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lola wont eat please help

lolas mum

Well-known member
Hi ive just written a long post explaining everything but it crashed when i went to post it so im just keeping it brief incase it happens again.

Anyway Lola has not been eating well for a few weeks now i have tried many different food with her but she goes off them after a couple of days,she is'nt having the same thing everyday and i try to vary it.

She has been wormed,drinks plenty of water but just sniffs her food and walks away.We have stopped all her treats as i dont want her filling up on treats and thinking she doesnt have to eat her dinner.
This is really starting to get me down now as i dont want her to lose weight as she is'nt very big as it is.
She is 18 months now and should be bigger than she is .
She is tall but not very wide if you know what i mean.

Any advice on getting her to eat please would be great.

Thanks
sharonx
 
I add small pieces of baked chicken (no skin, no fat) or hamburger (mince) that has been rinsed to remove fat or baked salmon to my pups bowls. They aren't crazy about the kibble and by rotating what I add to the kibble it keeps them interested. I only add like one tablespoon of meat to their meals...not very much. I hope this helps.
 
Are you just ignoring the situation when she walks away from her food? Or do you start trying to coax her with new foods or by bringing the bowl back later to see if she will eat later on? How long have you left her without food or treats before trying to coax her with a different food?

Very few dogs truly refuse to eat. I think most likely, your attempts to vary her food are actually creating the problem. Especially the fact that you change it daily in an attempt to lure her to her bowl.

You need to leave her alone, not make a big deal out of meals, and not keep trying new foods. Pick ONE food you like, give it to her without comment, give her 10 minutes to eat, then lift and remove the food. Do not feed her anything til the next scheduled meal. Do NOT try new foods, new additions, etc. At the next scheduled meal, once again put the food down without comment and repeat. If she decides not to eat for a few days, then that is her choice. She will very likely start wolfing down her food by the second day of non-eating. I would NOT alter her kibble or add things to it for several months -- until she is well along at eating regularly.

If your vet feels she is in good weight, then you have nothing to be concerned about except the risk of creating a finicky dog. You can avoid that by not making a big deal out of meals and sticking strictly to one food and giving set times for hr to eat.

Most owners mistake a fit dog for a too thin dog BTW. A clear waist is a GOOD thing on this breed. They are far healthier slightly underweight than a single ounce overweight. If you are truly concerned by her weight and feel there is a MEDICAL reason for her not eating, then get her to a vet. Otherwise this is purely behavioural.
 
Hello,Thanks for the replies. I dont really make a thing of meal times she gets fed in the morning about 8.30 just before we leave for school and then again around 5 ish.
I just put her bowl down.
She come running when she hears the bowl and im preparing her food but then she justs sniffs and walks away.
She was hanging around her treat drawer and i just ignored her. We have stopped treats for about a week now.

But no i dont really make a thing of it it's just me feeling bad that shes not eating right and i was worring about her.

sharon x
 
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Izzy was a fussy eater and sometimes would go for two or three days, eating only a Bonio. When he got really hungry he would eat and ,as the vet said, a healthy dog won't starve to death.
 
i had this with Suki lasting for about 6-8 weeks, she didn't lose weight but seemed to stop gaining and felt a little thin over her back and hips. I took her to the vet and we agreed she was just being fussy so i had to get strict with her meals.

the vet suggested everything that Karlin suggested in this thread - and i didn't give in
Suki too would come running when she could hear me with her bowl - sniff it, maybe eat a few bits of dried food and then walk off.
i kept to strict meal times and left her bowl down for no longer than 10-15 mins if she didn't eat it i'd throw it away. It took 2 weeks, she eat next to nothing for over a week and gradually started to improve. i was tearing my hair out over that time and felt awful but i knew i had to persevere.
Its now paid off and she eats a good size meal twice a day - she has day's where she still eats little but they are rare but i don't think she is particularly food orientated.

good luck with your little one - it will get better :)
 
I remember this with Sally as a pup. We tried everything. In the end I bought James Wellbeloved and insisted I wasn't buying any more different types of kibble! We also mix Naturediet moist food in with kibble and she loves it. It's worth a try. You can buy both in Pets at Home or most pet shops. Good luck as I know it's frustrating. Buy one type of quality food and stick to that. She won't starve.
 
We had this problem with Willow - she would go days without eating. After Christmas this year, we started mixing a tablespoon of probiotic yogurt into her dinner. Now she waits eagerly for dinner, and gulps it down - she's a completely different dog when it comes to food! It was really starting to stress us out that she wouldn't eat, so we were very happy to have this work for us....

Krista
 
Hello everyone, thanks so much for all your help ill try some things and see what happens.
This morning a came down and let Lola out into the garden for about 10 mins. I called her in and prepared her breakfast of kibble with a small amount of met on top and fresh water she looked excited!!!!!!!! I put it onto the floor and just walked away from her and came into the front room.
After about 10-15 mins i went back into the kitchen and she was laid on the sofa in the back room and her food bowl was still full.
I picked it up and tipped it all away into the bin.
Well her face!!! she looked at me as if to say " I was gonna eat that",yeah right Lola!

I just said to her " well if your not eating it theres no point having it and walked away from her...
She looked gutted and today she has been very quite and putting her head down and looking at me with her big sad eyes..i think she knows im upset with her.

So im going to keep this up and perservere till she gets the message.

