Thanks for the advice. It's definitely helped!
Should I be concerned?
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A healthy dog will not starve itself. It will eat when it is hungry. You may want to just stop with the Merricks and go with all Wellness. We recently switched our dry foods to Wellness and Evo. I usually switch every couple of months anyway but our dogs didn't really seem very keen on the last bag of Merricks. Because of the different caloric requirements of each of my dogs I always have 2 foods in the house.
Though he may throw up bile because he is not eating, really he should start eating after 1 or 2 skipped meals.
IME the more you try to do to entice them to eat, the more you are doing to create a picky eater.
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A healthy dog will not starve itself. It will eat when it is hungry. You may want to just stop with the Merricks and go with all Wellness. We recently switched our dry foods to Wellness and Evo. I usually switch every couple of months anyway but our dogs didn't really seem very keen on the last bag of Merricks. Because of the different caloric requirements of each of my dogs I always have 2 foods in the house.
Though he may throw up bile because he is not eating, really he should start eating after 1 or 2 skipped meals.
IME the more you try to do to entice them to eat, the more you are doing to create a picky eater.
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You are not alone, my 4 month puppy is doing the same exact thing and it has been driving me nuts! It started about two weeks after I got her (I've almost had her for two months now). I've been feeding her Diamond Small Breed Puppy food (recommended by my breeder) and Manah acts like it is the most disgusting food ever! She just picks at her food and drops it on the floor, covers her nose and paws at the air - it's so weird. But she wants to eat my elder dog's food and is always trying to get at it. I have the same concern that she is not eating enough for her age. She refuses to eat her second meal, so I only feed her a 1/2 cup in the AM and 1/2 cup in the PM. She'll eat about half and then walk away. I'm going to also try changing her food. I was going to switch her to Merrick's but maybe I should try Wellness; is that a healthier and tastier brand?
I'll also try the 15 minute time period…Believe me, I understand your concern and frustration! This is really the only issue I have with my puppy though, otherwise she's doing great - rings a bell when she has to go out, isn't chewing up my stuff, isn't acting wild and crazy. I'm grateful for that!
Tabatha
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Nexa was a very picky eater when we first got her. She would eat a few kibble, then leave and come back, maybe eat a few more. We would pick up her food after 15 minutes or so. When she got hungry enough she would eat more. We tried mixing in some different goodies with her kibble, but she would usually just eat around the kibble. This all stopped the day we go Leo. She eats every kibble/treat/vegetable we give her now. It's like she hasn't had a meal in days every time we feed her. Amazing the difference it made.
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Nicky was our first dog so he didn't have any competition for his food. He also goes back to Serengeti on 1/4 of his pedigree so is related to Dallas. He just wasn't very food motivated as a youngster. He could take it or leave it. Doing the 15 minutes and then picking it up did make it so he ate when given food but he would still leave some kibble and did look thin sometimes even when he was eating plenty.
The day we got Rally his view on mealtime changed. Even though they were fed separately the thought of competition for his food really increased his desire to eat. He is still slower than either of my black and white girls at eating but he licks his bowl clean every day and begs for more. He still sometimes looks thin, he has a high metabolism.
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OJ (who is Serengeti also) was a very picky eater as a pup also, but he was not an only Basenjis as we got Maggii at the same time… never made a difference in his desire...... I never chanced feed routine, either he ate or he didn't... he had 15 minutes to eat, if he didn't, he didn't get anything till the next time.... and there were times he would go two days without eating much of anything... When he turned 3yrs.. it was like a light bulb went off.. and from then on, he was like the "starving" pup... never missed a meal or left a crumb unless he was sick....
Moral of the story, don't baby them...
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Thanks for the help everyone! I was just worried about him missing food but he does need to learn, eat when we give you food or you miss a meal. I've talked to the boyfriend & he's going to be sure to pick up the bowl after 15 minutes as well. He said it was weird because today Dallas ate all of his food without leaving his bowl, probably because he didn't eat anything last night. Shows this works huh?
Also, maybe when we add a girl in January he'll snap out of it
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I just got back from the pet food outlet and talked to the employees about my picky eater and they recommended "Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul". Has anyone heard of this brand? It's made by the same company that makes Diamond Puppy Food. It contains fresh chicken, turkey, duck, salmon, egg protein, fruits, veggies and tons of other good stuff, all organic - of course! Manah is pawing at the bag as I type!
I'll let you know what happens tonite when I feed her dinner.
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The Chicken Soup puppy food is a much, much better choice… note on the indredients the first two are Chicken, Turkey, (not by products) and there is no corn....
Here is a list of the ingredients in the Diamond puppy food. My personal opinion it is not the best... really you should look for food that is NOT "by" products for the meat... and note that the second ingredient is corn.. corn is a filler... I think there are much better foods out there...
Chicken by-product meal, whole grain ground corn, wheat flour, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), beet pulp, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, salmon oil (source of DHA), fish meal, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
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Well, I'm glad I switched her to a better food! She actually ate all of her food tonite in just a couple of minutes, which was nice! Do you think the Chicken Soup food is a good choice, or is there something better? I was going to pick up some Merricks but the staff at the pet food outlet talked me out of it and convinced me to go with what I got..
