Riley Stoped Eating!

[Hwachtel79]

I have a 7 month old male Boxer. He is in the ball park of 55 lbs. All of a sudden he stopped eating (Canidae). He usually does not eat in the morning anymore and waits until the evening (after 7). I have tried other foods and he sniffs it and walks away. I also try to mix in some wet food. That went well at first and now he even turns away at that. Is this normal? He is healthy otherwise. He is actually starting to worry me. I should add that he does not turn away a treat though. Please help.

Also, he used to eat like it was going to be his last meal everytime I put food out. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Harold

 

[Colefam]

Is he still going to the bathroom normally? That is something you should definately bring up with your vet. Our vet told us when they get older they may prefer to eat just once a day (our's being a 8 week old puppy), but I would still discussit with him just tomake sure nothing is wrong. I hope everything is fine.

 

[gmacleod]

How much Canidae is he still eating in a day? If it's still a reasonable amount (say 2 cups or so) then it could just be that that's all he requires. That would be a good amount for a dog of his age/size to consume of that food.

 

[Hwachtel79]

He probably eats about 2 cups per day (when it is dressed up with something) and a few treats throughout. I am trying not to dress up his dry food anymore and he seems to refuse to do anything by play with it. He puts it in his mouth, walks a few feet and then drops it all. I am contacting my vet today since I have to pick up his heartworm meds.

 

[ELubas]

Sounds to me like he misses the extra "goodies" and as he is getting enough food he is passing on the dry kibble...

 

[Biff]

Sounds like he is getting a wee bitty fussy ?

If vet says he is ok, then don't worry, he will eat when he is hungry.

Just put the bowl down at normal feedtimes, if he doesn't want it, take it away again. No treats til next mealtime, then same again. He'll soon get the message.
If you start coaxing him, you'll have a fussy eater on your hands, and you don't want that.

They're just like kids really, if they think they'll get sweets and crisps all afternoon, they'll not eat the dinner if they can get away with it!


Good luck!

 

[OurDempsey]

So Dempsey and I seem to be having this VERY same problem at the moment. He is just about 7 months himself and this weekend ate very little.

Saturday, he did throw up a piece of a tennis ball, a little bit of string, some stuffing, and a little piece of plastic. All identifiable and all recognized as independent items, not small items off of something that could be larger and still in his belly...I should have named him Hoover.

His energy level is still high, he is still drinking water, but his poo is soft and he even had one big runny episode this AM. We recently changed from TWO Elk to TWO Southwest Chicken...am thinking it is a food issue.

Today I did chicken and rice and will do it tomorrow as well, just to make sure it isn't an upset belly. After that we are going to wean him off of the Southwest Chicken and onto something else (still debating). I would love to know if I am going through all of this worry though for a dog who just...stopped eating on his own! Ha! What happened to the dogs I had when I was little that would eat anything put in their bowls!

Good luck with getting your little one to eat and I would love to hear how it goes. You have also made me feel Dempsey is small because he is weighing in at just 45lbs and you said Riley is 55!

 

[Hwachtel79]

Well, although the vet did not examine him based on my info, he said that he should be fine. He will actually be going next week to see him. He did mention that it is very possible that dogs lose a taste for dry food. In an attempt to not move to 100% wet food I took some advice and added some parmesean cheese to his food. He has now all 3 bowls yesterday and 1 so far today. Hopefully it continues to work.

It is funny that you feel Demsey is small, because I actually say the same thing about Riley and feel that he stopped growing, although everyone tells me I am crazy. At what age do boxers typically hit full size? Also, dont feel bad. Riley should have been named Hoover also as he is always getting something he shouldnt and I take alot of precautions to keep things away.

 

[Aasha]

I actually had the same problem with Aasha about 3 weeks ago. He was only 8 weeks at the time and I had just picked him up from the breeder. He was eating fine the first two days and then seemed unintrested in his food. He would only eat a small amount once a day, and of course I was nervous because this is my first. So I called the vet and they asked me to bing in a stoole sample. When they analayzed it they found out he had some sort of intestine parasite that a normal dewormer would not treat, and this is why he was loosing interest in his food because his tummy hurt. I would have never know because he played and acted normal otherwise. So that might be something to look into.