Guest PaulEmandStan Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Not sure if this belongs here or in the medical board but Stan has suddenly decided he doesn't want to eat his breakfast. We normally split his daily feed between two 250g meals one in the morning and one in the evening and he's always wolfed them down without any problems. Since my fiancée (who feeds him when she gets up for work) has been off for christmas any attempt to feed him breakfast is met with resistance and a stand-off in the kitchen until we take it away. We were hoping he'd learn "if I don't eat now I don't eat until the evening" but he's a bit thick bless him. We don't want to spoil him by adding milk or another treat as he'll expect that all the time. His evening meal is always demolished with gusto so it might just be the break in his routine. He is going to the vets for his glands on Thursday as he is having a bit of bother with them again we think but that's never stopped him eating before. Does anyone else's hound have random food rejections as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 (edited) Mine does and she did it last week. For (only) 3 days in a row , she just did not eat breakfast. I was stunned! Like yours, b'fast and supper are met with lots of "Yeah, I am starving!!" In my opinion, I think that the change in Stan's morning routine put him off. I know my Annie Bella is a routine-crazy Greyhound and if something significant changes (such as not going to work as usual), she would not like it. I'm retired so am always here in the morning. The one thing that did change in Annie's life is that on the days prior to her turning up her nose at breakfast I was out of the house for several days in a row, sometimes for 4 or 5 hours, because of holiday things: shopping, dinners with friends, attending concerts, etc. This is very unusual for me. I'm a homebody and when I do go out, it's often to visit friends and Annie B. goes with me. Annie is simply never left alone for hours on end for 5 days in a row, so I think her lack of interest in breakfast was related to that. She started eating breakfast again when I returned to my normal schedule. ETA: You said he resists eating and there is a stand off. On these days when he's not eating, do you continually say things like, "Eat. Come on, Stan, eat your breakfast," etc. If so, maybe putting his dish down and leaving the room would work without saying anything to him. If it's still there in 30 or 40 minutes, then take it up. Edited December 23, 2012 by Feisty49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAJ2010 Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Rainy did that a few weeks after we brought her home. Our solution was to stop feeding break fast! even to this day they don't get a morning meal, unless it's the weekend and we cook. Then they get the human left overs and are glad to eat. If he's not losing weight don't worry. Just put it down for 20 minutes then pick it up and save it for dinner. Oh and the girls do get morning cookies so their bellies aren't empty during the work day. Quote ------ Jessica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 ETA: You said he resists eating and there is a stand off. On these days when he's not eating, do you continually say things like, "Eat. Come on, Stan, eat your breakfast," etc. If so, maybe putting his dish down and leaving the room would work without saying anything to him. If it's still there in 30 or 40 minutes, then take it up. Yup, don't make a big deal out of mealtime. Just put it down and let him eat (or not). Doing a lot of coaxing and stressing over it may make him even less likely to eat because he can pick up on your mood and get stressed over it too. As long as he's acting normal and eating his evening meal eagerly, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianamac Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Yup, same thing! No change in our routine, but for some reason our guy has stopped eating breakfast for the most part in the last month. We started feeding him less at breakfast, sometimes taking it away after 45 mins... but for some reason he only sometimes eats his morning (12pm) meal, but always eats his nighttime (12am) meal with great happiness... no rhyme or reason to when we eats in the morning. We don't worry too much about it; when we doesn't eat his morning meal we know we can do more clicker training with treats at some point during the day. Guess he is picky... Quote Bri and Mike with Boo Radley (Williejohnwalker), Bubba (Carlos Danger), and the feline friends foes, Loois and Amir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhead Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 The only time we had trouble with refusal of morning meals specifically was when one of our dogs had hookworm and we didn't know it. He wound up having to be wormed multiple times. Each time we wormed him, the a.m. eating problem stopped. Quote Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaulEmandStan Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 Thanks for the feedback guys! We have started making less of a fuss over his breakfast and he has eaten the last 2 meals fully. We went the vets today regarding his glands and the vet basically said the same thing as much of the posts have, a combination of routine/awkardness and nothing serious, he's actually put on 2 kg since we last took him! Thanks as ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaulEmandStan Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 This issue is rearing his head again, we went the vets last week for a check up and he is in perfect health it seemsand his weight has stayed stable, however the last few days he's been refusing his breakfast again, he's in the kitchen now. We currently split his dinner 200g in the morning and 250g in the evening, do you think I should maintain this split and hopefully (after ANOTHER day being hungry til dinner time) he will learn to eat when it's offered or should we change to one large meal in the evening and maybe a weetabix in the mornings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 (edited) How long have you had Stan? When I adopted my girl, I was a bit nervous about most everything concerning her from what/how much she ate to when/how much she poo'd to is she drinking enough water. I calmed down in about 2 months when it sank in that while she's a Greyhound and as such does have some special needs and care (thinking of blood work, etc.), she is a dog, and when I calmed down, she did to. What I'm saying is: Don't worry. According to the vet, Stan is healthy so if he doesn't eat breakfast for a few days, go with the flow. He'll eat when he's hungry - which will be before supper but oh well, he'll have to wait. I would give him his normal number of treats during the day but no more. You don't want to make up for him not eating breakfast. A question? Do you give him a treat or something to "tide him through the night?" If so, don't. Edited January 27, 2013 by Feisty49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryhndsr4us Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Our Sky has days when she refuses breakfast. Sometimes 3 days in a row. We offer it everyday, if she doesn't eat we don't worry. We don't adjust her supper amount. She will decide when she wants breakfast again. She is healthy and at a good weight, she just isn't hungry some mornings. Sneakers has days where he will only eat part of his breakfast. Guess some dogs are self regulating on their weight. Quote Sue ,Sky and Dood, Bridge angels Clark, Gypsy, Dreamy and Sneakers, Oshkosh,WI Heartbound Greyhound Adoption<p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwnedBySummer Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I wouldn't fret about it. I'm assuming this is kibble that you're feeding? I find adding quite warm water to kibble improves/strengthens the "aroma" and makes most dogs more willing to eat it. And no, I wouldn't feed Weetabix -- why would you feed human cereal to your dog? Plus, that particular cereal has sugar as the 3rd ingredient. Quote Lisa B. My beautiful Summer - to her forever home May 1, 2010 Summer Certified therapy dog team with St. John Ambulance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaulEmandStan Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Cheers guys you've really put my mind at ease there that it isn't just our Stan. We've had him just under 6 months and directly from racing kennels, he is also the first dog we've ever had so I suppose we fret a bit more than we should! We've been cutting back on daytime treats (unless specifically for training) and he is hungry by his dinner time and wolfed it down, so I guess we'll see tomorrow when I get up for work to feed him! As you can see from the below picture, he seems quite content at the minute... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 That is an awesome picture! Roaching and a bit of bed fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest addison522 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 One of my hounds, Captain, isn't eating. It started out about a week ago where he just wasn't eating one of his 2 meals a day. That lasted about 3 or so days. Last night, however, he didn't eat dinner and then didn't eat breakfast or dinner. His tummy is very noisy today too. He's been pretty hesitant when we go outside to potty but eventually will do his business. I'm not sure what to do! Should I take him to the vet? Is it possible he just doesn't like his food anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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