my dog isn't eating :(

rottie 11

I am having problems with him since I got him with food. I had been feeding him twice a day but he wouldn't really eat at all until night time so I decided to try feeding him once a day.

I would mix his nut (alot of nuts) with fish in the morning and let them there all day but he would only pick at them and then come 11pm he would eat the lot.

Well I did the same today and he still hasn't finished them, what will I do?? It's getting very frustrating

andreac

What's his condition like? Is he healthy?

Sounds like he doesn't have a huge appetite. I Def wouldn't leave any food out all day. If he doesn't eat it then take it away And don't offer until next mealtime.

rottie 11

andreac wrote: »

What's his condition like? Is he healthy?

Sounds like he doesn't have a huge appetite. I Def wouldn't leave any food out all day. If he doesn't eat it then take it away And don't offer until next mealtime.

I have tried that and it didn't bother him. He still would only pick at it at the next mealtime. Not sure what to do

rottie 11

As for his condition. Hes a bit skinny , it's hard to explain but hes not actually skinny but he is for a rottie if that makes any sense

How long have you had him? My dog was like this when I got her. She just had no real interest in food and was underweight. It was just as you described. I got it into my head that she didn't like the crunchy texture of nuts so I started to soak them in a little bit of warm water. She got much better after that. Then I noticed her tummy used to make a lot of squirty noises and I switched her over to this skinners field and trial dog food which is wheat gluten free. After that she started doing mad spins in the air while waiting for her food. I still soak it but only with a drop of water so that it still has some crunch and she'd eat for Ireland now.

VonVix

It could be nothing or it could be something. But often our gut instinct isn't wrong, especially when it comes to our pets or even our children, if they don't seem right, best get it checked out!

Have you tried Fortiflora with him? You sprinkle it over their food. It can improve appetite. We use it where I work if a dog isn't eating, or has had loose stool for a while.

andreac

Would you consider a raw diet for him? Could make him have more of an appetite?

My Rottie goes mental for his dinner and he's on raw.

rottie 11

andreac wrote: »

Would you consider a raw diet for him? Could make him have more of an appetite?

My Rottie goes mental for his dinner and he's on raw.

I would consider it but roughly how much would it cost per month? He's 6 stone 5 pounds, I weighted him this morning. Hardly underweight is he ?

rottie 11

[Deleted User] wrote: »

How long have you had him? My dog was like this when I got her. She just had no real interest in food and was underweight. It was just as you described. I got it into my head that she didn't like the crunchy texture of nuts so I started to soak them in a little bit of warm water. She got much better after that. Then I noticed her tummy used to make a lot of squirty noises and I switched her over to this skinners field and trial dog food which is wheat gluten free. After that she started doing mad spins in the air while waiting for her food. I still soak it but only with a drop of water so that it still has some crunch and she'd eat for Ireland now.

I tried the water thing and it worked for a while but he just doesn't want to eat some day's unless I give him chicken or something

rottie 11

VonVix wrote: »

It could be nothing or it could be something. But often our gut instinct isn't wrong, especially when it comes to our pets or even our children, if they don't seem right, best get it checked out!

Have you tried Fortiflora with him? You sprinkle it over their food. It can improve appetite. We use it where I work if a dog isn't eating, or has had loose stool for a while.

Never heard of fortiflora, il have a look at it thanks. Is it like a dust or something?

andreac

Weight doesnt mean anything, you need to go on body condition. A dog could be that weight and seriously fat or seriously underweight, all depending on his build, height etc.

You should be able to feel his ribs but not see them. People get too hung up on weight instead of condition. Cam you post a photo for us?

Also, rotties are not meant to be big heavy dogs, they should be lean.

andreac

Depending on where you source the raw, you could spend anywhere from 40-60 a month.

Polo_Mint

rottie 11 wrote: »

I would consider it but roughly how much would it cost per month? He's 6 stone 5 pounds, I weighted him this morning. Hardly underweight is he ?

