1. stacy d - 5:48AM on 10/25/07

I have a question about feeding my dog. She is the opposite of most dogs - getting her to eat is a challenge. She has nothing medically wrong with her and is fine otherwise. I've been told to just keep the food dish on the floor and she'll eat if she gets hungry but I have a cat who will eat if FOR her, so that's not a good idea! I try not to change her food too much to avoid her being too picky. Even if it's something she likes, she sniffs it and walks away. She's a small dog so she doesn't need much food, but still, sometimes she goes all day without eating. I have no idea what to do to get her excited about eating. I exercise her, play with her...still nothing. Any suggestions???

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2. LORRIE T - 7:39AM on 10/25/07

To Stacy - I also have a picky eater and I start her off by hand feeding her. I have her sit down and talk to her while handing her a few bites of dry and moist food. This gets her started and then I can sit the bowl down and she'll take over - hope that helps.

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3. J. Austin - 8:01AM on 10/25/07

To Stacy, I'd recommend putting the food down and then taking it away if she hasn't eaten in 10 minutes. She won't starve, she will eat when she gets hungry. That way too, you are controlling the food as a pack leader does. Cesar's advice is, as usual, excellent. I mix the food (dry Canidae w/ a touch of cottage cheese) for my 3 dogs (2 goldens, and 1 GSD) by hand to get my scent in it. I then have them sit. I put their bowls in front of them and tell them "ok" after they have all looked at me. It's a wonderful bonding experience we do 3 times a day. (I feed them 3 meals instead of 2 to reduce the risk of bloat, a deadly disease that affects deep chested breeds). One thing Cesar didn't mention was that the pack leader always eats first. We feed our dogs right after we have eaten. If that doesn't work timewise, we prepare their food and then eat a small cracker/snack in front of them before giving them their food. A subtle way of reinforcing that you are the pack leader.

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4. Susan - 9:15AM on 10/25/07

Hi Stacy- My take on this may be a little different. Small dogs have a different metabolism than larger dogs. Some need to eat small meals throughout the day because of thier fast metabolism. They can experience a drop in blood sugar and become lethargic if not fed in this way. Not to say that some small breeds don't gorge themselves, but there are many that tend to graze rather than eat regular meals at designated intervals. They aren't over weight with this method and eat when they are hungry. It's important to remember that every dog is different and you have to do what works for you and your dog. You may want to try adding a high protien wet food first thing in the morning like the Innova brand EVO. It's 95% protien and can give a boost to that possibly lagging metabolism. It comes in dry as well for during the day. BTW they were the only dog food company that wasn't on the recall. Good Luck!!

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5. J. Austin - 10:04AM on 10/25/07

To Susan, Canidae was also a company that was not on the food recall. Their excellent foods are all made with 100% human grade ingredients from America. My dogs have done incredible well on it for the last 5 years as have all of my friend's dogs who have also switched to it. Very highly recommended, as is Innova, the excellent food you mentioned.

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6. Susan - 10:37AM on 10/25/07

*Sorry, I should have said "ONE of the only dog food Co. that wasn't on the recall" Didn't know about Canidae not being on the list. For sure the safe foods were on a very short list!

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7. Susan - 10:41AM on 10/25/07

Had another thought Stacy... if the cat is the "alpha" of the house it may be intimidating the dog and that may be why the dog isn't eating. Perhaps if the cat could be kept securely in another part of the house while it's feeding time that may help. Then your dog will feel secure to eat since you mentioned that the cat will eat your dogs food. It may help to have the dog see you put the cat away. Just a thought!

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8. LORRIE T - 11:15AM on 10/25/07

try Flint River - all human consumable food and was not involved in the recalls either

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9. Susan - 11:37AM on 10/25/07

Boy I'm just full of ideas this morning.. LOL. My breeder suggested feeding in the crate for my Dobe pup. She can get easily distracted and it helps to focus them on the food. It also may make your dog feel safer if she is easily intimidated by the cat. It's nice to know that there are other dog food brands that have risen to a higher level of quality. I have been using the Natura brands (Innova, Evo, Calif Natural, Healthwise) since I found it in the 80's. They (as far as I know, correct me if I'm wrong) were the first dog food company to use human grade food. There have been times where I couldn't afford it but I always go back.

