Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 1:01 pm Post subject: Koli still not eating :(
Koli, now 18 weeks, is still not eating his meals. He goes nuts for ours (but we don't encourage it) and eats jumbones and drinks milk but just doesn't eat his dinner. I've gone from three meals to one because I was just throwing it away.
Last night i was so desperate for him to eat I gave him his kibble little biscuit by biscuit and he ate it fine. I then thought I'd put some on a human plate and pretend to eat it then give it to him and he ate what was on that plate and I continued putting bits on until he'd eaten some, but he didn't finish it.
He is spritely, bright, playful, energetic and seems completely fine apart from not eating. This is not normal behaviour for a a lab as they usually eat everything in sight!
I'm feeding him Wainwrights dry food with some wet mixed in.
Should I worry?
____________ Nala, Yellow Lab 2000-2008 (RIP)
Nero, Black Lab 2002 - 2011 (RIP)
Koli, Black Lab 2011
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 1:06 pm Post subject: moving dish?
Maybe try moving his food? Gus wasn't eating his and I realised it was in a darkish corner, moved it and he's fine, he still doesnt really eat what he should but I put it in his kong and he loves it, so you could try doing that and then he still gets his intake?
As long as he isn't skinny or sickly, then I wouldn't worry too much. If you do really want him to eat his dried dog food though, then I'd suggest you stop giving him jumbones and milk as both are high in calories, so he probably doesn't feel the need to eat anything else.
I've had my fair share of fussy pups, albeit not Lab one's, and I've found most just aren't interested in dry brown balls, even if I do mix some wet food or gravy in with them. I'm soft and I know it, but I can't stand seeing a pup refuse food time and time again, especially if it looks thin too, so I tend to feed whatever they will eat, be it tinned, cooked human food or raw meat and bones. I've always managed to find something they will eat in the end and they haven't done badly on it.
I know others will think I'm a sucker and say I've made a rod for my own back....but quite frankly it doesn't bother me. They are my dogs, I love them and I can't watch them starving themselves. By the time all my fussy one's have become adults, they have eaten anything put in their bowls, including dry brown balls, so I can't be getting it too wrong.
Ditto what Jules says, no more treats like Jumbones and milk. Just his dinner and water.
Some dogs can be a bit tricky around mealtimes, a few ideas i've seen work over the years:
- Handfeeding then slowly over a week or so changing to normal bowl feeding
- Changing the dog food brand
- the Kong Genius are good as a bowl replacement for dogs needing mental stimulus, such as puppies
- use his daily kibble allowance for treats
- or, if you have the nerve for it, only offer food at mealtimes. If he doesn't eat it then tough! Take the dish up until next mealtime. The longest time one of our dogs held out for was two days.....and I was sweating.
Once he's eating properly, make sure he gets a bit of chicken or fish twice a week, just to keep his interest.
If Koli is fussy about only drinking milk, then wean him off it by firstly putting a tiny amount of milk in his bowl of water, and let him watch you do it OR a tiny teaspoon of baby food in the water....getting him used to drinking plain water slowly.
I know people may think this is pandering to them but dogs refuse food for many reasons.....pain, boredom, teething, fear, or they just don't like the food.....so it's not one-size-fits-all
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Mooz, Ivan & Milly xxx
Perhaps he just doesn't like the food then. Have you tried him with any different flavours or brands?
Even my most unfussy of dogs don't enjoy all brands of dried food. They eat them, but you can tell they would rather not. I tried Burns once and none of mine wanted to eat it, including the Lurcher who ate ANYTHING. None of mine seem to like Turkey flavoured food either. Mind you, it smelled and looked like cardboard, so it wasn't exactly appetising.
The best smelling dried food I've come across was JWB Lamb and Veg (the grain free variety). When I poured hot water on it, it smelled just like a lamb hotpot. My lot, even the fussy ones, LOVED it.
This happened with Fin and this was when I switched him to Natural Instinct. Now every so often he has an off day, but he usually wolfs it down. We used to mix in a cup of Arden Grange to give it a bit of crunch and to bulk it out a bit for him, but he always left it and ate the meat so we stopped giving him the dry food. I guess it just depends on the dog - our old dog would quite happily eat dry complete with no fuss, but Fin isn't that keen on it and I don't want to force him to eat something he doesn't like....
Metal Bowl - yes, in fact we do! Makes me laugh to think that that "might" be the problem but I'll give it a go.
Milk: I only gave Koli one carton of puppy milk so he had something in his tummy. He's fine with plain water, the milk was just to give him something.
Food: We have tried a few different as he has been fussy since we got him, although sometimes he wolfs his food down, just once in a while. I had some chicken left over on Sunday so I put that with his kibble and he just ate the chicken and left the nuggets.
I may try the JWB Lamb and Veg with hot water - sounds like it may work, but we'll see.
____________ Nala, Yellow Lab 2000-2008 (RIP)
Nero, Black Lab 2002 - 2011 (RIP)
Koli, Black Lab 2011
Daisy is a bit younger and she had a few days at the start where she wasn't eating quite as much as I'd have liked her to. Occasionally now she has a meal time where she's a bit half hearted about it. I'm not quite sure why, as she does eat the food (Naturediet) with relish most days.
I admit I will sit and hold her bowl and occasionally feed her with a teaspoon when she doesn't otherwise want to eat, because that's the kind of person I am
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