My dog is getting skinny :/

[Pink_minx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaliraksha I think my dogs eat better with a schedule because they know when to be hungry and they know if they don't eat within the first 15-20 minutes I'm taking their food up and they can wait til the next feeding time. Also, my dogs eat incredibly well when they get regular exercise... small dogs can be really lethargic if kept at home all day... I take my dogs on short 10-15 minutes walk every day (my Zelda can't handle much more she starts to just sit on the floor and refuses to walk) and this keeps them pretty hungry because they are actually exerting energy. Good news is it looks like you have a lot of things to try and hopefully it's not that your dog is sick, but just being a little difficult. It's ok... they always give more than they take =)

Yeah thats what Im gonna start doing. Give her food in the morning and at night instead of leaving it out. She is pretty active to start with she either sleeps or plays. Its just the eating part that worries me. She usually eats her food in one sitting or have a couple of bites here and there through out the day. But recently I just noticed her becoming more and more picky and not eating her food at all EXCEPT wet food.

 

[InspiredBlue]

Assuming that the dog doesn't have any health issues, I don't think there is such a thing as a picky dog, if it's really hungry. If they don't eat, take the bowl away until the next feeding, then give it back with the same food in it. Sooner or later all the food will be gone.

My dog will eat anything - raw cauliflower, carrots, whatever, as long as it's edible she eats it. It's like having a little live vacuum cleaner in the kitchen.

Usually she eats Royal Canine Mini Mature though.

We had some problems before with the consistency of her poo, and it seemed to be dependent on the fat content in her food. Hill's regular dog food made her loose, while the light kind made her too hard. For a while we mixed the two, until we tried the Royal one and it was a good match. So fat content is something you could try to tweak if your pup is a bit constipated.

(As I type this I have a warm pup in my lap.

)

 

[gildedangel]

I would take her to the vet first, weight loss could be a precursor to something worse; better to catch the problem now than later. Feed her lots of treats and look for dog foods with a high fat content. Good luck!

 

[TISH1124]

My puppy is a really finicky eater ..you can see her ribs but the Vet says she is slightly under weight but healthy and to keep experimenting with foods...she loves the Science diet...But that crap stinks so bad we stopped using it...She only likes the soft meaty type foods...so we bought that gravy flavoring and started putting it on the food and she will eat the ones that she wouldn't before...We try to feed her foods that give her proteins and stuff and not just any old food...but the cheap ones are the ones she likes so we mix the cheap with the good and she is working it out.

 

[mern]

Try adding a bit of fish oil like cod liver oil to her food... shake it up to coat the food lightly and its a nice little treat and beneficial for their skin and coat.

 

[cazgh]

Hey there.

We now follow the "raw meaty bones" diet which has done a lot for my dogs #2s and health in general but she does still get fussy sometimes and its a bit gross and expensive.

The vets are all getting kick backs so you do have to watch out for that and our vet once said "just feed her mashed potato and nothing else for 3 months" which really was dead advice as there is no way my dog would enjoy that or stick to it for 3 months.

However my mums dog stopped eating when we were kids and it turned out to be a cancerous womb, and the dog she has now also stopped eating and this was because of Adison's disease which apparently is really hard to identify until its too late for the dog so... I have to say if your dog looks poorly or struggles with other food you should take them to the vet.

I hate going to the vet - it never costs less than £50, we are never in for longer than 5 minutes and we never come away with anything to show for it... Maybe sometimes he will give her an injection. To be honest I don't trust our vet as far as I can throw him and I do feel it is all about the money. My gut feeling around the vet is one of intense dislike and suspicion and I feel like I should trust my instinct when dealing with him as why else would he make me feel so uneasy.

If you have a decent vet who is in it for the animal and not the cash count yourself very very lucky - they are definately now in the minority..

Ours once tried to get me to sign up for a heart scan for a heart murmor on our dog. I was going to do it but then my other half got made redundant and even with the insurance the excess fees just meant we couldnt afford it. This is a dog who walks 5 miles a day, is happy, outgoing and has no health problems to speak off. One year later we are in for her booster jabs and he really examines her chest - like 10 minutes with the stethoscope in each area and finally he says....

