[JessicaR]

This dog is driving me nuts! She is refusing to eat again, she has done this most her life. I used to feed Diamond hi-energy, then decided to switch to the chicken and rice formula, 5 weeks ago they started to carry Victor brand dog food so I got the performance bag. Zelda was doing great, absolutely loved it, I could actually get her to eat 3 cups of it better formed stools. For a week now she is not eating like she should, only can get her to eat 1 to 1.5 cups total.
It is making me so mad, I finally started to get some weight on her she made it to 63 pounds (perfect weight for her), now she is back down to 59. Her hip bones are starting to show and you can feel her spine. She has been to the vet nothing wrong with her. When training she will eat the treats with great enthusiasm, of course since she has been not eating right for the past week she is trying to counter surf and get into the garbage, which she normally doesn't do.

I really hate to add stuff to her food to bribe her to eat, but I hate seeing her so skinny. I am also thinking of just rotating through the different types of Victor food, I will be needing more anyways next week. The problem is though I don't want to create a monster, where I have to keep adding more and more stuff to entice her to eat.

 

[gsdoglife]

Maybe she just doesn't like kibble?

 

[Arathorn II]

add some soft puppy food

victor does have soft food, but i dont think they have soft puppy

 

[Thecowboysgirl]

I've been through this with my dog. He is FINALLY doing great. He has been maintaining at a healthy weight and eating consistently for awhile now.

I do mix canned food into his kibble but I don't rotate or change foods for him. I did do that at one point.

He did have some stomach problems that went along with the appetite problems, but he is no longer having that either. I wish I had a concrete suggestion to help you and I don't-- my dog does get hungry when he gets thin and I had to just let the natural process happen. The more frustrated I was with him or the more I messed with his food or tried to get him to eat the worse everything got.

I also learned that too high fat in his food upsets his stomach a little. I mix Victor Multi Pro and Victor High Energy for him, and I change the percentage based on his activity level. When he is at his most active he eats 50/50 to maintain but if his activity level drops and I have to drop the fat too. That's what works for him, it's kind of a nutty thing but he eats regularly and his weight is healthy. I'll also drop his kibble amt a little if his exercise drops because if he eats his full ration without burning it all off he will be inclined to skip a meal. So I drop the fat and drop the amt a little and he keeps eating regularly

I guess because he burns it off-- extra fat doesn't upset his stomach if he's SUPER active. But if I feed him that much fat when he's less active it does bother him

ACtually I was really surprised the last time I took him to the vet he weighed 89.5 and I said to my vet i can't believe he weighs so much, I can see his ribs and I thought he was pretty lean. My vet said yeah but look at his muscle...he had had a very active few months and he basically looks like a body builder, his butt muscles are HUGE, so he weighs a lot but he still looks lean.

 

[dogma13]

I feed the same brand kibble to mine and rotate the flavors.Plus add the tiniest bits of whatever leftovers are handy mixed with a little water.They all voluntarily skip a meal occasionally but usually are excited to eat.They enjoy the variety.

 

[McGloomy]

Eugh. I feel you. My dog is the champion of picky eater. Last week, I finally pulled the plug and rewind everything. How? He was fed Victor for about 3 months. He really, really hated it. So I went to a local shop and asked for some samples. I found out that the food that he likes/hates less is fish. So I bought a bag of salmon-based dry food.

I rewinded. I didn't feed him for 3 days, and fed him on the 4th day. But within those 3 days, I gave him a tiny bit of the dry food to 'entice' him.

On the 4th day, he still didn't want to eat (he ate like SOOOO LITTLE, like 2 or 3 spoonfuls), even though I knew he was starving. Next resort: add a bit of wet food. Ate almost half. Drizzled coconut oil. Finished it.

The next day, he didn't wanna eat, again. Until I was down to my last resort: raw egg. It's been a couple days and he's been eating well. I still have to encourage him with a lot of praises. But I finally found his weak spot; raw egg. So what I'm saying is find something he can't resist. And since dry food is the main food you feed, find a formula that he tolerates best.

 

[dojoson41]

eating

Dont feel bad My dog wont eat either so the only time I can get him to eat is at night when I go to work and or I put him in his crate and shut the crate's door=nothing to do but eat:wink2:.

 

[Malibu]

Have you just tried adding a little water.. Even if you do add something to get her to eat you can pull back slowly on the amount of extra that you are adding.
there are a lot of toppings that are very healthy to add also like tripe freeze dried , sardines, raw eggs, herring, bone broth, goat milk, yogurt, just to name a few.

 

[Hineni7]

OK, Areli used to be the queen of picky eating, and still can be.. But she is a SAR dog and having her to skinny was causing troubles.. One, she was cycling through her heats every 3mos,so she had to be spayed at 1.5yrs of age.. This helped a little... So, I bought Fresh Factors from Springtime Inc which has bee pollen in it which helps with weight and coat.. They also have omega 3,6,&9 products that really help with weight, health and coat (all for great prices!) But, the main thing I did and continue to do is by a chicken and boil it. I use everything, the juice from the giblets is added with the fat broth from the boiled chicken and used as a gravy over kibble and vitamins (Fresh Factors or Longevity along with C-complex or just the bee pollen, I change it up) and some chicken with the soft bones. I will occasionally buy a pork roast and cook it, use its juice etc... She never turns it down and really looks forward to it now.. She is a lean and well muscled 92lbs, which for her is a great weight. You can see her ribs when she breathes, has a nice tuck, but she isn't bony to pet..

These are suggestions that are easy to try and don't cost anywhere near the amount you will spend buying different bags of dog food (I did that too!). She is now on Victor performance? Or high energy.. I forget.. I have Akivah who is an easy keeper on the same, but much smaller amounts.. Hope something in all the ideas everyone offers works for you ?

 

[JessicaR]

I got her to eat 2.5 cups yesterday! I added a tablespoon of pumpkin to her food. I really think she just gets bored with her food so I think I will just mix it up with the different victor foods

 

[Mei]

I've had the same exact problem with my picky eater. I started her on Victor. She got bored with that and now on to TOTW. And she seems bored with that too past month or so.

To get her to eat I put 1 1/4 cup of her kibble. Then about a 1/4th serving of either 4health or TOTW canned wet food. She'll eat that way 85% of the time. To get her to finish the rest of the food I'll crush up her probiotic and joint supplement on top of remaining food then she finishes.

Someone a while back here said to never mess with the dogs food or you'll create a picky eater. I really dont care lol. I feel like I put some thought and love into her food now instead of just mind numbingly dumbing kibble into her bowl. Mornings shall get a raw egg mixed in. Sometimes I'll chop up some carrots, she loves them, and toss in. She does not like asparagus lol. Every now and then I'll poor bacon grease on top and boy she loves that!

 

[Kyrielle]

We have the same problem with Jack. What's helped a lot has been adding a cup of warm water or broth to his kibble.

 

[Dionne2u]

I've had 4 GSD and all were picky eaters and hard to keep the correct weight on them. My latest German Shepherd i cook for. Bake or boiled chicken, turkey, turnip greens, liver, hearts, gizzards, carrots and kibble and believe it or not he is still a picky eater but he eats a big bowl every day and is at his perfect weight and lots of good energy.

He would be a bone on kibble alone. If you don't want to cook a lot try giving him a couple pieces of chicken atop his kibble to prime him. If that doesn't work may have to accept, your baby doesn't like kibble. I myself don't see how any dog could want to eat just that no matter how good the ingredients. Good luck to ya, it can be so concerning when they don't eat.