Hi everyone. I've got a 5 year old Yellow Lab male who more and more is
not eating his dish of kibbles mixed with canned food. Without getting
into too far back history, here is the most recent sequence:

He used to eat Nutra kibble straight into his dish, and sometimes maybe
with a little water on top acting as "gravy". He got bored of that and
stopped eating, so he tried "Chicken Soup For The Dog Lover's Soul"
kibbles. With a dish of Nutra and Chicken Soup kibbles next to each
other, he went right for the Chicken Soup and ate that for a while. He
then got bored of that after a couple of months and went on another food
strike. He would not eat it so I tried getting some cans of Kibbles and
Bits and mixing it in with his dish.

He went for that for a few months and that was fine, but then he started
not eating that much either. I tried Chicken Soup cans mixed in with
the Chicken Soup kibbles and he sometimes eats that. I've also tried the
more expensive Merrick cans mixed with dry and sometimes he'll eat that
and other times not.

The bigger problem is that more and more in the last couple weeks he
won't eat any of it. I got him 12 cans of various Merrick flavors and
Chicken Soup cans for Christmas which I mix with the dry every day.
Lately he'll stick his nose on it, and then come back to the kitchen to
sit and stare at me. I've even tried kibbles on one side of the dish and
Merrick on the other in which case he will either sort it and eat most
of the canned, or not touch any of it. It's sad that he won't eat the
$2/can dog food and it is just wasted.

For treats he gets MILK-BONEs as well as Pedigree Breath Busters. He
does get some human food which may be part of the reason he is not
eating, but back when he stopped eating the Nutro and even before that
when he wouldn't eat other things like Hills, he wasn't getting much
human food at all. Now, I usually make him some scrambled eggs in the
morning and he gobbles those right up. He also gets a little bit of
fresh sandwich turkey/ham for lunch. Not much, but a few trimmings.

I am guessing that the common answer would be that he's spoiled because
of the human food. I think that's part of it, but again, he always used
to be picky about kibbles and get bored with what was put down for him
even when he very rarely got human food. The solution was trying
different kibble brands which he got interested in for a while, but then
got bored with. Now if he won't eat the expensive cans with the kibbles,
then what is a guy to do?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

-Mark

Pictu
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...x941/lucky.jpg

In rec.pets.dogs.behavior Mark Kane wrote:

[alt.animals.dog removed from newsgroup line - not valid at my site]

Hi everyone. I've got a 5 year old Yellow Lab male who more and more is
not eating his dish of kibbles mixed with canned food. Without getting
into too far back history, here is the most recent sequence:

He used to eat Nutra kibble straight into his dish, and sometimes maybe
with a little water on top acting as "gravy". He got bored of that and
stopped eating, so he tried "Chicken Soup For The Dog Lover's Soul"
kibbles. With a dish of Nutra and Chicken Soup kibbles next to each
other, he went right for the Chicken Soup and ate that for a while. He
then got bored of that after a couple of months and went on another food
strike. He would not eat it so I tried getting some cans of Kibbles and
Bits and mixing it in with his dish.

Your dog has you pretty well trained, doesn't he?

Here's what you do:

- Decide what dry kibble you want to feed him. Stick to
that: no wet food, no water mixed in, just plain dry
kibble. Don't change brands or formulations without
easing into the change gradually.

- Decide when his mealtimes are. I used to feed my lab
once daily, about 6:30 in the evening. You may prefer
to feed twice daily; at any rate, choose the mealtimes
and stick to them.

- At mealtime, put the kibble in the dish and put it down
for your dog. Don't fuss over the food or the dog, and
don't interact with him. This is his time to eat. If
he chooses not to, just ignore him.

- Twenty minutes later, pick the dish up. Return any
uneaten food to the sack, or bin, or wherever you store
it.

- No food of any kind, except training bait, until the
next mealtime.

- Repeat. Do NOT give in to begging for "people food,"
and do NOT provide opportunities for staling food off
kitchen counters and the like.

Your dog is not going to starve to death, and will eventually
get the idea that he'll either eat or not - and that if he
chooses to eat it'll be what you give him and at the times
you provide it.

Remember: dogs in the wild sometimes go 3-7 days between meals,
depending on what's available.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...x941/lucky.jpg

Can you provide a full-body shot? Your dog looks pretty well-
fed in that picture, but it's hard to tell.

