Hey everyone, So for the past few months, my one year old boy has been completely uninterested in food. I've tried every kind of brand of kibble and currently I'm using Royal Canin. I recently tried giving him raw food which he initially loved but then the amount he ate became smaller and smaller. He only eats about 100 grams of food per day and he's been losing weight also. He does eat his treats and he also likes having scrambled eggs, and milk but that's about it. Barely touches his kibble. Raw diet isn't working either. I took him to a vet who otherwise cleared him of any kind of medical condition. He's an otherwise very active and Playful Pup. Are there any suggestions as to what I can do to help him eat and gain a little weight? Thank you for your help. Worried parent
Have you tried mixing some sardines into the kibble? Sometimes that can help. My old rescue dog was fussy but some sardine mashed into her kibble really helped!
Fussy dogs are really tricky and you can end up tearing your hair out trying to find something they'll consistently eat. Raw often works as it's rarely the same every meal and offers a little variety. If he's losing so much weight that he's becoming underweight I would go back to the vet. It's very unusual for a dog to starve themselves, even my picky eater doesn't end up underweight. If he's not underweight I would suggest you have one of those rare animals a lab that self regulates on food. Offer him good quality food and if he's hungry he'll eat.
I have to say I am pretty hard-hearted when it comes to fussy eating. If there is no underlying medical condition I would pick a good quality diet (kibble or raw, as long as you do it properly) and stick with it. They will eat once they know nothing else is forthcoming.
Did you try mixing the food up (you can even fake mixing it up for this) with lots of yummy, yummy sounds from yourself but then let the food sit for 15 minutes before you feed it? Make sure he sees and hears you doing this. When my dog was sick and I had to add digestive enzymes I had to do this mix and sit thing to let the enzymes sink in. The poor dog was drooling copiously but that's a sign the dog's own digestive enzymes are starting to be produced. Plus, it tends to make them hungry. Since he was sick I was feeding smaller than usual meals but more often and you might try that too. And I would also put the food down for 20 minutes and pick up and throw out whatever is not eaten. I don't know what people mean when they say dogs won't starve themselves. Some certainly will under eat to the point they are way too thin, though perhaps not dead. My sister's English Shepherd was like that. Good luck. If some of the suggestions here don't help I think you should Vet him again to see if there is a reason. Did the Vet check sedate him to examine teeth? Check blood?
Yep I just began limiting the time let the food bowl sit for about 20 mins for the past 3 days. So far he only take a bite or 2 and that's it. Also the vet did examine him and also got blood tests done. All normal. I guess I'll try mixing treats in rather than give those separately
I didn't say dogs won't starve themselves. I said it's very unusual for a dog to starve themselves. In all the dogs I've seen and all the fussy eaters I can only think of one who genuinely wouldn't eat and made themself unwell. The others although picky and on the lean side were perfectly ok self regulating. A dog that genuinely doesn't eat to the point of starving themselves should see a vet.
