Help with fussy dog at mealtimes

Hi there,

I am posting this with the hope that someone may have experienced this and therefore can offer some help. or advice as I have never had this before....

I have three dogs, a 12 year old Weimaraner (who eats everything in her wake) a 5 year old Border Collie who just eats normally, and then our 'problem' our 6 month old Border Collie who is a right pain in the bottom when it comes to mealtimes....

I have to feed them seperately because the Weim steals the other dogs food, so before the pup came along I fed Bill (BC) outside and Amber (weim) inside.... then came Cayley, sigh... from the moment she came to us at 8 weeks she picked at her food, she is still her crate at bedtime, so we have always fed her in there..... the problem being though that when you put her food down she just ignores it !!! She expects it to be left down all day for her to snack at it - which is just not practical with three dogs. She then tips it out of the bowl and eats it on the vet bedding as she refuses to eat it in the bowl !!!!

But recently it has got worse, she just does not eat breakfast at all and even when I mix some sardines in with it just ignores it and goes to sleep.....

I have never had this with any of my older dogs as they are such food monsters - add this to the fact that they think she is being treated special because the food stays in the cage - so growling then ensues....

Food wise they are all fed on Arden Grange Cayley is still on the puppy version and every other day at tea time I mix some sardines in as it helps with their coat...

What am I doing wrong ?? help

I know it is hard but I expect the only way round this is the put it down for ten minutes and if she hasn't eaten it take it away. After a few goes of this she may just relaise she has to eat or go hungry?

HI Fudgeley,

I had tried that for a couple of times i.e. breakfast and lunch and when it came to tea she was just the same. I have moved onto twice a day feeding now, she is so tiny anyway I was just worried that going without food for a couple of days at this age may damage her ddevelopment she is small for a BC as it is

Do you think it would be safe to try again with it ? I am pathetic aren;t I? I just worry when they dont eat, only time my others have never eaten was when they were ill....

Oh just as a subnote, she seems quite depressed at the moment and down.... which isn;t like her. she is coming up for 7 months, do you think it could be hormones too ?

Both my other two are spayed so never seem to have mood swings....

Cheers

Hi Colley has she had a season, if not she could be coming in season and the problem could be hormonal .

Just a word of caution if she has always been a poor eater and seems depressed . I recently lost a bitch puppy aged 9 months with kidney failure, the only real symptom was lack of appetite and being a bit quiet. The vet decided to test for Addisons because of the lack of appetite and we were shocked to find the puppy was in kidney failure.

If you are worried ask the vet to do a blood test to rule out any problems.

Now you have added that she seems down and not herself I would perhaps pop her to the vet for a check. Fudge was never a great eater and I used to worry myself silly about it sometimes. Now I have the confidence to know she won't starve herself.

If the vet gives her a clear check I wonder if giving her her food in treat balls and games might help.With her being a collie I just wondered if you turned it into a game whether she would eat more? just an idea.

Its is so difficult to have a dog who is not a foodie
when I 1st got Ben at 8 weeks he would do a handstand while eating he was so into his food
Then by 4 months he hardly ate at all
didnt matter if I took it up or left it down he ate a little every other day - about 1/4 of what he should have eaten
he would muster up some interest if I mixed wet food with it but he soon got bored
I also noticed that he would not eat at all b4 his last walk in the evening - saving room incaase he got good treats
so I had a dog who may or may not eat about 11pm - and only then

I did everything the books say - not choping and changing, not leaving the food out assuming he would eat when he was hungry

but at 8 months after 4 months of a super skinny dog (with nothing wrong with him) I finally switched to raw
He is not a big foody now but at least when I put the food down it is eaten within 20 min or so (and noone is going to call the SSPCA on me now!!)

Does your pup take the food as rewards for training?? I did find sometimes if I started him off with a training sesh with treats and then a little jackpot at the end then he realised he was hungry and went to eat

also - might be a dumb idea but can you feed them together? the compatition of someone else about to eat their food (if they wont fight) might help??

hope something works cos it is a worry
I know I had lots of advice with people saying a dog wont starve itself but .. hmm well he got pretty close to it eating no more than 25g food a day

but I would get to the vets if there has been a change in her
just to put your mind at rest that there is nothing more sinister going on

Hi there, Thank you both for your advice.

She hasn't come into season yet, but at 7 months like you say that could be the thing....hormonal wise - I know my mum's dog was always a poor eater, then she had her spayed and bingo - she eats fine now.....hmmmm

If I put her food into a kong she will eat it sometimes- she is a cheeky little minx !!

I would just love her to tuck into her food as soon as I put it down like the other two dogs and all the other dogs I have ever had come to think of it !!!

I will take her to the vet and get her checked out just to be on the safe side...

She also recently - sorry to go on, occassionally is limping on her front leg, sometimes she does then sometimes she doesn't - when I checked her over she did not cry or pull away, she also does not have anything stuck in her foot... Both her parents have very low hipscores and have been fully DNA tested for all the hereditary diseases that BC's can get which is one of the main reasons that I bought her from a show breeder.....

I know they are all stupid small things, but on the whole at the moment she just seems thoroughly fed up.....poor mite.

A trip to vets next week will definately be in order.

Hi Ben,

I do occasionally give the dogs raw chicken wings I know its not full RAW by any stretch of the imagination - however they all tuck in with justo - except for her... first couple of times they went down a treat - but now she just sits her cage and looks at it !!!

I have tried feeding her together, what happens is the older dogs eat their food - she potters off away from hers - then they come and eat hers - she doesnt even put a fight she just stands there and watches them !!! arghhhhhh

She is very much the bottom in our 'pecking order' which it should be I have been told, the older weim 12 years rules the roost and bill the 5 year old is very much happy for it this way, and Cayley doesn't seem bothered either.... they all get on very well and never a cross word.... can't seem to win...

She takes treats from me fine - however never which much dusto....

Will let you know how I get on at the vets.

Thanks again all.

Is this dog fed once or twice a day? She`s quite young still. I found feeding my picky eater in the morning (just a tiny taste at first but now she demolishes 2 chicken wings) seemed to improve her appetite in the evening. My girl would happily go without food for days, but if tempted to eat, seemed to `get the idea` and start eating more.

HI there,

She is now fed twice a day, I had been feeding her three times but have dropped it down to two now she is over 6 months.

Many thanks for your replies.

Kind regards