[followups set to rec.pets.dogs.behavior only]

--
Mark Shaw (And Baron) moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm
================================================== =======================
"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members
of a weird religious cult." -Rita Rudner

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 19:09:41 GMT, Mark Kane
, clicked their heels and said:


I am guessing that the common answer would be that he's spoiled because
of the human food. I think that's part of it, but again, he always used
to be picky about kibbles and get bored with what was put down for him
even when he very rarely got human food. The solution was trying
different kibble brands which he got interested in for a while, but then
got bored with. Now if he won't eat the expensive cans with the kibbles,
then what is a guy to do?

pick a food, stick with it - give him 15 minutes to eat as presented,
2x/day, with NO SNACKS OR OTHER FOOD and he'll figure out that he
better eat when it's there. This dog won't starve. Tough love can be
very healthy.

--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

Follow-ups set to rec.pets.dogs.behavior


Mark Kane wrote in news:Vxywf.14940$oW.7915
@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com:

I am guessing that the common answer would be that he's spoiled because
of the human food. I think that's part of it, but again, he always used
to be picky about kibbles and get bored with what was put down for him
even when he very rarely got human food. The solution was trying
different kibble brands which he got interested in for a while, but then
got bored with. Now if he won't eat the expensive cans with the kibbles,
then what is a guy to do?

One possibility that should not be ruled out is a medical problem. If his
annual is coming up soon, it might not be a bad idea to try to move it up a
little bit. If not, you might want to schedule one soon.

Of course, there is also the strong possibility, like Mark mentioned, that
he has realized that anytime he starts refusing food, he gets something
tastier for him and he is playing you.

--
Marcel and Moogli
http://mudbunny.blogspot.com/

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 20:24:33 GMT, Mark Kane
, clicked their heels and said:



Here is an updated full body shot taken today. The other one was not
very recent:

one of him standing would give a better idea of his body condition,
but he LOOKS a bit tubby in this shot. But YOU!!!! Clean up that
rat's nest of wires and cables! ACK!


--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

Mark Shaw wrote:
In rec.pets.dogs.behavior Mark Kane wrote:

[alt.animals.dog removed from newsgroup line - not valid at my site]


Hi everyone. I've got a 5 year old Yellow Lab male who more and more is
not eating his dish of kibbles mixed with canned food. Without getting
into too far back history, here is the most recent sequence:


He used to eat Nutra kibble straight into his dish, and sometimes maybe
with a little water on top acting as "gravy". He got bored of that and
stopped eating, so he tried "Chicken Soup For The Dog Lover's Soul"
kibbles. With a dish of Nutra and Chicken Soup kibbles next to each
other, he went right for the Chicken Soup and ate that for a while. He
then got bored of that after a couple of months and went on another food
strike. He would not eat it so I tried getting some cans of Kibbles and
Bits and mixing it in with his dish.


Your dog has you pretty well trained, doesn't he?

Here's what you do:

- Decide what dry kibble you want to feed him. Stick to
that: no wet food, no water mixed in, just plain dry
kibble. Don't change brands or formulations without
easing into the change gradually.

- Decide when his mealtimes are. I used to feed my lab
once daily, about 6:30 in the evening. You may prefer
to feed twice daily; at any rate, choose the mealtimes
and stick to them.

- At mealtime, put the kibble in the dish and put it down
for your dog. Don't fuss over the food or the dog, and
don't interact with him. This is his time to eat. If
he chooses not to, just ignore him.

- Twenty minutes later, pick the dish up. Return any
uneaten food to the sack, or bin, or wherever you store
it.

- No food of any kind, except training bait, until the
next mealtime.

- Repeat. Do NOT give in to begging for "people food,"
and do NOT provide opportunities for staling food off
kitchen counters and the like.

Your dog is not going to starve to death, and will eventually
get the idea that he'll either eat or not - and that if he
chooses to eat it'll be what you give him and at the times
you provide it.

Remember: dogs in the wild sometimes go 3-7 days between meals,
depending on what's available.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...x941/lucky.jpg


Can you provide a full-body shot? Your dog looks pretty well-
fed in that picture, but it's hard to tell.

[followups set to rec.pets.dogs.behavior only]


Thanks for all the replies. I will try them as suggested and reply back.
Hopefully he will catch on after a couple days.

Marcel: I'm not an expert, but based on the fact that he eats all the
human food just fine, I think it's unlikely that anything is physically
wrong with him. I'm sure if he was given human food all day he would eat
that until it was all gone! ...It's just the dog food he's having
trouble with.

