My dog is hungry

[Deadnettle]

So she is pushing her food bowl around the kitchen floor.

Her bowl is full.

The food in her bowl was fresh this morning and she has had it before and eaten it. She just doesn't want it.

Please tell me I'm not the only person with a dog who would rather make themselves sick with hunger than eat something they like but don't fancy right then?

[MissBeaHaving]

Have you tried Millies Wolfheart?
The reason I'm asking is because they sell sample bags from £2 & have a good few flavours which would help with her boredom ( if that's what it is) you also won't be left with a sackful if she hates a certain variety.
They do wet food which is great but I prefer Nutriment.(personal really)

It's all grain free & their customer helpline is fantastic,they really helped me when big fella had problems with pano & was laid up for a long time.

I do feel for you nettle,we went through food issues with our lovely boy we lost,when they can't tell you & you are relying on guess work it's quite difficult to know what to do for the best.

What does your vet think?

[Deadnettle]

I'll nick some millies wolfheart off my mums greyhound when I'm around there next but we still have 3 lots of kibble that she hardly touches.

Boredom is definately an issue.

The vet doesn't see the issue. Dog is healthy and happy and put on weight until she was 8 months old (when she stopped growing). She is eating enough but its so wasteful and managing her so she's not ill is a nightmare.

She might had collasping trachea, as she had some symptoms when younger, however this is now unlikely as the symptoms have mostly gone. It was most likely an injury to her neck. Her eating was just as bad before the injury so that hasn't caused it.

[MissBeaHaving]

Yes try some of your mums,but bear in mind that the different varieties of Millies can aid with weight loss or help with gain due to the calorie differences & percentage of non grain carbohydrates.

It's well worth looking at their website or even giving them a ring/email.

The 3-5 days normal delivery option is free.

We swapped variety of big fellas food whilst he was being rested just to make sure his weight stayed stable when he was being rested,we then swapped back when he was active again.

[tabulahrasa]

"She's not spayed yet, she will be after her next season (I had surgery so she couldn't be done after her first season)."

You might find that changes her appetite a bit, I've been told that unneutered dogs (both sexes) self regulate their weight better...usually if they have a weight gain after neutering it's to do with hormones and not needing the same amount of food to just maintain weight, but for some it affects appetite as well.

I know with my fussy boy it made a huge difference, he's still fussy - but nowhere near as bad.

[Deadnettle]

I really hope she is less fussy after she is spayed! I just need her to consistantly eat the foods she likes and not turn her nose up at it because thats not want she wants today. It would be nice if she continues to stop eating when she is full though.

She's just pushing her full bowl around the kitchen again. Its a different food from yesterday (that entire tray went in the bin uneaten), it's one she has loved previously but today she hasn't touched it. She is clearly hungry. I can hear her tummy rumbling. Yet she wont eat the food thats there even though she has eaten it before and liked it!

We have 2 opened 2kg bags of puppy food which we have had for at least 8 months. Plus a carrier bag full of kibble a friend gave us about 5 months ago. We have tried at least 10 different brands of wet food of which she has completely eaten 1 tray. We have given away so much food (wet and dry) and have binned more meals than she has eaten.

[MissBeaHaving]

Have you tried warming it slightly?
It sounds a bizarre but I have heard some dogs are tempted by it.
Another thing you could try little boiled rice with some sweet potato & chicken, after a few meals if she's eating it small amounts of kibble & build it up gradually.

Millies do 200g & 700g size bags which would stop you wasting so much.
I wonder if other brands might have sample sizes?

[Deadnettle]

She's had warmed up kibble (by adding hot water) but it didn't make much difference long term. The idea of warming up her wet food fills me with horror but I will try it later maybe. She has eaten a bit of her breakfast now.

She doesn't see the point of eating veg or rice and even if she did eat it she's unlikely to eat it long term. One of her favourite things is scrambled eggs and she will still leave it if she doesn't feel like it or has got bored of it.

We have tried lots of different brands of kibble and have used samples. Some times she acts like its the best thing ever and eats all of the sample so we go and buy a small bag of the same thing and she eats it once or twice and then she never touches it again.

[MissBeaHaving]

Yes I meant the wet food.

I think with her history with food,I would keep to the sample size bags until she's in the habit of eating regularly at feeding times, at least for a few months.
With the rice & chicken,I didn't mean it as a long term plan,its not a healthy diet for them long term or a solution in place of a regular diet,I just wondered it might tempt her.(mine love it)

I guess all you can do for now is try the Nutriment & monitor her weight.
If nothing improves & with so much being tried I would start looking into whether she might have a medical issue.

[Deadnettle]

She finished her breakfast at 12.05, so it took her 3 ish hours to eat it. That's typical for her if she actually eats. I just never know if she'll eat the food I give her. Thats what we need, a way to predict what she'll eat, when she'll eat and how much she'll eat at any given time so that we don't waste food.

We'll try the nutriment next week and see how that goes.

I honestly don't think she has a medical issue. Her weight is stable (she's weighed 6.4kgs since feb) and she isn't skin and bones. The vet is happy with her weight.

[Deadnettle]

Its too soon to know if feeding raw will work long term but the last 5 meals have been eaten within minutes.

She has never eaten 5 meals in a row before!

I don't think nutriment existed when we last raw fed a dog but its so much cleaner easier.

We did steal some of mums greyhounds millies wolfhearts but according to the dog its only edible at my mums house.