At My Wits' End. What Do I Do?

[ladybirder]

My little dog, rescued last September, refuses to eat any dog food, pretty much from Day One. He has recently started to eat grass every time we are out walking. I suspected this might be due to a lack of the right vitamins in his diet and it seems it might well be. He certainly doesn't do it to make himself sick as many dogs do.
He will eat cooked chicken, fish, bacon, beef burgers, sausages, cheese and the odd treat, but not any dog food from the best to the rubbish.
The vet has said he will eat it if you offer him dog food and nothing else - eventually. After 2.5 days when he has eaten absolutely nothing, I give in.
What would you do? It is so hard to resist the little chap staring at me and then his food dish all day and evening!

[dannyk13]

Have you tried mixing a small amount of dog food with the chicken etc.If he eats it you can increase the amout of dog food.

[MartinMillar]

Why not feed him veg, rice and meat?
We had a lab who would not eat dog food, some mum used to cook the veg that comes frozen, cheap chicken joints and rice or pasta he lived till he was 11.
All that above is what is in dog food and is a healthy diet

[calmck]

Try mixing minced chicken with a little dog food. If eaten increase dog food decrease chicken. It's possible he was never given dog food previously. You could also boil chicken with rice and slowly add a dog pate

[pastafreak]

Try giving him everything he likes. Then, over a period of a good few weeks add in the proper dog food...preferably the best quality. Add in only a bit at a time, increasing the proportion of good food gradually. Maybe it's s bit like us giving up sugar...his tastes need to change slowly.

[ladybirder]

Thanks everyone. Trouble is he picks out what he wants then leaves the rest. He's an expert picker outer.
I'll give it another try and see how we go as I haven't tried for a few weeks. I give it to the fox when he won't eat it so it doesn't get wasted. Foxy isn't fussy. All my life I've had dogs who licked their dish around the kitchen floor for 10 minutes after they'd eaten everything. This guy's certainly different bless him.

[MartinMillar]

Does he like human food then?

[woofgang]

If he is eating grass, what you may be giving him is giving him a sore stomach. Usual advice from folks who have dealt with dogs with delicate tums (including me) is to feed one protein, one carb and one simple veg cooked. If he will eat that and the grass eating settles then you are sorted. Is there a reason why you want him to eat "dogfood"? If that doesn't settle it then just offer the one protein, if that's ok then add in the veg or the carb and so on...if the protein gives problems then offer the veg OR the carb. I'd stop offering too much variety at once until you have got him regularly eating something
One of my dogs was labelled "picky" by the vet, had similar symptoms. I ended up giving her homecooked which sorted the problem almost completely. If she ever did go off her food, I would give her a small amount of room temperature milk. which would stop the symptoms like magic.

[woofgang]

oh and i'd feed little and often if its possible.

[MartinMillar]

I totally agree woof there is no problem with feeding in that manner and a lot less stressful

[Sparkles62]

Do you know much about his history from before you rescued him ?
Maybe he lived out of bins/rubbish and ate only 'human' food leftovers.
If you buy some dried food Puppy/small dog, and introduce it very slowly ( two pieces on top of what you are feeding him at first and increase it by a piece every day ) the pieces are very small and shouldn't be noticed if you introduce it slowly.

[AuntPollyGrey]

I had a cocker spaniel lived on raw meat (the stuff you can get frozen or chilled for pet shops or friendly butchers) boiled rice and carrots. He would also get left-over chicken off the bone with this mix and sometimes boiled tripe. He would also get marrow bones to chew on. I would never give dogs the tinned stuff its the same as a human living on junk food. My German Shepherd puppy gets kibble mixed with raw meat or boiled tripe and a raw egg at breakfast.
Don't worry -give the little guy what he likes (maybe not the cheese) and try mixing it with bits of cooked rice.

[MartinMillar]

As a treat once a week mine get a sprinkle of Red Leicester over their breakfast and boy do they love it.

[dannyk13]

If all the advice do far fails, I have never had a dog that could resist Butcher's Tripe.

[MartinMillar]

You should have met Ben fussiest lab in Norfolk

[davebro]

And you won't follow the vet's advice because? Oh yeah - they know f-all about animals!

[ladybirder]

I explained why I deviated from the vet's advice davebro. No need to be sarcastic and nasty. I feel bad enough as it is. Thanks.

[pixie374]

LB, I have had 2 cavaliers, who seemed extremely fussy. They left pretty much all food I offered, but I just made sure there were always complete biscuits available at all times. I never actually really saw them eat it- but they were both healthy, energetic and active- and obviously didn't starve themselves.
With more than one dog, now, they all eat (even the cavalier) as soon as it is down, just due to competition. So- I would just make sure food is always available and leave them to it. Unless they are clearly starving or unwell. I guess he has had his teeth checked etc?

[davebro]

"Question Author - I explained why I deviated from the vet's advice davebro. "

What you said (in essence) is that the dog's willpower is stronger than yours. When he gets hungry enough he will eat what you give him. Just don't look him in the eyes!

[piggynose]

Arent our canine friends similar to kids? When they get spoilt. They expect to be spoilt all the time.

[davebro]

My friend's cockapoo was getting a bit overweight so they cut down her grub, now she's trim. It's easy to lose weight when someone else controls your food! (she eats dry food not tinned)