Going back to kibbles

Uh, hate to be the voice of dissent here, but....

Why are you catering to her? Find something she isn't allergic to, that you are happy with the ingredients to, and leave it down for 15 minutes, 2-3 times a day. She *will* learn to eat it.

My dogs do not have a choice of what to eat. They eat what I put down, every time, without hesitation, unless they are ill. One of mine has quite severe allergies, and I had made her very picky, at one point. She'd choose different things at each meal, and only eat that one thing. The vet was telling me to feed her whatever she'd eat, because she was so skinny and so sick (she has other, serious health problems). I got tired of watching her get sicker and sicker, and started her on tough love. FIVE times a day, I put down her food. As a liver shunt dog, she's prone to hypoglycemia. She figured it out, within a couple of weeks. She eats great for me, now. I started the other dog out on tough love, and they both eat anything I put down. That allows me to feed them a great variety of healthy foods.

If I remember correctly, Danes average about 8 years. 13 is ancient.
 

She *will* learn to eat it.

That is NOT true for every dog...my dog went for 3 days without eating because of that.  Not all dogs can be treated the same when it comes to food....I know some small breed dogs that would starve themselves if you let them.

That is NOT true for every dog...my dog went for 3 days without eating because of that.

So??? Emma recently went four days without eating, by choice. It doesn't kill dogs not to eat. It doesn't kill people not to eat, either. Teenie didn't eat for a couple of days when I got her. I took her for a senior blood panel, everything was fine, I continued on the tough love program. Obviously, the not eating by choice was because Emma was sick... She went to the vet and got medication to calm down her GI tract after she turned up her nose at meal #2, and once everything settled (she stopped vomiting and having horrible poops), she started eating fine again.

Not eating for three days is no big deal. It's my "policy" that on the third day (with a HEALTHY adult dog), they go for bloodwork. As long as all is well, they will continue to be offered food, twice a day. They get no treats, if they won't eat their meals. They *do* figure out that they have to eat what I give them.

ORIGINAL: dyan

I raised a Dane/Shepherd on BilJac frozen, the kibble hadn't even been invented by them yet.  But Cindy lived to 13, a great age for such a big dog.    The man I used to work for started his dog Bailey on BilJac kibble when he woudn't eat, and he started eating everything.  
I told Mike (my son who owns Ollie) that if Ollie starts allergy trouble again he should try BilJac Frozen.   I do like the food, but I know its not available everywhere.      I think the dogs like the kibble because it has corn syrup in it.  If my dog was not eating I would try ANYTHING!!!!

 
It's not corn syrup, it's molasses, which is high in iron and other trace minerals.

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

 It doesn't kill dogs not to eat. It doesn't kill people not to eat, either.

 
Actually it can. Toy breeds can get hypoglycemic, leading to unconsiousness and death. Same with people, I'm hypoglycemic and if I didn't eat for 24 hours I wouldn't be conscious. Just pointing that out because I don't think it's a good idea to recommend the tough love route (especially over the internet) with a toy breed puppy.

Once, when I was 20, I went five days without food, and that was not my choosing. And, much to the chagrin of some, I did not die. But it did not provide optimum health either. When I did get some food, I was unaware of how slow one needs to re-introduce solid food. Within a few bites, I was cramped up all over and nearly threw up what I just ate. That didn't feel good or healthy, either.
 
But the tough love can work, as long as it's just a tug of wills.

I would have to agree with you Ron & Jeanne.
As long as there are no underlying health issues, a dog will be fine with a few days off feed (if that's his choice).
Small breed dogs can be hypoglycemic, but, you can use nutrical during these fussy times. This will give them  vit/min they need and keep the blood sugar stable.
"Toys" can be very manipulative and it doesn't take them long to learn that they can make us "jump through hoops" for them.

