Poor appetite

9833 Views 7 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Pamela, Dec 14, 2008

spoofan

Discussion Starter · Dec 14, 2008

Does anyone have any tips on how to increase the dog's appetite?
Gunther is a terrible eater.
He treats food almost as a punishment.
Even if I add something really yummy,he'll go at it,but stops shortly.
I don't think he ever ate a meal in one sitting.
He is on Wellness Core with added canned Wellness or Innova.
Sometimes I add green tripe,but he lost interest in that.
My vet thinks his weight is just right,but I would love to see a bit more meat on him. He looks pretty thin to me.

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mercymoon

· #2 · Dec 14, 2008

There are many supplements available in the market
that can increase a Dog's appetite and help you keep
your pet more healthy such as Natural Balance. You
can also review different types of food supplements
specifically for increasing a dog's appetite at the link below:
www.nextag.com

You can also try:

- Warm canned or moistened dry food in the microwave to increase
the aroma of the food. Be sure to stir the food before feeding it to
your dog, and that it's not so hot that it could burn your dog!

- Add a little water from canned tuna to increase the aroma of your
dog's food. Ask your veterinarian if your dog might also have small amounts
of bacon drippings, hamburger grease, clam juice, chicken drippings, or
baby food added to his normal diet.

- Switch to canned food (if currently feeding dry food). Consider
switching to special high-calorie, nutrient-dense diets made specially
for "stressed" animals.

- Feed smaller amounts of food more often. By offering a small amount
of food several times each day, your dog may actually increase her total daily intake.

Good Luck!

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WonderPup

· #3 · Dec 14, 2008

Here's one for you, there is a product that looks like a large meat roll. There are several different brand of this. The one I use is carried at petsmart and is Pet Botanics. Anywho, we use it for training but it is actualy intended to be a food. It's a really good food as well. Cut it into slices that and then crumble bits over the dry food. We don't call it puppy crack for nothing, most dogs love it.
Another thing I use is green beef tripe made by solid gold. It smells to high heaven buut it's our plan B when Wonder won't eat. Our cats go crazy for it too. The cans come in two sized, the larger of the two can be fed as a complete meal the smaller is intended as a supplement only. I mix a spoonfull in with regular dry food. Something about the smell makes gets the dog's attention.

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spoofan

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 14, 2008

Thanks for the suggestions.
Tried the green tripe...he seemed to like it,but not any longer.
I guess I just have to let it be,as long as he is healthy,he will eat what he needs.

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SECRETO

· #5 · Dec 14, 2008

I add chicken or beef broth or an egg sometimes. Thats helps Eli find his food more appealing when he doesn't seem interested. He's the only picky eater here....the other's scarf it down.

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Bear04

· #6 · Dec 14, 2008

Bear is a VERY slow eater. He gets three cups of food a day and it will take him all day to eat it. Quite often he will have a bit left over the next day. We found that since he has a narrow mouth compared to other larger dogs that he prefers dog food with small pieces. We feed him Purina One Chicken and Rice formula. He eats the small pieces much better than bigger ones. He also eats better since we moved his bowl downstairs to the hall outside the family room. Since we are there most of the time he prefers to eat where his people are as compared to when his bowl was in the kitchen.
The funny thing about his slow eating was a few years ago when he was at the kennel while we were on a trip he buffaloed the workers there into making him chicken for his food to make him eat better. Ever since then he has been like a chicken junkie. It is the one thing he will beg for (it's really the only people food he's ever been allowed) other than pancakes (but that's a whole other post!) He has always been very healthy despite the slow eating. His weight has always been on target (between 45-47). I also feel like I don't have to worry as much about bloat because of his eating habits.

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CurlyDog

· #7 · Dec 14, 2008

Our collie has always been a finicky eater. We don't spoil her, just put it down and if she eats, she eats. When she was stressed and we were concerned about her weight, I added just a hint of garlic powder to the food and that did the trick.

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Pamela

· #8 · Dec 14, 2008

Ginger takes a long time to eat and I also use small bites for the dry food. I have to keep guard so the other dogs don't try to get her food she takes so much longer than they do. She'll rest and go back etc. lol but she is a perfect weight. Looks skinny when hair cut short but I think that's jsut the poodle build. Teddy on the other hand vacuums his food in and he is overweight.

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