I have a German Sheperd that just won't eat!!
We have tried dry food and meat but he just won't take it!
If you have any ideas of how to fix this please let me know. Ill
Try anything.
Thanks heaps,
dog_lover

And just another thing, I've tried worming him and that didn't work. And he is 1 years old. What could it be??

How old is he? If this is a sudden change in an adult that has been eating well enough, take him to the vet for a check up explaining the eating problem to the vet. With a younger dog, you might ask about eating the next time you are in for shots. Young German Shepherds often will often barely eat enough to hide their ribs. Two years ago, when my Gretchen was 5 months old, she went 3 days without more than nibbling her food. She was fine, but I was a basket case.

Forget the meat and other tempting food. Almost any of the commercial, dry dog chows provide a great diet, with the complete and balanced nutrition dogs need. Dry is better for their teeth and jaws. Switching to an adult chow by 6 months reduces the risk of joint problems. For each meal, put down the amount the package recommends. Take away anything uneaten in 15 minutes. Do not offer anything else until the next scheduled meal. Many dogs will not eat as much as the packages recommends. Eventually you should be able to establish how much he will eat. Then judge his condition. Here is a guide to do that, September 07, link to chart replaced with LongLiveYourDog.com - Life Span Study - Rate Your Dog I found it in the newsletter from a large dog guide school. A young Shepherd may insist on keeping himself a little on the lean side. Don't worry about it. Dogs' biggest health problem is overweight.

I am used to Labs that eat like they thought the instruction manual said take the food away after 15 seconds. I think they want a layer of blubber like a seal for swimming in cold water. I see many Shepherds too. Usually they are nice and lean, and much more mannerly about eating. Unless his ribs show badly, just accept you dog's healthy eating habits.

I am doing a second post to acknowledge you did mention his age in your second one. As they reach their full growth, they do slow down a little on what they eat. They will eat enough to fill out a little as an adult.

This is just an idea... 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' has a line of dog/cat food out now which has only been out for a few months here. It is actually a very healthy food too. From what I've heard, it is supposed to be very flavorful and dogs/cats are supposed to love the taste of it. My fiance's dog tore open a bag of it and ate about 3 lbs by the time we saw it. So I believe it. I would mainly just try to feed only very good quality foods, so when your dog does actually eat, its getting good nutrition. Pretty much any of the foods you can get at supermarkets or large chain stores (wal-mart, k-mart) are not good foods at all. I won't name names, but I'm sure you could figure them out.

Hi - I have a two year old female black German Shepherd with eating difficulties too! I came looking for some new suggestions for myself when I found your question. My dog is so skinny people joke that she is anorexic! She is difficult. I have tried expensive good food and cheap stuff with no good results. I do not think it is about the taste - I think my dog does not like to bite. I am sure that sounds weird but she licks any and all the food we give her - Right now what seems to be helping is mixing good dry food with some wet Alpo food, the Alpo softens up the dry food making it easier to lick. We give her lots of raw veggies and fruit, cheeses, and recently I started mixing in Mac - n - cheese with her food. I have noticed it is helping to add a little bulk. She loves it but started to refuse to eat any of her regular dog food so use it carefully. I have also used a combination of cooked ground hamburger with rice. If you try any of these ideas I would suggest introducing one at a time in small quantities gradually increasing it to prevent her from having any bad diarreha. I also use some suppliments that the vet recommended. These all help - but I still have a skinny dog. I have heard that she will most likely start to fill out when she turns three. Best of luck

It is very difficult to ensure a complete and balanced diet for a dog except by making sure most of its calories come from a commercial dog chow. The best thing for light eaters is a dry, concentrated chow. Iam's or Pedigree might be good choices. A lean dog is a healthy dog. Most dogs in our society are overfed to the point of suffering shorter lives. The Shepherds are notorious for refusing to eat more than is good for them. They are healthy even when their ribs show slightly. It is just their nature to keep themselves a little bony. Better to make sure they are getting a balanced diet even if it leaves them looking a little thin. The worst thing you can do to a dog is to feed it a bunch of junk trying to fatten it up. I never heard of a dog having health problems that was being offered all the food it would eat.

HI everyone. I have a 5 month old black German Shepard called Shadow. He has not eaten for 5 days now. He used to eat so much but something has happened. We have taken him to the vets and paid over £300 for them to scan and X-ray him but it is a mystery to them.Nothing showed up on the scan- no blockages or anything. We have tried feeding him dry food, all kinds of meat including raw liver, hearts, fish, chicken etc etc, he has a sniff, but then turns away, not even slightly interested. He is still drinking but that's all. He has a twin brother who is completely the opposite, he'll eat anything. I would appreciate an answer if anyone has one as soon as possible, because I'm not sure how long he's going to last without eating-it'll be his 6th day with no food tomorrow. Thanks

Mr. Bennington,

Maybe you should ask your vet about Cyproheptadine? It's an appetite stimulant we use at our clinic for cats who won't eat...

I hope your situation gets better.

Regards,

Dogs can get things stuck between their teeth and gums. Also if your dog has an abscess of some kind that would make it difficult to eat as it would hurt when the dog tried to chew anything. Maybe there are 2 teeth crowded into 1 spot (like one underneath the other) which could also create a problem. I know this is the last thing someone would think to look at but hope you have had your dogs teeth checked for any problems.

