New Bulldog Mom

[Nico1124]

Hello everyone!
Rescued a 2 year old English bulldog from hurricane Harvey... My first bulldog, lots of questions....I apologize in advance! I am having a really hard time getting her to eat. I have tried a variety of different canned foods, dry foods, and now have resorted to cooking for her, and she is still very finicky. It is hit or miss whether or not she will eat, Sometimes she wont drink for 10-12 hours either. I have her about 3 weeks. I have brought her to the vet and I am told she is healthy. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you

DAWN AND NICO

 

[helsonwheels]

Hello everyone!
Rescued a 2 year old English bulldog from hurricane Harvey... My first bulldog, lots of questions....I apologize in advance! I am having a really hard time getting her to eat. I have tried a variety of different canned foods, dry foods, and now have resorted to cooking for her, and she is still very finicky. It is hit or miss whether or not she will eat, Sometimes she wont drink for 10-12 hours either. I have her about 3 weeks. I have brought her to the vet and I am told she is healthy. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you

DAWN AND NICO

Hey there Dawn n Nico.... WELCOME to EBN! You will find tons of great info in here. Lots of bedtime reading for sure! So....you have questions n we have questions. Firstly, Thank You for rescuing!!! And please NO need to apologize!

The problem is any dog rescued is a lot more of trying to figure out where they came from, their habits, their food they are use to etc etc....

It's only 3 weeks you have her. Will take a lot longer to investigate. You're also new to her so goes both ways. Home cooking is a great way to get any dog on the right track. What's the kibble you feed her, what's the home cooking you do and what's the treats? Dogs DO NOT drink a lot of water if they on home cooking or raw as its full of moisture. Nyala my brindle was HC n barely drank. I would do raw n a bit of kibble in the mornings, raw for a snack like frozen chicken neck n kibbles for supper. All raw has to be frozen! Kibbles, stick to either...Acana, orijen or fromm. These are the 3 top kibbles. All dogs love raw so if it's feasible try it. Or continue home cooking. You can also buy home cooking already done for you like Spots farm n honest kitchen. Great stuff! Spots farm is same quality but less expensive. Tell us more on what you feed her so we can guide you better.

 

[Nico1124]

Thank you for the quick response! I am currently not feeding any kibble. I boil chicken breasts and thighs, turkey chopmeat. Sometimes i will put a little bit of steak in the mix also. I put carrots, sweet potatoes and green beans in it. Nico is overweight. Vet said she is 56 pounds and would like her to be between 42-45, so i am watching the calorie count too. As for treats i have tried freeze dried liver (or beef) which seems to be the go to. I hired a dog trainer to help her with getting comfortable because she is frightened of EVERYTHING. The trainer believes she was somewhat feral (or just very little human contact, love and affection). She advised having her around other dogs to help with that and it has to a degree but not that much. I just feel so bad for her and want her to realize that she has nothing to worry about, nobody is going to hurt her, she can just relax and enjoy her life.She has made progress, however the eating thing is still very much an issue. I was hand feeding her, and she would eat. But that is hit or miss now too. Thank you again for your help. It is much appreciated.

 

[helsonwheels]

Oh you're feeding her to perfection! Only issues there is the hand feeding. When she gets hungry she'll eat. Right now she probably went through a lot with Hurricane Harvey. No one knows for sure. Yes socialize would do her some good. At the same time you'll see how she behaves with other dogs. I also boil turkeys for my furballs and top it with the broth that boiled 5-6hrs. Great minerals! The only thing you should give her is a regular multi vitamin like regular Centrum and add a can of sardines once a week. Give her time and lots of cuddles. She'll come around. 3 weeks is all new.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[Hankster]

sweet and sure is a lucky one to have gotton you for a home. Mine has gone through picky picky and finally!!! he just eats now. Lots of that was my fault. The whole hand feeding thing went on, and putting down different meals for him to choose etc. sounds great what your offering him, just give him time and be careful with that hand feed stuff.. Welcome to the best place you could have found

 

[Nico1124]

She likes being around other dogs. The eating thing really concerns me, everyone says when she is hungry she will eat, I am trying to get in that mind set. Thank you all so much. I really appreciate your help

 

[Nico1124]

So I should stop feeding her by hand when she chooses not to eat. She didn't eat her breakfast or dinner yesterday, and she wont eat her breakfast...It's like she knows i will break, and feed her. LOL,

 

[Hankster]

So I should stop feeding her by hand when she chooses not to eat. She didn't eat her breakfast or dinner yesterday, and she wont eat her breakfast...It's like she knows i will break, and feed her. LOL,

I did it (hand feeding, keep adding yummier stuff etc) with my shih tzu, and then i did it KNOWING better with my bulldog..lol We can be such 'mama's ' but ohhhhh how we pay for it.. lol If you wee giving her some crap food that tasted nasty i might feel for the buggar, but it sounds delightful, and i think she's just playing you. For Hank, i started to put it down and walk away. He knew when i was spying on him so had to quit that too!!! ..ha! Im one that wasnt good at just waiting for the dinner meal to put food back down (i know thats best) but usually (im retired so not on a time restraint) i would put it back down about 10 and he'ed eat it. Im sure something will click with yours, and unless theres something underlining ,, I think it'll all come together with setteling. And then some other 'bulldog' crap will play out... lol Mine is 19months old and driving me crazy with party boy.. reverting to pup in a heaver body!!

 

[1Chumly]

Stay strong!!!! Welcome to the world of stubborn bullys! You just have to out-stubborn her, tough I know.

 

[helsonwheels]

I cant recall which member had the same issue hand feeding. Was the following day her dog decided to eat on his/her own. Even took a photo of it.

 

[Chevysmom]

I agree with what every one else has said u have only had her a short time and she has been threw a lot I would give her some time to get used to her new house FAM and environment just give her lots of love and patience she will come around I would find one food that you like and is nutritionally good for her and keep giving her that food if u have to mix cooked food with it I would and just slowly wean her off of the cooked food can u talk to her prev owners if so I would ask them what they feed her and any other questions you have

 

[2BullyMama]

So I should stop feeding her by hand when she chooses not to eat. She didn't eat her breakfast or dinner yesterday, and she wont eat her breakfast...It's like she knows i will break, and feed her. LOL,

Welcome and thank you, thank you, thank you for giving this baby a great new home. I would stop the hand feeding.. maybe even change the bowl to see if it makes a difference. If you suspect she is 'feral' or little human contact, she might be used to eating on a floor or pan.. try a flat plate see if it helps.

Also, give her time to settle in, try not to make too many changes at once.. she is confused and trying to figure what is going on. as for food... all you are doing is great, just let her eat when she is ready.

 

[Nico1124]

I would love to get some background on her however her last owners decided that tying her to the front steps of a shelter in Texas was the right thing to do before the storm. So I have no help there. I hired a trainer and she believes the dog had little human contact. Pretty much ferral She has adjusted to my king size bed just fine though lol now if I could get her to eat we would be in good shape lol

 

[Nico1124]

I’m trying! She is one tough win lol

 

[Hankster]

I’m trying! She is one tough win lol

your wonderful and PLEASE stick around we love to hear how she's (and you..lol) are doing.. and dang if we don't love PICTURES