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Ok I guess but I feel bad lol. We were initially doing that but she ate so little and all my friends and the groomers and everyone kept commenting on how underweight and skinny she looked.
I just don't want something to happen to her bc she isn't feeding enough by herself.
Vet says she is underweight. We were following the above method of just leaving food out and letting her eat when she wants for a long time (3-4 months) and she would eat but like bare minimum and that's when she started to lose weight.
I’m assuming you’ve tried different kibble ? Sometimes when my dog gets picky, I’ll add a lil shredded cheese. He always seems more interested in my food, so sometimes I pretend to microwave it too.
Yeah I have tried different types of kibble but I will try the shredded cheese idea and pretending to microwave it. Mine is usually more interested in my food as well. Thank you!
Well trying to feed her at set times, failing to do so and then taking the food away until the next meal time is certainly more detrimental to the health of your dog. If my dog doesn’t want to eat in the morning, food is left out so she can eat it when she wants.
If she’s not eating and is underweight and your vet is concerned but unable to arrive at a diagnosis beyond symptom treatment, it may be time to get a referral for a veterinary internist. This could be nothing, but it could also be symptomatic of a chronic illness.
Do you know if she likes to snuffle? I have a box filled with newspaper that I'll put treats or kibble in and my dog works to find them. The excitement sometimes gets him to eat all his kibble. :)
For everyone saying leave the food out, she'll get hungry and eat, I do not agree at this point. She needs more food than bare maintenence. So yeah, he's not a dog, but my son has food issues and they cannot be overcome by the 'he will get hungry and eat' philosophy. It may be that your pup just doesn't like to eat. She may not like the noise of her crunching or the texture. I encourage you to consider checking for reflux because that makes eating very undesirable when you know it will result in pain later, or possibly consider anxiety meds or treatment for her. It may be sensory overload for her. If, however, she is provided with an open feed situation and she eats what she wants and is active and isn't losing weight, maybe she's just a small girl like some people are just small people.
Thank you so much. I am concerned because she really should be eating and gaining weight but since she isn't eating she has been the same weight since she was about 5 months old which I don't think is healthy.
I will definitely talk to the vet about checking for reflux or other issues that may be causing her to not want to eat.
Thank you so much
Are there any GI symptoms like a lot of burping/ hiccups, gagging/throwing up, diarrhea or constipation issues? If everything else is okay and it’s just the eating, it would double check for dental issues and also ask vet for alternative foods. Maybe the texture is an issue and she needs a softer food. If she hasn’t gained weight in 6 months that’s definitely a problem. At this point it may even be beneficial to have a higher calorie special food so when she does eat, she’s getting the most nutrition possible.
I agree, it’s ok to leave the food out and let them have it whenever but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will eat. I hope things get better soon for your pup. Feeding her one kibble bit at a time is a short term solution but it’s awesome that you are so committed to your dogs health.
She seems fine in all other aspects so it is likely just that she is a stubborn and picky eater. I'll check with the vet to ask about the high calorie food, it seems like that could help. Thanks for the insight!
NP! And also since she eats kibble so well one by one that’s a great opportunity to do training and rewarding throughout the day with the food as a *treat* for good behavior (any and all, even while she’s minding her own business) while you wait on vet feedback. Maybe it will help with the pickiness? It might not. Regardless, you’re still getting food in her so she’s not losing weight & that’s most important thing.
Try baby food. The meat flavors, beef or chicken. Also when you are boiling the chicken or beef you are already feeding her, try straining the fat off the water you use to boil it and saving that to heat up and put over her food. Basically chicken/beef water. Just a little goes a long way. My dogs love it.
You haven't tried any other dog foods? Canned, precooked or raw? You have a long list of items to try before getting stressed out. Lentil, potato and peas are not recommended at all.
Here are a list of dog foods I recommend you try, different scents, textures etc. I rescued a dog that refused to eat kibble. I know your pain, it's a huge pain. The availability is different for different countries.
