No interest in eating from the bowl?

WhittyB958

Enjoying the puppy life!
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Messages
66
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Northern VA
#1
Bruce really has little interest of eating from the bowl. He sees where it is- and will look at it when I put the food it.. but then he zooms zooms away.

I have been using this as bonding/charging the clicker time and have been giving him pellets after a click from my hand/ throwing them so he can pounce. He enjoys this game- but gets full quickly.

Is it because he is new and uncomfortable? What can I do to help make sure he IS eating. This morning he didn't even want to eat from my hand!!
 

Dizzy

Sit! Good dog.
Joined
Sep 14, 2005
Messages
17,761
Likes
1
Points
38
Location
Wales
#2
Bodhi won't eat if there's too much more fun stuff going on.... If the back door is open and there's someone out there who could potentially throw something for her, food is of no interest. Even if she hasn't eaten since the morning previously.

He's probably just too excited about everything else!

I shut her in and take away her toys if she won't eat ;) And stand next to her saying 'finish your dinner' lol
 

Moth

Mild and Slightly Nutty
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
5,039
Likes
2
Points
38
Location
Madison, WI
#3
It took Menchi a couple of days to want to eat much. I would hand feed her out of her little bowl too. She eats fine now, but she has the benefit of some food competition having her big brother and old girl Maeve eating their foods as well ;)
 

kady05

Active Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2011
Messages
1,285
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
36
Location
Chesapeake, Virginia
#4
Try crating him during feeding time, that way he can't just run away.

I don't know that I'd hand feed him.. that could create a "Well, she's going to feed me out of the bowl anyway, so why would I eat from it??" mentality. Crate, put food down, leave down for 15min. If he doesn't eat, oh well, shouldn't take him long to figure it out ;)
 

Barb04

Super Moderator
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
27,429
Likes
4
Points
38
#5
I would try a bowl made out of a different material. One of my dogs would never touch food in a metal bowl.
 

corky

Ontario BSL rescue
Joined
Dec 22, 2009
Messages
131
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Oh, Canada!
#6
You could try putting the food into a Kong, treat ball or hollow bone with a dab of peanut butter on the end.

Another idea is to put some canned tuna or salmon on top of the kibble in her food dish. Sometimes stinky food is better. Do you feed kibble or stinky canned food?
 

Kat09Tails

*Now with Snark*
Joined
Jun 10, 2010
Messages
3,452
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Upper Left hand corner, USA
#7
NVM - at 6 months he's old enough to learn that there is eating time and doing things time. Put him in his crate with a food dish at the back of the crate, walk away 30 minutes. Come back and let the puppy out, remove the food dish, try again in the PM.

He'll learn eventually to eat when the dish goes down.
 

Maxy24

Active Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
8,070
Likes
2
Points
38
Age
32
Location
Massachusetts
#8
Along with what the others are saying, make sure you are not overfeeding him. Tucker was the worst eater ever, I'd have to pick him up and plop him in front of the bowl 3 times to get him to eat any of his food. He'd often skip breakfast and never ate all of the food. Then we cut back on how much he got and he became a normal "OMG it's dinner time!!!" dog who scarfed down his food.
 
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
23
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Columbia MO
#9
It really depends, how long has your puppy been in your environment? It takes time for a puppy to become fully acclimated to new environments, and every dog has a different threshold. It can range from a a couple days to a couple months.
I can only speak on behalf of my dogs that have gone into new environments, and as German Rottweilers are a very smart breed, my customers tell me that within a matter of days they have become completely comfortable in their new homes.
For starters I would recommend, if you haven't already done so, to set a strict feeding regiment that is always consistent so that the puppy can slowly start to learn the new schedule. Hope that helps a little.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top