Not eating propery

[shumanclan]

I am in need of some input. I have a 6 month old Labrador, who has decided not to eat like he should. He used to have a very healthy appetite and now he just picks. I used to feed Nutro, now we have switch to Pro Plan, I have put chicken soup, I have put gravy, I have put in Science Diet canned food with his dry food, and no difference. I am not realy keen on changing his food all the time, but I do want him to eat. This is driving me crazy. I know dogs change, and I know appetites change, but he is at a crutial stage in his life and he needs that nutrients. ANY help would be great. The only thing I haven't done yet, is take the food completely away from him for a day.

Thanks ahead of time

[sheltiepups]

I think u should feed him for 10-15 minuets and then take the food away. This will help make him understand that if he doest eat when u give it to him then he won't eat @ all. My dog has a sensitive stomach, we switched to wet and dry food mixed w/ some meat mixed w/ it. hope this helps [img]smile.gif[/img]

[shumanclan]

I definately do that. If he doesn't start eating, I take it away from him. Then try again later. When we had him outside in the run with my other dogs, he ate GREAT! Now we have him in the house, crate training him, and he hasn't eaten as much. I wonder if he just wants to eat with the rest of them??? Crazy isnt' it? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[mojo]

i've had the same problem with my 4 month old american bulldog for about three weeks. she had a healthy appetite but she just isn't eating right now. whats funny is she was also eating nutro in the beggining i don't know if its coincidece or a linking problem. i've tried everything from gravy train to a wet and dry food combo and now she is teething so i soak the dry food and mash it up with the wet food and also i've bought this gravy in a bottle thats made for dogs and there is still no change. i have her on eukanuba lamb and rice mixed with eukanuba large breed puppy formula wet food and still no change. does anyone know if its because of her teething or should i change her food brand again, if so would you please recommend one.

[Dawn]

Usually what happens is the dog doesn't eat for a day for what ever reason (stress from a new environment, just doesn't feel good, whatever.) Then the owner freaks out and adds something yummy to the food. Then the dog figures out that if he stops eating, he'll get something new.

[punkytail]

I have Dachshund and he's a picky eater,he's been that way since he was a puppy, Cowboy is 4 years old now, and still picks at his food.

[mojo]

i fully agree wih you dawn. i keep thinking that its my fault for adding the canned food. do you think her teething has anything to do with it

[Dawn]

They will definately come off their food while teething because it's painful. What you can do to keep from spoiling them is to mix some water into the kibble to soften it.

[shumanclan]

I have done the softening of the food, and adding something on top of that for more flavor, and still nibbling. I know he is not teething right now either. He is past that. He would rather lay around or play. Like I said before, we used the Nutro, and has been thinking of changing because I noticed their stools were not as solid as before, and noticed some of my dogs not eating it like they used to. Exspecially my 6 month old. Today, I am not even going to show him food unil tonight, and if he doesn't start to eat right away, I am taking it away from him. Maybe this will work.

[bearsmom]

Why did you switch food? Does he still pick when you feed him Nutro? It could just be that he doesn't like the food you're giving him.

When my dog was younger, I got 3-4 samples of higher-end dog food and did side-by-side tests. I marked the bowls so I knew which food he was eating the most of. I also switched the bowls around, so I knew that it wasn't just the location. Maybe that's something you could try.

Good luck!