[lizzclare]

Hi all.

We rehomed a lovely bouncy unspayed 20 month old pedigree springer spaniel 4 weeks ago, we had her food and biscuits from her old home (a lovely family that just didn't have the time they thought she deserved).

She was being fed a cup of milk with a raw egg whisked into it in the morning (no idea what this was for) and 3/4 tin of dog food with a handful of biscuits in the evening, and would 'eat anything extra' going.

We continued this when we got home and changed her biscuits when they ran out from the 'supermarket value ones' she was on to a burns complete one and changed her tinned meat to pedigree from a value tin and cut down the meat with it but still kept up the milk, egg in the morning as she wouldn't eat anything else at this time of day and pined when the kids had milk on their cereal . All done gradually.
She enjoyed the burns food for about 4 days before turning her nose at it and walking away eating nothing for 2 days, I tried a meat complete food with no additives and she gulped that down for a couple of days then went another 2 with nothing and now I've put her on royal canin. It seems like she gets bored with the same thing after a couple of feeds.

She has pretty much lost her appetite since we had her and every evening when I put her food down will take a few pieces from me that I give her and maybe a mouthful from her bowl then walks away. She eats more if I sit with her, Her excersise has increased since we got her to 2 hrs a day and -4 a day on week ends. Walks and runs in the woods since she has been with us I would have thought she would be eating more to fuel up.

She has just started her injections again after she missed her booster with the other family, so I didn't know if that was it.

She is also unspayed and the lady did say she was due a season soon but having never owned a before I'm clueless about it and how to tell and the effects of it.She is still bouncy on walks and all over us when we come in but sleeping so much more than she was last week.

From this week we have now cut out the meat and she is now on royal canin medium dog food complete , the vets weighed her and she weighs 20kg. She is still only having a couple of mouthfulls of this each evening roughly about 120kg rather than the 280g on the pkt, only one or two earned treats. I take away what she doesn't eat after 15 minutes and she does beg when we eat our dinner and launch herself at the cat food if I leave it down.

Is it normal for a dog to go through periods of reduced appetite? Am I contributing to her eating by changing her food and fussing around her? She did have ear mites which have been treated and gets smelly ears, but the vet says they are clear.

She has settled in well with us and really has bonded and loves cuddles and wrestling and plays nibbling our feet when you put on thick walking socks and she knows its walk time. Someone said we might have been including her too much as she sits on the sofa, sleeps next to the bed, is in the middle of everything the kids are doing and loves toys and teddies. Then might be reminded she's a dog by being fed in a bowl on the floor in the kitchen.

any advice gratefully received.
thanks
Lizz and family

[labman]

Call the vet in the morning and talk about spaying her. Having a female go through a season is a big hassle, more so for inexperienced dog owners. Otherwise there is a good chance she will be accidentally bred and we will have another litter of mixed breeds to struggle to find homes for. For every one of them placed, another dog will die for lack of a home. Many vets do not like to spay a dog once she starts into her season, so act quickly. And thank you for giving her a home.

I find her former diet incredible. There is a lot of weird ideas around on feeding dogs. There certainly are no controlled, scientific tests backing anything like that. The best thing to feed a dog is a dry kibble. I work with service dogs, and those highly valuable, greatly loved dogs get things like Pro Plan or Iams dry kibble and nothing else. If the Royal Canin is a dry kibble, and you are comfortable feeding it, it would be as good as anything. Jumping around to different foods is likely to cause problems. Pick a kibble and stick with it. It is the only way for the average dog owner to insure their dog gets the complete and balanced diet it needs. And feeding one means the dog is already getting exactly what it needs, and adding anything only messes up the balance of nutrients dogs need.