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10. stacy d - 2:09PM on 10/25/07

I love this blog! Thanks for all the suggestions! I will try ALL of them and see which one works.

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11. CJ Anderson - 5:23PM on 10/25/07

Hey Stavey one thing I didnt see is if your dog gets exercise. I actually augment my walk with the treadmill because they are the equivelant of teenagers and need way more energy then I have time to provide to them I use tread mill to de stress/vent energy before the walk and some times even after if they tend to go hyper. Right now, we have cleaning people here and Marley is more hyper then usual, so he is actually trotting on the treadmill with a backpack at 3.5 mph for 15 min. As long as he is looking around I know he has energy to burn. When the head and tail drops to level I know that he is ready for the migration walk so I drop the speed to 2.5, then 2.0 for a cool down brisk walk. I have had two different vets tell me that dogs dont eat regularly in the wild and to not be concerned if they go up to two days turning their nose up at food and walking away when nthing else changes. The caution about the blood sugar is valida and that is why I feed mine 2 times a day, always after a brisk exercise of not less the 30 min and 45-and hor when I can. Using Cesar feeding routines is one of the best changes I have made at my place - - they FOLLOW me to the food prep place and then follow me back to the feeding place. I use Cesar's way of coseing the quietest calmest dog then the next... I didnt realize that one of the indicators I used was that they had to look at me nstead of the food for permission to eat, so I am glad Cesar made a point talking about that! I also ensure the best quality food - my experience is that we can pay for the right food or we can pay for the medical bills from dogs who become fat or ill from additives or contaminents. CEsar shows his feeding process on his first tape People training for dogs! Which also is really good to understand about how to work with energy recognition and dogs as animal/dog rather then breed/personality.

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12. lil_twisted@sbcglobal.net - 9:11AM on 10/26/07

cesar, is wonderful.

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13. rhm1380 - 1:11PM on 10/26/07

I have an 8 year old, male, red doberman pincher. He is the most loving sweetest dog in the world (he was a rescue). I leave his food down for him 24/7, he is not a pig and does not eat constantly. But when he (Tony) eats, he cries into his food, we joke that there are ghost's in his food, but it's heartbreaking to him cry so. He does eventually eat, but this is strange behavior, has anyone experienced this with their best friend?

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14. mslghalt - 2:22PM on 10/26/07

perhaps it's the bowl itself. Have you tried using a different type all together? My dogs will only eat out of a ceramic, non reflective bowl, no metal or glass! Be aware though if you use plastic it must be washed very often if not every day, plastic breeds bacteria. I have 4 ceramic bowls i use and change them out every two days.All that saliva !!!!

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15. Lee - 7:29PM on 10/26/07

Maybe its just an oddity. my dog won't sit. never has, never will, he sits like a sphinx, and we let him do it. he also has definite moods. Do dogs really cry becuase they're sad? I didn't think so, but maybe i'm wrong.

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16. Julie N - 8:21PM on 10/26/07

My 4 year old lab is a picky eater and only eats if I hand feed her, I have been trying to change this and I will start out hand feeding and get her close to her dish and some times she will start eating on her own and sometimes not. I started hand feeding her when she was a puppy and I know that I should have never start it. How do I reteach her?

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17. donna.archey@att.net - 2:56AM on 10/27/07

I have a 9 year old Daushund and for the past 6 months he licks everything including one of our other dogs back. He licks the carpet and this is getting on my nerves. Why does he do this? What can i do to make him stop?

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18. Susan - 10:04AM on 10/27/07

For Julie.. If I were you I would not be present at feeding time. Meaning I would either put the dog in a small room with her food and leave her to it. Or crate her with her food, but leave the room don't be there for her to work her angle with you. You'll need to do the tough love approach. She'll eat... especially if she's exercised well before hand. She's working you!!!

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19. Susan - 10:09AM on 10/27/07

Donna... I think Cesar would call this obsessive behavior. He needs to be redirected, given a job. He's probably bored and needs some exercise then maybe do some obedience.. or have him use his nose to find treats in the yard. It will bring out his hunting instinct.. a game he would probably find fun. He definately needs to be told NO when he starts the licking but give him something else to do and drain that excess energy.

