[manj]

Hi,

I am having problems with my doberman not eating his dry food. I think it is because he stopped eating properly for a few days and then we began to mix other things into his food. (i.e some meat, table scraps e.t.c). The other reason was to make his food more enjoyable to eat. Now he does not eat his dry food. He just leaves it. On the odd occasion he will eat it but he will only end up eating one meal throughout the day rather than the 2 he needs. What should i do?

Thanks.

 

[Luvbirds]

You could always make the switch to RAW Sorry....had to say that. That's what my Petey is on. He eats all his meals as long as it is meats he likes....and he is a picky one. So I feed what he will eat and continually try new meats.

I think everyone on here will pretty much tell you....he will eat his dry when he is good and hungry.

Carol

 

[Fitzmar Dobermans]

Hi,

I am having problems with my doberman not eating his dry food. I think it is because he stopped eating properly for a few days and then we began to mix other things into his food. (i.e some meat, table scraps e.t.c). The other reason was to make his food more enjoyable to eat. Now he does not eat his dry food. He just leaves it. On the odd occasion he will eat it but he will only end up eating one meal throughout the day rather than the 2 he needs. What should i do?

Thanks.

How old is he? If he is a young boy, going through a picky stage is not at all uncommon. I went through it with both of the bitches I have now when each of them were in the 1 1/2 to 2 age range. It is a PITA, but if you are willing to be as stubborn as your dog, you can get him through it. I had to cater some because both of my girls were showing in the breed ring at the time and it was really tough to have to keep them in show weight. As soon as I knew they were getting a few month break in showing I did the tough love thingie.

You put his food down for 10 minutes. If he does not eat it, pick it back up. DO NOT offer him any more food till the evening, and then do the same thing (I feed 2x a day). Most dogs will start eating again after going hungry for 2 or 3 days. They won't starve so don't worry. My girls both now eat like gangbusters............ of course I feed a really high quality kibble which helps too.

Another factor for young dogs is that once they stop growing so fast, their nutritional needs go way down. This is when many dogs get fat because their owners keep feeding them as much as they did when they were still growing.

 

[natdobe]

I had the same problem you do not to long ago. I cut way back on snacks, and that helped a lot. Since I've cut back on snacks mine have no problem eating their meals. I have also lowered the amount that I feed them. I still give some snacks in the afternoon, such as carrots, apples, string cheese, and sometimes dog biscuits. I use string cheese for training. Also, they don't get a snack after their evening meal anymore. You could add some canned dog food in with their dry food. Just use a high quality kibble and canned food. I know several people that do that with good results. If you don't want to than that's fine. I'm just giving suggestions. Velmadobe is correct, they won't starve.

 

[JavasMom]

You could try adding some plain yogurt to moisten the dry kibble (it's good for their digestive tract anyway), or some chicken broth (home-made or low sodium). Have to agree with the above posts - they will eat whatever is put in front of them when they are hungry. (Maybe I'm lucky, but Java will eat whetever is put down in front of her.) I have really been watching the number of treats Java gets during the day and like Natdobe, am more likely to share a bite of carrot or an apple slice or two than I am to give dog biscuits throughout the day. Those treats can really add up!

 

[BackInBlack]

I have a house full of picky eaters (not anymore) this is what I did.

#1 I started feeding them in the crate, so that there was no way they could get "distracted" or play "musical bowls"

#2 I gave them each a half a cup of food a day (I know this sounds mean......but it worked) They got 1/2 a cup for about 3 days. Then they got 1 cup for about 2 days, then I just slowly increased it.

Rommel is up to 5 cups a day now, and he has never looked better. Piper is getting 2-3 cups a day, and Ziris........well she will eat anything, I never had a problem with her.

