please help: my new rescue doesn't want to eat anything but (gasp) CESAR

[Ellen aka BeauBeau's Mom]

and only one flavor of that!  I tried every kind of kibble I could think of, tried mixing some of Beau's kibble with her beloved Cesar chicken and cheddar souffle, and yesterday was thrilled that she ate some plain boiled chicken breast for breakfast.  But when I tried giving her the same thing this morning, she ate it avidly, but then threw it all up about 10 minutes later.  Any ideas anyone?

[Ellen aka BeauBeau's Mom]

BTW she wouldn't even go near the beloved Cesar with Beau's Canidae kibble mixed in

[2hpulka53c8pt]

My foster was like this.  We tried everything.  She just wanted canned stuff.  So we just gave her about 1/3 cup of kibble with 1/2 can to 3/4 can of canned food and mixed it really well.  We gradually increased kibble and decreased canned.  Now she only eats kibble.  My motto is I feed them what they will eat and if it is only canned then so be it.

[Adina P]

Here's my take.  If it's a NEW rescue then she might just need a little more time to adjust and get comfortable.  And if she's a NEW rescue then that means she hasn't been with you long enough for you to give any ONE kibble a chance.  I would stick to ONE kibble for a couple of weeks.  Put down her food.  Give her 10 minutes to eat it.  Then take it away and give her her next meal's portion at the next meal.  I bet if you stick to your guns she'll be willing to eat by the end of the two weeks.  But I'm very much NOT a softie when it comes to eating.  I'm a 'you eat what I give you or you don't eat' kinda doggy momma =)

[Ellen aka BeauBeau's Mom]

I would be doing that, but she's so SKINNY, I don't have the heart to take the food away and leave her hungry

[Adina P]

Hmmm.yeah it's hard if they are actually SKINNY.  But if she's refusing it then you're not really TAKING food from a hungry dog.  You're just teaching her that IF she's hungry...then she needs to eat the food that she has.  I've just never heard of a dog that starved to death from refusing a healthy kibble--unless the dog was sick or had some kind of illness that affected its ability eat or dampened its appetite.

[Rory]

Well, if she's a rescue, and very thin, you might want to indulge her finickiness until she is at a healthy weight - then try the tough love approach.

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Ellen, our new rescue was bolting food down so fast he was barely chewing it, and barfing it back up.  I hand fed him a few times, it slowed him down.  I agree with Adina, remove the food after a few minutes, definitely don't leave it out all day or

night giving her the option to ignore and/or graze at will, and no treats between meals until she eats on schedule.

 

And, Congratulations on your new  rescue.

[Ellen aka BeauBeau's Mom]

Thank you all so much for your insights and experience!  She did eat tonight thank goodness.  She does not want the Canidae that Beau eats.  Any other ideas?  I will continue to try to introduce it, but it is getting frustrating, wasting expensive kibble.

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree that you have to stick to one food, and it might as well be the kibble you're already feeding Beau. You might try sprinkling some chopped hard-boiled egg over it to entice her. You can give Beau some, too, it's very low in calories and good for them. It's hard to be "tough" with them about eating, especially if she's skinny, but it's to her benefit in the long run.

It's not at all unusual for rescues to refuse meals at first. JD didn't eat for several days after I adopted him. Not even treats. No way was he getting his old Science Diet, though. He definitely didn't starve.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree - add eggs, cheese, a little chicken, veggies (not all - pick one!) to the food and go from there.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I know it is hard but I think you should put the food down that YOU want her to eat and pick it back up if she hasn't eaten it in 20 minutes.  It seems that rescues either gobble the food like there is no tomorrow or they don't eat at all.  I just think you need to give them time to get over their trauma.  Clancy was a gobbler and we made him sit before giving him anything to eat and be vigilant so that he didn't eat any one else's food. Our non-rescue, Ned, is not an eater and I put his food down and he eats or doesn't. In the RV it gets picked up, at home we can leave it down. He prefers to eat by himself without anyone watching - dogs or people. He may not eat for a day or eat one meal and not the other. He is healthy so I do not let it bother me and I don't try to entice him to eat.