AIBU to not buy my dog anymore food?

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

AGAIN my damn dog has decided he's not eating his food!
I have spent so much on different brands of food and this time I thought I had cracked it, Country Hunter frozen cubes, he was having 4 twice a day and was wolfing them down, I was thrilled to finally have something he'd eat.
So I've gone and bought another bag, the same flavour and the same brand. I've put them out for him and he's turned his nose up! It's now been 2 days since he's eaten. He's happily running about, playing, drinking, going for walks etc. Every time he comes in the room he goes to his bowl to loom what's in there, sees the cubes (refreshed everyday) and runs off.
I must have tried about 30 different foods now and he either won't have them at all or has them for a few days or a week and then refused them the next time round.
The 2 vets I've seen have said a, leave him, he'll eat eventually and the second said give him human food. I love the little critter but I'm thoroughly fed up with him this evening, I can't afford to keep feeding the residents at the local dog rescue with his cast offs!

[pigsDOfly]

If you've changed his food every time he looks as if he's gone off something he's probably waiting for the next exciting new food.

My first thought was is there something painful going on in his mouth but you say you've seen the vet and I assume they've checked for that.

Are you leaving food down all the time? Sorry if I'm reading it wrong.

If you are go back to feeding him twice a day and pick it up after 20/30 minutes until the next feed is due.

Probably not a good idea - I speak from experience here - but you could try hand feeding him a bit to encourage him; I did this with my own dog and ended up for a while with her refusing to eat any other way, so it can backfire.

He obviously liked them at some time so you know that's not a problem.

I take it you haven't changed his bowl or what you wash it up in?

Is his tag on his collar knocking on the bowl and making a noise? That can put some dogs off.

If everything is the same as before and he's not in any pain, it sounds like you just have to stick it out.

Not sure about the idea of feeding human food, that's just another food change.

[BiteyShark]

Mine has always been a fussy eater but I now buy lots of different flavours (he eats mostly wet food) and swop them everyday. If he chooses not to eat much one day I just throw what he leaves away and not worry anymore. I do find the alternating flavours each day though tends to keep his interest.

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

He has one of those bowls that opens and closes at certain times which he's always had, no new tags/collar or anything and no new washing up styles.
I've always given him a while before changing to something else so it's not like I'm trying different things every few days, I get worried because he's a tiny chi so he can't afford to lose a huge amount of weight.
He's not in pain, he'll happily chew his toys and eat the odd training treat and as you say the vet found no issues.
It's just so frustrating! I'm used to dogs that will eat anything not nailed down!

[pigsDOfly]

Hmm does sound frustrating.

I know this isn't the issue at the moment, as he's not actually eating, but one of the reasons I think my dog wasn't eating, not as small as a chi but also a small dog, was that I was over feeding her.

I was feeding what was recommended on the can, she's on wet food, and she just wasn't getting hungry by the next feed.

I've cut it down considerably and she now enjoys her food and her weight is stable.

Having said that some dogs, especially small one can be a bit fussy, which is bound to be a worry with a very small dog.

Perhaps give the hand feeding a go. I know it's probably not ideal but given that he is so small it might help encourage him and get him eating again.

[Maelstrop]

Has he been frightened by his bowl? One of mine regularly decides that certain things are terrifying. Have you tried feeding him from a normal bowl or straight from the floor? Mine love scavenging off the floor, so sometimes they have a handful of food scattered round the kitchen.

[Stormwhale]

How long has your ddog been doing this op? Is it something that started a while ago, when they used to eat fine? I just ask as our dog started being fussy, the vets said it was fine, just fussy. We found out much later that she had tumours. There were no other signs, just this change in her eating habits. We found out when she deteriorated very suddenly and then we lost her after one week.

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

I'm sorry that you lost your ddog that must have been heartbreaking.
Mine has always done this from the time we picked him up, the breeder denies all knowledge and claims he always ate well.
He's perfectly normal in every other way (currently playing a rousing game of fetch with DS)
I will give the hand feeding a go, he does like scavenging on the floor so I will also try another bowl.

[pigsDOfly]

My dog also likes to eat straight off the floor and given that she's on wet food it can be a bit mucky.

She also will not eat out of a metal bowl, even though her drinking bowl is metal.

They're funny things aren't they, the oddest thing can suddenly become scary.

I often think it must be hard going through life not understanding a lot of what happens to you.

