Ok, I'll Eat. No I Won't. Yes I Will. No I Won't...

[DevilDog]

Oh, and I'd like to add:

 

I'm not discounting the vet visit. We will likely be doing that soon. However, a thought..

 

Is it possible she's just being difficult? It is totally in her personality to do that and just generally be a pain in the butt. Throughout her episodes, her poop always remains the same.. same light color, formed but slightly soft, normal output, never any blood or mucus. Normal. It's always this way whether she eats or not. Her tummy growls if she has refused breakfast but even mine does that! A normal reaction to skipping a meal.. Also, she rarely pukes anymore. Only on occasion if she's munched on a little grass or chewed on a kid's toy. She has always been picky.. she stops eating randomly, and then starts again once I've dished up something acceptable. She never seems to be in any pain or discomfort.

 

..just thinking out loud here.

[TheFullHouse]

Bebe does this. For instance yesterday, she refused breakfast so I pulled it up, she refused dinner so I took that up also. This morning she ate like she was starving........well ya! She does this when there is people food around. Give a choice she'd eat people food over dog food any day of the week. She came to me this way, she was fed a lot of people food in her old home. Now she's a tiny little thing, all of 54lbs. and doesn't have a lot of leeway when it comes to losing weight but I've learned with her I have to stand firm because if I give in, just once, she's back to picking and choosing when she eats. She's a little hard headed that way so when I see she's not eating and everyone else is done her food is taken up and she waits until the next meal.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Oh, and I'd like to add:

 

I'm not discounting the vet visit. We will likely be doing that soon. However, a thought..

 

Is it possible she's just being difficult? It is totally in her personality to do that and just generally be a pain in the butt. Throughout her episodes, her poop always remains the same.. same light color, formed but slightly soft, normal output, never any blood or mucus. Normal. It's always this way whether she eats or not. Her tummy growls if she has refused breakfast but even mine does that! A normal reaction to skipping a meal.. Also, she rarely pukes anymore. Only on occasion if she's munched on a little grass or chewed on a kid's toy. She has always been picky.. she stops eating randomly, and then starts again once I've dished up something acceptable. She never seems to be in any pain or discomfort.

 

..just thinking out loud here.

 

It's possible. The more you fuss over eating, the bigger an issue it becomes.

 

If the food agrees with her, try feeding the recommended amount on the bag and leave it for 20 minutes, pick it up , and don't fuss. Give it a few weeks (during which you can still run the bloodwork) and see what happens.

[cleptogrey]

sounds like your girl would get along w/ bill from dinner w/ bill(my favorite )very well. but i have been there w/ a stubborn eater. one of my salukis used to turn his nose up to food and would wait what seemed like an eternity to chow down. aside from talking to your vet and asking if he recommends some testing or worming(is she on a heart worm preventative that also worms?) i would stand firm and maybe try feeding her once a day. maybe a large dog bisket in the morning and an earlier dinner? make the food more tempting by soaking it w/ some good quality canned food or boiled chopmeat w/ lots of broth and a potato(sweet or white) mashed in. the carbs help w/ weight gain and you are avoiding fats.

 

i leave a food bowl down for 5 minutes and pick it up. if they are going to eat, they eat.

Edited July 2, 2011 by cleptogrey

[JJNg]

Is it possible she's just being difficult? ..... She has always been picky.. she stops eating randomly, and then starts again once I've dished up something acceptable.

 

It's possible. The more you fuss over eating, the bigger an issue it becomes.

 

If the food agrees with her, try feeding the recommended amount on the bag and leave it for 20 minutes, pick it up , and don't fuss. Give it a few weeks (during which you can still run the bloodwork) and see what happens.

 

However, there are some details you've posted that make me wonder if it could also be a medical problem. I'd definitely recommend a good exam and bloodwork, and discuss these issues with your vet.

 

She eats everything with gusto for 2 weeks, and then refuses everything for one week, wash, rinse, repeat. I figure maybe she's bored with the Purina, so I add different flavors of wet food, or pumpkin, or bits of chicken etc. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Have you tried what Swifthounds suggested with just putting the food down for a limited amount of time (I usually recommend twice a day), not adding anything, and not making a big deal out of it? If so, how long did she go without eating? Nothing wrong with skipping a meal or two (in a healthy dog), and some dogs just seem to self regulate. If you immediately jump on top of 1-2 skipped meals and start adding in extras to tempt the dog to eat, you'll quickly create a picky eater who refuses food to wait for something better. However, if she's been refusing "everything for one week" even without add-ins or tempting, I'd be concerned about an underlying medical issue.

