Hi!

I hope someone out there has had a similar situation with a resolution.
A friend of mine has a German Shepherd pup (around 7-8 months of age I
believe) that has very little appetite. The poor thing is wasting away.
They have tried almost every single type of dog food available, but all
without success. (Note: not every brand is available here, but of those
that are, she has tried them)

Has anyone ever encountered this? He seems alert, clear-eyed and
interested in play, just not food. Has anyone any suggestions as to
give this dog an appetite so he can gain some weight and get healthy? I
don't know what the exact state of his stools, although I do know he
doesn't have diarrhea. Their vet is aware of the situation, but hasn't
offered up any successful solutions.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Have they tried raw food? Perhaps a little cut up calves liver? A
raw beef bone? Perhaps the dog does not like artificial food. A
frozen BARF diet might be an alternative too, from a holistic dog
shop.

Pamela


On 16 Jan 2005 19:02:29 -0800, wrote:

Hi!

I hope someone out there has had a similar situation with a resolution.
A friend of mine has a German Shepherd pup (around 7-8 months of age I
believe) that has very little appetite. The poor thing is wasting away.
They have tried almost every single type of dog food available, but all
without success. (Note: not every brand is available here, but of those
that are, she has tried them)

Has anyone ever encountered this? He seems alert, clear-eyed and
interested in play, just not food. Has anyone any suggestions as to
give this dog an appetite so he can gain some weight and get healthy? I
don't know what the exact state of his stools, although I do know he
doesn't have diarrhea. Their vet is aware of the situation, but hasn't
offered up any successful solutions.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible,
whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" A Study in Scarlet,
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1887

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Scroll down the main Ed Forum page to"Assassination of JFK", click on "JFK Online Seminars", and you will find my essay, plus many others.
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For information about my life away from research, visit www.themagicflute.org

Or, how about homecooking. Will this pup eat "human" food?

My dog never liked kibble, but now that I cook for her she eats very well.

Sue

wrote in message
oups.com...
that has very little appetite. The poor thing is wasting away.
They have tried almost every single type of dog food available, but all
without success.

I haven't had personal experience of this sort, but because I sell natural
dog treats at a local green market, I have lots of opportunities to talk
with people about food habits of their furkids. Among dogs vet-checked and
found healthy, the only ones I've ever heard about who declined food were
dealing with food allergies. That is, the dogs were avoiding food that made
them feel bad.

You've received several responses from people on the group about raw food,
home-cooked, etc. Great ideas to check out, IMO. However, dogs can be
allergic to anything, just as people can. One of my customers has a dog
who's allergic to yeast. Several customers have GSD's, and I think every
one of them is allergic to wheat. Your friend's pup is very young. If this
is about food allergies, it'll be good to make those discoveries early, so
he'll have an improved life throughout.

My best wishes for success in finding the cause and solution,
Annette

stop baking before you reply

We volunteer for a rescue devoted to finding homes for "used" German
Shepherds so we have shared our house with quite a few GSDs over the last
ten years. Our own dogs, and our foster dogs, are currently eating Royal
Canin German Shepherd 24. You can buy it at Petsmart or Petco. Everyone
here really likes this brand of food and they have all done well on it.

You might also want to have your friend check out www.germanshepherds.com -
it is a moderated board and has areas were you can post specific questions.
Lots of folks with tons of experience with our beloved breed are very
helpful on that board.

Yours in GSDs and rescue,

Lea
www.shepherdrescue.org

I too own a German Shepherd that had a poor appetite as a pup. She is almost
15 months old now and is still not motivated by food at all, but most days
she eats all of her food. Some days she can still be picky. I've been
boiling chicken livers until they're mashable and along with the broth
created during the boiling process it provides an incentive for her to eat.
I've tried beef liver but she doesn't like that. I pour about 1 cup of the
chicken liver/broth mixture over her kibble and she usually gobbles this up.
Prior to using this I tried just about everything to get her to eat and she
just wasn't interested. Your friend could give this a try as chicken liver
is good for the pup...lots of iron in liver.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi!

I hope someone out there has had a similar situation with a resolution.
A friend of mine has a German Shepherd pup (around 7-8 months of age I
believe) that has very little appetite. The poor thing is wasting away.
They have tried almost every single type of dog food available, but all
without success. (Note: not every brand is available here, but of those
that are, she has tried them)

Has anyone ever encountered this? He seems alert, clear-eyed and
interested in play, just not food. Has anyone any suggestions as to
give this dog an appetite so he can gain some weight and get healthy? I
don't know what the exact state of his stools, although I do know he
doesn't have diarrhea. Their vet is aware of the situation, but hasn't
offered up any successful solutions.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!