Feeding Frustrations
We are having the most difficult time getting Alwyn to eat. He is nearly 7 months now and this has been going on since we had him at 8 weeks. It’s almost as if he has no great interest in food in general, which is just plain strange to me. Let me begin by saying that he’ll gobble down pieces of chicken and treats without hesitation. He’ll enthusiastically chew on a pig’s ear while sitting in between us. However, when it comes to feeding time he could care less. He’s tried several different dog food brands and nothing has changed his mind. He’s eating Merrick so it’s not as if we’re feeding him something that’s not healthy for him. There are even treats he won’t love - I made him Frosty Paws and although he loved it the first two times he turned his nose up any other time I offered it to him. He loved peanut butter when I put it in his Kong the first two times but afterwards he wouldn’t even go near it. I’ve tried raw carrots and after much coaxing and playing with them, he ate a couple then refused although he ate some when I steamed them then it was back to refusing.
I have tried feeding him plain kibble. I have tried mixing his food with a tablespoon of yogurt, a tablespoon or two of wet food (Merrick canned), warm water, small pieces of Zukes treats, small pieces of broiled chicken (he’ll pick out the chicken and eat only a little bit of kibble), tablespoon of Linatone, chicken stock, beef stock. I even bought a balancing egg weeble like container that he can paw around and kibble comes out in small increments. It makes food time fun and he can work for it. He liked it for a few days then after that he batted it around a few times then got bored. He’ll go crazy over his meal the first time he eats it, maybe the second time. After that he couldn’t care less. We’ve tried sitting down next to him to give him extra company while he eats and that helps only for a few bites. We’ve tried putting his food down for 20 minutes and then taking it away and repeating later on. This behavior remains the same no matter his activity level. Most days he’ll eat anywhere between 1/2 - 2/3 cup IF we’re lucky. He urinates and poops daily.
Although he is approximately 26 pounds, he doesn’t appear it. His shoulders are broad like his dad’s but his waist is lean. Looking at him something just tells me that he appears small. My fear is that this behavior around his food is affecting his growth. I know he’s still under a year and he is growing because he is eating SOME but I wonder if his not wanting to eat is stunting his growth. Has anyone else encountered this with their corgis? Any insight? Is he just extremely picky? Am I just being overly worried? It’s frustrating when he shows hardly any interest in food no matter what we try to do for our little man.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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@ Pat...yes...those fresh veggies are so healthy for them!!!!! and help[ with weight control!
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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Alywn sounds exactly like my Henry. We tried just about everything to get him to eat kibble. Changing brands, changing bowls, mixing in yogurt, cheese wiz, canned food, gravy, etc. You know what made him want to eat? Another dog. Ha! But seriously, when we got Luke all of a sudden that kibble wasn't so bad any more. He still needs a little coaxing to get him going but he almost always finishes his entire bowl now.
Like the other posters said I wouldn't worry about it. 26 lbs is plenty big and it won't hurt him if he misses a meal here and there. I would try putting his bowl down for 20 minutes and then picking it up if he doesn't eat it. And NO treats in between meals. I know that was ridiculously hard for us! lol It may take a few days but he will figure it out.
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Permalink Reply by Jessie & Alwyn on
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Thank you Jane! It's nice to know Alwyn isn't the only dog who has eating issues. Although we would LOVE to get another dog right now unfortunately it's not an option until another few years. He does though however tend to pig out when one of our cats, his "girlfriend" walks near his food. It's funny actually. Sometimes we place her near his bowl to get him to eat a few bites.
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Thank you for all of your advice everyone. When it comes to treats, we absolutely do not supplement his food for treats. When he does get treats it is when we're on our evening walk and I've given him more verbal praise, affection and playing fetch with his toys during training as opposed to food because of this. When he does receive treats it is Zuke's Mini Naturals (2 calories) or Zuke's Naturals which we'll break up into small pieces. Therefore he knows that food extras are not an option to eating out of his bowl except when he's on his walks or the occasional pigs ear at night. We carefully read every single label of food and treats that we give Alwyn. The previous attempts at food options I mentioned before I had tried off and on in small amounts so that he wasn't full by feeding time. When we first got Alwyn the breeder had him on Purina Pro Plan and she swore by it. Even then, Alwyn never had a huge appetite. Once in a great while he'd devour the entire bowl but again that's once in a blue moon. We educated ourselves and changed his food to Merrick. He's been on the adult formula since he was 6 months old and has had no problems with it (no diarrhea, vomitting). He's also tried Earthborn with the same results but appeared to like the taste of Merrick best. Like some of you have shared, I guess he's just going to do this. I'm glad he's at a good weight, I figured so it's just that I get worried his behavior would stunt his growth.
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