A doodle not interested in food?!

[Jessica & Zoey]

For the past one to two months, my Zoey girl has not been too interested in eating. This occurred ever since we switched from feeding her three times a day to twice a day. She used to be so excited when I started getting her food ready, she would jump with excitement! But now she doesn't have much interest, especially in the mornings. Today, she just started taking bites of her food at 3:00 and I put her food out by 8:30. I originally would pick up her food bowl if she hasn't finished it all so that she could learn that food would only be available at certain times of the day, but lately I have been letting her eat whenever just to get food in her. She is always interested in people food which we limit, I occasionally give her leftover chicken- maybe once a week. She isn't as into her biscuit treats either. Why the change in personality? I am beginning to think we just have a sensitive girl on our hands! The other thing I have been noticing is a lot of stiffness in her back legs when she gets up from laying- she also struggles getting her back legs on the couch and she is taller than our couch seats. Maybe these two things relate?...maybe not? Anyone have any thoughts?

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

The stiffness in the legs bothers me a little more than the not eating right on time. I think a trip to the Vet might be in order.  HOWEVER, if you don't already have insurance, you might want to consider that before getting any comments put in the Vet file.  My girls were slow eaters.   What food are you feeding?  I changed food a few times just because they seemed to get bored.  I have also been known to add some goodies into it like plain low fat yogurt or mashed sweet potatoes or something like that to make it a little more interesting for them. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Justin, it is very rude of you to post this solicitation for votes for your dog in someone else's discussion about a possible health issue their dog is having. Completely rude and inappropriate. Please delete it.

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

It was just as rude when he posted it earlier in someone else's discussion about bringing their new puppy home.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I reported that too. I hope that nobody will vote for this dog, the owner is clearly using this site solely for that purpose.

[Jennifer and Jack]

I am taking my vote away .. Totally rude.

[Star and Goldie]

Wow, this is completely tasteless to do this.  I can only hope this was an accident. When I saw your own post about Molly I thought oh how cute but there is a time and place for everything. Posting this on someone else's discussion who has a genuine concern for the health of their pup is absolutely inappropriate.

Please tell us this was an accident...

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

LET"S IGNORE HIM and get back to this poor pup.

How old is you dog?   As far as insurance, it won't help now as you have a long grace period on hips, if indeed it is hips. Lots of things can cause a dog to get up slow and not want to eat?

What are you feeding?  You said, you give people food~sometimes.   Does she eat that when offered?

[Star and Goldie]

I'm so sorry to hear about your girl not wanting to eat. As others have said, the slow getting up thing would worry me more at this point but only a trip to the vet could determine if the two are associated. You may want to try the yogurt in with the food to see if it helps. I put a tablespoon of Greeks Fat Free Plan Yogurt on the top of each meal for Goldie. I don't think she'd even care what was underneath it, she gobbles it ALL up!! It's worth a try while you're waiting to get into the vet for more official assistance.

Keep us posted for sure!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jessica, I agree with Lucy & Sophie's mom, the leg issue bothers me more than the food issue. Has the problem with her back legs been going on for the same length of time as the reduced interest in food?

The food issue might be due to her growth slowing down. Less growth= less calories required. It's not really related to personality. We do have lots of information in The Food Group about picky eaters, slow eaters, toppers and other enticements to get a dog to eat, etc.

However, when a dog is in pain, they also sometimes don't feel like eating.  Most dogs are really good at hiding it when they have a physical issue, it's instinctive. That's why changes in eating, drinking, and behavior can often be signs of health problems

What you are describing with her back legs is exactly what happened with my guy last summer, and it turned out to be a ruptured disc in his lower back. Not saying that's what is casuing this with Zoey, but I do think it needs to be checked out by the vet. However, Sheri makes a good point about having health insurance in place before any kind of orthopedic issue is documneted in her records. If you don;t have insurance for her, please make that a priority ASAP.

[Jessica & Zoey]

Thank you ladies! We are feeding her blue buffalo wilderness puppy. Yogurt is a good idea, I will have to pick some up. I just put some cold peanut butter chucks in her food and she picked around the food to get the peanut butter- she's smart lol. What's the insurance about? This that specifically for hips? She is 7 months old and we have a contract guarantee with the breeder for two years for any inherited defects. Could it be the first signs of hip dysplagia? If she is jumping on the couch quickly, she has no problem but if she is trying to get on without a head start and some power, I have to help her because it's like her back legs don't have the strength/flexibility to lift onto the couch. She does do some bunny hopping too but it could just be her cute puppy walk, couldn't it?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jessica, you need health insurance for every dog, for a million different reasons, regardless of what your breeder's warranty says. Hip surgery can cost $7000-10,000. The best breeder in the world is not going to reimburse you more than the purchase price of the dog. Some of our dogs have chronic health issues that require treatment for the life of the dog, and costs thousands of dollars a year, and are not things that arecovered under the breeder's health gaurantees. Most serious illnesses in dogs don;t show up until a dog is past 3 years old. Ant dog can injure himself and require surgery, accidents happen. Even if she ingests something and gets  blockage, that can require $3000-4000 worth of surgery, and your breeder's warranty wouldn't cover that.

Bunny hopping is a big sign of Hip Dysplasia. It may be something else, but if it is HD, you have a very narrow window of opportunity for the best surgical outcomes in terms of the dog's age. And in my guy's case, back surgery costs $7000, in addition to the $2000 for diagnose it. Please get the insurance ASAP.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Karen those numbers made me nauseous... literally...