strange eating habits

[lisa]

HELP!! Blue has stopped eating normallly. She is healthy, full of energy....seems fine but she won't eat out of her bowl. I put breakfast down and she won't eat it, seems to want to drink tons of water. If I feed her sitting on the floor and taking the food out of the bowl and feeding her out of my hand, she'll finish a whole bowl. Or if I drop it on the floor she'll eat from the floor. She will try to eat the cat food. We started her on puppy chow and then learned not to feed her puppy food, so we slowly introduced Iams dog food, she ate that for a while, then stopped. We figured it must be a taste issue so we started mixing the petsmart baked brand, she liked it and is still in the process of getting both but has pretty much stopped eating altogether. As I said she will eat cat food (though we don't let her)she will eat milk bones and treats (though I've stopped giving her any treats in hopes of getting her to eat meals) and of course she will eat off the floor or out of my hand. I tried different food dishes too. Nothing seems to be working. Has anyone encountered anything like this before?


Oh yeah, she's quite happy to eat dirt and wood also!


Lisa Carter

[kickshawharlequins]

What is the bowl made of and what type of detergent do you use to clean it ???
My birds freak on plastic or ceramic bowls and anything scented (lemon crap etc..)
Go with a stainless bowl and hand wash with dawn or dial antibacterial...unscented, if you haven't already. Forget palmolive and that junk...even I can taste/smell it.

[Cujasky]

Lisa, How long has she not been eating? Also, I would forget feeding her by hand, not a good thing to start, too many behavior issues(if I don't eat, mommy will sit and hand feed me) If you are concerned, a trip to the vet might ease your mind. How much water is she drinking, are you monitoring it? A dane will generally drink 1 oz per pound of weight a day(maybe a little less) Depending on age, it can seem like they are drinking alot of water.How old is she?

[lisa]

Hi Debbie,
I haven't ever measured out her water, I guess that is the next thing I can do. She just seems like she's drinking when she is obviously hungry for food. No I won't be hand feeding again. I did it once just to see if it was an appetite or taste issue. This morning I did try taking the cat food up from it's place, hiding it from her and putting her food in it's place. She goes outside and when she comes in she runs to the room where the cat food use to be and has a couple bites and then goes about her business. She won't just sit down and eat. I think she wants to be free fed and I know that isn't a good thing, although during the week she is in her crate without food from 8 to 12 and then from 1 to 3:30. Would it be so terrible just to leave it out and let her eat when and how she wants when she is out of her crate?

Lisa Carter

[lisa]

Its a glass bowl, same one we've used since she came home. I use ajax dishwashing liquid, same thing I've always used.

Lisa Carter

[gmac]

Free feeding is a bad idea since it's so important to restrict activity after the dogs eat, and you won't be able to do that if you free feed. My pup came home a fussy eater, and she's still got her days, at 7 months, of not wanting to eat a meal here and there. I would find the food you want to feed her, put it down for 20 minutes twice a day, and stop feeding her any food treats. As someone said here before, you will never find the body of a starving dog next to a food bowl! They seem to like cat food, but if you look at the label like I just did mine this weekend, you'll notice a HUGE protein percentage. I think my kitty gets 32% protein and 20% fat, as opposed to the dogs 21/10, respectively. There is a lot of useful information on the diet threads, but personally, I do not have the time or desire to cater to my dogs fussy habits. As long as they have good quality food at the same time every day, they will eat what they need.

[lisa]

No we don't let her eat the cat food, she might get in a nibble or two once in a awhile thats about it. I understand the reasoning behind not free feeding, the thing is she's such a nibbler. She doesn't so much eat as she does GRAZE! I'll continue to put the food down for 20 minutes but her not eating is driving me crazy! I don't like the way she looks, I feel like she's too skinny. I know the general rule is that they should be slim enough to see the outline of the last rib but I can see almost all of hers!!!

Lisa Carter

[astridj]

Sorry, but letting herself get as skinny as you describe does not sound normal? Have you had her at the vets for a thorough check-up? Bloodscreen, urine & stool sample, may want to consider an x-ray just in case there's some sort of obstruction??
Even though it appears you have "catered" to her quite a bit, her reluctance to eat may not be just being finicky. Rule out any physical causes.
Or is she more stressed lately?
Did you try to enhance the flavor of the food maybe? (That may be why she wants to go for the catfood.) Maybe add some fresh garlic (dogs over 50 lbs can have up to 2 teaspoons of barlic per day)? Or add some chicken or beef broth?
Do you feed the food at room temperature?
Is her bowl kept clean?
Eating soil, esp is often a sign of some sort of mineral deficiency.
Good luck & keep us posted.

[lisa]

The bowl is washed after each meal, the food is room temp and I've tried the broth thing, she ate it once and then stuck her nose up at the next feeding. She does not seem stressed, shes happy, carefree, she frolicks, she plays. She acts completely normal!!!Lisa Carter

[astridj]

Hi again, Lisa - I hope the three "!!!" don't mean I've offended you - which was not my intention. Merely mentioned a few things that might make a difference or have a bearing.
If you haven't I'd still have a few checks done at the vets. Other than that, since she seems well, playful and "normal" otherwise I'd say leave her be until she gets hungry enough to eat.

[Stacie]

This happened to us a couple of months back. Our 3.5 year old spayed female wouldn't eat out of her bowl. My first thought was that our 2 year old male was intimidating her somehow (giving her "the look" or something). She would eat if I put some food in my hand....but she was not thrilled. Both males were eating just fine. After a couple of days..I broke down and gave her different food. She eat just fine. So, I had a new bag of the same brand of food she would not eat and gave that to her. She scarfed it down, no problem. We concluded that the first bag of food was bad. Thank goodness she is so picky....the boys would have eatten the entire bag and not known the difference. It has not happened again since. I had to apologize to our male for thinking he was beign a jerk. This may or may not be your Danes problem...but thought I would share just in case.

[lisa]

Oh no, you didn't offend me at all. :D LOL I am just so frustrated, shes my baby, we bond through feeding time and grooming (obviously I play and interact with her at other times too).Dad bonds mostly through play time. Crazy as it sounds I feel like Mom with a baby that won't nurse!!!

[astridj]

Well, just as with kids... "daddy's girl" and "momma's boy" :)

[lisa]

You've got that right!! My husband really wants a black male next (thinking that it will be HIS dog) I guess he'd better think again!Lisa Carter:D

[Sue and Scoobi]

Maybe if you tried mixing a little bit of canned dog food with the dry it would help. I have done that with Scoobi when she decides to be picky and then she has no problems eating. I add 1/4 can of Iams canned with her kibble and a tiny bit a water to be able to mix it up.

[lisa]

Problem Solved!! Garlic Powder. Maybe she's got a little bit of Italian in her!! I just dropped her off this a.m. to get her ears done. Wish us luck.

Lisa Carter