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    hdhsc2002's Avatar
    hdhsc2002 Posts: 5, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Jul 10, 2005, 12:14 PM
    How can I make my dog eat?
    I have an almost 2 year old Great Pyrenees. Unfortunately, he's only 73 lbs. He's a very picky eater. Some days he'll eat all of his food. Some days he won't eat anything or he'll just pick at it.
    We've tried all types of foods. Dry, canned, mixed, with gravy. The only thing he does not have a problem eating is his cookies or meat.
    We just bought a bag of Evo Puppy food. It's supposed to be really high in protein and fat. Supposed to be like the dry equivalent of a raw food diet.
    However, he still won't eat it. He'll pick up a few pieces, lick them and then just drop them to the ground. How can I just get him to eat it?
    We're getting really desperate here.
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
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    #2

    Jul 10, 2005, 09:07 PM
    How big is he? 73 pounds is below the breed standards. Can you easily feel his ribs, or do they actually show through the fur? If not, he may be eating all he needs. Compare him to the examples at http://www.purina.com/dogs/nutrition.asp?article=292. I am not familiar with the breed. Many young Shepherds drive their owners up the wall refusing to eat enough to keep their ribs completely hidden. Most Labs are the opposite, eating their way to life shortening obesity and still look for more. That Evo is a meat based concentrated chow? If he will eat enough of it that he is only a little on the thin side, maybe leave well enough alone.

    Most dogs will eat enough to at least keep their ribs from showing too much. I did have a Lab, that when I switched him to the adult regular Purina I was feeding then, he ate so little his ribs did show badly. I switched to a concentrated chow, and he at least ate enough of it, I could take him out in public.

    What does your vet say? You should be feeding the Science Diet he sells?
    daehnolem's Avatar
    daehnolem Posts: 61, Reputation: 12
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    #3

    Jul 11, 2005, 12:06 AM
    I'm also having an eating problem with my 12 week old lab pup. She seems a wee bit too skinny. I was feeding her Euk LB puppy, and this week, I've switched her to Nutro Natural Choice LB puppy. At first, she LOVED the new food. The first day I started mixing her foods, she wolfed down her meal. She's done that all week until just a couple of days ago. She'll eat maybe half, but then she starts picking at it or walking away from it. I thinking she's teething, so I wonder if maybe the food is hurting her mouth? In that case, should I soak it in water? I'm feeding her no more than the recommended daily serving for her size (@ 25 lbs). But now, I can't get her to eat all of it.
    hdhsc2002's Avatar
    hdhsc2002 Posts: 5, Reputation: 1
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    #4

    Jul 11, 2005, 05:09 AM
    Possible Teething
    I always heard that a good remedy for a dog teething is to take a wet washcloth and put it in the freezer. Then let him chew on it for a while.
    I'm going back to the feed him for 15 minutes routine. Whatever he doesn't eat in 15 minutes gets put back in the bag.
    I know the Evo puppy food is good because our other dog likes it. The Pyr even ate four or five pieces right before his timer went off but it was a deal of too bad. He has to wait for the next feeding.
    I'm really thinking that he was getting too used to our neighbor giving him cookies/treats. I know it's not that he doesn't want to eat, it's that he wants certain stuff. Cause let me tell you, he'll come running when he here's the refrigerator open. He's just got to learn to eat the dog food.
    So, we're trying the 15 minute rule for 1 week. If he's still not eating then we'll take him back to the vet and possibly run tests.
    The great thing about the Evo dog food, or maybe it's just the people that we bought it from, but if he doesn't like it, we can get a 100% refund.
    hdhsc2002's Avatar
    hdhsc2002 Posts: 5, Reputation: 1
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    #5

    Jul 11, 2005, 05:13 AM
    At the Vet
    He has been to the vet. She recommended mixing canned in with the dry. Sometimes he'll eat it sometimes he won't. Most times he'll pick up some, suck on it for a while and then drop out the dry stuff.