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20. Susan - 11:31AM on 10/27/07

RHM1380.... I too have a doberman.. a 6 month old red female. Had others in the past... what you are talking about is not necessarily crying but talking. There are some dobe's that are talkers and some that aren't. It's a high pitched whiney cry.. that's probabaly his way of talking about eating.. LOL. Mine is a talker too.. just doesn't talk in her bowl. I wouldn't worry or feel sorry for him. He's just being a dobe!

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21. sassanik - 6:49AM on 10/29/07

StacyD, I have a minature poodle and he does not eat every day. Some days he simply is not hungry. I would not panic about it if you dog doesn't want to eat everyday. My dog tends to eat every otherday, particularly if he is not exercising much, and he is not underweight! He is silly about the whole thing, but since he is a bit overweight I don't panic about it. He doesn't get people food, despite he sincere attempts at begging. So unless he is getting food at a neighbors that I don't know about, I figure he is just not hungry everyday. I also feed Innova Evo, which both our dogs love, and have fed Canidide and Royal Canine. So far I like the Innova Evo the best.

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22. rhm1380 - 8:41AM on 10/29/07

SUSAN - Thanks for the info, I think you are right, Tony is very much the talker. He is my 4th doberman and the previous ones did not talk, in fact when he is upset, I think he is swearing at me! Thanks for sharing, and good luck with your baby dobe.

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23. SONIA R - 10:58AM on 11/02/07

Is it a good idea to use fillable toys? I´ve read many articles where they use this toys not only for entertain the pet when home alone, but for feeding. I´m training my new puppy, and he prefers to eat from the toy rather than the bowl. Need some advice. Thanks.

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24. Pet-lover - 6:08AM on 11/03/07

I used to be concerned about my dog eating habits becasue some days she will not eat. I place 1 cup of dry food in her bowl and leave it. She eats when she wants to. Sometimes I hear her eating from her bowl late at night in the dark. Of course, she is the one with the separation anxiety and will not eat when I leave her. She won't eat from her own bowl when I leave her at home with a sitter. The kennel was concerned when she went 3 days without eating. But I don't worry anymore because I know she will eventually eat.

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25. triciaemmett@sbcglobal.net - 12:40PM on 11/05/07

yea...i have a mid-sized black lab mix that is not interested in food. come dinner time sometimes she'll eat (never all of it) and sometimes she just lets it sit there. however, i also have a silver lab who eats EVERYTHING. he has gotten very sneaky about getting her food. so i need some suggestions too! he gets plenty of food and she eats eventually. but they are two absolute different extremes of one another.

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26. triciaemmett@sbcglobal.net - 12:46PM on 11/05/07

ok i have another question...my male lab does this nibbling thing. little and fast bites with his front teeth. like...he is eating corn on the cob. he does it when you pet him...its weird. sometimes it hurts. what on earth is he doing?

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27. Susan - 2:37PM on 11/07/07

SoniaR- Yes, use the Kong or whatever other kind of stuffing toy to supplement feeding. I use it with my pup... they tend to go thru a period where they have a very short attention span and would rather play than eat. Since they want to play, might as well get some food in them at the same time! Sometimes feeding in the crate helps.. although it only worked once with mine.. the next time I tried it she sulked in her crate instead.

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28. Susan - 2:50PM on 11/07/07

pdmandor- I would be concerned with the nibbling.. it sounds like an obsessive behavior and you should probably not allow it. Especially if he is making contact with your skin. That would be catagorized as agressive behavior and should not be alllowed. As for the eating habits.. in a perfect world they would all eat together peacefully.. but sometimes you have to do what works for you. Depending on their temperments you need to figure out who is the pushy one and deal with them. The rest of your pack needs to see that you are in charge of him or her. Make sure the others feel safe when it's feeding time. You may want to try feeding in the crate too and see if it helps.

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29. Char - 5:48PM on 11/11/07

pdmandor~We have 2 German Shepards who do the same thing. It's their way of picking the bugs off of us. They do the same thing to eachother. They don't know they're bitting your skin, especially if you have a long sleave shirt on.

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30. triciaemmett@sbcglobal.net - 8:50AM on 11/12/07

so then...whats the best way to get them to stop. because when i try to pet him and give him that snuggle attention he does the nibbling thing. at that moment i dont want to make him scared to snuggle. any ideas?

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