# Underweight St Bernard/Fussy eater



## Millie Burnside (Oct 4, 2014)

Hi all 

Millie is an 18 month old St Bernard and came to us on a diet of raw green tripe and kibble, we gradually transferred her to a completely BARF diet which she has done well on. She looks good (gets lots of compliments from vets and public), her health has improved (itchy skin, hotspots etc), and her poos are nice and small! :thumbup:

Her diet has always consisted of suitable table scraps given in the bowl and mixed with her meal, she is never fed from our table, and only fed from the hand in training.

She has never had a ferocious appetite like some dogs, even with other dogs in the house it only slightly improves. 

But as time has gone on, she has started to prefer her carcasses and meals on the stinky side! She will leave a fresh semi frozen carcass for days until flies have been and laid eggs and all sorts! She will not eat for 2 days, then she will eat what's in her bowl then go outside to the totally stinky chicken carcass that has loads of fly eggs on it and really want to eat it, yet it's been there for 48 hours with no interest!! :confused1:

She drools so much when the cats get tinned food (they are semi BARF), and recently we've had to introduce kibble back into her diet due to the amount of flies, so even if we put a bit of cat food mixed with the kibble, she just licks the kibble to bits and leaves the rest! 

Basically she has become so fussy that she really isn't eating enough. I have kept her lean so the joints can grow properly, but she is now on the skinny side and it's verging on embarrassing to take her out.

Any advice would be so welcome. Generally she is very happy and healthy, just too skinny for a St Bernard.... and TOO fussy!!

Thanks x


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## Amelia66 (Feb 15, 2011)

why are you leaving the carcases out and in her reach for so long? i would be throwing those away as soon as she looses interest at the first meal time you give the too her because of the risk of illness.

Has she been checked by the vet? are you sure this isn't medical?


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## SixStar (Dec 8, 2009)

I hate to say it, but it's you that has made her this way - fussy dogs are created, not born.

If she is medically ok (a vet visit should be your first port of call) then choose the food YOU want her to eat - be it raw, kibble, wet, whatever - put it down at mealtimes and give her fifteen minutes to eat it. If she doesn't, take it up again and offer nothing at all until the next mealtime, and then repeat. She's likely to miss a couple of days but will soon get the message.

Sounds harsh, but tough love really is the only way. A healthy dog will not starve itself - only hold out in the hope of goodies like cat food!


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## Hopeattheendofthetunnel (Jun 26, 2013)

In view that she is still actively growing and developing AND already too skinny I would be concerned about letting her miss too many meals and nutrients.

Surely, you can find a compromise about something she finds enjoyable to eat and that is healthy. The best diet in the world is worth nothing if the dog finds it unpalatable, if not disgusting. It seems a strange and punitive philosophy to feed a dog something it hates. Nobody eats like that, least of all the dog's owners.

I would STRONGLY urge you to discard any fly riddled carcasses. Aside from worms - incidentally, has she beeen wormed recently? - as they are outside she may pick up lungworm as well. Latter NOT easy to treat and may leave her debilitated throughout her entire life. Please don't let her food make her ill.

Is it imperative that she is on an all raw diet? If not, how about adding a healthy carb like brown rice ( overcooked) plus a bit of gravy(bought or homemade) and mix it into her food. Oily fish like tinned sardines or makarel ( sunflower oil, drained) are healthy, rich in calcium and good for her.


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

I may be lucky, but I've never had a fussy eater- dogs or cats.

They eat what they are given. If they don't it's lifted and replaced next mealtime.


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## Millie Burnside (Oct 4, 2014)

Thanks for all of your responses :thumbsup:

I really don't like to mix the raw and kibble diets as they have different digestion times etc. Plus since adding some level of kibble to her diet she's started itching 

I don't leave the carcasses out for her, she'll rake through the rubbish sacks to get them. I've only recently done it as an experiment but didn't allow her to eat them, but she really wanted to eat it  Millie tends to prefer 'stinky/mucky', she has a clean bowl of fresh water, but she'll beg to go into the field to the water trough! I'm not saying that water isn't ok (animals drink it!), but it is subject to the outdoor elements of insects etc. She loves horse and cat poo too!!  Albeit I know the horse poo is a natural vegetation part of their diet :thumbdown:

She has been wormed and vet checked, vet is very happy with her overall health but does agree she needs to gain at least 5kg.