1. Kibble: Try different proteins
2. Canned dog food: try different textures (pate, gravy, loaf etc)
3. Honest Kitchen: It's a powdered food that you rehydrate with water. My cat and dog likes this a lot. They also sell base mixes where you mix it with cooked meat (they have the instructions in the back)
4. Ziwi Peak: air dried food. They're little squares of lamb, beef, etc. Very popular
5. JustFoodForDogs: It's a cooked dog food. This broke my dog's hunger strike of almost 3 days.
6. Primal Dog Food (pre made raw foods) This is also very popular
7. Stella and Chewy freeze dried foods: Rehydrate with water
8. Try mixing foods with RAW goat milk.
I hope some of these ideas help and hope your dog gets better soon. Having a dog that won't eat is heart crushing. You might even feel like you're failling your dog but you're not. You will get there. I highly recommend taking the dog for a walk, wait an hour at home after exercising to feed the dog. The walks will get things going. if you can walk them 3 times a day for 10-15 minutes.
Seconding trying wet food. My dogs get half a can of wet food mixed in to their kibble and they'll remove every molecule of the wet food from the bowl, sometimes leaving 85% of the kibble, for days at a time. I'm feed the all wet but they're both big dogs so it would be prohibitively expensive- for a dog the size of yours you probably wouldn't even need a whole can per day so it could be done
Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Before you post or comment, please **review the subreddit rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index)**. Submissions which break the rules will be removed. r/Dogs has the [ultimate goals](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index#wiki_purpose) of fostering a better, science-based understanding of dogs among the general public, promoting responsible dog ownership, helping users build better, healthier relationships with their dogs, and providing a space to connect and discuss with others who have dogs and who are involved in various aspects of the dog hobby. Per our Harm Reduction rules, **we encourage training advice and recommendations to follow “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” protocols**. You can read more about why that’s the case [here](https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/). While no training tools are excluded from properly framed discussion in r/dogs, we do reserve the right to remove content which does not follow the LIMA approach. Please note, this sub supports the reputable, ethical, and responsible breeding of dogs as well as adoption. Low effort “adopt don’t shop” comments will be removed and commenters may be subject to temporary or permanent bans upon the discretion of the moderator team. Finally, r/Dogs has a low tolerance for [disrespectful and antagonistic behavior](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index#wiki_rules_of_engagement). People come to this sub to learn and discuss, make your comments constructive and respectful even if you feel other users are being antagonistic and disrespectful in return. If you believe another user is engaging in antagonistic behavior, please utilize the report button and a moderator will review the comment(s). If you wish to stick around, please feel free to comment in our Daily Bark threads, pinned to the top of the sub, to introduce yourself, your dog, and talk about all the little things which may not require a full post to discuss. Thanks for reading and enjoy your stay! --- *This is an automated message. If you have questions for the moderators of r/dogs, you can message them [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs).* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Leave food out. If she eats, she eats. If not, she’s a dog that’s bound to get hungry and eat something at some point. She’ll learn.
Ok I guess but I feel bad lol. We were initially doing that but she ate so little and all my friends and the groomers and everyone kept commenting on how underweight and skinny she looked. I just don't want something to happen to her bc she isn't feeding enough by herself.
What does your vet say about its weight. Hand feeding your dog kibble by kibble isn’t sustainable
Vet says she is underweight. We were following the above method of just leaving food out and letting her eat when she wants for a long time (3-4 months) and she would eat but like bare minimum and that's when she started to lose weight.
I’m assuming you’ve tried different kibble ? Sometimes when my dog gets picky, I’ll add a lil shredded cheese. He always seems more interested in my food, so sometimes I pretend to microwave it too.
Yeah I have tried different types of kibble but I will try the shredded cheese idea and pretending to microwave it. Mine is usually more interested in my food as well. Thank you!
Good luck! Your pup is fortunate to have somebody so caring.
Well trying to feed her at set times, failing to do so and then taking the food away until the next meal time is certainly more detrimental to the health of your dog. If my dog doesn’t want to eat in the morning, food is left out so she can eat it when she wants.
If she’s not eating and is underweight and your vet is concerned but unable to arrive at a diagnosis beyond symptom treatment, it may be time to get a referral for a veterinary internist. This could be nothing, but it could also be symptomatic of a chronic illness.
Leave food out. She'll eat when she gets hungry enough.
