[charbennett]

Hi,
I'm hoping that someone has seen this problem before and can help me. I have 2 dogs - a fawn Great Dane male (Maximus) that is 2 and a black Shitzu male (Sinatra) that is 1. We got the shitzu after the dane and they are great pals. The Dane being the dominant of the two - but he is not agressive and is always gentle. The problem is that Sinatra will not eat. When I feed my dogs, I give Max his food & water in his dish and Sinatra the same. They both eat the same brand and flavor of food. Nutro for thier specific breed types. I make both dogs sit and wait until I am finished filling their dishes before they eat - then when I give the command - Go Get It - they go. But over the last few weeks, Sinatra is active very funny. He will follow Max to his dish (the dishes are about 3 feet apart) and sit right next to Max (Max does not growl at him) and he watches Max eat. When Max is done he will walk away and sinatra will go to Max's dish and see if there is anything left, which there never is. Meanwhile his dish is sitting right there full and he wont touch it.

I think it is important to note that he is perfectly healthy and this does not seem to be a health issue. I believe that it is a behavior issue. Either his own or something to do with Max and him both.

Here is what I have tried:
I put Sinatra's food in Max's dish and Sinatra wont touch it.
I let Maximus outside and then put Sinatra's food in Max's dish. 1 out of every 3 times he will approach the dish and eat out of it.
I have put Sinatra's dish in a different spot - farther away from Max's dish. He wont touch it.
I have picked him up and put him right in front of the dish and encouraged him to Go Get It - and he wont touch it.
I have put Sinatra's dish in a different room. He wont touch it.
I have put Sinatra's dish in my office next to my desk (im stay at home mom that works at home) and he wont touch it.
I have put Sinatra's dish in my laundry room and put Sinatra in there with it and closed the door - come back and check on him and he never touches it. Not even if i keep him in there for several hours and only let him out to pee.
I have done the same thing in the bathroom - wont touch it.

Sinatra is always very excited when I get the dog food out and he responds to the command and even half the time he will excitedly approach his or Max's dish and smell it and then back away. Then, every time I walk away he will follow me. Sometimes I wait to see if its just me he wants to be there - or sometimes I will encourage him to go to the dish, and he is always excited but still wont touch it.
I have even sat down next to the dish and tried to get him to eat - and he wont touch it.

So - all of this leads to a hungry dog who is getting into my garbages in the bathrooms and garage (I have a baby and this is very frusterating when he gets a dirty poopy diaper and chews it up or a used tampon which is even worse. ) and even outside - he will find whatever he can eat and eat it.

I take precautions with all the garbages now - but it still happens as I have 4 children and doors dont always get closed.

Im worried about Sinatra not eating and also about him rummaging through things and possibly getting into the wrong thing that might make him sick.

Does anyone know what I can do to get my puppy to eat?

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me.

I have also posted this in the Health Forum.

Charra

[GreatDaneMom]

well here are some options that i can think of:

1- he doesnt like the food. yes he might have eaten it before, but just like you an i they can get sick of it.
2- he may actually have a medical problem. have you been to the vet to have this COMPLETELY ruled out?
3- theres something lacking in his diet that hes trying to supplement for by eating the garbage.

have you tried maybe mixing a little canned food in with his dry? mind you this could cause diarrhea so if he has a sensative belly... that could mean some booty blowout. my older dane isnt by my younger one is and THAT is NASTY.
if you havent already, definately have a vet check him out to rule out any medical issues.
i would say you might also want to try fasting him. but you would have to make sure hes not getting into any garbage to do that.

[jaley]

Oh I will be following this thread carefully.....I'm having the EXACT same problem with my Portugese Water Dog and my 5 month old Pekapoo. If you get any outside info, please post!