# Shiba Inu having trouble eating



## addieml (Oct 6, 2011)

Hi everyone!

My boyfriend and I are first time dog owners and we adopted a ~1 year old Shiba Inu yesterday. She has the best personality and is so well behaved and she seems to be adjusting to our home very quickly.

Though, she doesn't seem terribly interested in food. Her old owners were feeding her Kibbles n' Bits and we bought her Wellness Super 5 Mix... last night we gave her 1/4C Kibbles n' Bits and 1/4C of the Wellness just to ween her off the old stuff. She ate it all and seemed to like it.

This morning, I did the same thing and she wouldn't eat it. We mixed in some wet food and she liked that, but wouldn't eat the dry food. All day long I've been trying to get her to eat a little bit and she has eaten maybe a little under a 1/4C but that's it.

Do you think she's just adjusting to being in a new place? I don't want to be worried since we've only had her for 36 hrs. Any other methods that will draw her to the food?

Thanks so much!


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

She is in a brand new place with brand new family and while you guys are nice people she does not have a clue as to what's going on. Let the world take a couple spins around and relax a bit, many dogs have a loss of appetite. Adding water and let food soak it up for 15 minutes. Some dogs just like it better. You can always add spoon of canned food in the mix.


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## Sangaris (Jun 2, 2011)

If you're adding canned food that had been in the fridge, warm it in the microwave for a few seconds (make sure its not hot). The smell is usually enticing and they often prefer their food warm.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

Shibas are picky eaters (Mine is anyway) and sometimes he goes on hunger strikes. I feed my Shiba raw food at night, and a premium grain-free kibble in the morning, and sometimes he won't touch his kibble, but eat his raw, and sometimes he won't touch the raw, but eat the kibble....and sometimes he just won't eat at all. The breeder I purchased my shiba from says this is pretty normal shiba behavoir. But, she likely is going through an adjustment period as well. And definitely throw away the kibbles n bits as soon as possible, that is like the equivelant of feeding your dog a big mac every day. GROSS. 

Good luck with your Shiba!


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## theyogachick (Aug 2, 2009)

It is most likely the adjustment period, as others have said. It could also be that the richness of the new food upset her tummy a little, too,

As far as Shibas being picky--mine are not, LOL. Gizmo eats anything I put in front of him like he has never eaten before (he is 11). 

If she continues this, you may want to have her teeth checked to make sure it isn't a medical problem.

If you rule that and she still does it after adjusting, then you need the tough love approach--food down for 15 minutes. If she doensn't eat, food up and nothing until next mealtime.

So, let her adjust. If in a week or so she is still "off," get her checked out. If that all pans out and she is fine, tough love.

Good luck. Shibas are fun


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Yes Shibas like all breeds have some dogs that live to eat, and others that eat to live and all the variables in between.



> If you rule that and she still does it after adjusting, then you need the tough love approach--food down for 15 minutes. If she doensn't eat, food up and nothing until next mealtime.
> 
> So, let her adjust. If in a week or so she is still "off," get her checked out. If that all pans out and she is fine, tough love.


Above pretty much says it all. One last thing is every once in a while we will get a boarding dog that may not eat anything for 2 or 3 days.


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