She doesn't like fish, raw or tinned, but used to, but then she used to eat all of her food and has progressively got worse, but she has NEVER been a great eater. Any wheat, rice etc tend to make her itch 

I think SixStar is right, we've given her such a varied raw/scrap diet that has made her much more fussy. I will try the tough love but I'm really concerned if she goes beyond the 2 days, as like Hopeattheendofthetunnel says she's skinny and really needs nutrients 

I will keep you all updated with how we get on, thanks again


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2014)

Millie Burnside said:


> I don't leave the carcasses out for her, she'll rake through the rubbish sacks to get them.


Dont leave them out long enough that they need to be tossed.

Offer her whatever it is you want her to eat, give her about 10 to 15 minutes to eat it, and then it gets put back in the fridge or freezer. Done.

I would go so far as to take it up sooner if she walks away from it sooner. I wouldnt even give her the option of walking away and returning even if she does do it in the 15 minute time allotment.

Now, you may end up with her feeling yucky because she has an empty stomach, in which case - at your vets discretion - you can give her pepcid to keep the tummy upset down and the appetite up.

Another option is to make her work for her food. Most dogs far prefer to have to search their food out and work for it, so that may be the part where the food she has to go find in the garbage is more appealing? There are a lot of ways you can make her work for her food even if she is raw fed.

As for her being too skinny, do you have a picture? Teenage giants tend to be awkward and scrawny in general anyway, and unless the vet has giant breed experience he/she may not know about the puppy uglies stage  It could well be that she is indeed underweight too. A good rule of thumb is that as long as there is a decent muscle covering on the spine and hips, a little ribbyness is okay.


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

SixStar said:


> I hate to say it, but it's you that has made her this way - fussy dogs are created, not born.
> 
> If she is medically ok (a vet visit should be your first port of call) then choose the food YOU want her to eat - be it raw, kibble, wet, whatever - put it down at mealtimes and give her fifteen minutes to eat it. If she doesn't, take it up again and offer nothing at all until the next mealtime, and then repeat. She's likely to miss a couple of days but will soon get the message.
> 
> Sounds harsh, but tough love really is the only way. A healthy dog will not starve itself - only hold out in the hope of goodies like cat food!


Totally this. I've had cats and pups that have come to me fussy but swiftly changed their ways. A certain Yorkshire Terrier (*cough* Tilly...) attempted to be a fussy so and so, refusing to eat as a puppy unless she was hand fed. A bit of tough love promptly put a stop to that....


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## Hopeattheendofthetunnel (Jun 26, 2013)

Millie Burnside, I do hope you find a solution which suits all of you. Not easy since you have to battle with several issues.

I concur with my fellow posters that a dog can be unintentially be trained to become a fickle eater. 

However, being 5 kgs (10 lbs) underweight is a LOT for a pup. And as a giant, slow developing breed, she IS still a pup in the sense that her physical development is incomplete. 

The primary concern, aside from missing vital nutrients crucial for a healthy development, is if an already underweight dog gets sick, resulting in complete inappetance for several days or even a week. Unlike a dog of normal weight, she will not have any reserves to deal with and withstand such. She'll need immediate intraveneous sustenance. Please bear that in mind.

There is a world of difference between mollycoddling a dog and becoming a slave to their food whims and finding a prudent, sensible compromise which prevents a developing dog from becoming anorexic, thus endangering its welfare.

I freely concede that I believe food - ours and theirs - should be enjoyment as well as sustenance. We already decide when they eat, how often they eat, how much they eat, what they eat...IF they eat. I don't think it is unreasonable to give some consideration - and make a small nod to their preferrences - to feeding something they might derive a certain degree of pleasure from. Just something that they actually want to eat. With the HUGE wealth of foods and diets on the market there is got to be something which satisfies both dog and owner. 

If, at a push, this means adding a bit of cat food or gravy or whatever to her food to make it more interesting and palatable, it would be unwise, and unkind, not to.