[MyKingdomForBrie]

My ddog is like this! I have been caught out several times now with a big bag of dried food that she's suddenly gone off, varying from the most expensive/pure ones to bakers basic! She always eats Natures Menu though which she always has alongside her biscuits, have you tried their tins? They're like raw food in the constituents but steamed in the tin I believe.

[ScarletPower]

There must be something in the water

My Labrador has recently gone off his dog food.

It is behavioural as he is wolfing down anything non-dog food related.

I've found something in Asda /Morrisons that he seems to not be turning his nose up called Hi Life groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/product/Hilife-Feed-Me-Turkey--Chicken-With-Bacon--Vegetables/379811011?param=hilife&from=search but it's expensive for a small ish bag so I'm hoping he gets the taste back for his forthglade.

[DustyMcDustbuster]

My staffy does this. Last week she refused her favourite - sardines mixed with her dry food. I let her skip for a couple of days, then when I bought more wet food, she started eating again. She drives me mad! I bought a freezer & filled it with raw food. Got different meats for variety. She loved it. Then totally refused. Then my beagle did too. Had to give away a freezer full of food. Now got a brand new, empty freezer!!!!!

Have you ever tried adding bone broth to her food? That has got mine to eat something she’s refused before. Just a thought.

[HappydaysArehere]

My daughter’s dog would think nothing of ignoring food in her bowl. When I looked after her for a couple of weeks I tried everything. She ignored her expensive dog food and I cooked best quality beef etc. She ate the tit bits from the fridge that I started to give her as I got more and more worried as the days went by. She appeared happy and contented and my daughter had the same trouble UNTIL my daughter adopted another dog to help a friend. After that no more trouble the fussy eater became a very hungry one. I look after both dogs when they go away and definitely no more eating problems. Clean bowls all the time.

[kittylovers]

They'll eat when they're hungry

[adaline]

Are you over-feeding him?

[spidereye]

My DDog regularly ignores her food bowl, but will devour the cat's dinner whenever she gets the chance. In fact she hangs around the kitchen waiting for their leftovers. I figure she doesn't like dog food very much

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

I wonder if DDog is getting bored with eating the same thing daily. Do you still have any of the foods that DDog has eaten in the past and then stopped? If so, you could try that again and see if she'll eat that.

[bluetongue]

I feel your pain. My whippet is extremely fussy and has been that way since I got him at 8 weeks. Absolutely nothing wrong with him but a nightmare to feed.

Was advised to be persistent with him and make him eat my choice of food but he’s always been so lean and whippets can go from ribby but healthy to looking like welfare cases very quickly if they don’t eat.

[MrsBobDylan]

We had this and we were inadvertently over feeding, as everyone was sneaking him snacks in between meals!

Put a firm stop to it and he now eats all brands as he's actually hungry when it comes to meal times. I also upped his meals from 2 to 3 a day but made them much smaller which also helped.

[Singlenotsingle]

My dog is so fussy I buy a chicken every two or three days for her. Sometimes she even has the cheek to turn her nose up at that! She steals the cats' dry cat food though and eats the doggy treats no problem. She's just spoilt. Maybe that's the answer, buy another dog

[Lucisky]

I did exactly the same as you op - trying every variety of food to tempt a fussy dog. I have now discovered I was expecting her to eat too much. She is never greedy anyway, and two small meals are sufficient for her. We have now settled on a rotating mix of home cooked, raw and one tinned food that she likes. She will still occasionally turn her nose up, and if so, I just remove the food after 20 mins or so, so she always hungry for the next meal. I am also careful about how many treats she gets (very few) because that affects her appetite, obviously.
The local dogs home were pleased with all the uneaten tins, bags and boxes I took them. I had a cupboard full of dog food (some of it very expensive) that she had decided was not for her!

[BluthsFrozenBananas]

How much does he weigh? My 3kg dog has six cubes of the frozen country hunter food a day. We also feed her from a saucer rather than a regular bowl, we realised because of her size she was finding bowls awkward to eat from. I also give the defrosted cubes 10 secs in the microwave to make sure they’re not too cold and make them smell appetising.

[pigsDOfly]

Yes, I always put my dog's food in the microwave oven to take off the chill from the fridge. I happened to mention it to my vet's head nurse once and she said that that's what they do for the dog's they have in who have no appetite.

Also second the treat thing, my dog was getting too many treats when she wasn't eating her food. Now she gets no treats except for the odd dried chicken treat and some fruit and the odd carrot; that and cutting down her food resulted in a dog who is ready for her meals now.