# My dog isn't eating like she should



## devildog (Feb 25, 2010)

This has been going on for three months now and at first I figured it was just because she was in a new enviornment coming from the pound as a stray. She has spurts will she will eat all her food for a few days then all of a sudden she will pick at it for a few minutes then just leave at which point I take it away till its time to eat for dinner and same thing. At times it helps if I add a little bit of hot water to it and mix it up then let it cool. I'm not sure if she just doesn't care for crunchy kibble or what. The food she is on now is the only dog food she would even eat as the others she would basically starve herself. She has been checked at the vet and blood tests are fine and nothing else out of the norm were present. I also tried to put her dinner bowl in a different room, used a regular flat plate and even added some crackers to it. Its always the same thing, she might pick at it for a few minutes but what she eats is barely a mouthful when said and done.

Yesterday, she was in the playful mood so I did some drills with her and instead of using her treats I used pieces of her kibble and she woofed it all down. Only downside to this is it took close to 45min throwing her piece by piece. Today I tried again and she immediately caught the kibble in her mouth then spit it out and she was done playing. 

I am confused and at this moment she doesn't seem to be eating enough. I can maybe get 2 cups down at this point but she should be at 3.5+ cups from what the vets said. She is a pit/mix and weighs 50ish lbs, approx 1yr old. She doesn't seem to be losing any weight either but it just doesn't seem like enough nutrients for her. I have tried all dog food from the cheap stuff to the expensive stuff and right now the only kind it seems she is a little interested in is the Purina shredded brands. 

How can I make it a fun thing for her to enjoy, almost seems like she's hating it when her food comes out, maybe she is a semi anorexic dog? Who knows.....


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

That is a lot of food for a 50 pound dog! What is she fed? If she isn't losing weight and is healthy she seems to be a self regulator who knows how much food she needs to eat. Many dogs will skip meals, wild canids might eat less than once a day without loss of energy or weight.


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## Zack_the_Mouse (Oct 2, 2007)

That is a lot of food but what type/brand of food does the vet think your feeding???
Cause the volume of food is base on Metabolized Energy (ME) (Calculated) for example my dog weighs 60lbs

NEW PEDIGREE VITALITY+® Dry Food for Dogs
says to feed 3 1/2 to 4 3/4 cups per day
Metabolized Energy (ME) (Calculated): 3500 kcal/kg

CaniSource (what i feed my dogs)
says to feed 2.5 to 3 cups per day
Metabolized Energy (ME) (Calculated): 4696 kcal/kg

also take into account how active your dog is. My dog in the winter month is a couch potato so I feed about 2 to 2.5 cups of food a day but during the warmer months when she is more active i feed 2.5 to 3. 

also how many meals a day are you feeding?? I know my dogs will never eat all the food if its fed at only 1 meal a day. They like 2 or more meals.

If your dog only wants 2 cups and is not losing weight or getting sick that that is probably the best amount to feed.

hope this helps.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

If her health is okay and her weight is okay, she is most likely okay. Some dogs are not just as food motivated as others and sometimes dogs have taste preferences that don't go with the food chosen by the handler. 3 1/2 cups a day seems like a lot of food for a 50 lb dog, but as mentioned before a lot depends on the quality of the food itself, the activity level of the dog.etc.

Cracker is 67 lbs and gets about 3-5 cups a day but she is also out dogwalking with me ALLDAY and so her caloric needs are higher.

Do you have pictures of your girl? I'd love to see her!


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## devildog (Feb 25, 2010)

WOW, I did not realize some dogs just don't eat that much and that 3.5 cups a day would be to much for her. The vet said she should be getting 3.5-4.5 cups a day at her age and her weight. She is a pit/mix and is really active. She will chase the ball for hours non stop with few breaks to have some water and she gets two long walks a day also.

I guess some days are more relaxed than others and generally during the day from 8am-2pm there is less activity going on as I am at work but my roommate is home kind of just floating around. My real concern is she never seems happy eating her food, its kind of like a little kid that is forced to eat his veggies. They will do it but not like it one bit. I will cut back her serving size a little and see if that helps some. She does get food twice a day, in the early AM and around 6pm at night.

Cracker: Here is the link to to the devil herself.
http://www.dogforums.com/8-dog-pictures-forum/72324-my-pit-mix-zoe.html


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## waterkeeper03 (Aug 18, 2009)

I always pass on the veggies.... Some days I skip lunch too 

if her weight is ok and she is not showing signs of lethargy or anything negative, blood tests show fine... it's very likely she is fine, i wouldn't try and trick her into eating. then you may actually create a negative reaction to the food.


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

I wouldn't fuss too much about her eating, put the food down, wait ten minutes, put the food away. Eventually she'll figure out that if she wants to eat she has to do so on your mealtimes. If you are worried about nutrition, check out some of the higher quality foods simply because they'll have less filler and more 'food' in them. 

The more of a big deal you make about the eating, the more issues she might start to have around it. Like the one roomate who 'insisted' that his dog would starve to death if he didn't hand feed her her food and talk to her and coddle her for an hour When he was gone, did the whole 'ten minutes to eat or it's gone' and by the second day she was just fine at eating her food!

Lana


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## devildog (Feb 25, 2010)

just wanted to give a little update, if I were to just put the food down and walk away she would nibble at it then walk away so I would let it stay there for about 15min and take it away if she didn't finish. This went on for a few meals. The other day she kept bumping me and walking over to where her bowl is so I put some food in her dish and this time I had her sit, shake, then lay down. Once I released her so she could get up I put her food down and she woofed it down. Since then she eats like she is actually enjoying it and eats all her food in one sitting.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

If she's not losing weight, I wouldn't worry about it. I have a fussy eater here too. She always picks at her food and sometimes she barely eats for a few days. That's just the way she is. 

I wouldn't do too much fussing, throwing the food around, adding things to spice it up, etc. This teaches the dog to be pickier. If she doesn't eat it, fine, no problem she can just starve until she decides to eat. That's how it works in my house. My dog sometimes won't eat for 48 hrs at a time but she's still healthy and runs like a race horse so I'm not worried at all. That's just the way some dogs are.


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## devildog (Feb 25, 2010)

so far the past couple days shes been eating all her food so hopefully it stays that way. I would love to fatten her up some so she can't jump the rear wall into the neighbors yard!!


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## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

My Berner is close to 90 lbs and I'm lucky if I get 1 can of soft food down her or 1 cup of dry kibble a day. I do give her treats so she would probably eat more if I didn't. I've spoiled her terribly when it comes to eating and that's why she's so picky. The odd day she might eat 2 cups of food if she's more hungry. She's not thin though, I can still feel her ribs and she looks just right. On the can judging by her weight she should eat 5 cans a day!! WOW, if she managed to eat that much she would be obese.
I don't know if anyone else does this, but I've noticed I feed her like I feed myself. I love snacks and not so much big meals


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## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

devildog said:


> so far the past couple days shes been eating all her food so hopefully it stays that way. I would love to fatten her up some so she can't jump the rear wall into the neighbors yard!!


LOL too funny


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