Help!

 Tough love. Offer food on a schedule. When she doesn't eat it, pick it up, and put it away. Offer NO treats, NO food til the next meal time.

And don't worry about it. She's been vet checked. As long as she isn't sick, it's OK for her to miss a couple of meals. If you're worried while you're feeding her, she may be too worried to eat the food. Just put it down, and leave her to it. Most healthy dogs will be eating well within a couple of days. I've never had  a dog turn down food for more than a day and a half, unless it was sick.

It would worry me if she has lost a lot of weight due to loss of appetite. You said it is sudden.  I would get some bloodwork done. It's hard to tell from what you say if it's something to be worried about or just her being "picky".  I agree that picking up food if it isn't eaten within a few minutes is a good way to feed, it's exactly what I do.  It just sounds like she could be ill if this is unusual for her.  You didn't say how old she is but older dogs need a closer look sometimes when something changes drastically.  I am a worrier but I would ask the Vet to run more diagnostic tests. 

Dogs won't starve themselves. If she doesn't eat her food in 20 min. take it away until the next meal.

You say she's been vet checked but I'm with Jackie -- FIRST I'd do bloodwork -- THEN I'd do tough love.  If the dog has lost that much weight that's not good. 

 The weightloss worries me.  Checking a fecal sample is all well and good, but have your vet run some bloodwork.  Healthy dogs won't starve themself, so you can do the "tough love" thing after you rule out any medical issues. 

I hope your pupper is ok! 

 FULL health check - that includes bloods.  Once you are sure she is healthy, then pick a decent diet and a good schedule (I think most dogs do best 12 hourly... so, 7am and 7pm or 8am and 8pm) - and **stick to it**. 

Tough love really does work (PROIDED she is healthy!!).  Dogs really WON'T starve themselves.  If you start switching foods and adding all kinds of tasty toppings you W I L L create a rod for your own back and end up with a smart dog who has learned that if she holds out you will come up with something even tastier.

Mixing a raw egg into her meal may help to stimulate her appetite - you could give that a try?  I had a friend with a white GSD who was a horrible eater and he swore by it, but this is anecdotal only.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I will clarify a few things: She is a 5 year old French Mastiff.  I should say that it isn't like she won't eat ANYTHING...she's just being very picky about what she WILL eat. If I offered her chicken breast all day long she would eat it just fine - however that just isn't economical for me (plus I am not ready to start feeding a raw diet - I just don't know enough about it).

My concern is that I have tried the tough love and it doesn't faze her. She holds out - maybe I just don't wait long enough? But it is hard! 

We are going in to the vet today, so I have him do some labs along with the fecal. 

Does anyone know of a food that might increase her appetite so that she would be willing to eat whatever is in front of her? I have heard that pumpkin can be an appetite stimulant, but I don't remember where I heard that.

ddbsr4me

We are going in to the vet today, so I have him do some labs along with the fecal. 

  I'm with Jackie and callie on this; a full blood panel is definitely called for. A sudden loss of apetite (and this sounds like more than just being picky) and loss of weight is a symptom of liver problems, cancer, and other serious health issues.

 It MIGHT be that she is just being picky and holding out for chicken.  Perhaps you aren't holding out long enough.  Occasioanally it takes up to 3 days for dogs to give in and start eating well.  Longer would raise massive red flags for me!

It might be that there is a severe problem, but she likes chicken enough to tolerate any unwell feelings afterwards.

Have you tried other fresh meat - like minced beef for example?  I was wondering if it was the freshness of the meat, as opposed to the fact that it was chicken, that convinced her to eat it.  Perhaps there is an ingredient in the kibbles you have tried that she has developed an intolerance to.  Perhaps she has discovered she doesn't like grains, or doesn't feel good on a grain rich diet.... were any of the kibbles you tried grain free?

I'm NO EXPERT on nutrition, just throwing some ideas out

 If your tough love approach has lasted a couple days, then I would say, hold out on the chicken and definitely get on your vet to find out what's wrong.  If she's really not wanting to eat anything but the most delectable things, that to me says something is wrong, and she's likely not eating for a reason.  Forcing food on her(as in something she can't refuse) can make her worse very very fast. 

Hmmm...she can't be pregnant can she?  I've heard of dogs losing appetite in early pregnancy...I can sympathize.  

But for what its worth, I wouldn't want to create a false appetite.  You could end up with an insatiable dog that ends up fat with back problems.  

 My dog was sick, so I catered to her appetites. She got SO picky, that she literally lost over 1/3 of her body weight. She's healthy at 19 lbs. She was 12.5 lbs, when I started tough loving her. I just gave up. Nothing I offered was good enough for her, and she was dying. She had liver failure, and that is nauseating. Even things seated in health problems can become a training issue.

Of course, have her fully checked out. Check everything you can think of, and check things that don't even make sense. 

You holding out for a time, then giving in will make her hold out longer. Honestly, as long as she's healthy, I'd let her go hungry. Some people disagree, but.... I'd let her go for as long as it took. 

Nothing found in her fecal - will take a few days for labs to come back.

 On the upside - she had eggs and toast for breakfast, then I went and picked up some more of the food roll that she likes and she ate probably 2 cups of that, she had a can of tripe and has had a can of  Instinct (I think that's made by Natura?) with about 1/2 cup of dry kibble (I think it was EVO- but not sure but I know it was a Natura product - I picked up a bunch of samples at another store I went to for the tripe)

So I have made some progress today.

And she's not pregnant.