[Haywood U]

Having an issue with my dog – we feed her in her crate (2 dogs, so feed them separate), and very often she will not touch the food, skipping meals altogether.

She hasn’t been sick, stools look normal, and energy levels are normal.

At first we thought she just didn’t like to eat in the crate, or was worried about not being able to get out to relieve herself, but this is the same routine we’ve had since we got her.

Routine is always the same – they go outside for 20-30 min morning romp. We bring them back inside, and into crate with bowl of food for 15-20 min. Back out for more romp time while we get ready for work – usually 30-45 min depending on the weather, then back inside.

Funny thing is, she will eat the same exact food if we put it in the other dog’s bowl – as if she’s sneaking it and doing something naughty.

Would love for that to be the answer, but we can’t crate the older dog (he’s too big, too old, and too stubborn), and we don’t want to deal with baby gates to keep him from eating again. And quite frankly I’m not going to pamper her – this is the same routine we’ve had since we got her a year ago.

She just had her check-up and everything was normal and healthy.

Sometimes I will take the food bowl out when I put her back in the crate, and other times will just leave it for her. Many times my wife will come home and the food is still there.

Should I be worried, or is this just a sign of her not being hungry?

[theBCnut]

If she is maintaining her weight then she is eating enough. Some dogs eat better if you offer their food at a different time, like move meal time to the evening. Dogs definitely eat better when they know their food is going to go away if they don’t go ahead and eat it, so give her a few mnutes to eat then put her food away for next time. If you don’t already, consider using a rotational diet. From my own experience, I would only eat the bare minimum too, if I knew every meal would be the same.

[Naturella]

Bruno (my Rat Terrier Mix) has been doing the same recently – my guess is that he’s getting bored with the current food and is ready for a change. Lucky for him, I am beginning the switch Thursday or so. He has been on this food for about/over 3 months or so. He wouldn’t eat all day, and then eat about the whole amount he was supposed to eat split into 3 feedings, almost all at once.

As Patty said, try a rotation, and keep the food away for a while, then reintroduce. I have been mixing a little bit of canned in Bruno’s along with other additives for other reasons besides general health, and he loves it when there is a little something extra special in his bowl in addition to the same old kibble and eats his portion just fine. This helps me keep him at 3 meals a day.

[Shasta220]

Couldn’t say it any better. If she’s maintaining weight, she’s doing fine. I still have mixed feelings about rotational diets. I’ve found them to make ultra picky cats, but so far it works well for my dogs (although they would probably eat a brick if given the chance…)

Try the above suggestions. It also could be that she’s just in a not-hungry mood. My Shasta did that when he was a pup – he would actually go 2-3 days without touching his food, but he still wanted treats or whatever was in Cassy’s dish (the exact same kibble). He finally gave in and ate his own, and hasn’t had the problem since.

[Haywood U]

Thanks. With all the recalls and other things going wrong with things we give our pets (treats and toys), I just get worried. I read some of those things where the dogs stop eating because the food is causing problems, but eventually the dog is going to get hungry and eat. Then I look and see the other dog is eating the same food and no issues…but each dog is different. Of course the kicker was seeing her have no problems eating the same exact food from the other dog’s bowl.

I do sort of rotate food out – we buy several different brands and mix the food.

Previous dogs were always fed the “bad” food – Alpo, Ol Roy, KnB. All lived to 12-15 years and never had any vet tell me they were anything other than healthy. Somehow we managed to miss all the food recalls.

The new dog was quickly transitioned from Hill’s (rescue shelter said that is what they used, but she never seemed interested, always ran to the other dog’s food), to Puppy Chow, to finally forcing me to renew my Costco membership to get Kirkland.

So now it’s basically a 40lb bag of Kirkland and a 20lb bag of other stuff and mix it up in a 2:1 ratio (good to “bad”). Used to be out of financial necessity, but now it’s basically just for the variety. I guess we could just as easily mix up the Kirkland Chicken with the Kirkland Lamb and get the same results, but it’s also nice to know that if we ever run out, or are out of town, we can just run to the closest Walmart and grab a bag of food.

I’d like to stick with the twice a day feeding – seems to work the best for the older dog, and no need to upset the routine. I know I wouldn’t want to have to eat my entire daily food in one sitting and have it all sitting my system trying to digest.

[theBCnut]

Before I found the cure for my picky dog, he would rather eat out of the other dogs’ bowls too. I think the food tastes better when you’re stealing it.

I went to one meal a day just for one dog because he wasn’t eating the first meal anyways, after a while he decided he would rather eat twice a day too. But dogs are made to gorge and fast, so it really is no hardship for a normal healthy dog to only eat once a day. Their stomach doesn’t work quite like ours.

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