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## mrs phas (Apr 6, 2014)

Have you tried her back on tripe?its very good for putting weight on and full of great nutrients and vitamins, dogs rarely refuse it

To bulk it out you can add rice, oats or quinoa, cooked and cooled, just stay away from wheat, barley, beets, corn etc
and/or
vegetables, blanched and blitzed, doing it this way she can assimilate the goodness from them, give them raw and they will go straight through and come out the other end in the same state

Have you actually educated yourself properly regarding barf/raw/preymodel/whatever feeding?
its not as simple as chucking her a carcass or two every day, she needs a balanced diet as much as we do. What vitamins and minerals are you giving her? Is she on green lipped mussel? Esther C? chrondatrin and glucosamine? vitamin E? salmon oil?

Have you tried heating the meal slightly? If your feeding straight from fridge [rather than at room temperature] she may be put off by the coldness of the meal and the fact that there is no smell, dogs like their food to smell a little, maybe why shes going after the chicken in the bin, its high and smelly, so attractive to her [why arent you putting it straight into the outside dustbin where she cant get at it?]
Also, I know my mastiff x will not eat raw liver, fish or heart, but 10 sec blast in the micro and she wolfs it down

Have you had her teeth checked? poor dentition can make a dog go off their food


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

Teddy the cockerpoo is a fussy eater. He gets a mixture of kibble and butchers tripe mix pouches. We warm the portion of meat up in the microwave and because its warm and smelly, this encourages him to eat it.


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## Millie Burnside (Oct 4, 2014)

Thanks again everyone :thumbsup:

Ouesi - I won't leave them down for a couple of hours now. She can have a bowl of food put down for her, turn her nose up at it, go outside and eat grass then be sick! I will ask the vet for some pepcid if I go down 'tough love' route, however, you have brought a fantastic idea to the table with searching for food :thumbsup: She's a massive sniffer/tracker (I personally think because she can't see very well when on the move lol), she's great at hide and seek :laugh: Could you give me more advice on how to act this out please, I've not done this before  Maybe I could blast the carcasses in the microwave to give some better aroma as I do give them to her semi frozen, and her usual response is to back off almost frightened of them! I keep going on about the carcasses as they are the biggest part of the diet she is skipping right now and to me the most important, please tell me if I have the wrong opinion on this  I don't have photos to hand right now (but will get some) that would hopefully show the extent of her skinniness, but she's a long hair so it's covered well, in the last month or so she's lost weight on her hips and spine and now these are very easy to feel :sad:

Hopeattheendofthetunnel - I completely agree, hence why we made her diet full of flavours, she even had her own fruit and veg garden where she would help herself to butternut squash, courgettes, micro tomatoes etc! When she was completely BARF and eating, she was so healthy, since introducing the kibble and splashings of cat food, she's started scratching again and her ears produce alot more wax and she scratches at them until she's grunting :sad: So I really want to find a solution to the BARF, but only if I can do it right....

Mrs Phas - She's always been on tripe but we had to change from abbatoir green tripe to the minced frozen bags from Pets At Home, this is still her 'favourite' bowl meal but she can regularly turn her nose up to it :sad: Can I use prepacked frozen veg or does it have to be fresh? I thought I had a decent grip on BARF (back when she would eat from her own veg garden as she pleased and was eating almost everything given to her, the vet said I had it all covered), but you saying about the additional nutrients has made me realise I've completely lost that grip :sad: These nutrients are more vital to her now than ever!! I'm a bit mad with myself for losing direction :angry: It's no excuse but life has been very manic and stressful for the last 6 months :sad: Unfortunately in the remote parts of Cornwall you don't get council bins, rubbish sacks go into the pump house and she sometimes manages to barge the door in  She's had a total check over a couple of weeks ago and given the all clear. If you could give me some more info on BARF/prey diet and the nutrients that would be great and I will refresh myself and make a shopping list.

Thanks to all for some really great ideas, common sense and understanding  I'm on a total mission to get her weight on, even more so as she trots off into the kitchen after hearing the dishes banging!!! Whiffy FRESH food here we come :laugh:


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2014)

Hi, raw feeding is definitely not my area of expertise, but Ive pmd another member who is knowledgeable in both raw feeding, nose work, and making the dog work for food. 

In the meantime, might want to look up some nose work stuff?


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Millie Burnside said:


> Thanks for all of your responses :thumbsup:
> 
> I really don't like to mix the raw and kibble diets as they have different digestion times etc. Plus since adding some level of kibble to her diet she's started itching
> 
> ...


