how do I make my springers eat their dinners

I am strugling to get one of my springer to eat when given her dinner.
I have tried to give her dinner and take it away after 30 mins...makes no differnece
I have tried leaving it for her at all times...I end up having to top it up with something " a little more tasty"
I have even tried differnet foods, but she soon tires of them.
Should I just let her get on with it?

I had that with my Jake, Boxer, when he was a pup, How old is your Springer? We tried all sorts, hand feeding, changing the postion and type of bowl changed the food so often it cost me a fortune.
In the end we put the food down and waited 20 mins if it wasn't eaten then it was taken away until next meal time. This went on for about 2 -3 days. I was getting frantic by this time. but I think they pick up on our anxiety anyway, so being stressful does not help.
I spoke to my vet and he told me that it was ok, as long as he was drinking, he would eat the food eventually. 3rd day he wolfed it down, and ate every meal from then on.
What kind of food are you giving? is it dried or tinned?
Sometimes they need a bit of encrouagement (sp) to eat kibble.
Hope this helps
Elaine x

I'm of the opinion that a dog won't intentionally starve itself. However, it is so stressful to be tough in situations like this, but for me it's the only route.

I follow the 20 minute rule. If they don't eat it in 20 minutes it's up and either in the fridge or the bin and there's nothing else, including treats, until the next feeding time (I feed mine morning and evening).

I didn't have to do it for long.....

HTH

Is she OK in herself otherwise? It's unusual for Springers to not want to eat.

Have you changed their food recently? How old is she? It sounds to me as if she's abit unsettled about something.

Easier said than done but if it were me I would let her get on with it and see how she is in 24 hours.

Hi. Ben has been a slow eater all his life and somedays he would hardly eat anything. Can I please ask how old your dog is and what you are feeding?

I had trouble finding a diet for Ben which he would enjoy and which would not upset his tummy. Ideally, I would like to feed him on just dry. However, he will leave it in his bowl and might just pick at it now and then. When he had his spleen removed he recieved some of the precription tinned food which I mixed in with his complete and he loved it. Now he has a small tin of chappie or occasionally a can of tuna mixed with his complete and although he might not eat it all in one go, it will definately be all gone within a couple of hours. Can I also ask how often do you feed your dog? Ben only has one meal a day in the evening. Although this is prob not ideal for a GSD, due to bloat etc as he has never been a big greedy eater this seems to work well for him. Of course , he has a few treats through out the day.

I feed them twice a day.
Some times they both are ravenous for their dinner.
but most of the time they are more interested in what we are having for dinner... I must admit that the 20 min rule would work(I believe) but my hubby is such a softy that we nearly come to blows over taking the food away. Soooo I have just laid down the law and insisted that the 20 min rule is now in force...
I will let you know in a couple of days how we get on.
Wish me luck (and patience)

How I can sympathise with this! My hubby is constantly undermining my efforts to get my little dog to eat her dog food by sneaking little titbits off his plate, and insisting on leaving her food down all day when she won't eat. I now can't feed her when he's in the living room working - she will park herself outside the door in the hope of getting something better (even when he isn't eating) and won't even look at her own food!! Good luck with your Springers.