I have a female lab that doesn't want to eat. She is full of energy, plays all day but she is getting skinny. The vet says she may not need too much food, but it is not right she doesn't even want to eat anything, not even a good stake or boiled chicken. She eats half cup of Dog's food every other day. What can I do? I'm disparted because she is getting too skinny.

Sounds like she is perfectly normal... just energetic. If you'd like it to gain weight, try giving her wet puppy food(has more protein and is really tasty to dogs). If it likes this you should start mixing the wet pup food with reg. dry food after a while. Try to give your dog praise after it eats... this will help to encourage it.

Get her dog food for highly active dogs, also is she spayed. Just my opinion but I think that dogs who are intact burn more calories. Also I would get her the best quality dog food I could afford. I would go to the pet store and get a dog food that list deboned chicken, lamb, or beef, as one of the first ingredients. Try not to worry so much, if you pity her it is not good fro her security and I feel as though they can sense this and it makes them anxious.

If your vet, that has seen the dog, isn't worried, you shouldn't be either. How skinny is skinny? Read through the ''My dog won't eat'' sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post254171 You have already had the vet examine it. The next step is to follow the link in the sticky to evaluating your dog. You may be comparing to dogs in general that are over fed and over weight. The half a cup every other day does sound very low. Are the ribs actually showing? It is actually healthier for a dog to have its ribs show a little than to be overweight, especially so with a growing puppy. One of the worst things you can do for ones joints, is to feed too much of a rich diet. It is typical of Shepherds to show a little rib while they are young.

Until your vet says you need to be doing more, I would feed a dry, concentrated, meat based small breed puppy chow. Nothing packs in more calories, and the dry food is better for the teeth and jaws. I know of nothing to support the suggestion of the more expensive chows being better, other than a belief that if it is more expensive, it must be better. Don't jump around with too many different things. The more protein sources a dog eats when young, the harder to work around it if it develops allergies later in life.

Years ago, I had a Lab that wouldn't eat enough of Purina to keep his ribs from showing. We switched to a meat based product, and he would eat enough of it the ribs hardly showed and we could take him out in public.

One more important issue. Are you sure none of you family or neighbors are slipping her food? Who knows what they could be giving her. Dogs need to be eating a complete and balanced diet. The only practical way for the average dog owner to give their dog what it needs is a commercial dog chow.

Don't let well meaning people pressure you into something your vet isn't saying the dog needs.

Labman,

Is it normally for dogs to only eat every other day? That would concern me, if I were the owner. According to Judy, this dog is only eating a quarter cup of food a day. My two cats eat more than that, and they only weigh 16 lbs added together!

On the other hand, if the vet isn't concerned when they hear that, perhaps I shouldn't be either.

Still, it would be helpful to know how old this dog is, and whether it has always been like this or if this is something new.

Good question Froggy. The typical Lab is a horrible glutton. This is an unusual case that seems hard to believe. That is why I brought up the possibility of an unknown source of food. There have been cases of neighbors throwing food scraps over the fence.

Yes, the age and how long the problem existed would help. Some times people apologize for writing long questions. The more details, the shorter and better answer I can give.

Thank you all for your answers. My lab is a female 2.4 years old. She has never being a big eater. Actually she has always being a problem. We tried all kind of food but she never liked any. She was doing some kind OK with a Puppy food (Royal Canine) but the vet said I have to switch to adults food and that's when everything started.
I'll try what you are advising about puppy food again. I have another Lab, a 4 months old male and he eats absolutely everything. It is hard to feed Priscilla because the little one always wants to jump on her dish. I'm not going to worry too much as you all said and change to puppy food. I guess I just love them too much.
Thanks

The early switch to adult food is very important to a large breed developing puppy. Your vet is ahead of the curve on that issue. It is amazing how long it takes well documented things to become well known. If you are using crates, feeding the dogs in them works well. I once had a picky Shepherd and 2 young Labs as guests. Feeding the Labs in their crates made it much easier. At least one of them I was spreading the food out on the floor of the crate to slow him down.

Your other dog is an exception. I really feel somebody may be sneaking her richer food.

The only people loving their dogs too much are the ones overfeeding them.

How do dogs determine what is tastey or untastey, from smell? Taste? Or both?

I am quite sure it is smell. Even in humans, we only can taste a handful of things, sweet, sour, salt, etc.

Hummmmm, I wonder if the makers of products such as Bitter Apple need to focus on the smell?

I thought it was both, the taste and the smell. My lab Priscilla, the one that doesn't want to eat, first she smells the food and then eat the cookies (Dog's food) and then splits them.

Could you advise me about Greenies and Cookies for dogs. Are those OK? And what about the bones for chowing? Is all this good or bad?

