She won't eat until I get home??

    • Gold Top Dog

    She won't eat until I get home??

    OK, everyday before I leave I make a dish for DH to give to Willow for supper.  Lately, she won't touch it until I get home, after 10pm.  This is really messing up her eating schedule.  I know a lot of dogs do this, does anyone know why and how I might get her to eat for him. 
     
    Thanks.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Sofie prefers to wait until *I* eat before she eats. Which makes sense, if I'm her leader. If I snack, she'll snack. If I'm not around, she won't eat for a couple of days...

    Maybe DH needs to sit down and have a snack when it's time for Willow to eat?

    Sometimes I've put warm water on kibble and for some reason that has made it Oh-So-Yummy to my dogs and they've eaten it right up. He could try that.

    • Gold Top Dog
    My dog likes to wait until the girls get home from school!  LOL!
    • Gold Top Dog
    Sorry I can't be of any help with this but Sasha will eat  usually as soon as anyone puts food in her bowl.[8D]
    • Silver
    Bernie usually eats the second food is put down. But Cali, my mom's wheaten, whom I babysit often won't eat unless someone is sitting next to her while she eats. I think it's part of the pack mentality. She will eat some by herself, however, if we add something yummy to it like canned or egg, etc.

    Does your DH just set the food down and then leave the room? If he does, maybe he could try setting it down near him while he is doing something like reading email or newspaper.
    • Silver
    You could try training her to eat on command. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    We have this problem w/ our dog, Ponce, as well.  She won't eat if one of us isn't home (either my husband or me).  The pack has to be together before she's willing to have supper.  This is exceptionally problematic when we take a trip, she can't come w/ us and my mother is watching her.  The 1st time we went away w/out her, she didn't eat for the first THREE DAYS.
     
    Ponce is on Natural Balance kibble.  So, we started buying the same brand of their canned food.  If one of us is going to be home super late, OR we're away and my mom is watching her, we just bride her.  A few spoonfuls of the wet food in her kibble seems to get her to eat.  She looks at the wet food as a treat (since she's doesn't get it all the time) and its enough to intice her to have her supper. 
     
     
    • Gold Top Dog
    Crusher too wont eat unless I am home.  I dont have to be sitting with him just in the house.  I am alpha.  He knows that.  BF is no substitute as far as he's concerned.  I dont worry about it as I am never gone for more than 6 or 8 hours without taking him with me.  If his schedule gets messed up I'm dont worry cause it gets right back on track the next morning.  How long does it take Willow to get back to normal?  Does it really screw her up?  I dont mind that he wont eat if I'm not here.  It just means that he won't get into anything while I'm gone.
    • Gold Top Dog
    We once dogsat a dog that would not eat unless you were standing there watching him. Obviously he didn't care who was watching him, as long as SOMEONE was....
    • Gold Top Dog
    Shaq will only eat kibble if we are home, and sitting next to him. Homecooked or raw he will eat without us present. Maybe try something really yummy with the kibble?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Thanks!  Well, tonight I left her more homecooked than anything else and DH called and was all happy she ate.  I felt too bad for him to tell him why, she couldn't resist.  I had no idea this was an alpha thing, I guess I should be glad I'm alpha, right??  :)
    • Gold Top Dog
    Right!  I'm glad I'm alpha around here!
    • Gold Top Dog
    Legend does the same thing, 98% of the time he prefers to wait til I get home to eat.  But then he isn't a big eater anyway and likes to pick here and there[:)]
    • Bronze
    My dog won't eat unless I am home too.  Even if I give her a treat right before I leave (which I always do) she hides it and waits until I get home.  I never minded this behaviour, as long as she eats, I don't care when she does it.  But if you really want her to stay on a certain schedule, try not giving her food for 12 hours before you make her dish in the morning.  I bet she eats it then.

    Let me just leave you with the best piece of dog advice I know.  If the dog is hungry, they'll eat.  Plain and simple.