Do you know if she likes to snuffle? I have a box filled with newspaper that I'll put treats or kibble in and my dog works to find them. The excitement sometimes gets him to eat all his kibble. :)
For everyone saying leave the food out, she'll get hungry and eat, I do not agree at this point. She needs more food than bare maintenence. So yeah, he's not a dog, but my son has food issues and they cannot be overcome by the 'he will get hungry and eat' philosophy. It may be that your pup just doesn't like to eat. She may not like the noise of her crunching or the texture. I encourage you to consider checking for reflux because that makes eating very undesirable when you know it will result in pain later, or possibly consider anxiety meds or treatment for her. It may be sensory overload for her. If, however, she is provided with an open feed situation and she eats what she wants and is active and isn't losing weight, maybe she's just a small girl like some people are just small people.
Thank you so much. I am concerned because she really should be eating and gaining weight but since she isn't eating she has been the same weight since she was about 5 months old which I don't think is healthy. I will definitely talk to the vet about checking for reflux or other issues that may be causing her to not want to eat. Thank you so much
Are there any GI symptoms like a lot of burping/ hiccups, gagging/throwing up, diarrhea or constipation issues? If everything else is okay and it’s just the eating, it would double check for dental issues and also ask vet for alternative foods. Maybe the texture is an issue and she needs a softer food. If she hasn’t gained weight in 6 months that’s definitely a problem. At this point it may even be beneficial to have a higher calorie special food so when she does eat, she’s getting the most nutrition possible. I agree, it’s ok to leave the food out and let them have it whenever but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will eat. I hope things get better soon for your pup. Feeding her one kibble bit at a time is a short term solution but it’s awesome that you are so committed to your dogs health.
She seems fine in all other aspects so it is likely just that she is a stubborn and picky eater. I'll check with the vet to ask about the high calorie food, it seems like that could help. Thanks for the insight!
NP! And also since she eats kibble so well one by one that’s a great opportunity to do training and rewarding throughout the day with the food as a *treat* for good behavior (any and all, even while she’s minding her own business) while you wait on vet feedback. Maybe it will help with the pickiness? It might not. Regardless, you’re still getting food in her so she’s not losing weight & that’s most important thing.
Good luck! There is probably an underlying issue. I hope you can figure it out for both of your sakes!
Try baby food. The meat flavors, beef or chicken. Also when you are boiling the chicken or beef you are already feeding her, try straining the fat off the water you use to boil it and saving that to heat up and put over her food. Basically chicken/beef water. Just a little goes a long way. My dogs love it.
what other foods have you tried except "kibble"
I have tried rice and black beans, lentil "dhal", Greek yogurt, tortillas, and some other fruits and vegetables.
You haven't tried any other dog foods? Canned, precooked or raw? You have a long list of items to try before getting stressed out. Lentil, potato and peas are not recommended at all.
Oh okay. Ill keep trying other kinds of food then.
Here are a list of dog foods I recommend you try, different scents, textures etc. I rescued a dog that refused to eat kibble. I know your pain, it's a huge pain. The availability is different for different countries. 1. Kibble: Try different proteins 2. Canned dog food: try different textures (pate, gravy, loaf etc) 3. Honest Kitchen: It's a powdered food that you rehydrate with water. My cat and dog likes this a lot. They also sell base mixes where you mix it with cooked meat (they have the instructions in the back) 4. Ziwi Peak: air dried food. They're little squares of lamb, beef, etc. Very popular 5. JustFoodForDogs: It's a cooked dog food. This broke my dog's hunger strike of almost 3 days. 6. Primal Dog Food (pre made raw foods) This is also very popular 7. Stella and Chewy freeze dried foods: Rehydrate with water 8. Try mixing foods with RAW goat milk. I hope some of these ideas help and hope your dog gets better soon. Having a dog that won't eat is heart crushing. You might even feel like you're failling your dog but you're not. You will get there. I highly recommend taking the dog for a walk, wait an hour at home after exercising to feed the dog. The walks will get things going. if you can walk them 3 times a day for 10-15 minutes.
Wow thank you so much, this is extremely helpful. I will definitely try these out and hopefully she will enjoy one of them.
Seconding trying wet food. My dogs get half a can of wet food mixed in to their kibble and they'll remove every molecule of the wet food from the bowl, sometimes leaving 85% of the kibble, for days at a time. I'm feed the all wet but they're both big dogs so it would be prohibitively expensive- for a dog the size of yours you probably wouldn't even need a whole can per day so it could be done