My Rotty doesn't like his food!

[Orangeman]

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get my dog to eat his dry dog food? I am feeding him Canidea. He is 14 months old and weighs around 90 lbs. I have been feeding him 3 1/2 cups a day. What can I do to make him more interested in it? I had been sitting with him and sliding it to him to get him to eat it and he eventually would but I KNOW this is not a good habit. I would like him to eat it like he wants it as soon as I put it out! I walk him for a little over a mile a day so I would think he has to be hungry. He is in very good health just a finicky eater!

[Shane]

How is his body condition? Weight doesn't mean much. I'm asking because now that he's turning into a grownup his metabolism is probably slowing down and he may just not need as much food.

Put his food down. If he doesn't eat it within 15 minutes, put it back up until the next mealtime. Continue for every meal. Don't make a production out of it. Giving him extra attention for not eating is just making things worse for both of you.

I would be extremely surprised if you dog starved himself with that routine.

[gendursgrrl]

I completely agree with Shane on this one. If your pup is in good health, not showing any signs of being "off," and otherwise in good shape, don't worry about it too much. You should be able to feel, but not see, your pups ribs. That's a pretty basic way of telling if he's doing alright weight-wise. If he doesn't have ribs that you can feel...well...MORE EXERCISE!! lol :o)

Put your pup's food down for 15 minutes and leave it alone. :o) Do not coax your puppy or otherwise do anything to "encourage" him to eat. If he's hungry, he will eat. Whatever he doesn't eat in 15 minutes, pick it up. Set a timer so you don't cheat. :o) I feed 3 times a day, but at 14 months, you could back down to twice a day. And if he doesn't eat for a day or 2, he wont die.

I've NEVER, EVER seen a dog starve himself by choice. Now if he were a cat...THAT would be a different story. :o) My monster Gendur didn't eat for 3 days when he was a little pup when I switched him from expensive cardboard to Wellness. Now it takes him like 8 seconds to eat a whole bowl of food. :o)

Also, I don't know what the weather is like there now, but in the summer when it gets hot, most beings eat less in general. People can tell you that they just aren't hungry, but when it comes to our pups, we just tend to freak out a little. I know I used to. :o)

Good luck with your pup!! Don't let him train you to feed him what he wants and only what he wants. If I followed this path my puppy would be on chocolate chip cookies and noodles! lol

Jeannie

[Orangeman]

Thank you for the replies. I have also considered feeding raw and I have been reading about it for quiet awhile now but I have been a little nervous about it.

[gendursgrrl]

I used to feed RAW to 2 other dogs and they loved it!!! I loved it!!! I will probably put Gendur back on RAW, but not until he's done growing, like 18-24 months. I am too nervous about feeding RAW to a puppy, but that's me. I'm sure others might feel different. I know that there are forums out there for people who feed RAW, even Rottie-specific RAW forums.

When I first started my other dogs, I spend A LOT OF TIME researching RAW, made sure I had all my ducks in a row, and took the plunge. Pretty wild to see my tiny bitch of 65lbs swallow a whole chicken thigh in one gulp without chewing!!! I switched to ground chicken (bones and all) because I was too nervous about the bones.

RAW, done right, does amazing things for dogs!! My dogs NEVER had fleas, lost their "doggy" smell, had zero health problems (other than genetic stuff with a puppy I had), their coat was super-shiny, eyes were super bright, there were in FANTASTIC shape, and I can't repeat myself enough in saying RAW, done right, does amazing things for dogs!!! Except their toenails grow like super-mad-crazy fast!! lol

Have fun with your baby!!!

Jeannie

[Orangeman]

My boy is 14 months so I wouldnt have a problem feeding him Raw at this point. Did you add supplements when you were feeding raw? What percentages did you use? I have read 50 % RMBs, 40% muscle meat, and 10% organ meats...I have also read 60% R
MBs and the other 40% veggies and muscle meats. Did you feed any veggies? I have read that alfalfa and kelp are great sources of supplements.

[Patinka]

Please post any questions and discussion on the sub forum that has been provided for raw discussion.

Patinka

[gendursgrrl]

lol :o) It's been ... uhhh ... 5 years since I fed RAW??

I re-posted in the correct forum under the other thread you started. :o)

http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/nat...tml#post833801

Jeannie

[frontierrots]

Note that canidae DID recently change it's formula and many dogs no longer will eat it, so if the above fails, change foods