Here is an updated full body shot taken today. The other one was not
very recent:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2..._full_body.jpg

-Mark

Good advice has been heard from all. It is not unusual for a dog to go
off of their food for a day or two. I don't worry till the third day.


I feed kibble only and never human food. I put their food down twice a
day and they almost always eat all in less than a minute. I has
occasionally happened, however, that my one dog didn't eat for a day or
two. I have since learned that this is not unusual and nothing to
worry about. Just fee Fido on a regular schedule, night and day. Give
him a maybe 10 or 15 minutes to finish then remove all food. Always
offer plenty of fresh water. He will get the idea soon enough.

wrote:
I has
occasionally happened, however, that my one dog didn't eat for a day or
two. I have since learned that this is not unusual and nothing to
worry about.

that really depends on the dog, so it's important to know your dog,
so you can make good decisions about whether or not to be concerned.
i know that if my Boxer doesn't immediately inhale her food,
there's something *seriously* wrong with her, and it's time to take
her to the vet ASAP. loss of appetite in some dogs is a signal to
seek emergency care.

--
shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net
http://cat-sidh.blogspot.com/

Janet B wrote:
On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 20:24:33 GMT, Mark Kane
, clicked their heels and said:



Here is an updated full body shot taken today. The other one was not
very recent:


one of him standing would give a better idea of his body condition,

Here's one of him standing:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y_standing.jpg

but he LOOKS a bit tubby in this shot. But YOU!!!! Clean up that
rat's nest of wires and cables! ACK!



Haha. That rats nest is nothing compared to this one:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../rats_nest.jpg

:-D

Again, thanks to all for the replies. If I was him it would be a little
hard going from having eggs, meat scraps, and canned mixed with dry
every day to suddenly kibble only. Should I maybe gradually pull those
things away rather than everything at once?

Also, since I've never tried this sort of thing, how long would be too
long without eating? It's not like he's sick and won't eat anything, he
just won't eat his dog food!

Thanks

-Mark

I would think a dog who did this had some sort of medical problem you should
schedule a vet visit soon. Even when they go off one food from boredom they
usually will like something else so this would have me seriously concerned.

Celeste


"Mark Kane" wrote in message
m...
Hi everyone. I've got a 5 year old Yellow Lab male who more and more is
not eating his dish of kibbles mixed with canned food. Without getting
into too far back history, here is the most recent sequence:

He used to eat Nutra kibble straight into his dish, and sometimes maybe
with a little water on top acting as "gravy". He got bored of that and
stopped eating, so he tried "Chicken Soup For The Dog Lover's Soul"
kibbles. With a dish of Nutra and Chicken Soup kibbles next to each
other, he went right for the Chicken Soup and ate that for a while. He
then got bored of that after a couple of months and went on another food
strike. He would not eat it so I tried getting some cans of Kibbles and
Bits and mixing it in with his dish.

He went for that for a few months and that was fine, but then he started
not eating that much either. I tried Chicken Soup cans mixed in with
the Chicken Soup kibbles and he sometimes eats that. I've also tried the
more expensive Merrick cans mixed with dry and sometimes he'll eat that
and other times not.

The bigger problem is that more and more in the last couple weeks he
won't eat any of it. I got him 12 cans of various Merrick flavors and
Chicken Soup cans for Christmas which I mix with the dry every day.
Lately he'll stick his nose on it, and then come back to the kitchen to
sit and stare at me. I've even tried kibbles on one side of the dish and
Merrick on the other in which case he will either sort it and eat most
of the canned, or not touch any of it. It's sad that he won't eat the
$2/can dog food and it is just wasted.

For treats he gets MILK-BONEs as well as Pedigree Breath Busters. He
does get some human food which may be part of the reason he is not
eating, but back when he stopped eating the Nutro and even before that
when he wouldn't eat other things like Hills, he wasn't getting much
human food at all. Now, I usually make him some scrambled eggs in the
morning and he gobbles those right up. He also gets a little bit of
fresh sandwich turkey/ham for lunch. Not much, but a few trimmings.

I am guessing that the common answer would be that he's spoiled because
of the human food. I think that's part of it, but again, he always used
to be picky about kibbles and get bored with what was put down for him
even when he very rarely got human food. The solution was trying
different kibble brands which he got interested in for a while, but then
got bored with. Now if he won't eat the expensive cans with the kibbles,
then what is a guy to do?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

-Mark

Pictu
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...x941/lucky.jpg