Eat your dinner, pretty please .....

Lily has to be really persuaded and cajoled to eat her dinner. In the beginning I thought it was she didn't like the food and have changed it left right and centre but she reacts just the same no matter what it is. I have ignored her and lifted it and not fed her at all - she has gone 24 hours and when I relented and still she had to be persuaded. I don't know whether she was taunted with he food in her previous life - any ideas please.

Stick to 1 good brand rather than swapping.

Rather than encouraging, put the food down for abot, half hour, if she hasn't eaten any just take it up.

Don't make a fuss, and please don't worry. Repeat this and see how a new routine works for you. She won't starve herself, but try not to pander either, they can be very fussy if you let them!!

i had this with sasha the other week after she had her tooth out,the vet said to give her chicken and rice for a couple of days after her op then back to her normal food,well after having chicken the little madame turned her nose up at her normal food!i just kept putting it down and taking it back up again,after a couple of days she soon learnt and is back eating her normal food again,they wont starve themselves,its just us that think that

Is she drinking normally? If so I would also go with leaving the food out for about 30 minutes and than taking it back up.

jstaff wrote:Is she drinking normally? If so I would also go with leaving the food out for about 30 minutes and than taking it back up.

She doesn't drink an awful lot but I was told it was because she is on wet food. She wouldn't eat dried even in the rescue but I did try. She as been on Nature Diet for several weeks now.

I will follow everyones advice and take it away tomorrow and see how she goes. Crafty little beggar, here's me thinking she has been tanted with food in the past and she's just being a fusspot

Are you or other people feeding her alot of treats during the day?

jstaff wrote:Are you or other people feeding her alot of treats during the day?

I do feed her treats as part of her training - she also has a Dentsick and a peanut butter kong every day.

She could be filling up on those and not have much of an appetite. We use sliced vegetables for Suki. There cheap, low calorie, healthy and won't fill her up.

A healthy dog won't starve itself.

Give her a really good walk like over an hour, let her cool down, put down some kibble with gravy over it and MAKE HER WAIT then let her at it and leave it and don't watch or make any fuss.

A dog needs to work for its food, if its too easy they won't bother. Lexi is always fed after shes cooled down from exersice.

I went through this with ice it came down to will and determination , I would put the bowl somewhere neutral then I would shout ice dinners ready make a noise with the bowl and place it on the floor , leave it for 30 mins then if she did not eat it ,it would go in the bin 48hrs later stubborn mare lol she was eating with out any help , the main thing is no * bits if she has no dinner no * bits this worked for me but I did feel guilty

If I were you, I'd scrap the dentastix (the ingredients aren't great anyway) and also the peanut butter Kong, instead feed her her meals out of the Kong.

I have EXACTLY the same thing with my pup. And she's on raw. It has been a real worry for me at times but she is healthy, full of energy and is growing well.

So whatever she does eat, is doing it's job and I feel she must eat enough for her needs or she wouldn't be thriving.

She has always been like it. Some dogs are more interested in eating than others. I do what has been suggested, leaving the food down for 20-30 mins and then I take up what hasn't been eaten.

If you are still concerned you could try giving more exercise to try and increase her appetite. Really make her work for her food.

Hayley wrote:A healthy dog won't starve itself.

Give her a really good walk like over an hour, let her cool down, put down some kibble with gravy over it and MAKE HER WAIT then let her at it and leave it and don't watch or make any fuss.

A dog needs to work for its food, if its too easy they won't bother. Lexi is always fed after shes cooled down from exersice.

Excellent advice Haley

OK I started it today - wasn't brave enough to give her kibble as she just doesn't want it even with the gravy. She left the breakfast so I chucked it out but she ate the eveing one. She has had no snacks at all, not even the peanut butter kong - but good idea to stuff the kong with food and I'm just wondering if she would eat the kibble from a kong if I tried that. Is there a reason why kibble is advised over wet food

Kibble is better for a dogs teeth, wet can give them really bad tartar and gum disease. Would you ever consider raw?

Hayley wrote:Kibble is better for a dogs teeth, wet can give them really bad tartar and gum disease. Would you ever consider raw?

It's also about 80% water, so you have to feed more of it to get the right amount of nutrients in her! I'd rather not waste my money on water that I can get from the tap. Mind you, I feed raw, anyway.

Hayley wrote:Kibble is better for a dogs teeth, wet can give them really bad tartar and gum disease. Would you ever consider raw?

Not sure - I was speaking to the trainer about this the other day as she feeds raw and was telling me about ready prepared and frozen. Think I would rather try the kibble first.