Elsie- Surely You Are Kidding Me, Right?

[RobinM]

To preface this- I can not begin to tell you how wonderful it was (yes, was) to put down 4 bowls and have 4 dogs eat. That had never happened before. I enjoyed it so much for 3.5 weeks.

 

Then, all of a sudden, Elsie decided she wasn't into the kibble in the morning. No problem- she ate 1/2 can of "blue" chicken or beef. Dinner at 5 was the rest of the can and 1.5 cups of kibble. then she got a cup of kibble, dry at 10.

 

then she decided she did not want kibble at dinner either so I tried the raw and she loved it... for 5 days.

 

Today for breakfast she had 1/2 cup of kibble mixed with tripe (yes, I broke out the tripe I have stacked by the case in the garage that had been Polli's) For dinner, I tried the kibble with tripe, no good. I tried it with the raw, no good, I tried it with the raw chop meat- she picked at that.

 

So, I put everything away- she was now lying down in the den and I had a brainstorm-

 

Let me try to give her the purina one Polli liked.

 

Elsie ate a cup of that.

 

What is it with my farm girls.

 

I just picture Beau, Chloe and Teddy saying to her, Oh, no, you don't have to eat that. If you miss a meal or 2, she (me) will be so insane, she will give you anything you want.

 

So, I guess the Purina one won't go to waste. We shall see what tomorrow brings....

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

My thoughts on the whole thing

Most all farms and kennels feed some sort of Purina, or I should say they did (Purina is no longer making Hi Pro)

So relating it to myself, when I find some other food I like I think it's the newest and greatest but always seem to fall back to my normal (Mac and Cheese)

 

Maybe it's the same with your farm Momma's???

[Guest myjazzy]

They are fed kibble and raw ground meat at the track and farms. That might work with Elsie. At least for a few days.

 

Yep, I think the others let her in on the secret and she's decided to see if it works. She may be testing you, just like a child would. If her weight is normal, I would put down her food and if she doesn't eat it, pick it up and put it back out for the next meal. Repeat as needed until she eats.

 

 

[Guest Spencers_Greyt]

I dunno The way I do things is if the dog is healthy then they get what I give them or they starve. Trust me they don't really starve. I don't have the time or the money to give special meals to each dog. They learn pretty fast if they don't eat it then they miss that meal and if they don't eat it next meal then they miss that one too. I'm a big meanie but as I said, I don't have the time or money to cater to every dog's "special" dining needs.

 

[Guest PhillyPups]

What I was taught (from those with more experience than I have with the hounds) is not to do all that changing in food. I don't worry if mine skip a meal here and there, they usually make up for it next meal.

 

Makes me so greytful that my farm girls eat/ate anything with no problems (even when stealing my sandwiches)

[pabozem]

Me thinks she has been corresponding with Bill.

[Guest Lovey_Hounds]

when vegas stops eating i ended breaking down and giving him chopped up steak mixed with cheese (ricotta or cottage).... he knows im a sucker.

[Guest kydie]

I agree with myjazzy, some times one of mine won't eat at a meal, not the grey, so I save it until the next time,if he doesn't eat it then, i put it in the refreg. and give it to him in the a.m. i feel it won't hurt them to miss a meal or two, they are not starving, or he would eat.

[RobinM]

My thoughts on the whole thing

Most all farms and kennels feed some sort of Purina, or I should say they did (Purina is no longer making Hi Pro)

So relating it to myself, when I find some other food I like I think it's the newest and greatest but always seem to fall back to my normal (Mac and Cheese)

 

Maybe it's the same with your farm Momma's???

 

that's what I figured with Polli- she went back to comfort food!!!

 

Elsie was eating diamond something or other low grade food with ground beef. I can order it if worse comes to worse.

 

Beau eats a completely different food so what's one more! I don't mind, just as long as she eats.

[Guest hvacman250]

I agree with some of the other folks - IMO you are spoiling her and she will play you.

 

If you dont like dinner, breakfast is in 12 hours. If they skip 2-3 meals, then get worried.

 

Just like with my kids...if you liked it last time I fixed it and now you dont, no dinner for you. Its not mean, its tough love.

