We Did What Everyone Said To Do And Elsie Is Not Eating

[RobinM]

It's been a while- i don't even know how long it's been where I have put down food and she has eaten it.

 

She will go with out eating.

 

In a day- maybe eat 1/2 cup of food.

 

She ate close to 2 pounds of meat/meal on the farm. I have tried kibble with beef, nature's variety raw- a few different canned foods and we start the day with a pepcid. None of this is working.

 

She is otherwise,very happy, very playful and very active.

 

I am getting pretty frustrated to say it mildly.

 

guess it's time for another vet visit but I don't know what that will do. If nothing else., we need to see how her weight is.

 

Ok, rant over.

[TheFullHouse]

Your other post about her not eating was 5 days ago. I assume she's eaten a little in those 5 days??? I wouldn't worry, especially since she's still active and happy and doesn't seem ill. Sometimes I think we worry too much when our pups miss a meal here and there. I would offer her the same thing every meal, if she's hungry she'll eat.

 

Bebe picks a day or two here and there where she refuses to eat breakfast. I just pick it up. She is offered the same thing for dinner and if she refuses that the next morning she scarfs down her breakfast. She refused to eat this morning and I can guarantee you that tonight at dinner, she'll eat.

 

I'm sorry you're having problems with her eating already. I guess I can count myself very fortunate, out of all 10 of mine, none are picky eaters (well except for Bebe and she gets over it).

[Guest Pipi5]

When Dear wouldn't eat due to hermangio sarcoma, my vet said he could give him a shot of steroids to stimulate his appetite. I tried everything from canned catfood to tripe. HOPING this isn't Elsie's problem.

[Guest IrskasMom]

 

 

ohhhh No Robin ..... another picky Eater ! I have to admit , my Morty does not eat sometime his Breakfast ( like today)

and sometimes Not his Dinner. I will not get upset and not in a Panic . I tell myself , if he is hungry , he will eat . This

is not the Case with Greyhounds . But if she is not losing weight and is pretty healthy , don't worry (how can we not).

[Guest HoustonGreys]

I truly HATE when they don't eat.

[RobinM]

Your other post about her not eating was 5 days ago. I assume she's eaten a little in those 5 days??? I wouldn't worry, especially since she's still active and happy and doesn't seem ill. Sometimes I think we worry too much when our pups miss a meal here and there. I would offer her the same thing every meal, if she's hungry she'll eat.

 

Bebe picks a day or two here and there where she refuses to eat breakfast. I just pick it up. She is offered the same thing for dinner and if she refuses that the next morning she scarfs down her breakfast. She refused to eat this morning and I can guarantee you that tonight at dinner, she'll eat.

 

I'm sorry you're having problems with her eating already. I guess I can count myself very fortunate, out of all 10 of mine, none are picky eaters (well except for Bebe and she gets over it).

 

Sigh. thanks Judy. I forget she is 10- she is so very active. Today she was a wild woman doing zoomies in the yard, jumping all over me. She would rather run with me than with the pack, which is interesting. Then we had a little rest- and then took them for a nice long leisurely walki in a park.

 

Then a car ride to the petstore. She is tired. She is 10. And that I forget sometimes! I think she was overtired - but she refused breakfast as well this morning. After everyone else ate, I got a 1/2 cup of food into her.

 

I will just keep doing what we are doing and I'm sure she will eat. She is sound asleep so DH took the other 3 for their after dinner walki.

 

Ahh- she is awake and munching away.

 

She is light for today even with this meal but it's food in her belly.

 

I feel better already.

 

 

[TheFullHouse]

Do you have a baseline weight for her? I can't remember if she's been to the vet or not yet. If you do, I'd just watch that. She's still settling in so you will probably find her appetite increases as she becomes more settled. If you notice a marked decrease in her activity level then I'd start to worry.

 

As I'm writing this Bebe is begging for her dinner. She has another hour to go so I think she'll eat tonight. What's interesting with Bebe is that she doesn't want hers but she wants to taste everyone's just in case they have something better. She's not allowed to but she tries!

[Guest Mommydog]

I've had this problem just recently with Joey, he's currently being treated for a stomach ulcer. And when he wouldn't eat I've been giving him Slippery Elm Food, you should be able to get at the chemist or health store. I make it up as a milky drink, 1tbsp powder and 7floz milk, then sweeten it slightly with a little Manuka honey. It's very soothing to the stomach and nutritious too. It's for people really, but it's fine for dogs too.

[RobinM]

Do you have a baseline weight for her? I can't remember if she's been to the vet or not yet. If you do, I'd just watch that. She's still settling in so you will probably find her appetite increases as she becomes more settled. If you notice a marked decrease in her activity level then I'd start to worry.

 

As I'm writing this Bebe is begging for her dinner. She has another hour to go so I think she'll eat tonight. What's interesting with Bebe is that she doesn't want hers but she wants to taste everyone's just in case they have something better. She's not allowed to but she tries!

