New Lab won't eat unless I'm standing next to her?

On occassion Tootsie pulls this stunt. My solution, put the cat next to her. She always eats when the cat is there. She has no guarding issues with anything, but something about the cat.

Lex is the same. He will not eat unless DH or I are next to him. He has always been that way. For the longest time it was just me, but last year I went on vacation for a week. DH said he didnt wat for three days, the did when DH was next to him. He will go as far to stop eating and follow us out of the room if we leave. Sometimes I dont get home until later in the evening, and DH's mom will give him food, but he wont eat it. She gets worried, but he knows its there. We have just accepted his behavior, it isnt doing him or us any harm.

On Monday or Tuesday I put a little ground beef in her food bowl.. and I'm talking literally a couple crumbles of ground beef, not really enough to even taste... at first she didn't want to eat it when I walked away, she followed. I took her back, she thought about it and then ate. I walked into the next room and she stayed and ate about half her food, then came to find me.

So, the next night I did the same thing... but no luck. She wouldn't eat unless I was standing next to her.

So, back to square one. My only concern is we're going to be going out of town in September and I'm worried she wont' eat.

I agree with Jackie, if the dog is otherwise healthy, start a routine and the dog will eat eventually.  Kenya would "fast" herself when we first got her and she was NEVER abused.  I have long since given up on trying to figure out *why* she is the way she is and just accepted that she IS the way she is.  I think temperament is more important than anything (as evident by dogs who were abused that will gorge themselves just fine!).  A dog can be timid and insecure without anyone ever laying a hand on it.  We would just put her bowl down and leave her be, then pickup whatever was left 20 mins later.  Rinse, repeat 2-3x a day.

I wouldn't worry about Sept. right now, just stick to a routine.  Many dogs that DO eat fine at home will fast when they are boarded or owners are gone, so it's likely she might fast herself in Sept. but won't fast herself to death.

 Some dogs are just "social eaters" - but, I tend to agree with Liesje, that dogs don't tend to starve themselves.  Dogs can go without food for short periods of time, just not without water.  In the hunting world of wild canines, the rabbit doesn't always run by every evening at 5Pm, as one of my colleagues used to say.

My dog had major SA (and still has some) issues. When I first got him, he wouldn't eat at all unless I actually hand-fed him. I know this was kind of "giving into" his behavior, but I actually think it helped us bond (and this was my first dog without my parents' supervision so I was really nervous about him not eating). Eventually, he started eating when the other dog did. According to my mom, when I go out of town he'll not eat for the first day that I leave but then he's fine. It's just something we've all gotten used to, I think.

I like Jackie's point. The past is past and today is today.

I had two eating issues with Shadow but one remains. First issue. When I first got him, he had food bowls suitable for a puppy 1/4 his size. I got adult-sized bowls. For a while, even with a full bowl, he would only eat the amount that would fit in the puppy bowl. It took a while for him to realize that he could more than that at one sitting. But he still only eats about 1.5 cups to maybe 2 cups and that is due to his Siberian metabolism. They never eat a lot at one time.

The other issue is that he will not eat unless I am present. Part of that may be due to the ritual he started of chasing the kong once or twice before eating. Or it may that he is group oriented and only eats in the presence of his group. OTOH, he has hunted and eaten cotton rats. And chewed on a bird. And played with a squirrel until it died (he has yet to actually eat a squirrel and I'm not sure he knows how.) We can go out of town for a day or two with a full bowl of food left out for him and he won't eat. He may get one morsel, now and then. A dog can go for some days without food. But he drinks water and I always have two big water bowls outside, filled.

We're not gone very often and when we get back, we bring in the baggage and my very next thing is to feed him, before I unpack. By then, he will eat two cups. True, it means I can't travel for work but then, I'm not interested in travelling for work. So, it's probably good that I'm not a rock star.

 Is she normally very clingy with sticking with you?  Also how long have you had her?  Some dogs take a while to settle and get their appetites back.

Kirby is a super velcro boy and wants to be wherever I am.  When I first got him if I left when food was down, he would follow and leave the food behind.  If I left him in the room with someone else he wouldn't even take high value treats while I was gone.  I ignored the behavior and worked on making me leaving and going in general part of normal life and nothing to worry about.  Unlike most people I've never done the 20mintues rule with him.  I shell out the amount he gets and he as till the next feeding to eat that.  It took a good month for him to get comfortable in the house and for him to want to finish his meals in one sitting, even when I was there.

Now he is a total foodie and though he still wants to be with me wherever I go, he will eat without me in the room.  Generally I still prefer to sit down for a moment, because if I leave he will gulp his food and I prefer to wait five minutes than having him choking, or gobbling up as much as he can fit in his mouth so he can run out to where I am, then spit it out so he can eat it piece by piece next to me.