Moxie Crimefighter Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 We have had this problem with moxie since forever, but I am wondering if anyone has any ideas why. She does not want to eat her food. We switched food recently and it seems like she eats it a little better but usually for her to eat her food it has to be about 5 feet by me and I cannot leave the room why she eats or she will stop. I started feeding her in her kennel just leaving her bowl in there why I am gone for the day and that worked for a while, but lately she hasn't touched it, or just spilled it all over the place. Then if I put the bowl out while I am watching tv she will eat it. When we have had friends watch her she will maybe eat a total of 2 cups in 4 days just because she just leaves the food sitting there. I have noticed she will eat enthusiastically, cat food and dog food like, kibbles and bits, or any other cheap dog food. We have just had her at the vet about 2 weeks ago for her vaccinations and overall exam, so I don't think that it is anything wrong with her. Any ideas of what this might be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 A normal BC Some are just like that, especially when younger. Put her food down for 15 minutes. If she doesn't eat it then pick up the dish and don't offer it to her again until her next meal time. A healthy BC will not starve itself, although they often look painfully thin as teenagers and young adults. As long as she is bright, alert, healthy and has tons of energy don't worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 You did not say what kind of food you are feeding Moxie, so it is possible that some of my suggestions may be redundant. We have had many dogs over the years, and this has sometimes been a problem. Keep in mind that the food must be attractive to the nose as well as palatable to the taste, as a dog judges the food by first smelling it. If her food involves dry kibble, try adding some low-sodium beef and chicken broth (alternating), mixed with a bit of warm water. It adds aroma and flavor to the bland kibble. We also sometimes add all-natural spaghetti sauce (again, mixed with warm water)as an occasional treat. If she is getting only dry kibble, try mixing in some moist food. We mix in one-quarter can of moist food with Annie's kibble. Our dogs love the smell and taste of Merrick canned, but it is not cheap. Try mixing some broken-up Italian meatballs pieces in with the food; the dogs love both the smell and taste of the garlic, and we also used them as training treats. We use Celentano's minitature meatballs from Stop and Shop, but there are many other good brands. (Sidebar: We also hide pills inside the meatballs when the dogs need medication, and they eat them whole with no problem.) I hope these ideas might help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 I don't add anything to the food to make the dog eat unless it is sick. Doing that just makes the dog even more picky (teaches it to not eat unless offered something it likes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Maybe she is a social eater? I knew of a pitbull who would only eat when someone was near her. Have you tried feeding her when you eat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 I agree with both of Liz's posts. Also, by not free feeding your dog, you will have more valuable training opportunities. Plus you will be more aware if there is anything wrong with your dog and your dog will have a more consistent (like to the 1/2 hr) potty schedule. My dogs are on plain kibble. Sometimes River doesn't eat a meal, but will eat the next - but her food is very high quality so lots of good things for her in it. My dogs are fed twice a day and River learned 'stay' as a puppy using her dinner dish to teach it - she has a really great out of sight, LONG stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4pack Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 This is your pup that's scared right? Ought to be handfeeding your pup and as RaisingRiver mentioned used that kibble to strenghten the bond and as training opportunity. BTW, you'll find more info on the benefits of handfeeding in the files on shy-k9s . This is where BF is needed... if you both really want to strengthen that relationship... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 Just to give another POV, I am dog savvy and have a large number of dogs, most of whom live to eat, so pickiness is not a problem. I routinely add extras to their kibble, not to get them to eat, but rather because the extras I add have some benefit to them. Imagine my surprise when I finally got a dog who's just not real interested in food (her dam is the same way). She eats better if she perceives competition for her food, but some days, and especially when we're traveling to trials, she just won't eat. I used to worry a lot about it, but now I take a more pragmatic approach. I know she won't starve herself, but she was painfully thin, so I did whatever I could to get her to eat, and that meant adding fun stuff to her food. I don't think she got any pickier as a result. IMO, you know your dog best. If you think that adding yummy stuff to her food will make her more picky, then don't do it. If, on the other hand, you think/know that yummy stuff will help improve her appetite, then try it. For Lark, it turns out that she generally eats kibble with a little milk (lactose free) on it. She also gets an evening meal (I feed everyone else once a day in the a.m.) of oatmeal, milk, and cottage cheese. She's still thin, but not so thin as to be embarassing. It may just be case of finding a brand of kibble that Moxie likes. Like others have noted, I don't leave food down indefinitely. But I will offer it again later, again for a short period of time. FWIW. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxie Crimefighter Posted July 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 Those are some good ideas. I think we are going to try to get my boyfriend to hand feed her a little bit. The food I feed her is a high quality food from a petstore that makes their own. She will eat if we are sitting next to her. I suppose it may just be that is what she is used to. She gets 1 cup in the am and 1 in the pm. the one in the am is usually put in her kennel with her as i usually dont have time to sit by her while she eats. And the one in the evening is given to her which she will eat pretty well if we are sitting close by. So weird. And i do add a little bit of something every so often just as a special treat =) Thanks for the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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