My six month old golden retriever was hit on the left hind leg by a car about 15 days ago. He wouldn't eat his food originally and I lost the stand off for people food when he began to lose weight. I switched his food from Purina puppy chow to Pedigree and he was happy for one day. Now he's back to turning his nose away, even when fed by hand. He does not like dog gravy. What should I try?

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Originally Posted by Kisiel5

My six month old golden retriever was hit on the left hind leg by a car about 15 days ago. He wouldn't eat his food originally and I lost the stand off for people food when he began to lose weight. I switched his food from Purina puppy chow to Pedigree and he was happy for one day. Now he's back to turning his nose away, even when fed by hand. He does not like dog gravy. What should I try?

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Well seeing as your dog, by the sounds of it, is a puppy, and isn't eating and losing weight, I'd say Take the dog to the vet. Your dog could be suffering from a physical illness brought on by the injury of the accident, and that illness is causing him to lose his apitite.
I also have a six month old puppy, only he's Australian sheperd, whom is ill at the moment.. once you see abnormal behavior in an animal you should always take them to the vets, because an animal specially that young doenst know how to convay what is wrong to us and we as everyday people don't know how to tell what is wrong. Be safe take him to the vets, you'll feel better finding out what's wrong and your dog will feel better getting help for what is really wrong. :)

Most Goldens have a healthy appetite. The sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post254171 covers most cases of not eating. This sounds like an example of why tempting a dog with rich food usually is a mistake.

Kisiel, since you didn't mention whether you took your dog to the vet after the accident, please let us know if you have. If you haven't, you do need to bring him in immediately to be examined. For a 6 month old not to eat is cause for concern. You need to make sure that he is physically okay. If you have brought him in to the vet already, follow up with a phone call. They don't usually charge for follow up calls. Let your vet be the one to assess if your dog needs to go in for another examination and talk to him about the food problem. If his health checkup shows he is fine, and it is just a matter of your dog getting spoiled by human food, you need to stop giving him anything other than his own food. Leave the kibble out and give him plenty of water. He will eventually start to eat when he is hungry and realizes no other food is being offered to him.

In my ER practice the second most common admitance is I fed my dog,, More times than not, the owners are stressed and upset until I walk in with a silly hat on an tell them I am here to help. That always brings a smaile and begin by a simple exam an ask the owner in the process questions. The classic answer every time to what is her regular diet, makes me laugh. Husband an wife answer completely oppisite, wife with a dog food brand an husband replys with what ever mom is having. I giggle every time an respond the same, I am sure she is a great cook. However dogs GI system is not the same make up as the human GI. They basically need the same diet every day to meet nutricinal needs. Spagetti and garlic bread is not part of that need. This habbit forming health issue leads to many medical situations in many dogs, not all, but very many. I personaly can't handel hot or spicey foods every day. I have a brain that tells me not to consume them a lot. Dogs however amazingly smart, do not have that ability. It is the owners responcability to see there pet has the best diet possible. With the leg issue, mobility may have a part in it, also the pain meds will certainly hinder appitite, proceeded along with timing of feeding. To save reading all I can write about on what can happen from table food, I will leave with this. Try offering soft food at first, shortly applying his regular hard food. Slowly becoming all his hard food alone. THis has been reported to me good success, with very few cases of mexican stand offs. You do have one thing going in your favor though, Goldens will eat anything, use this to your advantage. Labman has provided awsome side reading that I have looked over and have loads of WORKING results. This is just going to take effort on your part. PS fix the fence, they haven't invented dog crutches that work so well.
DocWill

I want to thank crusty_crotch_paper for the kind words. I have been mentored by some very good people and try to help dogs by passing on what I have learned. I am sure the dogs will benefit from his authoritative answers.

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Originally Posted by Kisiel5

My six month old golden retriever was hit on the left hind leg by a car about 15 days ago. He wouldn't eat his food originally and I lost the stand off for people food when he began to lose weight. I switched his food from Purina puppy chow to Pedigree and he was happy for one day. Now he's back to turning his nose away, even when fed by hand. He does not like dog gravy. What should I try?

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If it were my dog I would take brown rice, and some type of chicken, pork, red meat whatever the package told me to feed him I would give hime 3/4 of the amount then I would add the 1/4 rice and meat... if he'll eat veggies, cottage cheese I would add a little as well... I would vary it day by day. I mix it in the best quality dog food that I could afford. I would let it soak up the flavors for about five minutes before I gave it to him... You should not have any prob. Getting him to eat... my babies eat this way every day... they have good teeth are active happy and not over weight and they are both rescued dogs. Good luck

labman: most commercial dog foods are just overprocessed grains and bone meal... dogs are meat eaters. And should not be deprived of meat just because it is profitable for the dog food companies. My dogs eat very well and are very healthy and happy.and my mother has resuced dogs all of my life and her dogs do not eat 100 percent dog food. She has never had a overweight dog in her 50 years of taking care of stray abandonded , abused animals. And they are more than happy to eat the meals she provides for them. Just my humble experience.

If you have one little bit of real evidence behind your allegations please produce it. What your mother has done means nothing. I personally know of thousands of dogs thriving on Pro Plan that is one of the chows you disdain.

Suppose you knew a breeder that bred hundreds of dogs a year, mostly Labs, Shepherds, and Goldens. They provided all the medical care for most of them the first year. At the end of it, they did a complete physical including hip X-rays on all of them. They then spent $35,000 training them before giving them away. They have a large data base of breeding records. Dogs with any physical or temperamental problems are unfit for the program and are a waste. Their well equipped clinic and vet staff are available for serious problems as long as the dog is working. When the dog is no longer able to work, it is replaced at again the $35,000 plus a large emotional upheaval for the person depending on the dog. They have experimented with different diets and exchanged data with other such breeders. Don't you think that what ever they are feeding is healthy and safe? What kinds of controlled studies do you have backing your choice of diet? How objective are the sources of your information? Is your dog's health, their top priority?

