Dog is not eating??

**6fthook** · 09-19-2011, 08:47 AM

Hello everyone,

We have a 2.5 year old lab/shepherd mix named Tyde.

A few weeks ago he started to not eat once in a while. We brought him to the vet when it started to become sometimes 2 meals in a row of him not eating. They said he had giardia (poop sample) and we got the medicine for him. We gave him all the pills, but he still sometimes didn't eat his meals, so we took him back to the vet again. This time they said he had some digestive issues, and they gave us another pill along with "yogurt" that we fed him twice a day. After all the pills and yogurt was done, he continued to sometimes not eat. My fiance went again and they gave use ANOTHER pill (Metronidazole 250mg) which says to eat with food, but he won't eat sometiems so he gets the pill with no food. They also gave us a different food Royal Canin veterinary diet Gastrol Intestinal High Energy. He still doesn't eat every meal. So far he has missed 3 in a row including this morning.

Sometimes when he doesn't eat, his stomach makes a sort of gurgling sound. This doesn't happen all the time though.

Besides the not eating he is acting normal, full of energy. We usually feed him twice a day once in the morning 7am and once in the evening 6pm. The normal food we've been feeding him is Taste of the Wild.

About a year and a half ago he did have a surgery because he ate part of his bed, and they had to remove it from his stomach. But he was 100% healed from that and normal again.

Any suggestions?

**Samson** · 09-19-2011, 08:56 AM

The second treatment sounds like antibiotics if they prescribed bio yoghurt ( The Anti's kill the good bacteria hence the replacement bacteria - yoghurt )

If his energy is good then I wouldn't personally worry too much particularly as you have been to the vet and he/she hasn't raised any other concerns.

How much are you feeding him ?

**BigBrownDog** · 09-19-2011, 08:57 AM

Shepherds can be notoriously picky and difficult eaters. I would just keep with the program - put the food down, if he does not eat it in 15 minutes pick it up. Dogs won't starve themselves. Are you sure the bag of food is OK (fresh, not spoiled)?

**6fthook** · 09-19-2011, 10:36 AM

We feed him twice a day, 1 1/4 cups each meal so about 2 1/2 cups/day altogether. He is about 50lbs or just under.

Now that you bring up being picky eaters, the first week or two when he would sometimes not eat we actually changed from the taste of the wild prairie formula to the wetlands formula. He started eating again for about a week, but then started to skip meals. The stuff the vet gave us he ate 3-4 meals then started to skip again.

Do you think maybe we should try another formula? It's getting expensive having so much of the bags leftover..

We put it down for about 20-30 minutes, if it's not eaten it gets put away.

**6fthook** · 09-19-2011, 10:37 AM

Another thing to add, we've been feeding him the prairie formula since he was about 3 month old with zero problems up until lately

**Tanya** · 09-19-2011, 01:05 PM

honestly, if he is healthy and you think the food is "fresh" (not stale/bad) I would start playing hardball. (you just want to eliminate potential health issues first - which you seem to already have done)

As BigBrownDog says, put the food down for a set period of time (15 minutes) and remove after that time (even if he hasn't touched it). put it back down at the next feeding. he may not eat for a day or two and that's fine, a dog will not starve themself.

I would go back to the first bag (prairies formula) - assuming it is fresh and good.

**BigBrownDog** · 09-19-2011, 01:49 PM

Yep - sounds like very shepherdy behavior to me. If you keep changing food (or start addding goodies to it to get him to eat) you are just reinforcing his pickiness.

**labby** · 09-19-2011, 03:00 PM

Boy you guys are generous.

I give a picky eater 5 minutes and if it's not eaten then they're SOL.

To the OP, choose a food and stick with it. I'd cut him down to 2 cups per day. Put the food down and give the dog whatever time you decide, though 20 minutes is too long, IMO. YOU are alpha. YOU decide when the dog is going to eat, not him. Eat the damn food or go hungry. lol

If he eventually eats most of the food in the dish in the allotted time but leaves a kernel, then my gosh that's what he gets at the next meal....that kernel. No food is added until the bowl is completely empty.

**Baloo317** · 09-20-2011, 07:16 AM

Is he your only dog?

When Rude was a baby he would pick at his food. I would add canned, soften it, handfeed, do all sorts of stuff (NOT ever for a picky adult, lol, but I have anxiety about puppies not eating enough. My issue, probably related to being part italian, ha.) and he was still picky. So, I started feeding him in a small ex-pen with the other dogs lurking around, watching him. The presence of competition had him eating like a horse (or, a lab!) in no time. He's now 6.5 months and still a great eater.

**6fthook** · 09-21-2011, 10:14 PM

So past few days he went two and a half days without eating much, some meals he would eat a few bites. All the meals we used the same food, and we took it up after about 10 minutes. Tonight (6pm) he ate his entire bowl, and then had some diarhea outside (we take him out after each meal). Otherwise he is acting completely normal.