 

When she doesn't eat, her belly makes horrible growling noises. I know she needs to eat, but her belly hurts so she won't eat. I have to tempt her with cookies to settle her stomach so she'll eat her kibble. Sometimes she refuses the cookies as well. That's what I'm dealing with right now. She's refusing breakfast, dinner, and gets excited and takes her cookies, but just drops them on her bed and stares at them.

This also makes me wonder about a medical problem. Some dogs get an upset stomach and not want to eat if they've gone too long without eating. My IG was like this, and it was usually because I was later than usual feeding him (like when I slept in on weekends or was late coming home). I'd give him a couple spoonfuls of yogurt or plain rice, and this usually settled his stomach enough for him to eat his meal.

 

However, the taking the cookie and staring at it could also be learned behavior. Dogs whose owners been making a big fuss over eating can develop a somewhat stressful association with food and not want to eat because of this.

 

When I try to get her to eat she just lays there with this annoying stubborn look on her face and doesn't look at me. "If I don't look at Mommy she can't see me..."

Looking away is a calming signal. This may be a sign of stress and being a bit uncomfortable with the interaction, not being stubborn.

 

She's continuously dropping weight down to 57-58 and then when I get her to eat she goes back up to her ideal 60.... and then we start the cycle all over again.

If you just leave her alone to eat at her discretion, will she continue to lose weight below 57-58 lbs? If not, it's possible that this is her ideal weight. I've known some dogs that self regulate their food intake and just seem to have a slightly lower 'set point' to their weight than what we would consider ideal. I've seen this more in young, active dogs, and also more in huskies than other breeds. The husky owners don't seem to obsess over it as much since their thick coat hides the ribs. I've also noticed that some of these dogs will gain a little and get closer to what we consider a good body condition as they get older and more sedentary. However, before coming to the conclusion that this is 'normal' for her, I'd definitely recommend a full vet check.

[DevilDog]

Thanks jjng. I am going to give a call to the vet shortly, but I think I'm going to try a little tough love as some of you suggested.

 

Over the long weekend, she was all over the map. Refusing breakfast, but ate dinner because it had the pot roast gravy mixed in. When I ran out of the gravy and went back to wet dog food.. she refused. Yesterday for breakfast she only ate the "chicken" bits but left the kibble. She refused dinner.. however, after her night time cookie, I put her dinner back down and she ate it all.

 

This morning with the tough love, I put dry kibble down, she didn't eat so I picked it up. For dinner tonight she will get dry kibble and if she doesn't eat it I'll put it up and offer it again at night. We'll see.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Sounds like a plan. Keep us posted.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

If she has any teeth that are giving her pain, she won't want to eat either. My boy's front incisors looked good enough but he didn't eat. We brushed every day. We moved, got a new vet, and had a dental. She found that the incisors looked fine but were loose. After she removed them he became the most food motivated hound you will ever meet.

[DevilDog]

Ok, so I was holding off on the vet for a few days to see if my 'tough love' would work. Only kibble at feeding times, taken away if she didn't eat. Results were so-so. She only ate breakfast on occasion, and usually only ate the 'chicken pieces' leaving the plain kibble. Sometimes she ate dinner with gusto, sometimes not at all. She's still eating her evening cookie normally.

 

Her poop has gotten a little weird. She normally poops twice a day. No she's skipping a day, and then has 2 huge poops back-to-back the next day, etc. Output has been softer than normal.

 

Today something is not right. DBF said she was making weird noises this morning. When I took her out she barely peed, so I just went home for lunch to take her out again. She did a little pee, and then laid down in the grass. She's NEVER done this. I got her up, and then she tried to lay down again as we walked over the foot bridge, but I didn't let her and we got back home. She's also moving a little slow and did not get excited when I came home.

 

I called the vet and she has an appt at 4:40 today. Anyone have any more ideas? I mentioned a fecal and blood work to the receptionist.

[Jenbo]

Maybe check her for a UTI?

[PrairieProf]

Ok, so I was holding off on the vet for a few days to see if my 'tough love' would work. Only kibble at feeding times, taken away if she didn't eat. Results were so-so. She only ate breakfast on occasion, and usually only ate the 'chicken pieces' leaving the plain kibble. Sometimes she ate dinner with gusto, sometimes not at all. She's still eating her evening cookie normally.

 

Her poop has gotten a little weird. She normally poops twice a day. No she's skipping a day, and then has 2 huge poops back-to-back the next day, etc. Output has been softer than normal.