A couple of days without full rations is not going to irreparably damage her health or growth but you are the one that has to live with it.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

I think it sounds like your dog is very much ruled by aroma and taste hence preferring the high state of dead bodies.

If your dog likes tracking and nosework then you can use food on her tracks.

Now this has to be considered carefully as some dogs are track happy and do not care for food on the track but you could pair the food with finding "articles" or leave large food drops.

If you live in an area which has crows etc who will steal the food or ants which will crawl all over it etc then you can drag a bag of tripe (laundry soap dispenser bags with a bit of smelly disgusting food in make for good drag bags) and the food can be in small pots (like film canisters) or larger sealed boxes.

You could also train your dog to find a scent and reward with food or find food itself.

Many dogs are incentivised to eat through work rather than having it on a plate so to speak.

If you would like some nosework/tracking book suggestions let me know I have plenty of resources you may like to explore


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## Millie Burnside (Oct 4, 2014)

Ouesi - Thank you so much for your help :thumbsup:

Smokeybear - You've hit her on the spot!! I've just nueked some chicken livers, smell was all there for her but she literally picked them out to eat the kibble that was soaked in the blood!! I really think nose work is where she needs to be, she loves the smell then turns when she gets there! I'm really loving this scent/food idea, thank you sooooo much guys :thumbsup: 

All suggestions of books, links whatever, please send I'm open, I can also admit my faults which I have now (done many) with Millie. I've always had my previous dogs on 'normal' tinned food, but this time with a giant breed I tried my best with the BARF  x


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## Millie Burnside (Oct 4, 2014)

Smokeybear - What do I try first and how do I do it? I think she would seriously avoid a fresh chicken carcass, but leave it there for 24 hours and she would eat it! She has NO favourite foods now  I'm pulling my hair out in desperation because she is like an anorexic child!!!  I love my bear and want her to be as healthy as poss  xx


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## Hopeattheendofthetunnel (Jun 26, 2013)

MB, not every dietary regime is right for every dog. Raw works brilliantly for some dogs...but some dogs just don't want to eat it. Or they experience too much weight loss, or weight gain. If that occurs it is NOT a good diet for THAT dog.

The hallmark of a healthy, good diet is a diet on which a dog thrives, not just how healthy the individual components are. If she doesn't want to eat raw, it is an exceptionally BAD diet dor her.

Adding nosework to pique her interest in food is certainly an avenue worth exploring, but to establish a sensible daily feeding regime not terribly practical. Least of all for a large developing dog who still eats several meals x day. How is that supposed to work at 7 am when its lashing with rain, freezing cold, dark and the garden is a sodden mudpitch? Lay out a trail of food in that which the dog hunts down and hopefully eats? And you are going to do this twice daily, EVERY day?

Your girl NEEDS something to eat. On a regular, twice daily basis. Something she WILL eat. You can train a fickle food snob....but you can also train an anorexic dog. If every time she walks to her bowl and finds the food distasteful, she will stop showing interest alltogether. The less we eat, the less we want to eat and the less we CAN eat as the stomach progressively shrinks. The end result is anorexia and your girl seems to be heading straight for it.

PLEASE don't wait until she hangs on a drip at the vet. Have a look at zooplus and consider trying some of their food choices. If you opt for wet food, "Rinty" is a good option worth trying, Lukullus, Lily's Kitchen, Burns Penlan Range...they are all GREAT foods. WITH a high chance that she will actually eat them.

Raw is NOT better. It is merely one dietary regime out of MANY.

If you love her, which you undeniably do, you ensure she gets the nourishment she needs. Not wants, NEEDS. Feed her something she will eat and if that means roasting her a joint or chicken until she is of normal weight , consider doing that if you can't befriend yourself with a commercial diet.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Hopeattheendofthetunnel said:


> Adding nosework to pique her interest in food is certainly an avenue worth exploring, but to establish a sensible daily feeding regime not terribly practical. Least of all for a large developing dog who still eats several meals x day. How is that supposed to work at 7 am when its lashing with rain, freezing cold, dark and the garden is a sodden mudpitch? Lay out a trail of food in that which the dog hunts down and hopefully eats? And you are going to do this twice daily, EVERY day?


