[gingersmom]

I adopted a 10-pound dog from a shelter last week. They said at the shelter that she had been eating Royal Canin, so that's what I brought home for her. I started out giving her 3/4 a cup, figuring that I'd feed her twice a day.

I was very surprised when I put down her food bowl and she was not excited to eat. She has gone 24 hours at a time without eating anything visible.

She was diagnosed with intestinal worms and kennel cough -- can that really depress her appetite so much?

She went wild at the smell of my old cat's moist food, but I have heard that dry food is better to minimize tooth problems, so I'd rather stick to that.

Since we had to give her pills, I have been tucking them into small bits of string cheese (slight interest) and hot dog (she goes wild for it).

The vet said that this breed (Brussels Griffon) are known to be real mooches, but she does not beg when we are eating. She suggested putting some carrot or peas or low-sodium boullion on the dry food, but none of these options have worked.

Suggestions?

[luv4gsds]

Maybe she hasn't adjusted yet to her new surroundings. I know some dogs that will do this from time to time. I wouldn't add things to her kibble to entice her to eat. You may get a bad habit started.

[RRM_Mom08]

IMO the kibbles do not do much at all for tooth problems and decay and you can get the same benifits from giving them bomes and chews..those actually help out more.

Royal cainin is not a great dog food you can check out this site as a starting point on dog foods http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ ...Dogs are optimistic carnivores they were not made to eat kibble they were made to eat meat vegtables and fruits.. (If my dogs had there choice they would want me too homecook for them but with 3 kids and 6 dogs that is not always an option-though I do cook for them sometimes )


If i was able to afford it (we have 6 dogs) I would feed all my dogs canned dog food only ..It is healthier for them.My dogs LOVE Merrick canned dog food and we are looking into there kibbles food now also(we like to keep our dogs on a variety)..We also feed Innova EVO Taste of the wild and Orijen

[Darkmoon]

When I brought home nubs, he didn't eat for over 24 hrs. I started feeding him wet food just to get him to eat then mixed half and half wet/dry and weaned him off of the wet completely.

Come to find out he HATED his Science diet that they ffed him at the shelter but loved Solid Gold and finally ate that. you might just want to try a different food and see if that works.

[briteday]

Our 10 pound dogs each get 1/4 cup twice per day. So maybe 3/4 cup is too much. And maybe she doesn't like the food. And meaybe she is not settled in yet (I'm thinking about your training thread, she may be confused about who is the leader, the person who controls her resources). And maybe she is a picky eater.
Hard to tell at this point, but as long as the vet has given her a clean bill of health, relatively speaking, I'd give it some time.

I've had many foster dogs in my home from the humane society. Many of them do not eat for the first day or two and I've probably had one go close to 5 days or so before they really ate a meal when I put it down.

Also, be very clear with the dog...you put the food down for 20 minutes and then it is picked up again until the next meal time.

She sounds like a real cutie though. But give things time. She may have had a rough past life and just needs some time to work things out. Good luck!

[gingersmom]

She is starting to eat more regularly. We also are enticing her a bit, by putting three small bits of a meatroll into her bowl, which makes it smell much more interesting.

Thank you for all the suggestions and encouragement!

[SteveLuvsHisPit]

Originally Posted by Darkmoon

When I brought home nubs, he didn't eat for over 24 hrs. I started feeding him wet food just to get him to eat then mixed half and half wet/dry and weaned him off of the wet completely.

Come to find out he HATED his Science diet that they ffed him at the shelter but loved Solid Gold and finally ate that. you might just want to try a different food and see if that works.

I completely agree, the shelter sways you to think that you should keep feeding them the 'same stuff' or some shelters, like the one I got Damian from, gives you a small 5 lb bag of Science Diet for free to 'start off with'. Damian hated that Science Diet junk too, he loves his Innova puppy blend now.