Question for dog owners.

1911 · Mar 11, 2008

What does everyone here feed their dogs? I have a 1 year old male shepherd that is driving me insane. Won't eat kibble, won't eat raw, won't eat canned. About the only thing that peaks his interest is dog bones (the same brand that makes the kibble he won't eat ironically) and people food. Maybe he thinks he is a person. He was doing ok on kibble for quite some time but all at once he just stopped. (natural choice brand from petsmart) I've had him to the vet and even he seems baffled by it.

BuckSnort · Mar 11, 2008

May I suggest lead....

Just kidding of course..I had a lab that had a finicky stomach and about the only thing that works well for him was Eukanuba.. It's pricy but you get what you pay for I guess..

RACKMASTER · Mar 11, 2008

wish my dog would stop eating...eats everything apples, oranges, lemons, cheese balls, tennis balls, cat truffles, peppers, raw salmon, tub of butter(that was funny ..came out like cheese whizz).
he get the best ...science diet natures best! and all the treats no bones!
he's a lab and 5yrs!
rm

bobcatbess · Mar 12, 2008

WELL!!!

ITS PRETTY EASY TO FIGURE THIS ONE OUT!!!

AFTER YOU MADE HIM SUFFER FOR AN HOUR OR TWO WHILE COOKING THAT PRIME RIB I'D BE PRETTY DAMN PICKY ON WHAT I WANTED TO EAT AROUND YOUR HOUSE TOO!!!

THIS IS MY NEW GUN,YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT,YOU'LL LIKE IT A HELL OF A LOT LESS WHEN IT HITS ITS DESTINATION!!!

THE ONLY bobcat THAT KNOWS ALOT OF YOU HAVE HAD THIS IMAGE IN YOUR PEA BRAIN BUT DUE TO POOR SHOOTING TACTICS I'M STILL KICKIN!!!

easymoney · Mar 12, 2008

IMHO, it sounds as if you have a very human spoiled dog on your hands. All dogs will eat anything, if they are hungry.
Stop all the human food, bones and treats, and get the dog started on a high quality kibble, as it contains all the needed nutrients and supplements. Human food is not good for them, and starts them being reluctant to eat dog food. Even canned or soft kibble can do this as well, but they will eventually start eating kibble again.
I feed Diamond high protein for sporting dogs, in the maroon bag, for my hunting dogs as it has 25% protein and 27% fat content and only a canine digestible base of rice. I have tried them all and any high quality non corn based food will do. My dogs sometimes go off the feed once in a while, mainly when I'm on the road hunting or traveling.
Just my two cents...

Stop Global Whining

Slide · Mar 12, 2008

I feed my dogs Nutramax, I was feeding them Iams then I heard Iams wasn't that good so I switched to Nutramax.

My dogs seem to be doing well on Nutramax.

Good luck,

Slide

nickman · Mar 12, 2008

Try Purina puppy chow for a while. If he goes for, it start cutting in Purina HiPro 50/50 with the puppy chow. It has always worked with our healers.

1911 · Mar 12, 2008

Thanks for the info here everyone. It's given me a few ideas. This is a stubborn dog to figure out sometimes. He never gets people food from the table (although he clearly wants it). Also he gets treats on a limited basis for training purposes. My concern is that since he has become so picky, he is losing weight as nothing else, treats or people food, is filling the void.

RELH · Mar 12, 2008

I fed my K-9 Science Diet after several vets told me it was one of the best for working dogs. My K-9 did very well on it and was on patrol to the age of 10 years which is very rare for that lenght of time.

RELH

Bambistew · Mar 12, 2008

Since he became picky has he been drinking more water than normal? How long has he been like this?

I would not recomend feeding him puppy chow, it has to much protien in it can be hard on his system. Especially if he has kidney problems...

I would ask the vet to do a urin test and or blood test to determine if his kidneys are functioning properly. One of the main symptoms of failing kidneys is loss of appetite and another is drinking excessive ammounts of water.

I'm assuming the vet did a physical exam feeling the dogs intestinal tract and stomach for blockage?

A healthy dog is usually always hungry and willing to eat anything half way's appatizing unless you feed him excessive treats. Sometimes they will stop eating all together for a few days or might even be 'sick' but it usully doesn't last very many days.

Good luck, I hope your pup gets better and its nothing serrious.

Tuffbucker · Mar 13, 2008

Science Diet.

predator · Mar 13, 2008

I have used NutraMax for many years. The resulting coat on my shepherd and other dogs has been just wonderful!

I've never had a dog that did't scarp down his food, tho....I'd go with the full physical and tests mentioned above!

Does he regurgitate food? One of mine had a laryngeal collapse, pretty common I was told. Every once in a while he would quit eating, and then regurgitate what he tried to eat and then re-eat, which would irritate the intestinal tract. I had to feed him equal parts chicken and rice once his weight dropped too low. But he eventually went back to kibble with no problem.

Good luck, hope we've given you some ideas.

Pred

zekers · Mar 13, 2008

One of my heelers had close to the same problem as Pred's dog. Chicken and rice for him. Now it's only Iams. Not that Iams is any better than anthing else, but I can't stand his farts on the cheaper stuff. Get him back to the vet, and by all means, no human food.

easymoney · Mar 14, 2008

One thing that was brought up, that I did not mention is, is the dog ill or been traumatized?
All the dogs I have owned and raised, will eat anything and if not, they will roll in it...

Stop Global Whining

ddfeed · Mar 14, 2008

Try Royal Canine Products. You wont find this in the box stores,, you will have to go to your local feed dealer or pet supply shop.
Brian

1911 · Mar 14, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Mar-14-08 AT 04:26PM (MST)[p]Thanks for all the input guys. Really good to get some feedback on what others are doing. Good news is after my trip to the vet and some various meds he seems to be doing much better now. Not sure what was going on but I was getting very concerned when his appetite loss was beggining to turn into weight loss. I'm not sure if the vet turned it around or if it was a fluke but he now seems to be eating good. I previously said he was on healthy choice but what I meant was Nutra Max. I had done a lot of reading on the net about raw diets, Royal Canine, ect. and so it is good information to see what works well with others. One thing the vet did mention is he may have had the love bug. I'm just glad he seems to be on the mend and it hasn't turned out to be something serious like a bowel obstruction.

Huntnfever · Mar 14, 2008

try mixing dry and wet dogfood, my two dont like anything but lamb and rice..spoiled little mutts. My other springer did well on pedegree, but the cooked bacon from the couonter my wife left out when she was pregnant ya he didnt do well with that, and it was stinky ha ha