Tough love or how to Outstuborn a brick wall?

[krisx]

Recently i adopted a new dog. Its a complete opposite of my old one. A tiny foxy looking Maltese mix, 2 years old, weighs 6kg (13lbs).
She has been living in neglectful home where they couldn't be bothered to socialize her, teach any commands, or bathe her, or get her used going outside, to a leash, even collar, or get her rid of parasites... Its sad, they were going to kill her because they had to much dogs. She is a sweet, timid, fearful, gentle little girl.

The first thing i did after getting her home was spray insecticide all over my car and get her into tub to bathe&clean&pull ticks...

She was fed the worst garbage, the cheapest supermarket dog food available. I feed barf, so i wasted no time making the switch. Im used to a large dog who eats anything ANYTHING including rocks, cigarette buts and poop So i took out a decent chunk of meat, once I gave it to her, realized its like a 1/3 of her size, lol. A bit to much...
She ate right away and ate it all. First few days I didn't know how much to feed, so she got a bit to much. She ate chicken necks, chicken back, pork rib, pork bones, beef bones, some of our left over food. So she ate good variety, no problems. I didnt want to mix to much fruit&veggi right away, to get her used gradually.

Then I noticed something I didn't like. She got picky, JUST WOULDN'T EAT. I was so shocked, because other dog is the ultimate bottomless pit.
So did the grand mistake of giving her other/different/better stuff.

After 3rd refusal of different stuff i had a moment of epiphany and realized this tiny doe eyed little thing is training me...and doing a pretty good job of it, lol.

Its been 3,5 days since i said NO. I feed 2x a day. I put her bowl down, wait 5min, take away, put in freezer, repeat next meal. Same food. No treats, no bones, no nothing except water and milk (i dont want her to faint...)

My question is did any of you had to do this? How long did it take?

I have her for 8days now 4,5 days she was eating good, 3,5 days she is refusing what i give. I am not going to lie, im freaking out here...
My goal is to have dog who is going to eat what i give.

Ps. She was holding her poop for 4 days because she didnt want to do it in front me, on a leash. Now she does it, no problem. She is a stubborn girl.

 

[Hector]

Have she been checked out by the vet? Could it be possible she has some sort of blockage?

 

[krisx]

She has been checked. I did a flea bath, pulled ticks, de-wormed. Other than these things, vet said she is in a good condition.
I know its not a issue of lack of appetite, she is hungry allright. I found her checking out cats food on 2occasions (i keep her tethered to me while i go about my business in the house so she has no chance of stealing) and looking at me while i was eating. this morning she was licking her self in anticipation, then i put the bowl down. she sniffs, licks, thinks it over....and turns away.

To tell the truth I am shocked&amazed because i would never expect such a tiny thing to have so much will power! Most of other dogs would give in by now.

 

[cayeesmom]

She has been checked. I did a flea bath, pulled ticks, de-wormed. Other than these things, vet said she is in a good condition.
I know its not a issue of lack of appetite, she is hungry allright. I found her checking out cats food on 2occasions (i keep her tethered to me while i go about my business in the house so she has no chance of stealing) and looking at me while i was eating. this morning she was licking her self in anticipation, then i put the bowl down. she sniffs, licks, thinks it over....and turns away.

To tell the truth I am shocked&amazed because i would never expect such a tiny thing to have so much will power! Most of other dogs would give in by now.

But has she been checked by a vet for blockage since she stopped eating! If she seams hungry but will not eat I would have her checked just to be on the safe side since she did eat bones.

 

[krisx]

No, not since she is refusing what i offer, didn't take her to a vet. She would eat cat food, and tries to beg me to give her cheese cake that i was eating, and while i was preparing my food, she beged. She would eat, just not what is on the menu at meal time, but waiting for something better.

But its not that she is refusing to eat all together, its just she will not eat this specific thing (fish) that i put back in the freezer and offer at next meal. And before that it was chicken liver that she would not eat. And before that it was...dont remember what exactly, think it was chicken back. (she did eat chicken back at first, but decided she didn't want it that time.)

I gave up 2x and gave her something else, she ate that no problem. On the 3x with the fish i realised what was going on and just said NO WAY MISSY, you're eating the fish!

 

[krisx]

No sir, no blockadge.

Just to prove a teory I did a little troubleshooting right now.
First I ate my meal, like usualy, then i put her bowl down, the same fish in it like last 3,5 days. But at top of fish i put 2 pieces of kibble, the ones i know she likes. And sure thing she ate those.....Now i know, she is playing me! She is holding on for 4th day! I dont know if i should be outraged or amazed...im definately impressed

She would eat, just not what is on my menu!

What to do now?

 

[mcleodcon]

Maybe she just prefers kibble over raw. Can you transition her slowing to raw? I know your not suppose to but maybe that will help.

 

[krisx]

Sure i could. She's probably addicted to artificial flavoring. i don't want to cater to that also dont want to poison her with kibble anymore. Ive seen her showing a few detox signs. Its not much, because she is still young, but its there.

