Trying to make him eat

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

My husband is away for a week. The dog is now mourning his absence. So he has stopped eating. Let me say that the dog has never been a "good" eater. We have gone through just about every dog food brand that is on the market in the last 3 years since we have had him. And he will not eat about 1/3 of the time. So we used to cook chicken breast as a starter but after awhile that stopped working.

I do not know what to do. I put mozzarella cheese on his food, liverwurst, cottage cheese, swiss cheese, american cheese and chicken. He will eat "the starters" but not his food.

He is driving me crazy. He doesn't act sick and seems like his regular self otherwise.

Everyone says "Oh when he gets hungry, he will eat". This is one stubborn dog. Yesterday he ate nothing. So I finally sat on the floor and feed him with a spoon at 9PM. He ate a few spoonfuls and then stopped. Today he has not eaten anything so far. We usually feed him twice a day.

Any ideas?

mistyada · ‎03-09-2010

This may sound silly but dogs can recognize voices on the phone or video. We had a dog that would go nuts if she heard my voice on the phone. Maybe you can have your husband talk to the dog on the phone or facetime or skype, etc. Have you tried peanut butter on his food? I would coat my dog's meds with peanut butter.

Sammycat1 · ‎03-09-2010

When our senior and ill collie wouldn't eat even the chicken breast I cooked fir him, ee tried Freshpet select food. It's in a refrigerated compartment in the grocery store or pet store. Feed it cold, as the instructions on the food in "log" form state. He gobbled this right up.

You may want to consider having an eval by your vet if this is angoing issue. We had a dog with the same problem and here he had chronic pancreatitis.

Good luck!

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

@mistyada wrote:
This may sound silly but dogs can recognize voices on the phone or video. We had a dog that would go nuts if she heard my voice on the phone. Maybe you can have your husband talk to the dog on the phone or facetime or skype, etc. Have you tried peanut butter on his food? I would coat my dog's meds with peanut butter.

Excellent suggestion. BUT unfortunately my husband is at a cabin. There is a mountain behind the cabin. So no matter the carrier there is no cell phone reception. I don't think he ever took his laptop but he took my tablet one time and it did not work either. And since they only use the cabin about 4-5 weeks out of the year, they do not have a landline.

For some reason peanut butter does not appeal to him. But get this - one time I was eating sauerkraut and perogies with my dinner and he lapped that right up.

ValuSkr · ‎03-15-2014

Strange he would go into mourning when your husband left. I like the suggestion to let him Facetime or Skype.

Zag · ‎02-06-2014

Mercy. I go through the same thing with my little dog. He does like freshy cooked chicken breast, but not a lot of dog food, although I have been lucky enough to find a few brands he will eat. He generally will not eat by himself. He at least likes for you to sit down with him.....and he especially likes to be hand fed, but in the event he is not hand fed, sometimes, if he is hungry enough, he will eat on his own, but only if you are in his presence. I honestly think he is too prissy to put his face in a bowl. He is 10 and totally blind now, but even as a puppy and before he lost his sight, he never liked to eat. Another thing that helps is if there is another dog around, my dog eats better. For instance, some days when I know the neighbor's dog is outside near our house, I'll take our dog out for a "picnic". As soon as I tell him the other dog is "gonna get your food", he'll bark a bit and then eat right up. You gotta get creative sometimes!

He does like the Blue Buffalo Turkey & Potato wet food. He can digest that well, and he really does seem to like the taste of it. Perhaps you might try some of it.

Believe me, I understand what you are going through. I can't stand it when he won't eat....drives me nuts............but most of the time, if he does not eat well on a given day, then the next day he does eat better.

I know people think I'm crazy for worrying so much about his appetite, but I just can't help it....Good Luck with yours!

BirdieGal · ‎12-20-2015

Please do not feed your dog liverwurst. It has onion powder in it and that is harmful to dogs. I also recommend Freshpet for a stubborn eater or maybe something fresh and sweet. Our dogs are good, really good, eaters. We give them, along with their food, yams, apples, carrots, strawberries (in season) sometimes blueberries, even kale on a daily basis. Just mixed in with their food. But even of your dog only ate that while he is sad it is better than nothing at all.

My DH leaves out of town every week for work. One of my dogs (the basset hound) it doesn’t bother her. It really bothers my walker hound. As soon as she sees DH in his uniform leaving for work she gets very sad. I always make sure to do some of the “daddy” things that DH does with them when he is gone.

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

@Sammycat1 wrote:
When our senior and ill collie wouldn't eat even the chicken breast I cooked fir him, ee tried Freshpet select food. It's in a refrigerated compartment in the grocery store or pet store. Feed it cold, as the instructions on the food in "log" form state. He gobbled this right up.

You may want to consider having an eval by your vet if this is angoing issue. We had a dog with the same problem and here he had chronic pancreatitis.

Good luck!

You know this is a collie too. He was a rescue. We just took him to the Vet a few weeks ago for the whole check up, blood work etc. They said everything was good.

I will try the Freshpet. We had talked about feeding him that. Sometimes he will only eat what we are eating. Which we have tried not to do. But I kept thinking our food is better than nothing. Today's breakfast was Rachel Ray Nutrish dry food and Natural Balance wet food with shredded cheese on top. He took a sniff and walked away.

I am off to the store for Freshpet.

eddyandme · ‎09-24-2011

Sounds strange but every dog I know never, ever, refuses Polish Loaf sandwich meat! Same for Chef Boy-Ar-Dee ravioli. Most pups love yogurt; my Eddy drools over fresh strawberries dipped in organic, honey yogurt; Laughing Cow cheeses are always well-received.

Your baby will be fine, but I know us mommies always worry!

Little Way · ‎03-29-2011

Maybe put a piece of your husband's clothing near the dog so he can pick up his scent. I know if I leave a jacket on the bed my dog will sleep on it when i'm away. For food, have you tried tuna fish? Or use the tuna liquid in the can on the dog food? Or try adding a rich chicken or beef broth to the food? My dog likes Fromm's food.