[Doberman.]

She will only eat when I am there or I hand feed it to her she eats tined dog food also some dry food and meaty chunks e.g. moist dry food, we have been giving her chicken breasts, beef , minced meat all cooked, also tuna and rice.

She seems to like the food for a few days then goes off it, we tried changing what we give her every day but still no joy, she normally on a good day eats a bowl of food then has chicken or beef after her meal, but first she started leaving the meal then waiting for the chicken now she just won't take any, am luckey to get a tin of food a day in her and abit of chicken.


Any help would be great.[/B]

[labman]

I think you need to cut back to just one adult dry chow. The dry chows give their teeth and jaws the exercise they need, plus help keep the teeth clean. Unless she is less than 6 months old, put down about 4 cups of food. Take up anything she doesn't eat within 15 minutes. Do not give her anything else until the next day. Restrict her treats. After a few days of that, she should be eating normally. Adjust what you are feeding her until she eats it all and has a ideal body condition according to the chart below. It is highly unusual for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs. If she refuses food, and gets to where her ribs show, take her to the vet. Most likely, she has a physical problem. Sometimes is isn't easy giving your dog what it really needs.

[fredg]

HI,
As the old saying goes, "Your dog has trained you well". She is waiting for the chicken.
The other answer gave you some great pictures to look at, showing their proper weights and appearances, with a very good suggestion of dry food.
I would also like to add the following, in possibly selecting a dog food.

Dog food bags, or boxes, contain a list of ingredients printed on the side. Whatever is written first, is the major product used in making the dog food. If it lists "corn" first, then that is the major ingredient.
Dogs and cats are, naturally, meat eaters.
Corn is cheap, takes up lots of room in the bag of food and in the pet's stomach so it will "fill ‘em up", it's a good carbohydrate source so the pet will have some energy, it has a few amino acids in it so the corn will contribute to the protein totals on the guaranteed analysis list, and there's a cheap and steady supply of corn. So the pet food manufacturer makes a corn diet, adds some "meat and bone meal" (which has been cooked at least twice before it gets in the bag and may contain too much calcium) to "complete the amino acid profile" and adds a few other calculated substances so that COMPLETE AND BALANCED can be stamped prominently on the pet food label.

The natural world was set up in such a way that, in reference to dog and cat food, cheap ingredients based on plant products and resulting in cheap pet foods always turn out to be a poor choice when attempting to nourish a meat eater. Conversely, expensive substances such as eggs, meat, poultry and fish are far better choices when designing a good diet for meat eaters. NOTE! “Expensive” and “costs” are human terms and have no relationship to what Nature set up regarding what constitutes an ideal diet for a meat eater.

Throughout each of the nutrition texts referred to in this article, the authors repeatedly stress the importance of high quality, nutrient dense, and highly digestible pet food products. Yes, these products will cost the consumer more than the generic brands. We animal caretakers have an obligation to our animals to strongly favor good quality products and to stop choosing pet foods based upon price.

Dogs and cats are livelier and healthier when meat, poultry, lamb and fish are the foundation of their diets. In other words, we should choose to feed them as the meat eaters they are and denounce the senseless practice of feeding them as if they were herbivores simply because that would be cheaper to do.

Above taken whole or in part from:
http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/contrast.html

I do wish you the best with your dog.

[Doberman.]

Hi Fredg

Thanks for the answer was good, but I only feed her high quilty dry and wet food, I would never give her "the Cheap stuff" I am hoping to breed from her when she is old enough so am very carful on what I feed her, I treat her like a meat eater as I do my cat they are both fed high quilty meat and dry food, I give her tuna, beef, lamp, chicken and sometimes tripe witch she has been eating a lot of for the past week or two, on the picture above she looks the ideal weight. Could it be that she needs more excersice I take her out twice a day, starts on the lead then let her off when we get to the fields, she is 8 month old now.

:confused:

[labman]

Fredg is not a dog expert. He has posted things that could kill a dog. In this case, he is repeating the marketing of the more expensive dog foods. Many corn based chows are fine for those that cleaning up the larger, softer stools isn't an issue. The next time you are at the vets, read the label on the Science Diet for sale in the waiting room. The first ingredient will be corn. Most vets are all selling Science Diet. Do you think they or Fredg know more about dog food? My one Lab puppy had bladder infections. My vet switched her to a Science Diet product that cleared up the problem. At a year old, she passed a very complete physical including X-Rays with no problem.

I have read 4 of Fredg's posts this morning, and at best, they were useless. Many of the experts here are tired of correcting his posts.

Once again Fred, what background qualifies you to give dog advice? I have been mentored by the best in the business for 15 years. Likely when I started, I knew more than you do now.

[fredg]

Hi,
In reply to labman, I am not questioning your experience. But, I do question your claim of what I have said will kill a dog! Would you mind showing me a quote of where you think, in your opinion, this is true?
I am sorry you don't accept anyone giving suggestions about dogs, except you. Your personal experience is tremendous. But, you aren't the only with experience in raising, caring for, and loving dogs. I am not saying that my experience is better than yours. Any category on this site is open to anyone to answer questions. Granted, some answers in some categories are not as good as others, but Askers are entitled to more than one opinion. No one person "rules" in any one category.
As for the corn, it is well established all over the web about corn not being the best diet for most dogs. My suggestion about the corn is substantiated by others, as well as my own Vet. Apparently, from your Vet's opinion, opinions do vary among Vets. It is a "cheaper" way to feed dogs, but not necessarily the best diet for them.
We can disagree, and using this site, is almost certain to have different opinions. I am sorry I have upset you, but this seems to be a personal problem, and not one of my own making.

[Doberman.]

Hi

I do feed her science plan dry food but its getting her to eat it, she has a big problem with dry food she will try it then turn her nose up at it, that's why I give her the meaty chunks that is what she will eat. I know what my dog likes but she can't have it all the time she is like a child all she wants is junk food, "treats"

[labman]

Fred, I have better things to do with my time than clean up after you. I am not going to take time to dig up the quote where you recommended giving a dog mineral oil as a laxative. Depending what was wrong with the dog, that might be right, or it could kill the dog.

There are plenty of people selling expensive dog chows posting disinformation on the net about dog chow. Their posts appeal to the ''if it is more expensive, it must be better crowd''. Surely the $50 a bag stuff has to better than Old Roy?

I welcome good answers from others. Try posting one sometime.

[labman]

I think I need to expand on a couple of points. There are 2 strong points in favor of the meat based chows. Neither is the dog's nutrition. This isn't the 50'. Most dogs will thrive on most commercial chows. Many of them are proven through controlled feeding. Look for tested using AAFCO methods on the label. The meat based concentrated chows do produce smaller, firmer stools, easier to clean up and dispose of. This is a big issue with service dogs. The half dozen schools I am familiar with all have their dogs on a concentrated chow, Pro Plan, Iams, Eukanuba, etc. Can you imagine cleaning up after your dog if you couldn't see or were in a wheel chair? The other thing important in your case, is the light eater. You can maintain a good weight while feeding less. Back when the dog guide school was still feeding regular Purina, I had to switch my one Lab to a concentrated chow. That was atypical of a Lab. Most of them eat like they think I said take it away after 15 seconds. I am sure most of them would rather have more of the corn based chow.

You should be switching her to an adult chow. Start working it in whenyou get low if you are feeding a puppy chow. The American animal feed industry knows how to do ''get big fast''. Even the large breed puppy chows promote excessively rapid growth. Better to switch to an adult chow early, 4 months and give the joints more time to strengthen. Keeping the weight down and limiting jumping helps too.