I wouldn't go above and beyond if I knew she would eat.  Her grandma loves to make home cooked food for her.  So she wasn't doing well on solid gold, natural balance or nature variety.  That's when I decided to just do home cooked, though not all the time I can make home cook and some days she don't eat.  I figure why not go back to kibbles or can food.  There are still a few dog food brand she haven't yet try.  If anything I will have to buy just about anything to get her to eat.  Thanks again for all your suggestions.  [&:]
 

I agree that she should eat what she is given, but I have never experienced a dog who would not eat anything I put down for them!
 
If I were you I would do as was suggested and put the food down for 15 minutes, if she does not eat take it up and try again at next meal time.  I have heard from others on here that if you cater to a dogs picky ways it only makes things worse!  Good Luck!

Luvntzus-- I too am hypoglycemic....if I don't eat, I turn into the devil  [sm=devil.gif] lol

I just wanted to comment because I've had SOOOO much experience with my dog not eating. 
 
As for the tough love approach--The vet has told me to do that for no more than 3 days.  Any more than three days, lack of food starts to effect the immune system.  So, they should go in for a check-up or be given something they will eat or both. 
 
I've had to accept that the holistic foods are just not for my dog.  She doesn't like them and doesn't do well on them.  So, I've given them up.  It doesn't make you a bad owner if you're not using them.  What's important is that you are able to make an informed decision.  In other words, if I had a healthy dog who would eat anything they'd be getting Innova or Solid Gold or one of those great brands.  But, since I don't, I've got to do what works. 
 
I'm not a huge fan of my dog going without food for days on end.  But, I've found that if she doesn't want her food I need to give her something (roast beef) anything to get her eating again.  I will also give chews at this time which I find seem to stimulate her appetite. 
 
One days when she's not eating well, I leave kibble down in case she decides she's hungry later. She rarely touches it, but makes me feel better. 
 
They recently started making Merrick in small cans.  Maybe you could give her that at her meals and leave her kibble down to munch on later if she wants. 

Yeah, Jetta doesn't do well without eating either. She throws up bile, which is a pain in the butt to clean out of white carpets[:'(].
 
Thats why I add meat, veggies, and yogurt to her food. It just adds more nutrients for her so i don't have a problem with it. Sure she's spoiled, but at least she's happy! As her momma, its my job to make sure she always has enough to eat and likes what she is eating. I don't think its healthy for a dog to just eat kibble and nothing fresh.

I feel the same as Willow Chow.  I will let Harley go for a few days w/o eating if he won't or doesn't want to but at the third day or so I find something to make him eat.  Typically by this time he isn't not eating b/c he doesn't want to, but b/c he feels so bad for not eating for a few days.  He also throws up bile which I hate.  I have to add "something" to his food everytime I feed him.  I usually add @ a tsp of yogurt, pumpkin, baby food, a treat, canned food, a tiny bit of cheese, cottage cheese or a few tiny bits of meat.  I have also heard of people who add an egg and many other things.  It's not like I am adding anything unhealthy and it changes it up for him every week.  My dog may be spoiled rotten but at least he eats!  I think I would get tired of eating the same thing day in and day out too!  With a puppy who lets nothing go uneaten and will climb over a baby gate in a heartbeat, I can't leave his food out for too long for him to decide to eat it or not.  10 minutes tops and that is if I put her outside when she is done eating.
 
Also, I am in the process of switching Harley to a new food from Innova b/c he has horrible stinky gas on it and wasn't all that interested in it.  Someone suggested California Natural and that is what we are trying right now.  He is doing better on it and I have been researching it and they say it is sometimes a good food for a dog with allergies b/c of the simpler ingedient list.   

Lol Papillon806! I get 10 kinds of cranky when my blood sugar is low, then as soon as I eat I feel like a different person. My friends joke that when I need to eat I turn into "Evil Tamara".
 
boneyjean- I feel the same way about feeding my dog. I don't want him to have to eat something he doesn't like day in and day out. If you think about it, dogs have a MUCH more acute sense of smell than humans, which is closely linked with taste. It's obvious by how excited that dogs get around "people" food that they really enjoy it, so why not add some healthy tasty things to their food??