"well I can't quite believe it but the heart murmour has miraculously healed itself"

Yeah right! My guess it was never ever there in the first place!

Sorry, rant over hope the other stuff helps a bit.

 

[InspiredBlue]

cazgh it sounds like you really should try to find another vet. You are after all trusting them with your dog's health.

 

[TISH1124]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mern Try adding a bit of fish oil like cod liver oil to her food... shake it up to coat the food lightly and its a nice little treat and beneficial for their skin and coat.

Yeah the fish /cod liver oil is what the Science diet is loaded with...They love it but it is just what it is and expect your house to smell to holy hell stank and back if she feeds indoors....

 

[Pink_minx]

Thanks girls...and yeah cazgh if you dont feel right about your vet you should definitely go to another one. Mine is pretty good so far. The prices are pretty affordable and they dont hound me about other things that my dog should get. Its hard to see if my dog has improved cause I dont see her all day! but hopefully when I come back from work I will see some food gone.

 

[SerenityRaine]

I'm with those who suggested to take her to a vet to rule out heartworms or any other parasites or conditions. Its better to be on the safe side

I never really understood the importance of good nutrition for dogs until we almost lost one of ours. I definitely never want to repeat that experience. Basically, she developed bladder stones probably triggered by Beneful & then the vets put her on a food which was worst than Beneful. Which I didn't even think was possible. Anways, after switching her to Orijen grain free dog food within 2 weeks we saw a huge improvement. She got her frisky back, something that we thought we would never see again. On the veterinary diet she was laying around like a mop and had less energy than her mother (who is 6 years older!).

A lot of diseases in dogs are actually preventable by diet alone. The commercial pet food industry has brainwashed everyone. Dogs are carnivores, so why are the majority of their diets coming from corn?! The sticker shock of some foods might come to a shock at first but in the long run they will be saving you from vet bills. Another, thing a lot vets are very clueless about nutrition!

I have 2 Havanese & 2 Papillons, all that have some degree of finicky eating.
Havanese are quite reknowned for their finickiness! I've found that they very seldomly refuse Tripe (Solid Gold) when its mixed in their dry food. Occasionally, I'll mix in some Old Mother Hubbard brand of canned food for variety. Since, you only have one dog -- correct me if I'm wrong. You could ration off a can of Tripe & another canned food together for the week so the rest doesn't go to waste.

My Havanese have been bladder stone free for nearly a year! Not even a crystal which was always reoccuring with the veterinary prescribed food. They are on Orijen. Which was recently rated number one pet food for 2009-2010. Orijen

Another thing about grain free & holistic brand of dog foods is that with the more protein in the formulas you'll be able to feed less than if you were to feed a brand full of fillers (i.e. pretty much EVERY commercial brand).

My Papillons I rotate between Solid Gold Wee Bits, Wellness Super5Mix Small Breed Adult, Innova Small Bites.

Here is one of the best links I've found that supports grain free feeding:
Grain-free cat food,urinary health, struvite crystals, kidney stones, bladder infections, orijen, health meter detection cat litter, raw instinct cat food,

Very informative site! Make sure the brand you pick stacks up.
Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble

I find that Petco has the most selection of holistic brand but their prices are outrageous. You might check & see if you have a Pet Supplies Plus in your area as they always have much better prices on their holistic brands & they often have samples of the foods too. Welcome to PET SUPPLIES "PLUS"

I find that the people in dog food boutiques are usually pretty knowledgeable about dog nutrition.

 

[cazgh]

You are right I really should find another vet - wish you guys were closer to me so I could ask for recommendations

Thanks folks

 

[InspiredBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cazgh You are right I really should find another vet - wish you guys were closer to me so I could ask for recommendations Thanks folks

Try surfing around on some UK dog owner forums. I'm sure you can get rec's for your area.

 

[SerenityRaine]

Here check out the reviews for vets in Warrington, UK here:
veterinarians warrington, uk reviews - Google Maps

You might also try asking for a rec from the place you get your dogs food or a groomer. Good luck!