If you check out the stickies at the beginning of the dog forum Labman has compiled many many notes of good advice for dog owners.

I use certain foot products that my dogs will smell and go in the other room lavender, mint etc. lab you may have something there... they don't taste it just turn up their nose and go on you can see from their expression they find it offensive. Judy I do not let my dog's have any treats unless they eat their meals first and I limit those, they are not allowed to have them everyday. Greenies are supposed to be very dangerous we have had bad reports in the cincinnati area of them making dogs very ill and even killing them. For awhile some of the stores removed from their shelves.

There is in fact a huge class action lawsuit over Greenies. I think I first heard of the problem 6-7 years ago on the original AskMe. Any chew becomes dangerous when gnawed down to where the dog can gulp it down, but not pass it. Even the gold standard Nylabones must eventually be discarded. Sometimes I recycle them for small puppies. Dogs seem to like pre chewed Nylabones better than new ones. The trouble with Greenies and other consumables is that the danger point can come in the first hour. I don't risk giving my dogs any. Likely I need to expand my sticky. I greatly admire what Northern Heat has done in the Heating and air conditioning forum.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into
Pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not
There to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a
Close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in
Pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.
These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive
Chewers such as Labs.

Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made
Lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the
Foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get
Them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch
Carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

As I said about the early switch to adult chow, the word spreads slowly. Much of the above was in my first Puppy Raising Manual I received in 1992. My most recent one is in a loose leaf binder allowing the school to quickly distribute the results of the latest studies.

At 13, Aster has largely lost interest in chewing things. She does like to greet me in the morning by bouncing with a toy in her mouth. She drops it before I have her Pro Plan scooped out. I can safely leave chews appropriate for little puppies out. I do have to scurry around and pick them up when we have larger guests.

Judy, I am wondering, when you say that your Priscilla is full of energy and plays all day, do you have a fenced in yard that she stays in? Or does she run around the neighborhood, play with everyone, and then comes home on her own?

We have a big garden with a fence and she plays there all day with Moe (My other 4 months lab). I don't know where she gets all her energy from. I was thinking maybe my husband feeds her with regular food at lunch time. I'm at work all day so I don't know for sure, but she is losing a lot of weight.

Maybe the vet can give you a vitamin supplement that will open up her appetite. When my puppy had kennel cough they gave me something like that so he would want to continue eating. If you don't get an answer you like from you vet your should consider taking her to another one, that just doesn't sound right.

Judy, the only reason I asked is to figure out if she is constantly "working", by that I mean running, running, running, and if neighbors are feeding her people food so that she is becoming too used to it. You need to have a discussion with everyone in your household about withholding all people food from her. I think labman's suggestion regarding the puppy chow is a good one. Another thought with all the exercise would be a working dog chow. They are meant for dogs that expend more energy than your average dog.

Forgive me because there is a lot here to read through and I may have missed this but did you say whether your vet has run tests to rule out all medical problems? I haven't heard of vitamin supplements helping to increase appetite, but there are appetite stimulants that your vet can recommend. I don't know the medications that are available to you in Mexico City, so it would be wise to discuss an appetite stimulant with your vet along with ruling out any medical issues.

Important: The other thought that comes to mind that is making much more sense to me than anything else is that you have a new addition to your household. She may be choosing not to eat because she is having trouble adjusting from being the only dog in the house to having a puppy around that is taking your attention away from her. If he is showing to be dominant to her in any way, this could be upsetting her enough to cause her not to eat. If you show her in any way that you are upset by her not eating, that most certainly would compound the problem. She may be getting more attention from you when she doesn't eat her food. Labman might be better able to give you directions on how to resolve this problem. But, one thing I can tell you is that you need to feed them separately. You need to allow her to eat first. You may be unconsciously, through your handling of them, showing them both that HE is the dominant dog. As he grows, they will work it out between themselves, but right now he is a young puppy and he needs to be subordinate to her in the pack rank of your household. Labman will explain the pack mentality to you and I am sure he will be able to give you suggestions as to how to manage them both so that there is harmony in the household again. She needs to adjust to your new boy, and to be reassured that her place is the same as it was before he came into your lives.

Once again RubyPitbull has picked up something I missed. Better leadership on your part could help her accept the new puppy. Emotional distress is one of the very few things that will keep a dog from eating what it needs.

Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position

Thank you all for your advise. I got some vitamines and this weekend I tried cooking some chicken and put her chicken with the puppy food. She finally eat it. Then I tried only the puppy dried food and she is eating it too.
Now things are going different. My other lab (Moe 4 months) is not eating as much as before and he is not jumping on Priscilla's dish so bad. So Prisci is eating once a day so far the puppy's dried food.
Thanks a lot