    We've tried the Science Diet, Eukanuba, Pedigree, Iams and some of the generic brands as well. But we're going to stick with this Evo for one week. It's supposed to be a dry food equivalent of the Raw Diet. High fat and protein.
    daehnolem's Avatar
    daehnolem Posts: 61, Reputation: 12
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    #6

    Jul 11, 2005, 07:38 AM
    Hopefully, your dog will be hungry enough and figure out he's not getting anything else to eat. I hope you've told your neighbor to lay off the treats.
    I know my dog likes her food. I really just think she's having troubles eating it. She tries to only chew up one piece at a time. I just gave her about a cup and put water in it. I would've liked to have soaked it longer, but she's having surgery later today to take off a lump from her leg. So I have to give her some food early or she'll go hungry all day. She just ate all of her food that was in the water, though, so I guess that's what I'll have to do until she stops teething, though. Thanks for the idea about the washcloth. I'll definitely do that for her.
    I've also heard of mixing in a bit of cottage cheese to coax a picky eater into eating. I haven't done it myself, and I don't know how healthy it is. But maybe someone more knowledgeable than I am about canine nutrition can tell us if that's any good.
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
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    #7

    Jul 11, 2005, 07:49 AM
    I didn't mention the 15 minute thing. It is an established technique. The first step is to determine the dog's body condition using the link I posted. The recommendation on chow packages tend to be high for the average dog. The average dog also tends to be over weight. It shortens their life and damages their joints. Even many vets don't preach lean like they should. Through my volunteer work with service dog schools, I have access to some of the best dog care information. The schools track thousands of dogs. If they have to train a replacement for a dog whose career was shortened by over weight, it costs as much as a new car. In the thumbnails, I don't see a problem with either dog. This link is top a picture of 2 dogs with good body condition. They are about 8-10 months old. http://www.photolocker.net/images/La...llaplaying.jpg Here is another picture of a Lab that wasn't as happy as I was with his body condition. http://www.photolocker.net/images/La...theproplan.jpg

    Unless your dog is much worse than the picture shows, go with the 15 minutes, and lean and healthy. Too fast of growth is not good for the large breeds. The LB puppy chow is not as bad as the regular, but it wouldn't hurt to switch the 12 week old to adult chow anytime after 4 months.
    hdhsc2002's Avatar
    hdhsc2002 Posts: 5, Reputation: 1
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    #8

    Jul 11, 2005, 08:02 AM
    Gravy
    That's one thing about the EVO. I think it does have the cottage cheese in it. It's made by Natura if you want to take a look.
    I heard if you put water in the food to make it warm. Kind of makes it a little easier to form a gravy.
    hdhsc2002's Avatar
    hdhsc2002 Posts: 5, Reputation: 1
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    #9

    Jul 11, 2005, 08:07 AM
    LB Food
    We kept him on the LB puppy food until the vert had said to switch over. Still kept him on the LB food. The thumbnail is from when he's about 3 months old. He's now almost 2 years old.

    He was basically a wild puppy. His mom and dad were raised with the goats, so there was little interaction with adults. It's even rumored that the mother dragged a deer out of the woods for the puppies to eat.

    When we first got him, he would pick up each piece of food and bring it away from the bowl to eat it. Go back and pick up another piece. Took a while before he would eat just straight from the bowl.

    Did tell the neighbor that's there to be no goodies for one week. We'll see how that goes.
    daehnolem's Avatar
    daehnolem Posts: 61, Reputation: 12
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    #10

    Jul 11, 2005, 09:53 AM
    My thumbnail photo is from about a month and a half ago. My dog's been pretty lean since I got her. I'm being really mindful of not overfeeding her. I know how dangerous that can be for labs. At this point, she's only eating maybe two or two and a half cups a day. And just this past week, she was sucking all of her food down like she thought she would never eat again. She's my first puppy, so I worry about everything, I guess.
    Hey Labman, have you checked your Purina link in a while? It's not working for me.
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
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    #11

    Jul 11, 2005, 12:44 PM
    I am sorry that link disappeared. I have a number of links that I refer people to. Now and again, one disappears. There used to be a condensed version on the back of the Pro Plan bag, but I checked, and it is gone too. I noticed another link on their page didn't work. I may email them. Essentially, not only should the dog have a noticeable waistline, but you should be able to easily feel the ribs. The dog is OK even if you can see the ribs some on the outside when it bends.

