# refusin to eat her meals .... again



## mutley66 (Oct 25, 2014)

Hi, our V is 12 months now and had been a fussy eater in her early months. I always feed her dry with either a bit of wet food, fresh cooked meat or tinned fish mixed into it. When younger we changed her to Arden Grange junior and she seemed happy with this and ate 80% of all her meals (2 per day; morning and evening). We have just slowly introduced her to the Arden Grange adult (same flavour) but for the last few days she has refused it. i've tried all the normal extras i add but she has even ignored it with her favourite sardines added. She seems healthy enough, and has just been spayed 2 weeks ago. She was at the vet 2 days ago and everything was fine. She has never been a big eater, shes 20kg but when she does eat she just seems to know how herself how much she needs to eat. Its frustrating that she is again not eating and i wonder if it is the new food? should i perservere or try an alternative flavour??


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

Catering to a picky dog is really tough.

You need to train her to not be picky.

At her age you can switch to one meal a day. I would put down the food you want her to eat, and give her 20 mins to eat it. If she doesn't eat it or eats only a bit, take it away and put it in the fridge and put the exact same un-eaten meal down the next day.

A hungry dog will eat and she will know you mean business. She is likely manipulating you to get the add ons she wants in her meal.

You might be in for a 2-3 day battle but guarantee you it will fix the problem if you have the stronger will.


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## mutley66 (Oct 25, 2014)

I have been through this previously When we changed her onto the Arden Grange junior. I really expected the adult version to be the same flavour but maybe not? My vet did say some dogs prefer soft / wet food rather than kibble. I feed the kibble because of all the proteins and goodness all in one But tempted to move onto fresh but want to avoid the tinned. Anyone have any suggestions of a good mix of Fresh as an alternative but simple to prepare and not too expensive?


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Whether or not you cater to her is entirely up to you. I switch my dog's food on a regular basis, and also add in high quality protein for the sake of variety. It's up to you, though.

However, I would not switch her to one meal a day. I say this based on the advice of my vet. He said that deep-chested breeds, such as the Vizsla, should eat two smaller meals each day, rather than one (same amount of food, divided into two meals). There's a medical reason for this. If you get a deep-chested dog's stomach really full (as it would be on one meal a day), the likelihood of developing bloat greatly increases. Bloat is a killer. 

_You can Google it: gastric torsion volvulus in dogs._


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

mswhipple said:


> Whether or not you cater to her is entirely up to you. I switch my dog's food on a regular basis, and also add in high quality protein for the sake of variety. It's up to you, though.
> 
> However, I would not switch her to one meal a day. I say this based on the advice of my vet. He said that deep-chested breeds, such as the Vizsla, should eat two smaller meals each day, rather than one (same amount of food, divided into two meals). There's a medical reason for this. If you get a deep-chested dog's stomach really full (as it would be on one meal a day), the likelihood of developing bloat greatly increases. Bloat is a killer.
> 
> _You can Google it: gastric torsion volvulus in dogs._


Good advice Ms Whipple, but if you feed once a day, you can do it at night before bed and there would be no concern with bloat.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

You make a very good point, organicthoughts, and you are right!  My thoughts here probably belong in that thread called "Let's Be Honest". 

Dogs have life spans that are much shorter than our own by comparison. I actually LIKE catering to my boy Willie, because I want him to have as many pleasurable moments as I can give him. This means providing him with the opportunity to hunt, run around and play, roll in the freshly cut grass, go for car rides, etc. It also means giving him variety in his diet. How would you like to eat the same meal over and over again for your entire life? Anyway, to be perfectly honest here, I enjoy spoiling my dog. ;D ;D ;D I'm not saying it's right for everybody. It's just what I like to do.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

mswhipple said:


> You make a very good point, organicthoughts, and you are right!  My thoughts here probably belong in that thread called "Let's Be Honest".
> 
> Dogs have life spans that are much shorter than our own by comparison. I actually LIKE catering to my boy Willie, because I want him to have as many pleasurable moments as I can give him. This means providing him with the opportunity to hunt, run around and play, roll in the freshly cut grass, go for car rides, etc. It also means giving him variety in his diet. How would you like to eat the same meal over and over again for your entire life? Anyway, to be perfectly honest here, I enjoy spoiling my dog. ;D ;D ;D I'm not saying it's right for everybody. It's just what I like to do.


I agree with Ms Whipple as well on the variety thing. I think this is also easier to do with adding real foods to the diet. I serve my dog raw food and he eats 3-4 different protein sources a week. Keeps things fresh for him and he is interested in his food everyday.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

organicthoughts said:


> Good advice Ms Whipple, but if you feed once a day, you can do it at night before bed and there would be no concern with bloat.


Not to get off topic here, but I'm not sure why feeding right before bed would completely prevent bloat. Yes, exercising before/after eating can be factor, but there are others (many unknown). I read somewhere that most dogs actually bloat during the nighttime.

I would also feed multiple meals a day. Our V actually only liked to eat one meal at bedtime which always made me uncomfortable because I worry about bloat (we also have a weimaraner). I don't want him ingesting a large quantity of kibble at once for that reason. 

He's also a picky eater. I've totally become a sucker where I mix various add-in's to his food to bribe him to eat. Which he always eventually tires of! I think the ideal would be to switch varieties of kibble but our guy can't stomach that. Unless you can do that (or just enjoy making meals), I would stay strong. When she's hungry, she'll eat. Otherwise it never ends... trust me!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I have two that would eat just about anything. But then there is Lucy, and she is on the picky side. She has a stronger will than me, and can refuse food for days if its not what she likes. 
So yes, I give into her, and as long as the food she eats is nutritious, I don't see how it matters. I've handed her a green bean before, and she took it from my hand. Then opened her mouth, and let it drop to the floor.


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

What you are experiencing is not abnormal.

Our female will be 4 next week. She ate like a bird for the first 3 years - she was just never hungry no matter what we did. 

Once she turned 3 her appetite picked up a little and she typically eats her full meals now. Every now and then she'll just walk away from her food though. We just put it on the counter and then try her again in 2 or 3 hours. 

We noticed that she eats more readily at night so we give her a light morning meal and a heavier dinner meal. She seems to prefer this. She's picked up much needed weight with this method and currently at her ideal size. 

I think this will eventually pass for you but if it continues and weight is dropping, a vet visit might be in order.


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Oh, and don't be afraid of canned food, there are many very high quality brands out there. You just have to go to the right stores. I usually mix a spoonful or two in each dogs bowl every meal. 

Another thing you could try is giving her probiotics with every meal. If there is something going on in her gut it can help.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Vizsla said:


> We noticed that she eats more readily at night so we give her a light morning meal and a heavier dinner meal. She seems to prefer this.


Same here! We do one cup in the morning, two cups at night. 



Vizsla said:


> Oh, and don't be afraid of canned food, there are many very high quality brands out there. You just have to go to the right stores. I usually mix a spoonful or two in each dogs bowl every meal.


Ditto again! Canned food and eggs are what I have the most luck with tempting Dex to eat. And I can switch flavors of the canned food (unlike regular food) without upsetting his stomach.


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