So your dog is around 40kgs

You normally feed them 2% to 5 % of their weight in raw food per day. ( 5% to plump them up a bit.)

So lets say 3 % which is 1.2kg a day.

Using Nutriment ( This is what I use ) it would cost around €4 a day is my closest guess

Interslice

rottie 11 wrote: »

I am having problems with him since I got him with fooits the. I had been feeding him twice a day but he wouldn't really eat at all until night time so I decided to try feeding him once a day.

I would mix his nut (alot of nuts) with fish in the morning and let them there all day but he would only pick at them and then come 11pm he would eat the lot.

Well I did the same today and he still hasn't finished them, what will I do?? It's getting very frustrating

Try a different brand of food maybe. I recently got my collie on pedro gold and mixing in hot water. First time in 5 years ive had to manage his diet. Loves the stuff. Before id just leave it out and hed pick at it gradually. I also found hed go off a certain brand if he got sick even though it was something else hed scavenged or been fed that was to blame. Try to keep your dog lean. His knees and hips will last longer.

VonVix

rottie 11 wrote: »

Never heard of fortiflora, il have a look at it thanks. Is it like a dust or something?

Yup, basically!

andreac

Polo_Mint wrote: »

So your dog is around 40kgs

You normally feed them 2% to 5 % of their weight in raw food per day. ( 5% to plump them up a bit.)

So lets say 3 % which is 1.2kg a day.

Using Nutriment ( This is what I use ) it would cost around €4 a day is my closest guess

You can feed for much cheaper than that if you source it in bulk.

Carnivore Kellys do big bags of mince (5kg) for 10 euro along with turkey necks, hearts, wings etc. If you bulk buy it works out cheaper, but you also need places to store it.

Im actually taking my guy off it as i cant get the weight on to him. So i am going back to grain/cereal free dry food and going to feed minced tripe with it.
Maybe try adding something like the minced tripe to his food?
You can get that from Slaneyside Kennels.

andreac

Interslice wrote: »

Try a different brand of food maybe. I recently got my collie on pedro gold and mixing in hot water. First time in 5 years ive had to manage his diet. Loves the stuff. Before id just leave it out and hed pick at it gradually. I also found hed go off a certain brand if he got sick even though it was something else hed scavenged or been fed that was to blame. Try to keep your dog lean. His knees and hips will last longer.

Pedro Gold wouldnt be a great food and i wouldn't recommend it for a Rottie at all, as they can be prone to getting hotspots which can be caused by poor food.

Try and stick with a food that has a good meat content and little or no grains and cereals in it.

andreac

andreac wrote: »

Weight doesnt mean anything, you need to go on body condition. Cam you post a photo for us?

He has a photo on the post your pet pic thread. Its the last post on there at mo. He's lying down so hard to know but his coat is so shiny and he looks absolutely beautiful!!

Interslice

andreac wrote: »

Pedro Gold wouldnt be a great food and i wouldn't recommend it for a Rottie at all, as they can be prone to getting hotspots which can be caused by poor food.

Try and stick with a food that has a good meat content and little or no grains and cereals in it.

Its not the best but its only 20 euro for 15 kg and doesnt bother my lad. I trust his judgement over yours tbh. Anyway the suggestion was more to try different food rather than that one specifically. No need to remove grains from a dogs diet without reason. Sounds like that rottie is fine. My dog was healthy and lean after 5 years picking at a constant supply of food. Just by chance I got him that stuff and he wolfs it down now.

rottie 11

Il try to get a proper picture up if I can get him standing still

rottie 11

I'm feeding him gain elite with the last while. Hes doing fine on it but he just doesn't like it anymore imo. Il be getting him adult soon so maybe he will rather that.

