My king charles won't eat anything

lulu!

my cavalier king charles won't eat anything.when i ggive him dog food he won't eat for 3 - 4 days and when i give him human food off my plate oyt of my hand he'll eat it but if i give him it in his bowl he won't.i'm afraid he's too skinny and that he might get very sick.any suggestions?????

babygirlz

My guy was like that for years, they are fussy feckers at the best of times. My guy would eat eventually after a few days, he is 9 now so hasn't had any affect on him.
Did you try changing his food?

teacherspet

Put his bowl of dog food on the table. As you eat your dinner hand him down some of his own food. He will think thats what you are eating and accept it.

Papillon!

my 8 yr old cavalier is the exact same. skinny compared to what most king charles look like! could go 3/4 days without eating much and then will eat a good bit other days.. think theyre just fussy cos our vet said shes in good condition

Valentina

I have two cavaliers. One has a great appetite and the other is the fussiest little yoke!

What works for me (most of the time) is to put down her bowl, give her ten mins to eat and then take the bowl away whether she eats or not. She soon learned this was her only opportunity to feed and ate her food in one go instead of picking little pieces out and running off!

She does have the odd day where she's more interested in playing with her food than eating it, but our vet says she is in perfect health and a good, healthy weight.

mymo

Any dog will hold out and see if there's something better, and if they know you'll give in they'll wait. It'll become fussier and fussier.
I see no harm in giving a few scraps, just be sure there's no salt or gravy(very high in salt), mine love left over veggies, broccoli, peas and carrots. I mix them in well with their dry food some days, but not others, so they never know what they're getting. Put the food down for 15 mins in the morning and evening (and midday if you like) but then take it up and wait 'til next time even if it hasn't been touched. Dogs will not starve, one of mine will often not eat for a day or two, he's slim but vet told me thats healthy, for a King Charles I'd be keeping them slim anyway as they are prone to weight gain and heart problems.
I also mix in some fish (sardines and mackerel are my two's favs) in oil once a week, and give some raw one day most weeks (don't feed raw and dry together, leave at least 4 hours between, its for digestion).
Don't feed from your hand unless you are training, it will take about a week of being really strict, but it will work out.

lorebringer

Dogs will not let themselves starve if there is food available but if they know something better will come along they will wait for it (even if ti takes a few days). The trick to getting a fussy dog to eat is consistency and you being more stubborn than the dog.

You need to develop a feeding routine (dogs respond really well to predictability) - free feeding is out (that is, leaving the food down all day) and you need to set two feeding times per day, morning and evening. At these set times (the same times each day), put the food down for 15 minutes, if the dog doesn't eat pick it up and give the dog nothing (except fresh water) until the next meal time. Same thing at the next meal, and the next, and the next... Do not be tempted to hand feed or to feed human food (esp not from your own plate), you need to get your dog to realise that you will not give in this time and that if he doesn't eat all he will have is a hungry belly. The thing you need to remember is that he will not starve himself to illness and not eating for a few days will do no physical harm to him.

Just a note on the food itself - be sure it is a high quality, dry, complete food (not a supermarket brand - Bakers, Pedigree, own brands etc) and measure it out so that he is being few the correct amount of food for his weight and activity. Always feed fresh food, not stuff the has been hanging around for a while, and keep it sealed so that it doesn't go off (most dogs will turn their noses up at stale food).

To get the ball rolling a bit, you could soak the food in a bit of hot water for no more than a minute, drain it, let it cool and give it to your dog. This will make the food more appealing to the dog. Do not add anything else to the food (human food, wet dog food etc.) until he is eating the dry food consistently, then maybe a little something every do often. You can phase out the soaking gradually, by soaking it for less time, until you have him totally on dry food.

Good luck - just hang in there and he will crack, it's all a battle of wills!

gregers85

Excellent advise from Lorebringer

LucyBliss

+1 for lorebringer.

I have one of them too. She's a complete heartscald when it comes to feeding her, some days she won't even get out of bed when I put the food in front of her. And I know she's not sickening for anything because as soon as I go to the fridge, she's out to me like a shot! I also find that on weeks where she's been extra fussy, I take her for a slightly longer walks those days to get her appetite going. More often than not, once she's had her rest from the walk, she's only too happy to dig into the dish and gobble up her grub.

lulu!

thanks everybody youve been a great help!!!!!!!:):):):D:D:D