Actually it is eminently practical, can be done several times a day and does not have to be done outside.

Unfortunately I have only just seen this post and am off shortly for my weekly 1:1 training session with my pup and have to fill in the rest of time with actual work. 

I will expand later on this evening.

Meanwhile here are some resources which can give you some ideas now and later which are accessible, doable without too much hassle for beginners

Roy Hunter	Fun Nosework for Dogs
Vivian Theby	Smellorama; nose games for dogs
Martina Nau	Snooping Around
Pam McKinnon	Talking Dogs Scentwork; The Manual
Anne Lill Kvam The Canine Kingdom of Scent
Carolyn A Krause	Try Tracking
workshops - National


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## Hopeattheendofthetunnel (Jun 26, 2013)

smokeybear said:


> Actually it is eminently practical, can be done several times a day and does not have to be done outside.
> 
> Unfortunately I have only just seen this post and am off shortly for my weekly 1:1 training session with my pup and have to fill in the rest of time with actual work.
> 
> ...


SB...nobody is debating the merits of nosework.

The OP's young dog is seriously underweight on account that she is starving herself, not because food isn't available to her. The most probable cause for her inappetance is that she can't bear to eat the food she's given. Not because the foods location or particular feeding technique are not made sufficiently enticing.

The dog needs to eat. She needs to learn that food does taste appealing and is worth eating. If we were served meals consisting of live maggots and slugs, we wouldn't eat it never mind how nutritious such would be or how playfully or where it would be served. And that dog behaves as if she was similarly repulsed by her food.

Please don't let the OP chase down dark alleys in order to win intellectual points. Her pup needs to eat a sensible portion of food. Pronto.


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2014)

Hopeattheendofthetunnel said:


> Adding nosework to pique her interest in food is certainly an avenue worth exploring, but to establish a sensible daily feeding regime not terribly practical. Least of all for a large developing dog who still eats several meals x day. How is that supposed to work at 7 am when its lashing with rain, freezing cold, dark and the garden is a sodden mudpitch? Lay out a trail of food in that which the dog hunts down and hopefully eats? And you are going to do this twice daily, EVERY day?


Actually, there are numerous owners throughout the world who never feed their dogs meals in a bowl, and dont find it impractical at all. Stuffed kong toys, treat dispenser balls filled with kibble, and puzzle toys are all ways that people get their dogs to have to think and work for their food. 
And you can totally do nose work in the house, all you need is a few boxes/containers and an area to put them in.

I dont know if the OP is going to do this every day, but maybe every other meal, or just long enough to get the dogs appetite healthy again, or maybe the OP will decide this is the way forward and its practical enough to do every meal.

FWIW, 5kg sounds like a lot, but its really not for a giant breed. Im not saying its insignificant, but in a giant breed its not as bad as it sounds. Our dane bitchs weight fluctuates at a 5 pound difference (2.2 kilos) and you seriously cant see much of a difference with her at the two ends of that weight fluctuation.

For perspective, Lunar came to us 40 pounds underweight - that was too thin, but he was still quite functional that much underweight.


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## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

Forgive me if I've missed this, but do you feed directly from the fridge or is the food at room temperature?

I've read of lots of dogs preferring not to eat cold/chilled food. Is she more interested in 'ripe' foods simply because they're not cold?

I agree with not creating a fussy dog, but one of the (many) joys of dog ownership is seeing them really enjoy their food, so I'm not sure I'd be any good at tough love and would probably have to work to find a solution that suits us both so they're eating well and also enjoying it. I certainly wouldn't stick to raw if they preferred home-cooked for example. 

Luckily I always seem to have managed to give homes to walking dustbins.

ETA - I realised you've tried nuked chicken livers, but lots of dogs have an aversion to liver and kidney anyway so this may be a separate issue from temperature.


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## Daffers (Jul 22, 2014)

have you tried fish ..... if she wants smelly stuff then even tinned chappie/canagan or lily's ?


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

Daffers said:


> have you tried fish ..... if she wants smelly stuff then even tinned chappie/canagan or lily's ?


yep smoked fish would be really stinky. Also wouldn't hurt to use some stinky cheese?


