[ilovelucy]

Hello.

I have a rescued 12 month old baby girl, Lucy.

Here's a little background -- When we first got her (she was almost 7 months), she was under weight, full of worms and was given bad quality dog food from her previous owners. As soon as we got her into the vet's office, the main concern was to bring her to a healthy weight and to clear the worms before continuing on with the spay proc. The next month, it was all about transitioning her to her new food, Orijen, and she was basically inhaling her food.. not sure if it was because of the worms or if it was so good! But anyway, after her spay, she wasn't interested in her food anymore and the vet said that it was normal because of the pain meds and antibiotics. She lost about 5 lbs in about a week or so.

That was over 3 months ago and she has been fine ever since til now. She is displaying the same symptoms. Disinterested in food but when we hand-feed her or stand near the food bowl, she would eat. She has been going to the bathroom fine and there's nothing really out of the ordinary. She was biting at her paws for a little bit, to the point that it was bleeding. (She had to wear the cone of shame for a little bit til they healed.) She is doing okay now, and we tell her "no" when we see her reaching for it. But not sure about the eating part. I was thinking of taking her to the vet but not sure if it's just because she doesn't like her food. I forgot to mention that she doesn't eat human food, but on very rare occasions, she would get hot dogs or chicken for training.

Sorry this is long but since this is my first post, I wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything out.

Thanks in advance!

 

[LindaH]

So you're saying she has been eating the Orijen fine for three months and only now she has slacked up? Is she still getting the same amount of exercise??? My boy doesn't stay outside much at all now, because it is so hot, so I had to cut his food back. Some dogs will naturally cut back their own food if they don't need it and others will eat till the cows come home.

I would go ahead and take her to the vet for a check up for a clean bill of health before proceeding to the next step.

Don't hand feed or stand by her bowl to get her to eat. That is training a dog to become picky about eating. Put her food bowl down with the food. After 20 minutes pick up any amount she hasn't eaten and do not give her anything else...no treats...till her next regular feeding time. Put the bowl down and leave for 20 minutes and then pick up anything not eaten. If you do this she should straighten out about her eating. She will learn if she wants to eat she had better eat while she has the chance.

Did the vet say anything about allergies cause her to chew at her feet. It has been so hot and dry here that Parker is having a time with his allergies this summer. Chewing feet can be a sign of food allergies or it could be enviormental allergies as well.

What Orijen formula are you feeding?