back to not eating

[DocX]

Just saw this post. I've had a couple of (smart herding breed) dogs that were very prone to refusing to eat their kibble if they associated it with recently feeling bad, and sometimes they get very hungry but were still very stubborn about not eating something they have decided is 'poison' (even though it isn't). It's different than "dog being picky" because both of mine were really good eaters and not at all picky most of the time, but very stubborn when they weren't feeling well. If your dog is like this, here are some strategies that have been successful for me:

1. Feed the canned version of their preferred kibble for a few days. It's often different enough to trick them and is least likely to upset their guts more, and easiest by far.

2. My current dog is not particularly food-sensitive and really likes rotisserie chicken, so if she's being like that, I can often get her to start eating by stirring some chicken into her bowl. There's an optimal chicken:kibble ratio where she eats enough chicken to remember she's really hungry and just finishes the bowl. If she's feeling really bad she'll just eat the chicken.

3. If #2 doesn't work, switch her to something really bland like chicken and rice for a couple of days and then start adding a little kibble back into at mealtime to get her back into the habit. Throw some broth into the rice while it's cooking to make it flavorful.

4. My vets have been really nice about allowing me to keep a small stash of cerenia at home and trusting me to use it appropriately. It is a very good prescription anti-nausea drug for dogs. If things are starting to spiral, a day or two of cerenia can really help interrupt the food aversion and give you a bit of time to fix the underlying problem.

5. Vets also have a couple of drugs that will make a dog want to eat more. Entyce is one of them. I've used it successfully but rotisserie chicken is much less expensive and my dog is generally happier about it.

[Olesia711]

great suggestions.... thanks DocX
....(i especially appreciate that the dog likes rotisserie chicken even better than Entyce