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I have a 7 year old G Shepherd, who has suddenly stopped eating her raw food diet. She has been on it for about 4 months. I started out making her food, then had to switch to pre-made patties. She ate that for 2-3 months and now refuses to eat it. I have tried heating up the patties slightly, adding pumpkin which she loves. She also loved the chicken wings I gave her and has become picky about those too. Any ideas?
Has she lost her appetite completely? Will she eat other things? (and I don't mean 'treats'). Do you have other dog foods you can try?
There are some very palatable canned foods to "temp" the picky eater. Our old boxer goes thru streaks where he has to be encouraged to eat his food. We will have to mix in a bit (it doesn't take much at all - probably a T. or so) of a canned food (It's a science diet product - not at home or I'd tell you which one - from memory I think it's kD) to get him started again.
At 7 your german shep. is heading towards geriatrics and you may need to be experiment a bit to find what she likes. Do you have a relationship with a Vet? There are a few things that could cause loss of appetite in an older dog. Might be worth a trip in.
are you varying her diet? Just like you dont want to always eat spinach at every single meal, your animal needs some variety as well. try to source rabbit, lamb, chicken, duck perhaps. her appetite will probably pick up again... let us know!!:D
I have 2 dogs that have been on raw since they were like 12 weeks old, which is when I got them. Bruno, my picky eater, needs the chicken quarters cut in half. He has to have the smaller pieces for some reason. :rolleyes: He has also gone through times where he doesn't seem to want to eat. So, I'll wrap it up and try to feed later. If he doesn't want it the second time, it is saved for the next day. Dogs, unlike humans, will not starve themselves on purpose. In the wild, dogs end up eating the same thing over and over again for the most part. They eat what is available and close to them. Which usually means, some of the same kinds of meats. Therefore, you really shouldn't be giving them too much of a variety. Too much variety can sometimes lead to stomach issues and diarrea. Try to hang in there. Your dog will eat. :)
A trip to the vet is in order, it may be a stomach problem or she may have a badly infected tooth
- unless
You've been giving her better food when she doesn't eat. Lots of people make this mistake and the dog knows to hold out until it gets the goodies/treats in stead of the same ol stuff they've been getting.
I rotate meat sources every month for my dogs. I buy frozen whole animals and grind them at home(fun, I know) *yuck* Sometimes I feed them a whole rabbit(prey model feeding)
Last month it was rat and guinea pig, this month is is just rabbit. I feed mostly rabbit and small animals, since I figure that's the biggest part of a wild canine's diet. They wouldn't be taking down large animals like deer or cows too often. Rabbits and mice are the most common.
Unless it's in an urban environment - then it would be pigeons and rats lol
I make sure to use the WHOLE animal and not just pieces - so that it is perfectly balanced and my dogs aren't missing anything - so they get the brains, guts and stuff in the guts/intestines - since that is what they'd be eating if they killed it themselves.
I don't think it's balanced to just feed muscle/organ peices from the grocery store - they do need the occasional brain, skin and poopy intestine for a well rounded diet
But that's just my opinion - not the concrete rules. :)