Thanks again

sharon x
 
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Hi

I am going through exactly the same but i have three ,i have finally settled on Burns complete dry kibble with some Burns wet mixed with a few pieces of white chicken meat ,no skin , and a squirt of salmon oil on top. I am having some success but often the girls pick out the chicken and Burns wet food and leave most of the kibble so its a continuing battle but as i constantly read all the forum advice i always try to remember that they will not willingly starve themselves so chin up and carry on.
 
Hello, here's another 'sufferer'. My girls are still (at 13 months)very poor eaters, never realised dogs could be so fussy! :bang: We've tried adding a various things on the kibble but nothing helps. And if I put moist food with it and they decide to eat something, it won't be the kibble, they are very agile in picking out the moist stuff and leaving all the kibble. I would prefer them to eat kibble, it would be better for their teeth as well, but... Now I'm planning a tough campaign: no treats and mostly kibble, let's see who caves in first! I think I'm going to try kibble with tripe like someone suggested. They seem to dislike all kibble, so I don't suppose it makes a big difference what kibble I choose.
They will be boarding in April for 11 days, I can't leave them with other people when their feeding is so difficult.
 
The kennels may be the making of them with their diet, i've never kennelled mine but i would have thought they have a strict regime where by the food on offer would be all thats available and probably at set times - it might show the girls that if they don't eat when the food is down they will go hungry

Keep up with the food you want to give, i found mixing a little tripe in with the kibble worked really well but you have to make sure that you mix it really well so that the kibble is well coated and that there are no lumps of tripe else they will just pick out the bits they want.

i tried grated cheese on sukis food for a little while but she even managed to pick just that out even when i thought i'd mixed it in really well

Good luck :paw:
 
Thanks, Niki! I did my shopping today, chose Royal Canin Mini Adult in the end and mixed some with tripe. They ate all of the tripe but left some kibble, so I'm going to take your advice and try to mix it really well. They are so clever picking out the bits they want! I'm determined to do this now. They are going to be home boarding with a family who do that sort of thing and they'll need to take their own food there. That's why I want it to be clear and easy - for everybody!
 
If a dog will eat soft food but not kibble or biscuits, it could be a dental problem. My sister has a rescue dog who wouldn't eat anything but soft food when she first brought him home, and she found out he had an abscessed tooth. He was not interested in treats or chewing on rawhide, etc. He was much improved after his root canal. Now he is fine.
 
Maija and Hermie love biscuits, tripe sticks, fish rolls etc, so that's not a problem. I gave them their evening meal, just small portions, and mixed the tripe well with the kibble. They cleared their bowls! They then went back to the bowls and started licking the empty bowls so I gave them some more. Everything went again, kibble and all. I know I should't get too excited yet as they can go off it after a couple of days, but this time I'll stick to it no matter what! :p
 
One of the real telltale signs on whether food 'pickiness' is a behaviour issue or not is what the dog does when minded by someone else -- eg either in kennels or home boarding or by a relative. In 99% of cases such dogs magically eat anything and all of it, when fed by someone else. Then they resume their picky eating when back home. A sure sign the issue is all down to behaviour -- they know who they can train. :lol: That's why it is so important not to make a big deal out of meals and turn them into attention time for the dog.

Leo came from a kenneling background (eg a breeder's potential breeding dog) and like most dogs in a kennelling situation, wolfs his food down. Jaspar has never been fussy since Leo arrived and he realised he'd have competition for his meals. :rolleyes:
 
Eating habit UPDATE.

Hi eveyone,just thought id drop a quick line to update you on Lolas eating habits.
I took some of your great advice and decided to just choose a food that i liked and stick to it. I found a Royal canin for cavaliers,i have been feeding her in the morning and then again about 5 in the evening and so far she has been eating it all up,even licking the bowl for every scrap. I have chose a meat food too called Natural Lifestage that has rice,chicken and tripe init and mixed about a dessert spoon in with the royal canin.
She loves it so fingers croosed eveyone i will be able to stop worring.

Thanks again
sharon & Lola
 
My pup had the same problem until my boyfriend started picking up Shug's food bowl and pretending to eat his food. He would get so jealous that once the bowl was put back down, he'd gobble it all up! Shug eats Holistic Blends by Solid Gold and loves it. I've had him on it for several years, and he never seems to get tired of it. They have great soft food too which I buy occasionally. I mix a spoonful of the soft in with his kibble and a little water.
 
When we had Tarmac - both he and Guinness had Pedigree Chum. And slowly they were needing more coaxing to eat up.

Since changing to raw - we rarely have any problem. Chicken wings and chicken necks are chopped into 3 pieces - they all sit around ready, and tuck in no problem at all.
I try to keep Willow, Bailey and Guinness to their own plates; but Guin will try to steal if given the chance.
I keep him off a bit, but if the others leave it too long then I let him in for seconds.
If anyone does not feel like eating then thats ok with me. If they choose to pig out on biscuits then those come up till they eat their main meal.

Mush day (offal, veggies and mince with oils and supplements) have cooked chicken breast finely chopped and sprinkled ontop. This usually does the job. Again, if they choose not to finish it off one day, then they will probably get it the next. It is important that they get their mush day to ensure a balanced diet.

As the wings and necks take a bit more eating, I think that it does add interest to their meal times.
 
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