Fighting against eating…

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  • bewlerB

    Cody seems pretty indifferent to his morning and evening meals. Treats? well - that's another matter all together. So, I have resorted to feeding him away from the other two dogs and offering him some pumpkin from my finger. Once he takes a nibble, he'll begin to eat his kibble, although VERY SLOWLY! I just sit with him (for like, 10 minutes) until he's done. Otherwise, he gets distracted and will ignore his food. He's been like this since we got him last September. I don't know if this helps, but maybe it normalizes your reluctant eater a bit? Good luck in your feeding efforts!

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  • nobarkusN

    I stopped giving dry dog food some time ago after some health issues and allergies. It's just way too over processed turning meat and veggies into a hard dry cracker. No matter what brand you buy doesn't seem quality. Health issues cleared up.
    Buddy gets some frozen raw, cooked chicken, steamed veggies and canned wet. He eats a whole bowl in 1 minute. I vary the canned type (duck, fish or Bison) of Taste of the Wild and add some Petkind tripe (lamb or venison).

    Buddy, Paolo and Dan

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  • MacPackM

    Mine don't like canned pumpkin but love fresh home cooked veges of all kinds, especially sweet potatoes. They adore spaghetti squash.

    I too suggest cutting down on food volume, and at his age would wonder if he is losing some baby teeth and eating kibble might be a little uncomfortable right now. Cut back amount, if he misses a meal or two he won't faint, and check his teeth to see if he has loose ones. As someone else said, hormones could be coming into the picture too.

    Anne in Tampa

    Chipley, Missy & Lucky

    Topper, Nicky & Eddie in the clouds

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  • J

    2 cups might seem like a lot but he is a little bigger than average. 21 pounds at 17 weeks and not at all overweight. If you still think this is too much, I'd be willing to try 3/4 cup twice a day.

    Yesterday he ate both meals within ten minutes of the food being set, but unfortunately this morning's meal didn't get eaten. Hopefully he'll get the idea that it isn't going to be there long and stop being stubborn at times!

    Edit: didn't notice there was a whole page more of comments than I read! In response to the pumpkin, he actually doesn't mind it.
    And in response to hormones/teething stage, would increased shedding also be a symptom of the hormone stage? Dex has been shedding much more than I would expect for a low shedding dog, to the point that I can constantly pull hair off his back or use a zoom groom everyday and still get loose hair. What do you make of this?

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  • tanzaT

    Could be blowing puppy coat, but a bit young for that, keep in mind that with his sire being a new AF import the genetics (in regards to coat and shedding) could be a bit different then US bred Basenjis. IMO, I think that teething could be the problem here at 17wks old. He is most likely starting to cut adult teeth.

    I have to laugh at "ate all his food in 10 minutes"… my girls take likely under two minutes to eat, if that.

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • J

    Not really sure the exact amount of time it took him. The point was that within the time I decided I'd give him to go and eat he went to his crate and finished it all immediately, as opposed to thinking he could let it sit for as long as he'd like or take breaks midway through the meal. But again, today that wasn't the case and I had to take away his morning meal, so maybe it is the teething.

    I figured it would be a bit early for blowing the puppy coat, and am wondering if his skin might be overly dry instead? And that is a good point regarding the genetics of Ojo. Any suggestions of how to reduce this would be appreciated.

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  • tanzaT

    Even if overly dry, shouldn't make that much difference about shedding. You can add fish oil to his food for dryness. Can you tell if he has much of an undercoat?

    Basenjis can do strange things when teething…. I have seen "Oh was I supposed to be house trained" to ears that flop back down and tails go straight to hanging between their legs.... and along with that stop eating.

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • renaultf1R

    I think Pat may be right about the teething and the eating so that may be the biggest issue. I still would only give him a limited time to eat and then take the food away - which it sounds like you are doing. He'll be fine if he skips a meal - I know I used to worry when my 2 youngest were pups and would do that. :)

    Regarding the coat - could be puppy coat but remember this past winter was pretty harsh and cold so it may take a while for the extra to come out - it has at my house in Maine. I have one girl who still has light stripes down her shoulders because all her winter coat isn't out. The zoom groom on a wet dog does an amazing job taking out the extra hair. I've also wet the zoom groom and used it that way. The shedding just takes time and should resolve itself. If he has a lot of dandruff, then I would say it was dry skin and fish oil in his food should help that.

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  • P

    On rereading these posts and your later one when you said he ate 2 of his meals promptly but didn't seem to want to eat the other one (is that what you meant?) I would say that you should stop the third meal and drop him to just two a day, whatever his age. In my experience there seems to be a lot of variation in the age when a pup is ready to decrease meals. Try this for a while and see how he goes on. I revise my thinking about origen and his loose stools - loose poo can be a symptom of having too much to eat as well!

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  • E

    I sa this news on T.V. that mentions about a certain cat food which is basically suspected with salmonella contamination. In the news, they have mentioned that Nestle Purina PetCare Co. has recalled 870 sacks of dry kitten food Monday due to potential salmonella infection. The animal food was distributed in three states. The company warns, however, that it may were dispersed further. The pets are not the only ones possibly facing risk. The disease could be moved to humans dealing with the food or infected animals. The proof is here: Purina recalls cat food for possible salmonella contamination

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    Yes… I guess I should clarify... When I say later, it's usually no longer than 5-10 min... At first he was a bit apprehensive about it, but now he responds pretty good to the eat command... I still get the impression that he is eating just to appease me, and doesn't seem as thrilled about eating as some other dogs, but that may just be his general disposition... In any case he is eating his daily meals and getting water and is a seemingly healthy boy that makes for some good photo ops...