[cocowooten]

My GSD is 4 years old- female. She tends to be picky. For so long now she will only eat her food if we take the time to pet her- which is getting old. She will lay next to her food for a while then leave without eating it- if she doesnt get love. This is getting out of hand, and we have stopped giving in. I am thinking she is just picky and being a baby- but at the same time I wonder if she is sick? and thats why she doesnt want to eat. The only time I saw her eat like a normal dog was when we changed their food to Royal Canin but that only lasted a few days. What do I do?

 

[DSudd]

If I know there is a reason Rocky is not eating, like he got a special treat and he would rather have treat food then dog food I don't do anything. I know he will eat when he gets hungry.

First I would have your pup checked for a medical problem. If that is not it, maybe she just doesnt like the food. We have been through numerous foods between Rocky's allergies and him just not liking a food.

 

[WiscTiger]

I got Raya when she was 8 months old, I thought I turned her into a picky eater, but I FINALLY figured out that she will only eat at night.

I tried different foods, she likes Royal Canin GS-24 with just a little carrot shredded in it. She loves carrots.

I had two GSD's who wouldn't eat if they were in the room alone, the female just wouldn't eat, but the male would grab a mouthful of food and bring in the livingroom or kitchen where we were.

Is there a time of day where she is more interested in food.

If she is just being stubborn, then try giving her a reduced amount of food, giver her 1/2 hour, then take the dish away. No treats, no goodies, no food until the next scheduled feeding.

Tough love.

When was the last time she had a good check up at the Vet?

 

[dd]

Have you checked her for allergies? You may think she's being picky, maybe the food makes her ill or gives her indigestion. Have you tried different foods with different ingredients and checked her reaction?

dd

 

[cocowooten]

Yes, about a month ago we got her all checked out and nothing was showing up. She has always been picky and it seems like the morning is the worst. She seems to eat if stay in the kitchen with her but lately she wont even eat then. At night she seems to eat fine- not problem. She eats any treats I give her as well. This morning I gave her 1/2 an yr and then took the food away. I just dont want her thinking she can do whatever she wants and "rules" us. I want to move them off the royal canin cuz the 3rd ingredient is starch or something not good. I started mixing Nutro but I dont think they like it. I heard there was a GSD kind of Eukanuba- but its a bit pricey. Not sure what else they may like???

 

[WiscTiger]

Well when I mentioned to DH that I was going to try another food, he asked for which dog and I said all four of them he expressed his displeasure with me messing with Raya's food because she is eating. If he wasn't such a nice guy I think he would just

on my head a few times. I do have mixed feeling about trying to change her so we will see what she does with a different food.

I might just bite the bullet on Royal Canin's price increase, I think we are going to see more price increases in all dog food. Heck can you go to the store and not have your grocery bill bigger than it was say 3 months ago.

I wanted to see what Cheyenne did when the GS-24 dropped in the fiber content. She did better on the higher fiber content so that is one of the reasons I am looking for a different food.

I don't have any major issues and really very few minor issues with the dogs on Royal Canin GS-24, just want to see if something else might work a little better.

 

[roxy84]

it could be as simple as the food itself. id get as many samples from whoever sells good quality kibbles. there might be a food out there that really appeals to your dog and you just havent tried it. for some, mixing in some canned food does the trick.

 

[BrennasMom]

Brenna can sometimes be a baby as well. I don't coddle her, I make her sit, put down the food and tell her OK. If she doesn't eat her food I wrap it up and she gets the same bowl for her next meal, at which point she's usually hungry enough to eat it.

I used to baby her, I'd hand feed her her entire meal if I had to, but I just don't have the time or the patience so instead I figured she'll have to learn to eat like a big girl. lol