So Fustrated..

[Jennifer and Jack]

I have been going through this with Jack for so long.. He has never been a good eater.... and by that I mean he won't eat hardly anything....Now at the very very most, he is eating about 1/4 of a cup of food every 24-48 hours//

 

I switched Jack to orijen a while ago, not that he ate what he was on before, but now it has been a few months and Jack's poop is terrible.. Once in a while it is okay, but for the most part, it is pure liquid. He strains and strains to go potty and often times nothing comes out.

 

Pumpkin, yogurt, green beans are not an option. He won't eat it. I have left his food on the floor for days. I have dumped food and offered him fresh food. He is willing to eat if it is something he wants, such as cooked chicken, cooked beef. or occasionally a piece of cheese.

 

From a digestive stand point, Jack does have an enlarged intestine, only slightly at this point. My vet does not want me to switch his food.. but I am wondering if maybe he needs something different??

 

I hate to see him struggle to go potty, often times on his x rays it has shown him to be backed up. Would grains in a diet help him with bulk in his stool?

 

He has has the million dollar work up, liver enzymes, pancreatic enzymes, albumin, pre-albumin, and every other test for digestion has come back normal.....

 

The only abnormal thing is his slightly enlarged intestines.....

 

What can I do to help my boy?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Maria, double check how much a 22 pound dog should eat. Unless you are talking about puppy food, I would bet she her recommended amount would be about a cup.

[Maria, Ton & Zoe]

Hello Nancy - it's about puppy food.  Orijen puppy bags say 2 1/4 cups for her age (7 months) and weight (20-30lb)..., she eats 1/4 or 1/2 max per day of Orijen Puppy - I think it's not enough, but I may be wrong... When she liked Ziwipeak, she ate 3 of their cups a day (smaller cups, almost 1/2 a regular cup, but more more concentrated protein), so total 1.5 normal cups/day of the more concentrated food.  But she stopped eating it after 3 weeks, and we think she just got bored of it.  I get it that people get bored of food too and refuse eating for days, but did not think dogs will be this stubborn. She does not have anything else, no treats.  We are at a loss, have no idea what else to try.  We decided to let her eat as much as she wants and free feeding, but she does not eat much...  Is 1/4 cup enough for a 7 months old 22 lb puppy?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

1/4 cup is not a lot.  Ned is 27-28 pounds full grown - he reached that weight at 8-9 months and hasn't changed.  Ned doesn't always eat every day ( I just wait him out) but he always prefers the alone, in-the-dark time to eat.  We do have other dogs, so the focus is diluted which makes it easier for us.

The minis do stop growing at about 8 months and their appetite does decrease with the growth slow-down.  Grain-free kibbles (like Orijen and Taste of the Wild) are more efficient than grained kibbles so smaller servings are appropriate and the servings on the bag are only a guide or average suggested serving.

I am totally not a food person so I don't care too much if the food is boring to the dog.  We do buy different flavors sometimes and sometimes we do add toppers or water, but mostly we just feed the same stuff day after day. I have noticed, with the exception of Ned, the other dogs spur each other to eat (they don't want the other one to get something more yummy!!!! :-} )  Our other dogs like it when we stand around while they eat.  So we have one who likes to be alone and two who like us to be there when eating.

Some dogs pick up your stress or worry and perhaps she senses that you are worried about her eating habits.

Does your vet say she is underweight?  If not, then I really would try to put the food down and try not to worry.  I would also see if she prefers to be alone or wants you there when she eats.  Maybe feed her when you eat dinner.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Nancy, you raise a good point. Many dogs do like to have their person nearby when they eat. Conversely, they usually will not eat if they know you are about to leave. Sometimes it helps to look at the patterns and timing of feedings. I really never thought about this before, but if a dog is being fed immediately before his person leaves for work, he may be associating mealtime with something unpleasant.

If possible, sitting down nearby and having a snack yourself or a cup of coffee may help a dog feel more like eating.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Luca often won't eat unless I'm around. Calla will eat no matter what.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

If I walk downstairs, my Springer follows me, but he will go back - probably because he is worried about Clancy getting into his bowl (he doesn't, but you never know!!!)  Ned, on the other hand wants to be alone, all alone.  I have noticed that some dogs like to have 'dinner' when their owners do, so that is what made me think of this.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Jennifer - Rooney was on Orijen since old enough to eat it at the breeders, we kept him on it up until 1 month ago.  We also switched Stuart to it when we got him in June.  It ALWAYS made my boys have soft, very soft or runny poop - it DID NOT sit well with either of them.  I started feeding raw as a topper (Primal - the chicken or beef) and that did help some but did not solve the issue.  In the last month I have mixed the Orijen 50/50 with Acana, still using the raw as a topper and NO MORE SOFT POOP - AT ALL!!!!  It solved the problem for both of my boys!  Poop is formed and actually firm - no more trying to scrap soft serve out of the community lawn.  Try it, it worked for us.  As far as how much jack is eating - Rooney is 22 lbs - he gets 1/4 kibble with 1 oz of raw 2xday.  Many times he doesn't finish it and then sometimes he just won't eat at all.  Jack is much smaller than Rooney so he would eat 1/2 that so his portions sound about right.  I believe that when hungry they will eat so I would not worry about that.  I will say that both the boys are crazy about the raw that they get - it comes frozen, it easy to handle and I thaw a couple of days worth at a time.  Just my experience, hope you find a solution.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Disclaimer here:  Ned is not in poor health so this has no relation to poo.  He is a light eater though.  It is a real shocker when he goes on an eating kick and eats more than a cup.  Ned prefers eating only once a day - at night, in the dark, alone.  Ned's eats TOTW grain-free with the recommended daily serving for a   20 - 30 pound dog being   1 1/3 to  1 3/4 cups.  Ned is 28 pounds so you would think he would eat close to the 1 3/4 range.  Ned generally eats less than a cup per day.  He is not especially active.  I would bet Jack isn't very active either so eating less would probably be normal for him.

When we were camping recently, we had to encourage Ned to eat because our foster would not let Ned's food sit without getting into it.  We put a little bacon grease on and he gobbled it up.  I have NO idea if bacon grease is bad for dogs but it is what my parents used in the old days and it was available to us.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Jennifer, I'm so sorry! on top of everything you have a picky eater! Mine isn't nearly as bad as yours, but she does have her issues. I gave her sweet potatoe instead of pumpkin, which she liked much better, not sure if you tried that yet... I don't have much advice as it seems you have tried everything. I hope you find a solution soon!

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Jennifer-I would def. recommend the honest kitchen embark, and since Jack likes chicken, you can add that in to make it more appetizing to him! When dealing with IBS, embark seems to work miracles!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I completely agree.  It has been sort of a "miracle food" for those of us with dogs who suffer from intestinal issues.  I also think adding a little cooked chicken will make it even more yummy for him.  Here's the thing though.  I would not mix any other foods with it (other than the chicken) at the very beginning.  If you do you won't really be able to tell if it's working.  Good luck and keep us posted.

[Rory]

Maybe try Honest Kitchen or Sojos?? With some of their products, you add the meat yourself, it might be worth a try. I've switched my pup to raw after a year of picky eating. I found that the very bland foods like Wellness Simple Solutions worked well to get rid of her chronic diarrhea, and once that settle and she could eat pretty much anything without trouble,  I switched back to Acana/Orijen. Still, she was eating  very little, so I decided to try raw on the advice of a family member of mine who is a vet, and haven't looked back. But since Jack seems to have health issues, perhaps raw isn't the best...look into the dehydrated...