Mr. Benington, how is Shadow? Did he start to eat again? I was a wreck after I had a 5 month old Shepherd go 3 days without eating, but she was fine. Many of them just aren't big eaters.

My dog also won't eat, however his situation is a little different. He is a 5 1/2 year-old mutt. We are not quite sure what he is mixed with, however we are almost 100% sure he has some daushaund in him. He was just recently diagnosed with cervical disc disease in his lower back; on top of that, he does not want to eat ANYTHING! He hasn't eaten anything for days now. His vet has prescribed a canned I/d food which he will also not eat. I have tried rubbing some of the food on his face, and on the roof of his mouth and he won't take to eating it. I know that if he eats he will feel a lot better. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas on how I can get him to eat his food?

Is the vet giving him anything for pain? The first regimen a vet prescribes may not work. If it doesn't, you need to get back with the vet and try the next thing. Call tomorrow, and take the dog in if the vet wants to see him. If that seems to be a dead end, maybe it is time to talk to another vet. Sadly, a few vets let us down.

A holistic or alternative vet may have the solution to help your dog get his appetite back. In observing him should he seem to be in pain that can have a great deal to do with taking away his appetite. When humans are in pain I think the last thing we think of is food-we just want to alleviate the pain first. Wysong and Canidae are 2 very healthy dog foods that he might like once you can have him eating again. Wish you the best in helping him & getting your peace of mind back.

Thanks ladyandjan and labman for your comments and thoughts. Thankfully my dog has started to eat again! I was so excited... it was like watching a child take their first steps! :) His back also seems to be doing better (which probably attributed to him eating again). I am now having a hard time getting him to sit still and not jump up and off the furniture or go up and down the stairs (doctor's orders to not do any of those things). Oh well, I am just glad to see he is feeling better!

Glad to see he is doing a little better. I absolutely hate it when the vet tells me to keep a dog quiet. They never give me any Valium for them. Their crate may help for a while, but when you let them out, they are rested and ready to go.

Now that he is doing a little better, it is time to ask about his weight. Over weight is bad for al dogs, but if he has the Dachshound build, it is even worse. For a good illustrated guide to maintaining the right weight for any dog, go to September 07, link to chart replaced with LongLiveYourDog.com - Life Span Study - Rate Your Dog

Bet your heart felt less burdened when you saw him finally eat. Here's a site you may want to look at regarding healthy, no poison, chemical treated dog food for him. http://www.canidae.com Pet Supplies Plus carries this if you have this store in your area. Lots of good wishes for you and your little baby.

Hi all,

I've got a siberian husky that just won't eat often. She will eat sometimes when she gets hungry enough, but she has lost about 8 pounds since we rescued her form the SPCA 6 months ago.

She has extreme separation anxiety and is on qualmicalm to help control her anxiety. Siberian Huskies are normally smaller than other huskies weighing from 45 lbs to 75 lbs. When we got her, she was 44 and now she's down to 36.

We have tried giving her one meal/day and pickingupthe food when she doesn't eat. We went a week before she ate anything - then she started diging through the garbage. We gave up and left food out. Eventually she got around to eating one bowl full. Now she'll eat dinner about once every 2-3 days.

I tried mixing in a B.A.R.F diet. We normally feed nutro lamb and rice, but have tired science diet and about 10 sample packages from different brands that we picked up at a pet fair. All have the same result - she'll eat if she's just about to starve.

She also won't take cookies. There is one treat she'll take - freeze dried liver, but its expensive(6$ / ounce) so it won't become a meal.

Does anyone have ideas how how I might get her to eat more?

Thanks,
Desperate

It is unusual for a healthy dog not to eat as much as it needs over a period. You have followed the link I posted above and she really is too thin by those standards? What does your vet say? Perhaps it is a bonding problem. Give her more quality time. Have you obedience trained her? The 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. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/. If she is doing well in basic obedience, go on to advanced obedience or agility.

Usually I stress the importance of feeding a dog little except a commercial, dry dog chow. Even in this case, most of her calories needs to come from such. It might help the bonding if you shared a little of your food with her. Some meaty scraps from the table might help her feel like a beloved member of the pack. Put a little in her dish after the meal. The only downside to some veggies, could be a large, soft stool or even diarrhea if too much at once.

One other ploy might be a puppy chow. They are so rich, that often they create excessively rapid growth and cause problems for puppies. Once again, choose a meat based concentrated one.

My black lab is going to be 10 years old in a month. Last Nov. 2004, we started feeding him Eukanuba Senior formula food and he began to lose weight. We noticed that we fed him less of this new food to bring down his weight as he was pushing 100lbs. Vet said he was getting a little big for his body size. The last couple months (Feb. & Mar.) and the present he has been eating remains of dead animals that neighboring dogs have brought into our yard (deer & wild turkeys, we think rabbits too). After we found the animals we discarded them, we noticed that our dog has gradually slowed his eating down. We have had him to the vet and gave him an antibiotic to get rid of any bacteria that he may have gotten from eating those animals. He only eats 1/2 of a normal days worth of food and has lost a significant amount of weight. He's lost about 20lbs since Nov. 2004. Our vet hasn't said anything to make us think he's really sick (ie. Cancer, infection, etc). We've also noticed his eyes are quite fogged over. We have tried softening the dry dog food, hand feeding, putting dog treats in the bowl, offering more food than we used to feed him when he was looking heavier. Spending more time with him. Not sure where to go with this if the vet doesn't seem to say anything.