I have been raising puppies since 1991 for a large dog guide school that does exactly that. What do they feed? They instruct us to feed Pro Plan chicken and rice puppy chow until 4 months and then switch to adult Pro Plan chicken and rice. I know enough of the people with the trained dogs to know they continue the Pro Plan. The group I meet with monthly for training includes people that have raised puppies for 6 different service dog schools. Some of them are feeding other premium commercial chows including Iams and Eugenia. Any dog owner wanting a healthy, long lived dog can make this regimen work, leaving more time to spend on the dog. It is also relatively economical.

Dogs are meat eaters, they prove my point. When have you seen a dog running for a stalk of wheat with it's tongue hanging out? Many holstic vets recommend a non-traditional dog food diet(bag.. mass produced with high amounts of bone meal and grain) Also My hero, Oprah just had a show on this a couple of weeks ago... and she feeds her dogs... cooked meat and rice. So if it is good enough for her dogs... I guess it will have to be good enough for mine and my mom's and whomever wants to do a little research own their own... instead of accepting 1 person word as gospel... just trying to provide some diversity. Just my humble opinion... p. s. people also look into the barf diet for dogs. I haven't tried this... but have hear from some un-documented sources that this is better than cooking meat and rice for them.

No worries at all Labman, I am very impressed and overjoyed with your knowledge an understanding dogs in general. I have no problem at all readily admitting that you probably forgot more about dog behavior an training than I have ever learned. I honestly wish I knew more in that area of pet care. This web board has unknowingly become an enjoyable source of your expertise and wisdom. Thanks again for all of your valuable time and much needed info. Its highly received here!

DocWill

One person? So Oprah agrees with you. I have more confidence in the AVMA, AAFCO, FDA, CDC, and all the dog guide and service dogs schools than her. I know many dog lovers that consider her part of the problem. Yes there are tons of websites pushing alternative diets, but when I have followed the links I never see anything except emotional ranting and raving and anecdotal evidence. I also wonder how many of them are financed by the BARF in a box people?

Sir,
I did not tell you what to feed your animals , I merely gave my opinion to a fellow member, and you act like I am not entitled to an opinion... I have also suggested that this person or persons reading this post to please do research... not one time (unlike you) did I say that my word was the beginning or the end. So if you don't like my humble opinions then don't respond to me. And I think Ms. oprah can afford research for her babies.. and I will follow her if I want... even though my dogs were being feed this way prior to her show... thank you for you concern, but I did not ask you for your opinion... so please stop giving it to me.

Under the rules of the site, everybody is entitled to post their opinion. Everybody else is entitled to post factual rebuttals.

Its only fair some get to be wrong more than others. Like those who prepay enrollment to peanutbutter gargling classes. Do you think that professor will show up, or jelly out of a potentially nutty mouthful. Who knows I could be totally wrong.

Kisiel 5 I am sorry your ? Turned into this... I did not mean to steal your thread... I am new to this and just saw on different question about thread stealing. My intention was to only give you my opinion. Sorry

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kisiel5

My six month old golden retriever was hit on the left hind leg by a car about 15 days ago. He wouldn't eat his food originally and I lost the stand off for people food when he began to lose weight. I switched his food from Purina puppy chow to Pedigree and he was happy for one day. Now he's back to turning his nose away, even when fed by hand. He does not like dog gravy. What should I try?

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My Weimaraner was hit by a van on June 27 and will only eat his food if I mix in canned food with it. Although he had no broken bones and no internal injuries, I'm still worried that something is wrong. He used to scarf down his food immediately, but doesn't have much of an appetite unless I give table scraps or wet food. I'm hoping that his appetite and perky personality will return once he's finished with his antibiotics and pain medicine.

Judy, if there are no internal injuries or broken bones, don't worry. He will be back to his old self eventually. Right now he is very bruised and hurting. I can only assume since he is still on medication, that for the first week he didn't want to move much. He was probably bruised all the way down to the bone. Vets usually tell you to leave them be and your dog will let you know what he is willing to do and not do. Just remember without his constant moving around and exercising, his appetite will drop off because he isn't burning as much energy as he was prior to the accident. When he starts showing that he is willing to move around, encourage him in moving, but don't force anything. It may be slow and painful but any movement is good movement and will keep his muscles from freezing up from non-use. Ask your vet if putting him on glucosamine tablets would be a good idea to prevent early arthritis setting in. Some vets feel it is helpful.

Thanks so much for the comforting thoughts and words. Glucosamine sounds like a good idea as my 12 year old German shorthaired pointer has been taking it for a couple of years now and it has really helped.:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kisiel5

My six month old golden retriever was hit on the left hind leg by a car about 15 days ago. He wouldn't eat his food originally and I lost the stand off for people food when he began to lose weight. I switched his food from Purina puppy chow to Pedigree and he was happy for one day. Now he's back to turning his nose away, even when fed by hand. He does not like dog gravy. What should I try?

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My dog was in a bad accident also about 3 months ago. She also turned her nose up at the food she has been eating since I got her from the shelter 7 months ago. I tried everything to get her to eat so I fed her chicken and stuff like that. She was (well, she still is) very spoiled but once her cast came off I started mixing the people food w/ the dog food and slowly it was more dog than people food. It took about 3 weeks, but now she eats just her dog food. Good luck w/ your pooch, I hope he feels better and mends quickly!