 

Today something is not right. DBF said she was making weird noises this morning. When I took her out she barely peed, so I just went home for lunch to take her out again. She did a little pee, and then laid down in the grass. She's NEVER done this. I got her up, and then she tried to lay down again as we walked over the foot bridge, but I didn't let her and we got back home. She's also moving a little slow and did not get excited when I came home.

 

I called the vet and she has an appt at 4:40 today. Anyone have any more ideas? I mentioned a fecal and blood work to the receptionist.

 

Sorry she's sick! Darn. Glad you can get her in right away. BTW I think they can do a cPL to rule out pancreatitis, but a TLI has to be 12 hours fasting.

[DevilDog]

Ok, so I was holding off on the vet for a few days to see if my 'tough love' would work. Only kibble at feeding times, taken away if she didn't eat. Results were so-so. She only ate breakfast on occasion, and usually only ate the 'chicken pieces' leaving the plain kibble. Sometimes she ate dinner with gusto, sometimes not at all. She's still eating her evening cookie normally.

 

Her poop has gotten a little weird. She normally poops twice a day. No she's skipping a day, and then has 2 huge poops back-to-back the next day, etc. Output has been softer than normal.

 

Today something is not right. DBF said she was making weird noises this morning. When I took her out she barely peed, so I just went home for lunch to take her out again. She did a little pee, and then laid down in the grass. She's NEVER done this. I got her up, and then she tried to lay down again as we walked over the foot bridge, but I didn't let her and we got back home. She's also moving a little slow and did not get excited when I came home.

 

I called the vet and she has an appt at 4:40 today. Anyone have any more ideas? I mentioned a fecal and blood work to the receptionist.

 

Sorry she's sick! Darn. Glad you can get her in right away. BTW I think they can do a cPL to rule out pancreatitis, but a TLI has to be 12 hours fasting.

 

Well she hasn't eaten a morsel since her cookie last night so.. we're good there!

[DevilDog]

oh dear. Jason just got home and called me. She peed and pooped all over the house. Massive piles. I'm headed home. Then vet.

[PrairieProf]

Oh crap (really). Peeing and pooping both? How odd. Sending good thoughts for a quick non-major diagnosis. I'll be checking for updates!!

Edited July 11, 2011 by PrairieProf

[Jenbo]

Uh oh. I hope it's something easily treated and she's back to normal soon.

[Guest EMcElfresh]

Hoping she just has a tummy upset. Wishing for heathy thoughts - update us when you can!

[o_rooly]

Sending tons of positive thoughts for Ms. Sage!!

[DevilDog]

Nuthin'! As I figured.

 

DBF had eveything cleaned up by the time I got home, so I just took Sage straight to the vet. Her exam checked out. She looks bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and showed no discomfort with all the poking, prodding and intestine kneeding.

 

I had them take a fecal and blood, with an emphasis on pancreatic function.. a cPL . I'll find out tomorrow.

 

Oh, and guess what? We just discovered that DBF's husky/akita mix has "mud butt"........... and we suspect this afternoon's pooping offender may have been him...

 

..or not. Who knows!

Edited July 11, 2011 by DevilDog

[Guest EMcElfresh]

So glad she didn't seem uncomfortable! And that it was perhaps not her with the poo meaning she's outta the "dog house"

[Jenbo]

I'm glad she's ok

[PrairieProf]

Really glad she seems to be OK!

[JerseyGirlInOz]

Lucky is the same way, switched him to raw and he's never turned his nose up

I second the raw feeding.

 

I had a foster who was bounced for many of the same issues that you describe. He was kibble fed, and the owners refused to try anything else, because "their other greyhound did just fine on kibble". I tried to explain to them that like people, not all food are suitable for all dogs---there could be issues with allergens, etc., but they wouldn't have a bar of it. They just thought he was being "difficult".

 

After a few days of raw feeding, he was like a different dog. His urinary issues cleared, up his poop was just the right consistency, his coat was beautiful, and he was bright and happy.

 

Maybe you could try raw feeding Sage for a few weeks and see how she goes?

 

ETA: Sounds like Ol' "Mud-Butt" might benefit from raw feeding too

Edited July 12, 2011 by JerseyGirlInOz

[DevilDog]

She was fine after the vet yesterday, ate all her dinner, and ate all her breakfast this morning.

 

Jason just called to inform me there is a massive amount of kibble puke on the floor.

[Wonder]

Lucky will puke from kibble but has never puked from raw....you really should look into raw.

[DevilDog]

Yea, I'm going to see what comes of the blood work and fecal first. Waiting waiting.