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Well, I'm glad I switched her to a better food! She actually ate all of her food tonite in just a couple of minutes, which was nice! Do you think the Chicken Soup food is a good choice, or is there something better? I was going to pick up some Merricks but the staff at the pet food outlet talked me out of it and convinced me to go with what I got..
The Chicken Soup looks to have good ingredients… you should research different foods on line... many on the list change foods every few months and that way you can have some thoughts in mind if you want to change... main thing is "meat" not by products... and not too many grains, especially Corn (again all IMO). And don't let the pet store talk you out of "stuff"... ggg.. they have vested interests in moving different foods.
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This is the actual list of ingredients for the Diamond SB Puppy:
Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), egg product, whole grain brown rice, beet pulp, fish meal, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish meal, salmon oil (a source of DHA), potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, yucca schidigera extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
I couldn't figure out where you got that other list.. until I looked that is the regular stuff that we don't feed, and I don't recommend it either. Just small breed puppy (which are good ingredients) as well as the lamb & rice.
I've looked at the chicken lovers and it is supposed to be good, but I don't like to switch foods and mine have fab coats on the Diamond SB puppy (& and the adult L & R), eat well, don't stink, and don't tend to get over or underweight.
Manah is just bring picky.. as the rest of the crew here eats like there is no tomorrow (maybe they know something that I don't!!).
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Yes, I see what you're talking Kathy; I went on Diamond's website, and looked at Manah's bag of puppy food, and I didn't see any corn or wheat flour in the ingredients either.
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Yes, I see what you're talking Kathy; I went on Diamond's website, and looked at Manah's bag of puppy food, and I didn't see any corn or wheat flour in the ingredients either.
Thanks for the other list… didn't know which kind of "Diamond" was being used...
That said, I love the Potato and Duck that I have been using on my kids... I was using Canidae senior (since at home all are seniors) but didn't care for their coats, so switched... and they are staying in good weight and all doing well on that food.
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I switched Dallas over to Wellness last week & he still isn't eating. I called the vet & they said it's because he is getting used to the food but him not really eating has now been going on for over 2 weeks. He will kind of pick at the kibble but then doesn't want it & will leave his crate. If I shut the crate door he will just calm down & wait to be let out. Yesterday he was in his crate for 45 minutes just laying quietly but didn't eat a thing! So I removed the food & tried again later with little sucess. Again he ate less than half of the food…which means about 1/4 a cup if that.
Then this morning he threw up but it wasn't bile it was actually pieces of the kibble...
I just don't know what else to do as far as getting him to eat. I bought the best puppy food there is but he looks at it like it's repulsive or something. I called the vet & he said, try switching to eukanuba puppy...I don't want to have him on that crap food though!!! Help!!!
Hey there - I have just joined this forum, and I am having the same problem with my 14 year old basenji, and after a week of not eating (after eating Wellness for a few months), I took him to the vet, who did blood work and had some concerns, and put him on I/D and steroids… but after a couple of days he didn't like the I/D any more, and I went straight to canned, as that is all he would eat... and then he didn't like that anymore, and I tried the homecooked chicken and rice thing, and didn't want any of it, and just got him the 95% canned chicken, and seemes to eat that... but is still throwing up randomly, and it is just bile and rice (from the I/D)... so I'm going to call and ask about more information on IPSID...?
Anyone else know about this? -
What concerns did the vet have? What did the bloodwork show?
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Something about liver levels were high, most of the rest were normal, but it caused him to want to do an xray, and that showed that his liver was a bit enlarged, but not a huge concern… there was no blockage or anything else like that.
So he gave pred and some 4 pack of Cerenia to keep from vomiting...
and it was working until he finished the 4-pack...
but I have had him since January (a BRAT rescue) and there weren't any problems until about a month ago, now... -
IPSID is something that would not "just" show up at age 14
How high were the liver values? Most of the rest normal? What rest, what where his kidney values?
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well, I didn't get the numbers, but I know they have the printout, and the vet has a message to call me in the morning.
It's just all so strange, since he ate so well without hesitation for 5-6 months after I rescued him. His girl has always been the picky eater.
I'm a big dog person, myself, having a lab and a golden in the past, who would eat anything on the floor… and they would only refuse food when they were sick.
But I keep reading that pickyness is a trait for Basenjis, but I only feed twice a day, and if they don't eat it, I pick it up, and I did that for a week with him, and he didn't eat for a week.
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Actually, it is not really strange, when an organ like the liver is off like that often times the only real sign we get from our animals is loss of appetite. When our cat Spot had fatty liver he refused to eat even though that is what he needed to do to get his liver functioning again. It was quite a struggle to find something he would eat and get enough daily calories from. Even after that incident we had to rotate foods, he refused to eat the same brand of food for more than two days in a row. The checkers at the food stores probably thought I was a nut because I would buy 2 cans of every food they had so he would never eat the same type food twice in a row.