I would mix raw mince with his food no bother if I could get it cheap

Interslice

rottie 11 wrote: »

Il try to get a proper picture up if I can get him standing still

He looks perfect in that pic! A touch overweight if anything. Most rotties i see about look overfed and underwalked.

andreac

Interslice wrote: »

Its not the best but its only 20 euro for 15 kg and doesnt bother my lad. I trust his judgement over yours tbh. Anyway the suggestion was more to try different food rather than that one specifically. No need to remove grains from a dogs diet without reason. Sounds like that rottie is fine. My dog was healthy and lean after 5 years picking at a constant supply of food. Just by chance I got him that stuff and he wolfs it down now.

I own 3 rotties and they tend to have issues with grains and cheap food trust me. I wouldn't recommend a cheap food and even more so for a dog that is having food issues. Most cheap foods have little or no meat content in them, so they are made up of cheap fillers, which are not good for dogs in general.

I'm sure your dog is fine on it and that's your choice, but as a rottie owner who has a lot of experience in this area i wouldn't advise a fellow rottie owner to go down the route of using cheap foods when the dog has an issue.

andreac

rottie 11 wrote: »

I'm feeding him gain elite with the last while. Hes doing fine on it but he just doesn't like it anymore imo. Il be getting him adult soon so maybe he will rather that.

I would mix raw mince with his food no bother if I could get it cheap

Try slaneyside kennels or carnivore kellys. Both sell raw food in bulk. I have bought from both before and are great.

rottie 11

Best pics I could get of his body. I can't see his ribs but I can feel them if I rub his side with a bit of pressure.

rottie 11

andreac wrote: »

Try slaneyside kennels or carnivore kellys. Both sell raw food in bulk. I have bought from both before and are great.

Thank do they deliver? Also he loved totw when I had him on it but after a few weeks he stopped eating that aswel

VonVix

Interslice wrote: »

He looks perfect in that pic! A touch overweight if anything. Most rotties i see about look overfed and underwalked.

I agree, a lot of the rotties I see are bulky, overweight looking dogs, nothing better than a lean, fit rottie. They're not meant to be barrel shaped!

rottie 11

Interslice wrote: »

He looks perfect in that pic! A touch overweight if anything. Most rotties i see about look overfed and underwalked.

That's another thing I forgot to mention. He had a sore paw a bit back and after a weeks rest it didn't improve so brought him to the vet , he got a shot and 8 tablets. He still wasn't fine after that until I rested him for another few days and now I'm not walking him half as much because when I do his paw comes at him.

So I'm thinking he's not eating because he's not been exercised as much as before

Interslice

rottie 11 wrote: »

That's another thing I forgot to mention. He had a sore paw a bit back and after a weeks rest it didn't improve so brought him to the vet , he got a shot and 8 tablets. He still wasn't fine after that until I rested him for another few days and now I'm not walking him half as much because when I do his paw comes at him.

So I'm thinking he's not eating because he's not been exercised as much as before

Definetly has an effect. Mine eats double his normal amount if hes out all day. Not every dog is a mindless eating machine! Tends to eat less Iess in summer too. Unless hes down to almost no fat I wouldnt be worried. I always try to give him as much meat and veg scraps, bones from the butcher and that kind of thing. No harm buying cheap meat for a growing dog either. Used to get him hearts in the butchers for a euro. Depends alot on the butchers. The supermarket ones are generally a waste of time.

maggiepip

rottie 11 wrote: »

That's another thing I forgot to mention. He had a sore paw a bit back and after a weeks rest it didn't improve so brought him to the vet , he got a shot and 8 tablets. He still wasn't fine after that until I rested him for another few days and now I'm not walking him half as much because when I do his paw comes at him.

So I'm thinking he's not eating because he's not been exercised as much as before

You need to get whats going on with his paw properly diagnosed and treated. Hes a young dog and his paw shouldn't be hurting him from exercise.

tk123

andreac wrote: »

Maybe try adding something like the minced tripe to his food?
You can get that from Slaneyside Kennels.

Do you maybe mean http://www.slaneypetfoods.ie ?

I'd recommend the tripe with oily fish over plain tripe - not as smelly!!

andreac

Sorry yes tk. Thanks for that.