey, where someone said their dog also eats about 2 weeks of her more expensive dog food before getting picky & then she has to switch dogfoods. Just like my dog.

Then she tried Purina Turkey & Venison and it stuck...hopefully same result for me.
 
#19 ·
Willow recently stopped eating her breakfast; she would go outside and have the empty-stomach barf, but still wouldn't touch her breakfast. (She'd eat her dinner every day no problem.) I mentioned it to my trainer, and she said it was perfectly normal during hotter times of the year; they just kinda lose their appetite?

So I still try to feed her first thing in the morning like I've done since I got her, and if she won't eat it, I put it away and try again after her walk. Generally she'll eventually eat after she's exercised.
 
#21 ·
Seems like something pretty common (or so I've read)... it's like she gets nauseous and tries to make herself barf when she hasn't eaten in a while. Happens sometimes in the mornings before breakfast, sometimes during our afternoon walk before she eats dinner. I think there are theories out there that it's like...too much bile that needs to be expelled, or something.

Willow always eats grass anyway, regardless of how hungry she is, but yeah a couple mornings ago she didn't want her breakfast, I put her outside to pee/poop, she immediately ate some grass and then barfed the bile. Generally I'd say she only does it a couple times a month. But yeah, it's weird.
 
#24 ·
Some dogs get "empty tummy pukes", I have one. Yellow bile if her stomach gets empty for too long. It must be common enough because when I tell vets I cannot fast her the routine response is "oh she's one of the pukey ones"

BUT, I have had fewer issues with it since I got her off the potato kibble. Apparently potatoes can cause gut inflammation.
 
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