    My personal experience involving many dogs is that failure to eat what they need is rare. The one case of it I had, changing to a more concentrated chow worked. It is so rare for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs, that I have never seen a remedy from a credible source. The only exception is emotional distress.

    Two or two and a half cups a day of the Eukanuba or Neutro should be plenty for a 12 week old lab. They are both less than 60 pounds, but my 11 year old Lab, Aster, and 8 month old Lab/Golden, Sheba, both are getting about 3 cups of Pro Plan a day. They are out in public and around people responsible to see they get proper care frequently. If there was a problem, somebody would say something. My vet wishes he could get the rest of his practice to feed their dogs the way I do.

    Neighbors and even family members can be a problem. My friend had trouble keeping Maggie, Aster's mother, at breeding weight. Once when I kept her, she lost weight. I was feeding her exactly what I was told, and nothing else. Getting Maggie to eat was never a problem.

    Here is a link with Maggie, http://www.photolocker.net/images/La...thbirthday.jpg Maggie is in the bean bag. Princess, in the seasonals, replaced Maggie as breeding stock. The smallest one is from her last litter. The big black Lab replaced Aster as a dog guide. The last one went to a service dog school 3 weeks later. All fine, lean Labs.
    lil miss vixen's Avatar
    lil miss vixen Posts: 49, Reputation: 0
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    #12

    Jul 11, 2005, 01:59 PM
    ...
    My puppy, is also very picky, and allergic to almost everything, atirfical flavors, chicken, certain grains, you name it! But what my dog does go wild for if Mountian Dog brand name food, you can pick it up at pet cetra, although it is a tad more expensive, it works wonders on my terrier schnauzer cross. It's amazing, her fur is thicker and shinier, and she has a ton more energy, not to mention she loves her food, and is excited to eat. I've also noticed that she doesn't shed as much, which is always good. So I hope this helps, but before you buy big quantites of food, get small bags, if your dog doesn't like it there's no need to bu you ton of it, and believe it or not if your dog won't eat a brand of dog food, you can return it.
    Best wishes..
    Lil' miss vixen
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
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    #13

    Jul 11, 2005, 03:13 PM
    It was funny. 8 puppies ago, my black Lab Tulip had repeated UTI's and the vet prescribed Science CD. He insisted I only buy a small bag to try it, suggesting she might not eat it. Ha! Her grandfather was named Hoover for his eating habits. He passed it on to several generations, horrible, much worse than the typical Lab glutton. Many of his ilk had to have their food spread out to keep them from eating so fast they choke or throw up. Several of my friends just threw the food on the bottom of the crate. The black Lab in my zekeandtheproplan link above was a grandson.
    daehnolem's Avatar
    daehnolem Posts: 61, Reputation: 12
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    #14

    Jul 12, 2005, 01:11 AM
    Your labs are gorgeous, Labman. I took my dog to the vet today (she had to get a strange lump taken off her. My vet didn't even know what it was, he'd never seen anything like it on such a young pup). Well, when they weighed her, I knew she's doing fine with her food. She's 33 pounds now, and I figure that's not a weight that a starving puppy has. She's lean all right, but my vet wasn't worried, so I'm not either. I guess she's one of the few labs who aren't gluttons because she doesn't care to eat anymore than she needs at this point. Maybe that'll change in the future, but I consider myself lucky at the moment. Thanks for your reassurance. I appreciate it.
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
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    #15

    Jun 9, 2007, 07:22 PM
    A lot has happened since the last post in July 05. Another link to Purina has disappeared. I have an updated link to instructions on evaluating your dog's body condition in my sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post254171

    Please people, let sleeping threads lie.
    looplocal's Avatar
    looplocal Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #16

    Aug 21, 2007, 07:39 PM
    My dog would not eat consistently for years. The reason was her stomach would create too much acid and she would feel nauseated and sometime even throw up. It was a struggle to get her to eat until I tried giving her Lactose-Free Milk. Dogs and cats can't drink normal milk but try giving them a cup of Lactaid Whole Milk in the morning. That should calm their stomach.
    courtni's Avatar
    courtni Posts: 7, Reputation: 1
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    #17

    Mar 20, 2008, 12:11 PM
    Great Pyrenees have very slow metbolisms so that's one reason he might not be eating.

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