Night time eating

Hi Everyone just wondered if anyone has a dog that likes to eat only at night.

We have recently adopted 9yo Spike - we was fostering him but he was so gorgeous we have decided to keep him.  Shortly after arriving he had to have 9 teeth removed we know he needs future dental work but for now he is ok with his teeth.  He is a bit stiff and slow.  He sleeps a lot and doesn't want to walk a great deal.

As for eating I have been through every brand on the shelf in the last two months and cannot find anything he likes, I don't know his history so really clutching at straws.  He doesn't have a lot of human food, he has toast and a brew on a Saturday but the toast takes all day to go enjoy's his brew though.  He doesn't eat biscuits/treats.  Wont entertain anything we have bought him - kong ball is the only thing he likes to chew on.  Tried him on a kong but he doesn't like whatever I fill it with - not even peanut butter or cheese!!!

We have settled onto 1 Winalot Casserole gravy tin which he wont eat in the morning at all it can be down all day and he wont touch it, picks at it.  About 4pm he has cooked mince from the butcher mixed with dry food and sardines or egg.  This gets eaten slowly and not all in one go, even tried to soften the biscuits first but he just wont even touch it when we did this.  He does like to pinch the cat food at night time when we have gone to bed so the last couple of nights I have given him his winalot at 10pm and he has ate it all in one go and licked the dish clean - nothing like what he does through the day.

We are still getting to know each other but in my 20 yrs of staffy ownership he is the first one who has got me stumped with food.  I have never known a night time eater or even one that doesn't enjoy food.  I have left a dish of dry food down to see if he will graze but doesn't give it a second glance and it was just wasted money.

His mouth has healed lovely from his teeth out and it was mainly his front ones that he lost so still has his molars and his back teeth to chew.  He has been checked by the vet and he is well and even said he is overweight - currently weighs 21kg.  Neutered and vaccinated while he was in foster with us.  He is very clean in the house and waits for his morning walk before he poo's.  I just don't think him and food get on.  We have been waiting for him to unpack his bags so to speak as all new fosters take time to settle but he has been here nearly 10wks now.

His picture shows him with an apple which he didn't eat and a chew stick which still hasn't been chewed!!!

So if he has his mince at 4pm and his can food at 10pm as anyone else got a night time eater?

Firstly, yay for fostering and then adopting an oldie! Join the failed fosterers club!

Was Spike in kennels for a while? If so, I wonder if you've got a combination of two things. It's probable that his teeth hurt him for a while and that he therefore learned that hard food hurt. An association between pain and something can take a long time to overcome.

There are some dogs who are so stressed by the whole kennel environment that they find eating difficult. Kennels often quieten down at night, so he may have learned to eat when he felt more relaxed.

I'm guessing you've had Spike a few weeks if you've gone from foster to adoption, but it might be just a question of time.

Food wise, I'd try him on raw. Tinned food and biscuits aren't very good nutritionally. Mince is great but you don't need to cook it, and if you buy from the butcher it'll cost more than needed. There are various raw food producers/suppliers, depending on where you are and what storage facilities you have. I buy a month's supply at a time so for 3 dogs that means a very big freezer! Some pet stores now stock raw food that you can buy in smaller quantities, even Pets at Home does it but through delivery only.

So I'd try that, raw food only and then leave it a bit longer and see if he settles. And to be honest, if he prefers to eat at night, provided he's keeping good weight - or for the time being losing some but not too much - then I'd go with it unless it's a problem for you otherwise.

Thanks for your reply. Yes I agree I don't like tin food. I tried the mince raw but he wouldn't eat it not had anything for a day or two and still wasn't interested so cooked it and he picked at it. We was buying the mince from PAH but the butchers does mince offal at a better price. We have tried him on the frozen meat from PAH and it was more money wasted. I immediately bought him what I got for my other staffs and they were Raw fed but Spike just isn't interested. So reluctantly we are buying tins but keep trying the odd day to see if he will eat something new.

He was lucky in some respects was only signed over to kennels beginning of Sept and we got him 2nd October so he was only a month in kennels. Had his teeth out mid Oct.

Its a good point that he is probably associating food & pain probably the only thing I hadn't thought of. Time is what these foster babies need he is just a mystery with his food. Again thanks for the reply its always nice to get someone else's point of view

Can't really add anything as I think Liz has given great advice. I just wanted to say well done you on giving him a loving home as most people only want the younger dogs. He looks absoutely gorgeous

To be honest, it sounds like you're doing a grand job and it's hard to think of anything else to add to what you're doing already. Maybe try gradually mixing raw with the cooked meat? We had a new dog last year who wouldn't touch raw for a couple of day but by gradually mixing it she learned it was ok, or rather more than ok!

Good luck, I'm sure you'll ge there.