 

yes, she was to the vet for her dental and she had all her bloods done too. Her weight (racing weight) is 62. She is a rather large boned girl with very large paws/legs. Her bones are big. She could afford several pounds but she does look good. Vet was pleasantly surprised that she looked as good as she does.

 

As long as she doesn't lose, that will be fine. I am learning her ways too and if she is tired, she won't eat. She was a crazy girl today so I think that contributed.

 

Beau to likes to see who was eating what, but no more. He gets the z/d and now he is a very focused eater!

Edited May 31, 2009 by RobinM

[GreyPoopon]

I have an erratic eater--Piper the broodie--and I second what Judy says. If Elsie is not on meds, seems happy, and holds her weight (even if it's a bit under what you'd like), don't worry about her. Give her some time to eat, and if she doesn't finish it, just pick it up. Don't increase the next meal--she's deciding how much she needs.

 

And don't switch foods to tempt her. Sometimes a switch is a good idea: Perry was underweight for the first seven years of her life and I tried everything to get her to eat, only to have her gain weight when I switched foods because Minnie had to change. But frequent switches and topping changes seem to make the picky eaters even worse. [she says, 'ing herself because she learned this lesson with Perry, and then got suckered in again by Piper.]

 

You've been through the wars with Beau and Polli so your sensitivity is perfectly understandable. But try not to assume that Elsie is going to turn into a walking skeleton if you don't jump through all the hoops. You have lots of time to panic if she starts losing weight.

[RobinM]

Thanks all.

 

I have figured something out, 3 things actually.

 

1) she prefers dry kibble with nothing added in to it, regardless of the fact that is not how she had it at the farm

 

2) she likes to eat alone - not with the others. ( I learned that she had a bowl in her 20 foot run at the farm and she could free feed all day long)

 

3) she likes to eat later in the evening.

 

What I am going to do is since she is liking the kibble alone- I will add in some evo to the purina one so she is eating a better food.

Funny thing is - that is what Polli ate. We started out with mostly purina one, but at the end it was 3/4 evo to 1/4 purina one.

 

She has put away 3 cups of food today, doing it her way. Straight kibble, later on in the evening. Same exact way as Polli.

 

Weird.

 

The strange thing is for 3 weeks she ate @ 7 Am and 5 PM with everyone else, but the past 2 weeks have been very difficult. She would walk up to the bowl, then walk away and go lay down.

 

Now, that I think I've figured it out, I will do it this way.

 

I can live with this.

[Guest PhillyPups]

Robin,

 

From a food oriented I talian mother to a food oriented Jewish mother - relax. Your stressing over her eating will stress Elsie.

 

I am of the mindset, especially with the older hounds is sometimes they just don't feel like eating. If she likes the Purina, she is healthy on the Purina, let her eat it. Mine all have to have some cheapo canned food on their kibble (seems the cheaper the more they like it) so they all get 1/4 can. I relate it to having to have my soft pretzel in the morning or McDonalds fries

 

If my senior go more than a day without eating at all then on the second I get concerned - they usually don't go longer than one day cause they're hungry. In that case, usually moistening their food with chicken broth works, but I don't change the base food.

 

Good luck and RELAX.

[Stoney]

I'm glad you figured it out! Her picture is GORGEOUS!

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Chels was an intermittent eater when she first got here, too. Which was fine for her since she needed to lose anyways; now that she is close to ideal weight and has been here for a few months, her eating is a lot more regular. She'd always eat her raw (sometimes with coaxing, but she'd eat it) but skip her kibble breakfast about every other day. Her routine has improved and she eats with (almost) gusto every day.

 

I am glad you've discovered what works for Elsie, hope it keeps on working! Sometimes they just need to go thru an adjustment period.

[Guest KennelMom]

If she's been to the vet and has been checked out and she was eating fine on the farm, then just. let. her. be. As long as she isn't dropping weight.

 

Don't fret. Don't stress. Don't worry that she won't eat. You can't lie to a dog. What you can do, quite easily, is create a finicky and picky eater. If you put down her bowl believing she won't eat it or worried she won't eat it or are otherwise creating tension within yourself, it's very likely she's not eating because you are making her nervous.

 

Just put her bowl down. Leave her be. Pick it up if she doesn't eat in whatever amount of time you a lot for meals. Unlike cats, a healthy dog won't starve itself. And trust me, no one was jumping through a thousand hoops to get her to eat on the farm and she seems to have managed just fine there.

Edited June 1, 2009 by KennelMom

[robinw]

Loca would also go a day or two without eating. I never really worried about it, but it's good that you're having everything checked.

[RobinM]

She is eating alone and just dry kibble. I had no idea she felt uncomfortable eating with the others. They would always finish before her and wait by her or smell her butt- she would stop eating and walk away. I would try to coax then away without raising my voice as not to upset her, but she would wind up sitting down.

 

So, with feeding her seperate and just dry kibble- we seem to be on to something!

 

[MerlinsMum]

Excellent! :yay

 

And I agree with Heather.