He just won't eat!

[Elvisdog]

Hi everyone, I am the proud new mother of a wonderful brindle boxer we call elvis (Because he curls his lip like Elvis). Anyway, I am concerned that he may be too skinny. I have read the threads from others whos dogs eat and eat and don't gain. Elvis just doesn't eat very much. We got him from a boxer resuce and the lady there told us to give him 3-4 cups a day. we did as she suggested and maintained the feeding schedule she had him on (one time a day 3-4 cups, usually in the morning). Then we noticed that he wasn't eating it, and I was worried that he might be too thin. You can see almost all his ribs (I know you are supposed to be able to see that last two) and his butt had bone bumps (That's the only way I can think to describe them). So we decided to free feed. meaning we put his bowl down and leave it there until about an hour before bed time. Since we keep him in his crate while we are at work, he has "Open bowl" from about 5pm to about 9 or 10 pm. I hardly every see him eat. I would think that if he were hungry because he had been in his crate all day that he would park himself at his bowl and gobble it down, but he doesn't. I know it is not in an animals nature to starve himself, but I am still worried about why he won't eat.

I have even become a bit woerd about it to the point that if I am in the kitchen cooking and I see him go to his bowl, I will stop what I am doing so he doesn't get destracted and stop eating. I know that is a bit obsessive, but I just want him to be healthy. This is my first pet (That is actually mine and my responsibility) and I feel like a first time mom!
Any suggestions would be greatly apprecitated.

 

[cody&duke]

From what I have read on the forums is that they will eat when they are hungry. After 15 minutes you are supposed to pick it up. What are you feeding him?

I have never had this problem as you can tell by the pictures of Cody But Duke is skinny, I can see his ribs and his "butt bones." Everyone comments on how skinny he is. I went to a new vet last week because he had an eye infection and I asked the vet if he was too skinny. His response was "If someone tells you your dog looks too skinny, that means that their dog is over weight and your dog will live two years longer than theirs."

The vet that I went to for 8 years wanted Duke to be on the skinny side because it is easier on their hips...especially for the bigger dogs.

Does your vet say Elivs is healthy?

 

[harleyboxer]

Harley can be hard to get to eat so I usually put something on it like wet food or cottage cheese. I also don't move if he goes to start eating. If I walk away he stops and doesn't always go back. I give him 3 cups in the morning and if it's gone in the evening I give him 3 more. Sometimes they get upset tummy's if they don't have food in their stomachs so it's best to give at least 2 feedings and a lot of people give a snack before bed time. I feed Harley at 8:00 in the morning and about 8:30 in the evening so he doesn't need a bedtime snack.

 

[gmacleod]

Yes, I'd say go back to scheduled feeding too. Freefeeding does encourage dogs to become picky. I would recommend feeding him at least twice a day, and possibly three times (if that can be done within your schedule). Put the bowl down, and give him 20 minutes. If he doesn't eat it, then pick it up and don't give him anyting else (watch the treats here! don't let him fill up on those instead) until the next feeding time. That will encourage him to eat when food is offered.

I would also consider what you're feeding him. Not every kibble works for every dog, and not every dog likes every kibble. It could be worth trying him on something else - you never know, it could just be that he really doesn't like the particular food he's getting.

As for how thin he is - yes, it does sound too thin. You should be able to see the last few ribs; Seeing all the ribs really isn't a cause for concern either. but I'm less comfortable when you can see the hip bones jutting out. This doesn't necessarily make him some sort of emancipation case - but it does suggest that gaining a few pounds would be good for him.

Good luck

 

[kassa]

But Duke is skinny, I can see his ribs and his "butt bones." Everyone comments on how skinny he is. I went to a new vet last week because he had an eye infection and I asked the vet if he was too skinny. His response was "If someone tells you your dog looks too skinny, that means that their dog is over weight and your dog will live two years longer than theirs."

There's skinny, and there's emaciated. If you can see the vertebrae or the hip bones, the dog's too thin. That's a sore spot of mine because I had somebody get a pup from me, and she said that everybody told her it was too thin (day care, friends, family) but the vet said she was just right and their dogs were probably just fat. I said I'd be right over to take a look. I almost cried when I saw her -- she looked like a death camp survivor. How any vet could POSSIBLY find that acceptable made me sick. Of course a few years later, just last month, I found out that the state vet board was going after him for shady conduct in connection with pet stores. He was signing off on THEIR health, too. Heh heh heh.

I like to see a couple of ribs on a boxer, especially in motion. You shouldn't see ALL of them. And that's seeing in the sense of seeing their outline, not seeing them poke out prominently

 

[Elvisdog]

The vet said he was fine. (weight wise). He is kind of a little guy as far as boxers go. However, after reading all the responses so far, I don't think he is so skinny its sickly. I just worry because he won't eat. Thank you all for your advise. We will take him back to the vet and see about changing his food. It is quite possible that he just doesn't like it and on'y eats when he absolutly gets hungry. We are currently feeding him Kirkland (Costco Brand) lamb and rice formula. That is what the boxer rescue had him on, and we had learned that changing their diet can upset their stomach. We are leary of giving him somthing added to his food like cottage cheese or other people food. Every time we have he seems to deliberatly go to the bathroom in the house after taking only one or two bites. We came to the conclusion that it was deliberate because he had just gone to the bathroom less than 2 minutes before we fed him. Again, thank you all for your help. After we talk to the vet we will explore changing his kibble.