It is highly unusual for a healthy dog not to eat all it needs. Often it is less than the package says or the owner thinks. It is possible the rehoming and oncoming season might temporarily reduce her appetite, but before long, she should be back to normal. The 20 KG tells me little. Check her ribs as illustrated in this link, http://www.puppychow.com/products/po...condition.aspx Unless the vet said she is too thin, what you need to do is grit your teeth and follow this procedure:

Put down the dish with what the dog should eat, and give it 15 minutes to eat. Then take it up. Do not give it anything to eat until its next scheduled meal. In a few days, it should be eating what it needs. Continue to check its ribs and adjust the food as needed. This is not easy. I had a Shepherd go 3 days on a few nibbles. I was a wreck, but she was fine. It is almost unknown for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs. Unfortunately, in too many cases, it is less than the package says, and less than the owner thinks the dog should have. Many dogs are quite good at holding out for tastier chow. Like kids, sometimes it calls for tough love.

I am used to Labs, most of which I think want the body of a seal for swimming in cold water. There are some dogs however that refuse to eat enough to completely hide their ribs. In that case, it is best to leave well enough alone.

You might browse the stickies at the top of the dog forum. You may find some useful information, although most of what is there is meant for young puppies.

[badams007]

Lizz

I agree with Labman - First don't worry - as long as she's healthy - which it sounds like she probably is - she will eat when she's hungry. Many dogs vary their eating patterns over time.

Second - thank you for moving her to a normal sensible dog diet. She doesn't need anything other than a good quality kibble and a treat or 2 if you feel like it.

And thirdly - get her spayed. A dog in season is such a pain in the butt and it lasts a relatively long time. I would get her spayed right away so she can have a long happy life with you.

Sounds like she has landed in the good life. I would not worry that permitting her on the furniture is ruining her appetite, though I would discourage begging because it becomes such a hassle.

Best wishes

-Beth

[animal advocate]

I agree with both Labman and Beth and would also stress that spaying her is the safest and best thing to do for her. I rescued a dog once and thought she was spayed. Turns out she wasn't and she started getting picky about her food and acted sicker and sicker. The vet finally determined she had a pyometra (an infected uterus) and had to have an emergency spay done on her, even though she was so toxic from the pus in her uterus that the anesthesia alone could have killed her. They had to do it or she would have died. Luckily she lived and had a long and happy life. But having an unspayed female dog is always a risk (including mammary tumors)not to mention the pet overpopulation problem.

So please spay her right away and you will have a wonderful companion for many years.

Molly

[lizzclare]

Hi and thanks for your replies.
Having waited her out she is now eating what she is given before it disappears rather than snacking off and on when she felt like it. We are feeding her after her walks still so she works for her food.
She has had her microchip done and injections and insurance all done now and I have spoke to the vet about getting her spayed the vet said to wait till after her season before we spayed her as she was in a new home and as he thought it could be anytime soon he didn't want her spay immediately before because of increased blood flow etc.
So we are on the look out for her being in season and not letting her off the lead then we will get her done.
The last thing we want is for her having any litters of mongrels. She has such a lovely temperament and full pedigree, her parents have been shown at crufts and with the right sire would produce lovely pups, but we believe there are enough dogs in the world already and would feel so resposible for her puppies we wouldn't be able to let them go to just anyone or risk them becoming a burden on rehoming services. Also we don't have any idea on dog breeing so will leave that to the professionals.

Lizz

[labman]

I have been spared having a female in season for several years now. My last 2 went off to dog guide school at a year without coming in season. The dog guide school wants the option to choose any of their puppies as breeding stock. However I have gone through it with 9 of them since 1991. It is common for vets to put off once the season starts.

They make sanitary garments for dogs which helps keep the mess down. You can also put training pants on the dog with the tail coming out the fly.

Expect flaky behavior, often starting before the vulva swells. Be prepared for strenuous, creative efforts to get loose. There may be males hanging around ready to take advantage of the slightest chance. Watch every time you open the door. You don't know when she will suddenly bolt out the door, perhaps running through where you legs were.

And thank you for understanding that you shouldn't breed her. I am very upset at the numbers of people that are planning to breed their dog and ask basic questions showing they haven't done much research. Breeding is very difficult to do right and requires a lot of study to select stock that will produce quality puppies. I was certainly pleased when the dog guide school selected my Gretchen as part of their breeding program.

And thank you for the update.