Hunger Strike! How Stubborn Are Greys?

[Guest Doggone]

Autumn is my first greyhound, having had 4 previous dogs of various backgrounds, so I'm not used to her ways yet.

 

Today she has completely refused her food (kibble), and yet if I go into the kitchen, she's literally dogging my steps in hopes of a dog biscuit or other treat. So I know it's not as if she's not hungry..........she'd just prefer doggy "junk food" over more nutritious stuff. All of her other "systems" are a "go", so I don't think there's anything wrong with her. She's otherwise pretty much her usual self, just not wanting her regular food.

 

With any of my past dogs, if they refused their food, I'd wait them out, and eventually they'd get hungry enough to eat. Am I safe to presume Autumn will do the same? I really don't want to cater to a finicky eater. Btw, she came to me a bit overweight, so if she misses a couple of meals, she can afford it.

 

Although her foster mom said she was a big eater, she's never been one with me. I suspect that she was getting a bit "indulged" (it was their first fostered grey). In other respects, she seems relaxed and very comfortable around me, and extremely cooperative (if dogs can be said to cooperate).

 

Has anyone else had this, and if so, how was it resolved?

 

TIA

Edited April 1, 2013 by Doggone

[Charla]

Gracie is a game player too. She won't eat her own kibble, she'll stand there and look at me with those big eyes and then go eat Carl's, or if he's finished she'll stand there and wait for me to pour some out of her bowl into his ... then she'll eat. She likes to take a few bites then walk away, I have to pick up her bowl because Carl would inhale it in two seconds. Then all is normal for a while until we start the games again. She NEVER refuses cookies, meat or turkey necks.

 

I try to wait her out but she bugs the heck out of me; whines, pokes, follows my every step, jumps up and heads to the kitchen every time I move ... she's trained me well.

[greytpups]

Dogs won't purposely starve themselves. I suspect she may have learned that if she doesn't eat her food, she will get something else instead.

 

Brooke is a chow hound. Ben not so much. We leave his bowl down until she's finished eating. If he hasn't started eating yet, we pick the bowl up. We give him another opportunity a few hours later, but if he's not interested, he waits until dinner. This works for us. We have changed kibble though once when neither seemed interested in it, but I've rarely found taste to be an issue.

 

I suspect if she's healthy, she'll eat when she's hungry if she isn't given something else to eat in the meantime.

[muddgirl]

You don't say how long you've had Autumn. It's possible that she has a slight upset stomach, or is still getting settled. My first grey was a rather... unconcerned eater and would occasionally skip a meal or only eat a little bit (and no, we wouldn't substitute unusual treats in the meantime). As long as he was drinking water and had regular energy levels and BMs, we let him eat as little as he wanted.

 

Now that he has a sister, he finishes his food very quickly for fear of losing it! I suspect Autumn might be the same way - she was a quick eater at the foster home because she was protecting it from other dogs.

[Guest Doggone]

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad to hear that greys don't have a "cut off your nose" way of acting. I'll just wait her out, as long as she seems otherwise fine.

I've had Autumn for a month, and she really has settled into my life easily. It may be because she's seven and was a brood mom, or it may be that she's just fairly laid-back.

I suspect that in her short time in the foster home she got used to "goodies" and "enhanced" kibble; that could account for her being a bit overweight (unless the farm indulged her?). It seems that just kibble, even different flavors, aren't appealing to her .

(Little does she know that after having three kids, I'm a bit of a "Tiger Mom"........)

[Guest PhillyPups]

Do you wet the kibble? I had one that was not really a big breakfast eater, sometimes she would, sometimes she wouldn't, and extra treats were not an option because I was at work all day.

 

What are you feeding her?

[Guest greybookends]

You know I think I will stay out of this one. I am a bad example.OH , but the stories I could tell!

[TheFullHouse]

She's more than likely been fed raw beef with other things added on the farm. My newest boy had a fit when I put kibble in his bowl. I usually wait them out if I know they are healthy. It doesn't take long for them to figure out that they really are hungry enough to eat what you've given them. You can add things to it but run the risk of making the pup into a picky eater.

[a_daerr]

As long as there are no medical problems evident, the best thing you can do is let her go. She'll eat when she's hungry enough. We went through this with my older boy, and I had to take his bowl up after 20 minutes, otherwise, he'd just fart around waiting for something tastier. Now, he gets a ravioli for his pills, and he absolutely refuses to touch his kibble unless I get the ravioli ready first! Greys can be quite stubborn!

[HoundHeavenAZ]

As long as there are no medical problems evident, the best thing you can do is let her go. She'll eat when she's hungry enough. We went through this with my older boy, and I had to take his bowl up after 20 minutes, otherwise, he'd just fart around waiting for something tastier. Now, he gets a ravioli for his pills, and he absolutely refuses to touch his kibble unless I get the ravioli ready first! Greys can be quite stubborn!

Stubborn you say? Nah, they're just concentrating hard on training us

[Guest greybookends]

Stubborn you say? Nah, they're just concentrating hard on training us

And some of them are REALLY good at it!

[Guest Doggone]

Well, Autumn finally gave in..........she ate ! We'll see how dinner time goes, but at least I know she won't starve ! She's still whining for treats when I go into the kitchen, but she'll learn that by this stage of my life I've developed "strategic whine-deafness".......heh-heh.

One of the reasons I don't want to turn her into too picky an eater is that if I ever travel without her, feeding her could be a nightmare for whomever she's with.

 

I do wish I knew more about how brood moms are cared for..........do they get the same foods as the racers? Are they housed the same way? Etc, etc. Other than one race, she has been a brood mom for 4-5 years, and even though she was only off the farm for 2-3 weeks (in foster, recovering from spaying, dental stuff, and so on), she acts almost as if she had been a pet. I was expecting a lot more "firsts" given her recent past, but instead, her behavior has been more like "same old, same old".......

 

I don't want to sound ungrateful; I am thrilled that I have to do so little "training", but I can't imagine where she's learned this stuff (not tricks, but things like naturally walking in a "heel", immediately responding to a tongue clicking admonition, etc. ). From day one, she's acted as if she already knew the rules.

[greytpups]

Our pre-adopted broodie is on a farm in AR. Apparently, she's a little spoiled. I asked her breeder how she was making out in the heat (last summer) and he said she was on a pillow in the house watching a western movie on TV. Not a bad life, eh?

 

Her breeder always tells me he's pre-spoiling her for me. She's been there for 2 years and I have no doubt she's loved and well-taken care of until it's time to come home.

[Guest Doggone]

Our pre-adopted broodie is on a farm in AR. Apparently, she's a little spoiled. I asked her breeder how she was making out in the heat (last summer) and he said she was on a pillow in the house watching a western movie on TV. Not a bad life, eh?

 

Her breeder always tells me he's pre-spoiling her for me. She's been there for 2 years and I have no doubt she's loved and well-taken care of until it's time to come home.

Thanks for telling me this. I suspect that Autumn too may have had some pre-conditioning for a home, due to the way she has acted from Day One. Either that, or she's just "The Einstein of Greyhounds" . As much as I'd like to claim that, there are just too many "huh?" moments .

[Guest onceyougogrey]

My grey, Rhianna, does the very same thing. However, we have 5 kids in the house, so we can't always control what treats she is getting. If you give your grey more treats more often, she'll return for more. Chances are, they taste better than her regular dog food. I know I'd hang in there for a treat Try to be consistent with regular meal times and only a few treats through out the day!

 

Chris
Once You Go Grey

[a_daerr]

...he said she was on a pillow in the house watching a western movie on TV. Not a bad life, eh?

 

I'd take it!