She was fed the same type of garbage her whole life, i specifically asked about it. so i know that she would prefere it. You're right, it wold help, just not in long run.

Also she doesn't jet quite grasp the concept of fixed mealtime. In the other place, they had a bucket-like king of thing that was always down, all the dogs ate from it.

So far she ate good variety of raw, actually im happy with that. But at this starting to attempt manipulation, not happy.

 

[mountainfila]

What about searing the meat on the outside a little bit, i had a dog that would only eat beef raw nothing else, all else had to be cooked a little. Some dogs like what they like and thats it, my dog went almost 4 days cause her and i were having a battle of wills, put food down, no interest, pick food up , did this at each mealtime for like i said almost 4 days before i caved and gave her what she wanted, she wolfed it down and after that for 10 years i had to cater to her taste buds at the time, ya she had me trained well lol.

 

[DennasMom]

I'd maybe leave the food down for more than 5 minutes... can you feed her in a crate and give her 20-30 minutes with it in a quiet place with zero distractions?

Does it matter how big the pieces are? Denna refused to eat fish (8" long sardines) unless I'd cut them into 2 or 3 pieces... a few weeks of that, and then one day she just started eating them whole. Like she finally figured out it was the same stuff, just in a different sized package. Duh.

Since she ate fine for a few days - and maybe a little more than she needed - maybe this is her way of cutting some calories to get her figure back? i.e. she over-ate for a few days, so now she can under-eat for a few to balance back out?

I'd keep up with the tough love. At 2 years old, she can go quite a while before not eating would cause any major issues. I'm sure she'll give in by then.
Are you doing any other NILF concepts? Maybe use her dinner as training treats? Make her work for it?

8 days isn't many, and her whole life has been turned up-side-down... she's still trying to learn your rules and figure out if you're going to be sticking around.

No need to freak out. Relax - that will help her relax, too.

You're giving her GREAT food, and she'll eventually realize how awesome she has it now.
You just have to get her over her twinkie cravings... detox and sugar withdraws both eventually will pass.

 

[krisx]

All right, I'll make it 30min. Don't know about the crate she is not really used to it. Doesn't whine or cry anymore, though.
But ok, i'll try that too.

*tried it right now*
She was licking the fish, so that's a progress Definitely a good option.

As for NILF I did start some, like not letting her walk infront me, or waiting at the door, or not letting her rush the stairs, or not letting her rush out of crate until i say ok. While she was eating she refused ANY training treats, so i had trouble teaching her anything commands vise. She has zero interest in toys (doesn't know how to play?!), treats, any chews. Only thing she does like is affection&petting.

So i took old school approach with praise, but without correction.
Because she is extremely nervous, fearful and submissive. And if I approach her head on fast, she makes her self small and then shows me her tummy...And if i raise my voice, she makes her self into a pitiful little ball... So no corrections, contra-productive.

(I did correct her 1time she trow a hissy fit and tried to bite me while i was teaching the leash. And other time I was trying to give her worms pill, she also tried to bite me. And also other time I was making her sit and she snapped at me. That I always correct. Unacceptable! So I know she is not completely innocent little angel

I walk around the yard, do turns as she tries to pull, stop, say sit...she mostly doesn't sit i gently put her into sit, pet her, walk on. If she does sit, i pet&praise like crazy.

So far i had limited success with teaching sit. I planed to teach more, introduce better/different treats, but after she went on protest hunger strike, everything is on hold. I see i need to change that and find a way to get through.


Tnx DennasMom, I really needed this reassurance

 

[musicdeb]

What about searing the meat on the outside a little bit, i had a dog that would only eat beef raw nothing else, all else had to be cooked a little. Some dogs like what they like and thats it, my dog went almost 4 days cause her and i were having a battle of wills, put food down, no interest, pick food up , did this at each mealtime for like i said almost 4 days before i caved and gave her what she wanted, she wolfed it down and after that for 10 years i had to cater to her taste buds at the time, ya she had me trained well lol.

All of Titan's meat has to be seared to get the juices flowing so he will eat his meat.

 

[krisx]

Im trying to cure/avoid these kind of things.
Like certain conditions dictated by the dog. I want her to eat what i give.
Besides in my case it just isn't possible, i feed barf, so except some organs and hearts, every piece i give is some kind of bone with more or less meat on it.

 

[krisx]

There we go, ate the fish! We are back in business. Not whole of it, though, she left a little bit on bottom. But its a token of good will. Im happy. Now we go out to get hot dogs, I'll use that for dinner&training. Maybe finally motivate to sit??

If anybody ever has to do this, i can vouch for what they say. A dog will not starve it self, there is much truth in that.
And if you have a one so tenacious, give milk& jogurt &liquid from the soup so it doesn't faint while you wait for it to eat.

From now on im going to adjust my attitude. No more pleading, feeding less and using dinner to train.

 

[NeSaxena]

I love your attitude! I hope the road ahead is easy for you Thank you for rescuing!

 

[Penny1960]

Well my little dog hates fish and so does my mastiff