8 month old puppy not wanting to eat

[muddygreymare]

Well basically, my sister has an 8 month old Cavalier KC Spaniel. For the past few months he hasn't wanted to eat his food, but before this he went mental over food. We have tried him on 4 different brands and he refuses all 3. If you put some meat/fish etc in it he will eat some of it but usually just tries to pick out the meat ands leave the biscuits. He is quite skinny but not overly so, and the vet doesn't know why he won't eat either. He did have a sore tooth but that came out and his mouth is fine now but he still refuses food. Does anyone have any ideas why and what we can do to get him to eat? He is happy and healthy in every other way, he just doesn't seem to want to eat. Any suggestions?
Thanks

 

[CinnamonChristmasCookie]

One of mine was like this and it's really worrying. Have you tried plain raw meat, like a small chicken wing? (hold it, don't let him gulp it!) or mr trick yesterday was to pour probiotic natural yoghurt over the food and big dog had a clean plate.

 

[muddygreymare]

Yeah, he will eat meat on its own but refuses his proper food on its own, sometimes even ignores it if it has meat in. Have tried giving it him wet, dry, with meat and without and nothing works. Will see if he will eat it with yoghurt tonight if we have some. By the way, did you ever find out why your dog didn't eat? Thank you

 

[soloabe]

Abe was like this!

I like to think he knew that dog food was crap because he was fine as soon as we switched to raw

Have you tried just feeding soft things? It may be the pain memory of the bad tooth.

 

[Booboos]

I have a different attutude to this. If you are feeding good quality dog food, the dog doesn't have an underlying medical problem and is otherwise active and healthy, if he doesn't want to eat he doesn't have to. Some dogs will only eat every other or every third day especially before the age of 5. Dizzy was like that, and Pookie is now like that too. The food goes down once a day, stays down for 10 minutes and anything not eaten is then taken away until the next day.

 

[soloabe]

I have a different attutude to this. If you are feeding good quality dog food, the dog doesn't have an underlying medical problem and is otherwise active and healthy, if he doesn't want to eat he doesn't have to. Some dogs will only eat every other or every third day especially before the age of 5. Dizzy was like that, and Pookie is now like that too. The food goes down once a day, stays down for 10 minutes and anything not eaten is then taken away until the next day.

Yeah i always just assume that people have already tried this. Abe didn't eat for 8-10 days when we tried.

 

[CinnamonChristmasCookie]

Will see if he will eat it with yoghurt tonight if we have some. By the way, did you ever find out why your dog didn't eat? Thank you

Brig has just eaten green tripe and chicken wings, both refused two days ago, now eaten and looking for more because it has yoghurt poured on. Weirdo! He just won't eat if he doesn't like the look/smell, dunno. He was a real fussy swine as a pup so we switched him to tins from kibble. He was deeply unmotivated by food when little. He still won't eat things like veg/fruit and some days he'll eat something, some days he won't.

The food goes down once a day, stays down for 10 minutes and anything not eaten is then taken away until the next day.

I think Brig would therefore starve. He's hugely stubborn and wouldn't eat even if hand fed. I've found a trick for now, hopefully it'll carry on working. Given the energy he expends, I'd rather find something that gets food down him than leave him hungry. I'm a paranoid mummy!

 

[muddygreymare]

I have a different attutude to this. If you are feeding good quality dog food, the dog doesn't have an underlying medical problem and is otherwise active and healthy, if he doesn't want to eat he doesn't have to. Some dogs will only eat every other or every third day especially before the age of 5. Dizzy was like that, and Pookie is now like that too. The food goes down once a day, stays down for 10 minutes and anything not eaten is then taken away until the next day.

That is what we do, it goes down, if he doesn't eat it then its taken away and we put some more down for tea then after a while if he doesnt eat it goes away. Is there a reason for it, or is it because long ago the dog would have had to maybe eat not so often because it had to hunt, so they can eat not so often and still be ok?

Harvey eats sometimes if you hand feed him but not often, and he even refuses it if you try reward him with it as a treat. We tried him on cesar jelly stuff and he did kind of like that but went off it after a few days. I suppose if he is happy and healthy and it isn't affecting him apart from he is a little skinny, we will just have to deal with it and if he eats then fab, if he doesnt, he can if he wants but he's not forced to.
Thanks for your help

 

[Toffee44]

Will isn't eating atm although I'm soft Nd he had a rib today. But hes not eaten for 3days now. Entirely my fault he's been raw for 4 days and won't switch back. Was planning on 4 days kibble 4 days raw but I don't think it will work.

 

[KarynK]

T...Is there a reason for it, or is it because long ago the dog would have had to maybe eat not so often because it had to hunt, so they can eat not so often and still be ok?

You are right wild dogs have to work for their food, when they get it they often gorge eating a huge amount in comparison to their size, they then laze about for a day or so while they digest the meal and when they are hungry again up they get and off expending energy in the hunt and chase.

Also our ancestors would have fed them scraps and not too many of those, they would not have been getting prime cuts of meat, unless of course they were aristocratic dogs, they probably got the bones which is where fit as a butchers dog came from.

They are not really designed for two meals a day, a lot of raw feeders miss a day to mimic this, but I don't, though they do get a much smaller meal a couple of times a week and if they catch and eat a rabbit they are often very quiet and not that interested for the next day's meal.

You have to remember as well that the breed is small so they should not be eating huge quantities especially if the food is processed and contains grain.

It often helps if you have two or more dogs, mine dislike certain foods and it's only because the other one is there that they eat it at all, I am sure they would be much more fussy alone.

 

[AmyMay]

I would remove biscuits from his main meal entirely, as it sounds from what you're saying that that is the real problem. And then feed him what he actually likes, ie fresh meat.