dog hates dog food and would rather starve and wait for a measly scrap to fall on the floor..

[ggirlsbells]

I wouldn't mind feeding her things like actual chicken and stuff but I've tried that and it gives her the squits and she's 13 now and losing control at the back end.
I have tried all sorts of food over the yrs and she may eat it for a few days then stops.
Currently her food has been in the bowl for 2 days.She hasn't eaten anything excpet a carrot ds gave her.
I have tried the lifting the bowl after 30 mins..doesn't make any difference.
She is getting really skinny,spine ,ribs and hipssticking out..which may be old age but unsure.
She is obviously quite hungry as she's sniffing around a lot when food is around.

Dn't know whether to give in and do her some real food and put up with shit everywhere.

if you give the chappie a go let me know!!!!! I'm busy retching at the thought of it tbh!

Bit late to this thread, but what about feeding her food by hand? I have a very healthy little JR who can be fussy if i give him treats. I feed him chappie and he will look up at me as if to say "but mum......thats DOG food ".

If it is just a case of her being off special food i woudlnt be overly worried, but if she is off her food generally a trip to the vets might be in order.

Saying that, my JR will often starve himself if i don't give in, i never do, but he is quite happy to wait til we have chicken or mince and he gets the left overs, fussy little fecker!

oh yeah, chappie stinks to high heaven but in my opinion is the best food there is. AND its cheep. We had a rottie with terribly sensitive tum, did all the expensive, organic, hypoallergenic shite, spent a fortune - gave him chappie - bingo!! The only thing about chappie is it is really sticky and if she does have a sore mouth it might put her off.

Blimey, this did get a bit heated. Im an ex vet nurse too, and am a bit bemused by it all. My thoughts would be, if the dog is otherwise healthy then it wont starve itself, that is right. BUT if there is an underlying health problem, it might get pretty sick.

My mother took ME to the doctors when i was a child (about three i think) because i wouldnt eat - she was told "Don't worry, she wont starve herself, she'll eat when she's ready" Im assuming i did eat, cos im definately not starved now

I bought some chappie this evening
she has had it before but it doesn't last long..she'll stop eating in a few weeks

She has had some pollock ,3 fillets and rice tonight.Gobbled it up.i think she would have eaten another bowl of it if offered but as she's incontinent I really don't want to risk it.

will offer the chappie in the morning and more fish and rice tomorow evening.

chicken gives her the shits?? i just noticed? I wonder, does she have some sort of hypersensitivity? Chicken and rice is pretty much a staple for dogs with dodgy tums. If she were a younger dog i would have this checked out but tbh at her stage in life its not worth the hassle and expense.

Its very easy for people to get on their high horse and say take the dog to the vets at the first sign of trouble - but it could end up with the OP forking out a considerable amount of cash to find out that the dog is actually just fussy and this is exacerbated by her age. Im not saying that she shouldnt take the dog to the vets if she is ill, but its her dog and owner instinct is often the best indicator ime. If i thought the dog was generally off its food then yes, vets immediately, but in this case i would be inclined to try a few alternatives before i started spending out. How much does a blood profile cost these days? Was about £50 when i left the vets three years ago. Tahts without the consult, then any "special" tests. Nup, if this was my dog, i would be ruling out fussiness first and i don't even have to pay for my vet bills.

thanks lucy
I have to think hard before taking her to the vets not only because of the cost bt she absolutely hates it..and tbh I am terrified they will say to put her down.

ah, thats good news gg . Glad to see she is eating now. My JACK prefers the cheapest shittiest ASDAs own dog foods to anything else, i alternate this with chappie, he has the constitution of an ox though so all the changing doesnt affect him.

We do need to remember that this is a DOG we are talking about and often variety isn't what is needed, this is referring to comments re " would you like to eat the same thing night in night out". Ive often wondered this, but it is often necessary as a change in diet can cause problems.

Do keep up with the chappie, they do two flavours - original and chicken and rice. So some variety there. Maybe you are feeding her too much? could you perhaps look at two small meals a day, it could just be that as she is getting older, she is less hungry. Dont know, just ideas.

Chappie for breakfast all round around at yours then, thanks for the dinner invite but I think I'll decline

why are you worried they would want to put her down? From what you say, she is eating and enjoying life. My dog was fecally incontinent, nothing we could do about it really. If it is urine though, there are treatments available and its not desperately expensive so might be worth looking into.

she is becoming less mobile but actually she's not bad atm so am probably just worrying needlessly as she was unwell a while ago..she has lupus in her toes,bad joints and is generally quite an old 13 yr old.

I would deffo feed her chappie, alternate daily between, as LEM says, the 2 flavours (original/chicken n rice)...

But, I would mix it with the fish and rice that you have been giving her, so basically half fish n rice/half chappie. I bet she will wolf it down.

so long as she is enjoying her food and pleased to see you - she's fine. You'll know when that time comes, but she sounds like she still has some quality time left with you guys - you could still be posting about her this time next year