[Guest sheila]

Robin, I mean no offense here at all. I know how much you love your hounds and you do your level best to make sure they are well cared for and healthy. Having said that I have read your posts about getting this one/that one to eat and all the tricks you use to entice them. I also tend to agree that you might be trying too hard and unintentionally causing some of the picky eating behavior. Unless there is a food (kibble or raw) that a particular dog don't CAN'T have, if I were you I would choose what to feed and put it down. If it goes uneaten then so be it. A healthy and well balanced dog will not starve itself.

I realize that this is easier said then done, but in the long run I think your pack and you would benefit from a little 'tough love'. JMO

[PrairieProf]

Wasn't her tummy just off? Maybe that's still the problem, and it's not the food per se at all.

[RobinM]

Wasn't her tummy just off? Maybe that's still the problem, and it's not the food per se at all.

 

Yes, well.. we thought it was. She stopped eating. And she had been on antibiotics so we gave her the benefit of the doubt.

 

If she wants something else- I don't have a problem with that. I have to give Beau a precription diet. Chloe and Teddy get the same ole, same old every night and Elsie... well Elsie was sent by Polli so....

 

But if it were her stomach, why would she want to eat the purina one rather than the pro plan?

 

 

[TheFullHouse]

Her tummy may be off due to all the food changes in such a short time. I was always told that when switching food you do it slowly over a weeks time. I have to agree with Sheila. If one of mine misses a meal they usually eat the next, if they miss two meals they definitely eat in the morning! My only exception through the years was Emmy and that was because she couldn't chew anything after she became ill.

Edited May 26, 2009 by JillysFullHouse

[RobinM]

Robin, I mean no offense here at all. I know how much you love your hounds and you do your level best to make sure they are well cared for and healthy. Having said that I have read your posts about getting this one/that one to eat and all the tricks you use to entice them. I also tend to agree that you might be trying too hard and unintentionally causing some of the picky eating behavior. Unless there is a food (kibble or raw) that a particular dog don't CAN'T have, if I were you I would choose what to feed and put it down. If it goes uneaten then so be it. A healthy and well balanced dog will not starve itself.

I realize that this is easier said then done, but in the long run I think your pack and you would benefit from a little 'tough love'. JMO

 

Absolutely no offense taken.

 

believe me, I know, but I really don't mind so long as she eats. Chloe and Teddy are the easy ones and Beau - well, Beau can only have one thing. z/d. wet, dry, warm or cold, but only z/d. No choices.

 

Her tummy may be off due to all the food changes in such a short time. I was always told that when switching food you do it slowly over a weeks time.

 

Actually she had been on the same kibble (proplan) all this time and the only change was the raw- and she ate raw for 5 days- then she stopped eating completely.

 

The antibiotics started the same day as the raw. No way of really knowing. She was definitely off for that day or 2- she was more subdued. Now, she is acting more like herself again.

[Guest myjazzy]

Robin, I just thought of something. Elsie lived on the farm for many years and I'm sure she got the same thing every day and so did everybody else. So she ate it. She got to your house and she saw that different dogs got fed different things and she probably decided she wanted to see what everybody else was eating. These dogs are a lot smarter than we think and she is probably figuring out that if she doesn't eat what you give her, other new and exciting stuff magically appears in her bowl. That's prety cool, she thinks. She probably feels just like a kid in a candy store. If her tummy is on the mend and she doesn't have any other health issues, giving her what you give Chloe and Teddy will probably work. She'll just have to get used to the fact that Beau eats something different, but other than that everyone else gets the same thing. She'll catch on, trust me. I think you have a mighty smart and feisty little girl there. She sounds like a lot of fun. She sure is as cute as a bug.

[Batmom]

Might also be as she's settling in, she's starting to need a bit less food and just isn't hungry. If she isn't acting ill, I wouldn't worry about her not eating for a day or two; then try @ 1 cup of food twice a day.

[winnie]

Yep, I think the others let her in on the secret and she's decided to see if it works. She may be testing you, just like a child would. If her weight is normal, I would put down her food and if she doesn't eat it, pick it up and put it back out for the next meal. Repeat as needed until she eats.

 

I agree. Celeste was our 1st grey and VERY fussy. We tried lots of different foods. Then we got Darcy who would eat whatever we gave her. So, rather than give into Celeste's whims, we just gave her what we gave Darcy. If she didn't eat... too bad. She figured out that we weren't going to give in and started eating again.

 

Elsie was eating diamond something or other low grade food with ground beef. I can order it if worse comes to worse.

 

We feed our girls Diamond Naturals Chicken & Rice. It's actually a very good quality food and our girls do well on it.