Mind you.........Piper was the WORST picky eater on the planet. Not anymore

 

[Jenny]

Isabelle always eats her breakfast. She gets dry & canned (Innova EVO) in the am. In the evening she gets only dry. Somedays, especially in the summer when it's hot, she doesn't eat dinner. It just sits there & that is what she gets for dry for breakfast. She has to eat breakfast so that she can take her herbs on a full tummy - otherwise, we have problems She doesn't like yogurt in her food or with her herbs. Only cottage cheese, and yes she has brands she prefers. Yes, she is pickier about what she will eat with her herbs than she is about her actual dog food. Go figure

 

[DobeMom616]

Cole is incredibly picky. He was not at first, but when he turned about 189 months, he decided he did not like anything. When he was showing, I had to make sure he ate so he would be show weight. Basically, he got whatever he would eat. Sometimes he would get a bowl of biscuits! Sometimes a bunch of hot dogs. Sometimes he would eat only if I spoon-fed him. But, once he finished (22 months), it was tough love. Down for 10 minutes and nothing to next feeding. I also feed high quality kibble with chicken (raw--when he will eat it raw), fish, and beef heart (which he loves raw). Now, we have no problem with eating. He eats like a champ.

 

[Andrea]

You could always make the switch to RAW

Carol

I agree with you, Carol!!!:biggthump

 

[robinb]

If he's not in the breed ring, I'd sure do the tough love, meanie thing. Put the food down for 10 minutes and pick it up, and nothing until his next meal. Dobes are very good at training their owners! This is a pretty common test that dobes pull on their owners.

Robin and Rex

 

[sizzur]

Hey, i had teh exact same problem as you, and i think i posted a thread about it too. Very picky dogs ahhaa.. I mixed in some can food one time and that was it, she was spoiled lol. I agree about the 'tough love' method, but at that time,my pup was too underweight and i didn't want her to lose any more weight than she had, so I just kept mixing in some can with her kibble. One can lasted a while anyway, since I would only mix in about a spoonful every meal, and she gobbled it all up anyway. She's now looking great weight-wise, but I still mix in some canned goods anyway.

 

[manj]

Thanks for all your advice. I am going to have to give him some tough love. I thin kits worse because a lot of the time he is in the untility room which is next to the kitchen, so he can smell the food we are making for ourselves.

However this morning i saw him doing something very strange. He was eating GRASS! I saw him walking around my garden eating grass for half an hour. (At least thats what it looked like he was doing).

 

[Luvbirds]

Just a question...what is wrong with mixing a bit of canned or left overs in each meal? With my two Weims who were on Kibble most of their lives....that's what I did every meal. They always ate and loved their food. I used to soak the kibble for a few minutes and just put a Tablespoon of canned in and mix. Sometimes I'd take left over meat and veggies too. They never knew what to expect....made meal times fun for them. My Weim Uno was picky until I started doing that, he then ate all his meals right to the end of his life.

Carol

 

[JavasMom]

Now that I feed Java home-made 98% of the time (I bring kibble w/ me when I travel and add cooked ground turkey, canned tuna/salmon, veg and/or yogurt or cottage cheese to that), she, like Luvbird's dogs never knows what's for dinner.

Have to agree with how quickly our Dobes learn how to train us - one pathetic hangdog look with those big brown eyes and we fold!

 

[charlesmdodson]

You could always make the switch to RAW Sorry....had to say that. That's what my Petey is on. He eats all his meals as long as it is meats he likes....and he is a picky one. So I feed what he will eat and continually try new meats.

I think everyone on here will pretty much tell you....he will eat his dry when he is good and hungry.

Carol

After a few meals of RAW I noticed he barely noticed any of his dry kibble.. he's more selective now. LOL

 

[Fitzmar Dobermans]

....................However this morning i saw him doing something very strange. He was eating GRASS! I saw him walking around my garden eating grass for half an hour. (At least thats what it looked like he was doing).

Welcome to the strange world of Dobermans!! All of my Dobermans have been HUGE grass eaters............ including the roots and dirt. They just like it.

They are not missing anything in their diet - it is just a Doberman quirk......... I tend to think that they were all cows in a previous life.

 

[charlesmdodson]

One RAW site includes grass as a "vegetable." LOL.. i guess everyone sees that some dogs graze from time to time.

 

[Bilclarie]

Dobermanns are grazer's my 6 are like sheep they wonder round the field eating grass it's quite funny to watch them.Mine are also on dry food but I add tinned sardine's which contain omega 3 fish oil's which is very good for skin and coat also use the juices of joint's once cooked instead of making gravy the dog's get it on there dinner,chicken I give them lot's of bit's in with there food after all you wouldn't want to eat the same thing day in day out and I'm sure your dog's don't either.


Maureen