[poodlepam]

I am asking this for a friend. Her 1 1/2 yr old zu mix female (Angel) stopped eating. The mother dog (Maggie) would always "feed" Angel by dropping food in front of her. Now Maggie has stopped doing that and Angel will only eat a small amount if hand fed by human mommy, which can take 1 - 2 hours a day. The vet suggested soft food but she wouldn't eat that either. Any suggestions?

[shazamataz]

Firstly big mistake hand feeding her.
I did this with one of mine and it took a long time to get her to eat on her own.

Best to get a vet check to make sure there are no underlying problems but in the mean time just try warming up the soft food to make it smell a bit more appealing.
No dog will let themselves starve if food is available.

If you feed dry food soak it in warm water and a little chicken broth to make it a bit tasiter.

To coax mine into eating out of her bowl I hand fed her but with each piece moved closer and closer to the bowl, eventually I just had to rest my hand on the side of the bowl and after that... all fixed :)

[ylaira]

When dog is not eating either they feel something bad and don't want to eat or they just don't like the food. So try other dog food see which appeals to him and have him check for further examination too.