No Food For 3 DAYS?! I saw my vet today & one of the things we spoke about is my crazy finicky puppy Yoshi. I've tried EVERYTHING short of back handsprings in a pink tutu to get my Yoshi to eat. Yes, I waited 20 minutes & took the food away...yes, I tried ricotta/yogurt/chicken/cheese/dehydrated liver/shredded carrots/etc mixed with kibble...no, I do not give him any people food & his only treats are cheerios & pieces of green beans...yes, I did raw...I did dehydrated raw, moistened & straight out of the bag...I tried Sojos, Grandma Lucy's, FreshPet...Orijen, Fromm, TOW, even Royal Canin. I've homecooked & hand fed. I've tried treat dispensers & scattered bits of kibble all over the house. He even sniffs & walks away from Weruva 3x a day...whether it be on a plate, in a bowl, on the kitchen floor, in his crate, under the dining room table, wherever. We even walk or exercise prior to meal time. You name it, I did it. Vet says... Put down the same food at the same time 3x a day. Check. Take it away after 20 minutes. Check. Give NutriCal only he seems tired/lethargic & make sure he's drinking. Let him go 3 DAYS with no food. Then call him. My Yoshi is 6.3 pounds. I told him that I wasn't comfortable letting him go for 3 whole days & that I was going to ask "my friends" before doing it. So far, the longest I've gone is 1 1/2 days. However, I have been giving him about an inch of NutriCal if he goes longer than 6 hours without eating. Vet says no NutriCal unless he seems lethargic & give him 3 days. Btw, my vet sees mostly small/toy breeds. So he isn't unfamiliar with the breed. Does this seem reasonable? Should I at least put out a saucer of some chicken broth if he doesn't eat? Or am I just an overprotective Mommy? |
Ziva is a picky eater, small appetite, she was little so the breeder hand fed her-spoiled! She is 3 and eats way better now that she has a sister (Abby 1yr) who is a little piggy ,opposite type of breeder, put out the food for a litter of 5 and let them fight it out, poor Abby was starving! Ziva gets 15 minutes and I pick up her dish, offered twice a day, 8am and 4pm- rarely gets a treat. If I catch my DH giving her "a cookie" I know she will not be eating her dinner. No snacks, no nutrical! |
Yes, it sounds reasonable! Once a pup realizes that holding out will make you give in, you start the cycle you are now in with him. The longest you have gone is 1.5 days...you probably will have to go 2 - 3 to win....but you will win! :) He just needs to know he is not getting a replacement if he doesn't eat. BTW, I have done this and never had a pup go so long that he was hypoglycemic. It is rare for a healthy pup to do that. |
My sticking it out story: Last year, I dog sat my friend's dogs while my friend was having a knee replacement operation. Both the husband and wife warned me that one of the dogs named Zoey would not eat for awhile. They were so right and glad they told me. It took Zoey two and a half days to eat, but she finally did. It was tough sticking it out, but I did and it was amazing how she never skipped another meal after that. :) Good luck with your dilemma and bet it will all work out. |
I could never let Callie go three days with out food. She can be pretty picky but I found that hand feeding her works best for us so that what I do twice a day. I am so sorry you are having problems. |
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It's like my mom used to fuss at me because I indulged my skin kids...they will do what they can get away with. The doctor said the same...food on the table if the wont eat do not give dessert! |
I agree with your vet. Nutrical can makes things more dangerous and harder to do. There is a small risk. Giving this advice (accept my vet says longer than three days), my vet has only had one that made itself sick by not eating. A healthy dog can tilerate this. Anyway, there is a big risk going on this way with incomplete meals, unbalanced meals, a healthy dog being so dependant on an owner to feed it, giving nutrical all the time messing with glucose, etc. Here the food is put down and my kids eat. And if they don't they will eat when they are hungry enough. |
Thanks everyone for the advice! I don't work. So I guess that gives me too much time to cater to him. I suppose I am an overprotective Mommy. I can accept that. So I've made a decision. It's time for some tough love & I'm starting the 3-day experiment tomorrow. Here's the thing...do I feed him straight, dry kibble? Same kibble/3x a day? The kibble I choose for him to eat? If so, I pick Fromm. I like the kibble size, the variety & I like the company. Or should I mix the kibble with some boiled diced chicken? Or Weruva? Something else? Another thing...I have a bag of Fromm Surf & Turf. But I don't really know if he likes it. Like I said, he turns his nose up at everything. What if he really doesn't like it? Should I just stick it out & make him eat it? I can't even remember if he's ever eaten more than a few bites of it. I do remember that he ate a full serving of the Game Bird once. So he must like it. Right? Should I go out & buy a bag of the Game Bird? |
Just kibble. Don't show him that you care if he eats. Put it down, be excuted, and walk away. you can keep using the same dish of kbble if you cover it in between. I would use what you already have...or the food you would like him to maintain on for several monts. |
Thanks Ellie May! It's a good thing that I have one of those Martha Stewart bowls from PetSmart that actually comes with a cover. I always thought it was cute. And now, practical too! :p 1/4 cup of plain kibble is going in the bowl at 9am. Day One has officially begun. Thanks everyone! |
Good luck! Stay away from the bowl and don't worry! :D |
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Thanks ladies :) It's going to be a rough 72 hours for me. He didn't eat at 9am, but he tried to bury his dish under his cloth place mat. So I'm thinking that he does like the Fromm Surf & Turf and will eventually eat. Fingers crossed! |
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My Gina was a picky eater. I just filled her bowl with kibble and if it took her three days to eat it - so be it. Six and a half lbs in not too thin. As you know you can drive yourself nuts trying to get them to eat. Thankfully, my Zoey is a pig. Will eat anything put in front of her in 20 seconds. |
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