5 MO not eating

[Ehl]

We adopted Daisy from a family, they said she was a Mastiff/Shepherd Mix. She is 5 months old and weighs 40 lbs. She is a great puppy, they said she was crated but not potty trained fully. We have had 0 accidents but we also go out about every hour to hour and a half. They were a family with 5 kids so didn't have time for her. She sleeps a lot, more than any puppy her age that I have been around.

She ate fine the first night, now she will eat if hand fed but not out of a bowl. I switched from Metal to plastic to see if the reflection was the issue and still wasn't interested in eating out of a bowl.

She also isn't treat focused at all. I even tried hot dog pieces and she was if you give it to me fine, if you don't that's fine....lol I made some liver treats and she liked them but again she was like w/e. Not sure what I am going to do with training yet.

We are currently feeding 4Health Salmon and potato, she plays with my other dogs and seems OK. We are weighing her daily to keep and eye on her.

 

[DennasMom]

It sounds like you might be more worried about her food than she is.
Relax. She'll eat when she's hungry.
If you get anxious about her eating as you put the food down... she's going to be nervous about eating what you put down...

Maybe reduce portion sizes, and provide more exercise (free-form walks out in the neighborhood are good for this age, 20-30 minutes at a time), so she does get hungry by the time the next meal time comes around.

I'd also be having her work for her food NOW - she's learning what you're teaching already, from the first day she stepped into the house.
If she's really not treat motivated, see if you can stoke her prey drive, so you can use games of tug and fetch as 'rewards' for doing things for you.

 

[musicdeb]

How long have you had her? It sounds like she's stressed with the change in environment. Give her some time to acclimate herself to the new surroundings. Hand feeding her is a great bonding tool, as well as training, walking and brushing her.

 

[DMikeM]

Sounds like she is training you pretty good.
Put the food down for 30 minutes if she does not eat remove it then try again in about 6 or 8 hours. Continue until she understands that this is food, and it will go away if she does not eat it. if she does not eat in 2 days, vet check.

 

[Ehl]

She is doing OK now not eating in the am like the rest of the crew but eating OK in the pm. With my other dogs not really possible to just leave it for 30 min as I have to babysit the bowl or my labs will eat it. They would eat until they puke just because I think. lol

Thanks for the input all.

 

[Siloh]

She is doing OK now not eating in the am like the rest of the crew but eating OK in the pm. With my other dogs not really possible to just leave it for 30 min as I have to babysit the bowl or my labs will eat it. They would eat until they puke just because I think. lol

Thanks for the input all.

My beagle mix had serious food issues when we rescued her. This is a pup, so there isn't a historical reason the dog won't eat, but we had the same issue when we moved into a house with another dog (not being able to leave food down). I would put my dog in my bedroom (or any acceptable room you could trust the dog in for 20 min--even a crate in another room) and put the food down there.

Admittedly, we deviated from the format Mike laid down (which is very good for shaping food behavior, I use it on cats) by playing some games with her. She had issues eating out of her bowl, and when she did, she would pick up a handful of kibble and walk off with it to eat somewhere else, so we would take about half the kibble and make shapes with it on the floor leading to her bowl. This was not scientific, just a way that I knew she would eat the majority of the kibble if I put her in the bedroom. After 20-30min, the food would come up and she would leave the room until dinner.

Eventually she learned that her food would be taken if she didn't eat with reasonable zeal. One day it just clicked and she began eating in one sitting directly out of the bowl.

It was pretty bad, though. When we first moved in with our roommates' dog I was having to add all kinds of enticing toppers to get her to eat at all. It became so ridiculous we switched to the tactic above, which was still ridiculous.


"Nothing is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so."
Hamlet Prince of Denmark

 

[Ehl]

She is doing fine, just not up to eating at 6am w/the others (8am for her) and she is eating at 6pm with the rest. I dehydrated some liver and made some homemade peanutbutter dog treats she is coming in and sitting for them. Now to find a spot to work on some commands, she is doing the monkey see monkey do on sitting for the treats atm.

 

[Ehl]

Any advice on weight gain for a new rehomed 5month old? She has been w/us for just over a week and didn't gain any weight. She is eating in the am, pm and treats. Gets a small walk ( we think she was kenneled most of the time her back end seems a bit week and more than a 10m walk atm is almost too much) She does play chase in the yard w/my Labs several times(3-4) a day for 5-10 min at a time. She seems to be healthy and I am probably just stressing but I want to make sure ... she hasn't gained but she hasn't lost and I think I see bit more muscle tone in her hind legs.

 

[DMikeM]

Satin Balls if you really think she needs to gain weight. You can search for it here or on Google. It is very common an there are a few easy no cook recipes.

 

[Ehl]

She isn't skin and bones and isn't a purebred so I think I am just a bit too worried ...she is 5 MO 40 lbs at 19" supposedly a Mastiff /shepherd mix. The rabies vaccine record previous owners gave listed her as a Tibetan Mastiff() I am hoping that now she is getting some regular play, a walk, decent food she will flourish. She is a sweetie and I don't care if she is 40 lbs or 100 lbs I just want to make sure I am doing things right.

 

[musicdeb]

Can you post a pic of the girl standing from the front, side and rear?

Slow and steady growth is necessary for a healthy mastiff.

 

[Ehl]

Sorry they aren't the best but she kept trying to lay down.

 

[musicdeb]

She looks fit.

 

[DennasMom]

I agree - thin, in a good way.
Best to keep them on the thin side as they grow.

 

[DMikeM]

Good form for a young dog. Keep doing what you are doing.