If you don't have time to read the rest, here's a quick summary: My dog wouldn't eat the kibble he's been eating his whole life, I tried every trick I could think of and it still doesn't help. Now I'm worried af', please advise!
I have a one-year-old German Shepherd. I've been feeding him twice a day with kibbles ever since he was 4 months old. Here's when I think everything started going downhill...
Stupid me left for work with my dog inside the house, his food out in the backyard, and the doggy door closed. I came home and started freaking out because I pretty much just starved him. I went outside with him, thinking he was so hungry he'd chow down the food like he would every meal. But not this time, he wouldn't eat and I was freaking out thinking he got so hungry to the point that he lost his mind or something crazy. Then I remembered the fish oil supplement for dogs that I had left in the closet, so I drizzled some into the food. He'd eat the top part and left the food bowl. I was afraid he was still starving, so I kept drizzling more and more fish oil until he finished his portion.
I think this is when he figured out that I would bribe him with something tasty if he wouldn't eat?! I stopped using the fish oil supplement a long time ago when we switched to feeding him salmon kibble, so of course bringing that back was a treat for him. He kept showing the same behavior over the next few days, not running to his food as soon as I signal "go" like he has always been all his life. Every single I got worried and drizzled some more fish oil to get him to eat. One time I tried to stop doing that and left him out in the snow for an hour (it was fresh snow, he wasn't freezing I promise), and he'd still just wandering around the yard instead of eating. I read somewhere to just skip his meal so that he'll eventually learn to eat when food is served, which I did and felt so so so terribly that night.
The next morning I served his food before getting ready for the day. But an hour later, I opened the bathroom door and he was laying right there in front of the door waiting for me. He had to go to daycare and I wanted him to have the energy to play, so I stood next to him by the food bowl and hand-fed him until he started eating by himself and eventually finished the food. After daycare, he ate his food just fine, and I figured either he learned his lesson (that food untouched will be taken away after a certain time) or he was just too hungry from all the playing that he'd eat anything. I stopped worrying momentarily because he was voluntarily eating again.
The next few mornings I left him out in the yard with his food in the morning, and I would come out to see him waiting by the doggy door waiting to be let in, food untouched. I thought it was separation anxiety, but I went out and stood next to him and he still wouldn't eat. I tried hand-feeding him again and he wouldn't even open his mouth. I ran out of fish oil so I used pumpkin puree instead, at least it was cheap and still good for him. That worked for a few days, and now even that doesn't help anymore.
To add, we tried different kibble flavors when he was a baby and this was the one he liked the best so we stuck with it. We did try changing flavor during this period of time and it didn't help either. He is still playful, still running super fast after the ball when we play fetch. He still sniffs around for food in the kitchen and gets excited with treats when we do training. He just doesn't eat when it's meal time and I'm stressing out. Please please please help or share your experience if your dog was once this way! I don't know what to do and I don't want him to starve...
Thank you!
[link] [comments]
from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/b5kkxb/help_my_dog_is_not_eating_and_im_so_stressed_out/
No comments:
Post a Comment