Lexi is one of the most fusiest dogs I have ever met in my life

[lizzy]

I am so confused with this dog one day she wolfs her food down the next she looks at me like I have put poison down

I am really having to convince her to eat some days (most days) I just dont get it she last three months on a food and then decides she just doesnt like it and it makes me mad

as she only weighs 26.8 kgs i really worry if she doesnt eat. Now she is a small german sheperd but she is skinny and I dont want her to loose anymore weight

I have tried leaving it down for 20 mins and she will just go to sleep and leave it

I have to encourage her to go over to it start her off with the first bit then she realises its nice

I have just given her a beef steak with bone on it, she wolfed the bone down and left the meat we had to cut it up into small pieces for her to eat it now I know there is nothing wrong with her teeth as she is fine with bone

Even tripe she has started turning her nose up at it, she is basically bored, thinking I am going to have to change her food again

Any tips advice would be great thanks I am my wits end

Liz

[Chip Chesterfield III]

If you can find another dog to bring around at feeding time.

I bet she will gain her appetite.


a

[Stuart]

Hi Liz,.. Are you, maybe just a bit fussy and over careing,..if Lexi doesnt want to eat one meal, the chances are she would eat the next, if Lexi liked the food for three months, she will still like it I am sure, it sounds like it has happened before, could she be training you,.when she wants a change, do make the change.

Its difficult to give advice, as we dont know Lexi,... but I think I would stay with the food she is on now, unless there is a medical problem, it is unlikely that she will go hungry,... thats not to say that a dog has never suffered in this way, they can, so keep your eye on her,... but I am faily sure that she will eat when she wants to

I wouldnt personaly bring in another dog as you suggest Chip,.. that could start Lexi becoming posessive over her food, and thats not a good thing

[lauraburns]

It is a tough one!! Ozzie went through a phase of not eating. He starved himself for days, over a week in fact before I caved in and switched his food! Thankfully he is now settled on raw, but he is still quite fussy with what he eats, and does occasionally still miss the odd meal here and there! I don't know what to suggest really as I just sat next to Ozzie and encouraged him to eat. Which when I put him on raw he did eventually! Good luck!

[lizzy]

Hiya stuart,

Its mike now but on lizs name, do yours miss meals sometimes?

Shes on 2 packs of raw minced meat a day. Its got bones in it already, and some of them offal, but we give her extra bone and offal to make up the percentages etc.

Like yesterday morning she wasnt interested in her pack of meat, so it went away. Then at night time same again, she wasnt interested so i gave her a bit out of my hand then she ate it all. But thats one 400g pack throughout the day where she normally eats 2.

Then this morning she turned her nose up at her morning feed. That went away and about an hour later i gave her a big peice of beef on the bone. She munched away at the bone and left a big lump of meat on the floor. I had to chop it up into smaller peices and she ate it after persuasion.

Yet when i was making our dinner, she was scavving for a peice of cheese, and scavving for crisps etc so i think she is hungry. Got a feeling im wasting my time putting her tea down tonight but we'll see.

26.8kg 12 months old, do you think shes slightly under weight? The vet said she was slightly under weight last time at 25.7kg but he would rather them be like that than over weight. I think shes maybe just never going to eat much and we need to try and get our heads round it possibly?

[nisbreagha]

I agree with Stuart I think she might be training you to get what she fancies instead of what youve got her, my girls are 26kg not very heavy for GSDs but very healthy and Nis can go a day with no food usually once a month infact this month she's done it twice but I'm afraid I don't pander, if she's not eating it gets taken away and out at next feed. Do you feed after a walk if not maybe you should try that as she might be more hungry if you let her burn some energy then come in settle down and get some grub? I doubt she will starve if she misses a meal or two and she might just not be hungry, we sometimes forget they are not like us when it comes to food and don't need to eat anywhere near as much or as often as we do and it makes us worry when they miss a meal or don't eat for a day, simply if they've not been burning it off with exercise they sometimes just aren't hungry and need to skip a meal or an entire day cause they feel so full or bagged up.

[Raven]

Try kicking the bowl around a bit, so she's got to try a bit harder to get her food. Are there any particular meats that she likes or dislikes ? We have to disguise pheasant as Logan hates it but if I chop it up small and mix with with something else he'll eat it. Sometimes I'll grate a bit of cheese in if he's being fussy or a spoonful of yogurt or an egg yolk. They do tend to have their favourite likes and dislikes, if they refuse their dinner they get it served up again at the next meal but with something smelly and tasty added to encourage them to eat it.

[DelsMum]

Don't worry too much, Jerry Lee is also raw fed and does this usually twice a week. If he's not eaten it in 10 mins I take it away and give it back to him at his next meal time- he soon wolfs it down then! Missing the odd meal wont hurt, god knows if I'm busy or stressed I miss a few myself!

I see you are a bit worried about Lexi's weight and have her exact details down the last decimal- don't bother! GSDs come in all various shapes and weights, I know my 6 month old pup is a lot lighter than some other pups on here the same age as him but he is in good nick, just not growing as fast which is no bad thing at all. As long as you can feel ribs but not see them she's fine. Its a bit like the BMI calculator for people, you can't say all 5 year old children should weigh the same if you get me.

[Stuart]

I can honestly say with hand on heart that none of my dogs [ including our 14yr old Collie ] has ever missed a single meal.

All my Shepherds are all fit and strong they get more excersise than is healthy for me, and they are always hungry, yet I still have to watch the weight of the two girls, because they tend to put ON the weight,.. Sam is a lean, but big dog, they have always had a great appitite

Mind you, they get lots of excersise and almost never get treats,... both these things have to be connected to food intake

[gsdlover4ever]

There are times where Zara can be very fussy with her food and can miss a meal here and their... other times she is a greedy pig and would happily eat until she burst...