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Hopeattheendofthetunnel said:


> SB...nobody is debating the merits of nosework.
> 
> The OP's young dog is seriously underweight on account that she is starving herself, not because food isn't available to her. The most probable cause for her inappetance is that she can't bear to eat the food she's given. Not because the foods location or particular feeding technique are not made sufficiently enticing.
> 
> ...


Congratulations, it is amazing what a fantastic diagnostic job you can do over the ether without seeing either the dog or cient.

I do not need to "win" anything, let alone "intellectual points" (Whatever they are), I am giving the OP some practical ideas of how to encourage a dog to eat when the plans so far have not worked and, which have been successful with other dogs (and other species).


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## Hopeattheendofthetunnel (Jun 26, 2013)

smokeybear said:


> Congratulations, it is amazing what a fantastic diagnostic job you can do over the ether without seeing either the dog or cient.
> 
> I do not need to "win" anything, let alone "intellectual points" (Whatever they are), I am giving the OP some practical ideas of how to encourage a dog to eat when the plans so far have not worked and, which have been successful with other dogs (and other species).


Neither dog or owner are a "client".

The young dog, stated as 5kg underweight by its owner, doesn't want to eat the food currently given to it. A healthy young dog doesn't perpetually decline food until it is underweight unless it finds the food repulsive and disagreeable.

Whatever our differences - this isn't about you, this isn't about me....it's about a youngster who needs to eat a decent meal on a regular basis. I neither doubt nor dispute your expertise in regards to nosework. But is this really the most sensible, responsible advice given the situation? Let the dog track her food rather than find a substitute for her current unpalatable diet?


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## mrs phas (Apr 6, 2014)

OP there is a sticky about raw feeding, but i will inbox you some info as well :thumbsup:

for the time being I. personally, would just find something the dog will eat, stick with that til youre back to a good weight and then take it a step at a time back to raw or whatever you decide to feed her

and yes, that even means those awful chubb rolls [are they wagg?] which are fatty and smelly

better she eats something on a regular basis than starves herself to death

One more medical step id consider is an xray, to see if she has anything stuck or causing a blockage. My friends dog ate a huge amount of grass without her knowing and then went off his food, similar to yours, sniffing at then turning away
turned out the grass had formed a solid ball and blocked the stomach outlet [dont know the proper word], so he was hungry but still feeling full iykwim


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## Millie Burnside (Oct 4, 2014)

Hi all  Once again BIG thank yous for all of the advice, thoughts and suggestions :thumbsup:

Please don't start any 'wars' lol :laugh: Millie is very underweight, but not like an RSPCA case, she is still very happy and alert and full of energy bounding around the field like a loon  She just needs to gain weight and appetite asap before we encounter a real problem.

She doesn't like fish or cheese anymore, she even stole the raw mackerel out of the cat bowl this afternoon, trotted through utterly chuffed at her achievement with said prize in mouth, stopped, realised what it was, instantly spat it onto the carpet and went for a long drink :laugh: So her stealing food from the cats means the appetite is there, just not for what I give her right???

I think I need to do a combination at the moment, as people have said, get her weight up then deal the tough love. The tough love will need to happen as she will hold out for better food, but I will feel more comfortable with her not eating for a couple of days with some weight back on her, she is on that scale that could tip the wrong way just now. She's not blocked, she's still pooing 3/4 times a day :thumbsup:

Anyway, we've had a VERY successful day :thumbsup: Morning meal was frozen tripe mince mixed with kibble and some of that Chubb meat in a tube because it stinks. Put it down and got the usual look, picked it up and put it in the fridge, put it back down 5 minutes later when she was back at her feeding station. We done this 4 times and she ate all of it  Done this again tonight but only twice, again ate all of it. This is the most she has eaten in a day in 2 months! No doubt if it was a roasted joint of meat she would probably eat half a cow :laugh:

I serve the mince frozen as she doesn't like it when it's defrosted and goes to mush. When I buy lamb ribs/carcass she usually gets it straight from the shopping bag. Understand that on livers etc as she's not overly keen on the offal mince from the butchers but I know they are good for her.

I think searching for food will definitely help her overall, mind and body. I would do this in the house and out in the field. Outside during winter would be during good breaks in the weather as we live on the moor, inside when we have 10 foot of snow :laugh: She's a great sniffer (you are sniffed to bits even if you leave the room!), so I really do want to give this a try, maybe even with prey???

I really would like to keep her as close to the BARF diet as possible in the long run of her life, as even after her morning meal with the Chubb tube stuff mixed in she had softer poos and I think it will end up closer to runny as we go on, but we'll see. Also, since we got her, her skin has cleared up wonderfully and her coat is nice and glossy, but she has started itching again but no hotspots yet.

I'm going to try and nuke the chicken carcasses in a few days to see if that helps with the aroma as I do serve semi frozen due to the flies. I wish she was a walking dustbin, she doesn't even 'hoover' my floor after the kids! :yikes:

SB - thank you soooo much for the pointers on the books, it's an avenue I definitely want to explore with her, even if it just ends up for stimulation :thumbsup:

Millie is currently snoring by our feet  I will update you all tomorrow evening with how she does x


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## Millie Burnside (Oct 4, 2014)

Ok, didn't run so smoothly today. Same meal as yesterday given this morning, numerous rejections worked on the same style as yesterday, however, I put the bowl in her fridge and left if there after attempt no 5, brought this back out 1.5 hrs later and she ate half a bowl. Back to the fridge. 1 hour later I added the left over meat from my lunchtime roll and she scoffed the rest. Went through the same procedure tonight and her dinner is sitting in the fridge while she snores on the sofa!

So she got a little extra yesterday with the Chubb roll thing and now doesn't want that!

I will keep trying to feed her up to a better weight then I think I really have to tell her what's what!


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## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

If you really want to do the tough love thing properly, I think it has to be offered once, at meal times only, and then taken up and re-offered only at the next meal time.

I can't help thinking that all you're teaching here is 'don't worry, if you don't want it now you can have a bit in an hour or so'


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## FloRidley (Oct 5, 2012)

I have been there and done that with my collie. She is now 2 years old, weighs 11 kilograms and still quite thin. She is long coated so you can't see her ribs but you can feel ribs, spine and pin bones. She was a fussy eater as a puppy and it has just continued. She is on raw food but never really finishes a meal. If I am honest doesn't bother me that she's thin. Can't think of any problems that are caused by being underweight but plenty by being overweight. I have never really bothered if she doesn't eat for a day or so. She will eat any treats at any time so I know it is just faddy. I suppose it just depends on your tolerance. I don't give in and don't re offer her food. When she walks away from a meal, I take it away and the other dogs get to finish it. She is happy, healthy and extremly fit and bouncy with a beautiful coat so I just accept that's the way she is. Good luck, faddy eaters can be a nightmare but I think the more you stress about it the bigger an issue it becomes.:thumbup1:


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

as long as she's eating something every day I wouldn't worry too much. Half a meal is better than no food at all.


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## Millie Burnside (Oct 4, 2014)

Yesterday and today have been a bit 'not wanting that thank you', but kept with it and her last 2 meals she has eaten the whole lot. So we are making baby steps :thumbsup:

I can feel more thickness on her hips, just a bit but it makes me feel I'm going in the right direction :thumbup:

Tougher love will happen when I feel she's got some more weight on, I really don't want to risk it right now.

I've always kept her lean, and will do in the future, nothing worse than a fat dog that struggles to walk along with all it's health problems! But Millie was beyond lean 

I will keep updating, but I really can't thank ALL of you guys enough, you gave me simple common sense advice that I just couldn't see because of my own mental fog :001_rolleyes:


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## Millie Burnside (Oct 4, 2014)

Well we have continued with the 'take food away and serve later' idea, kind of tweeked to how we work timings wise in the house and how much she needed to put weight on, along with keeping her on close to the diet we want her on as possible.

We found as she ate more her appetite has grown and she's less fussy when we put her bowl in the server. She still has fussy times, but she is MUCH better, to the point we have managed 3 meals today :thumbup:

Weight gain is slow but good (the way it should be) and I definitely see much more energy in the field (but didn't realise she could have more lol!).

Thanks again you guys, I truly think she was on the verge of anorexia considering how much her appetite has improved versus enlarging her stomach, she's currently munching on raw chicken wings blasted in the microwave and barking them to death lol :thumbup1::thumbup: xxx


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