Help Needed! Refusing to eat! help :(

[MeekosMummy]

Im on the verge of a breakdown with Meeko im fightin a loosin battle. Over the past few weeks Meekos not fussed on his food(s) .. Ive tried everything. At one point he would only eat if it had yoghurt or cottage cheese on... Now he will eat chicken/ham/meat off the top of his dried food. Ive tried numerous different food brands flavours etc from the cheapest brand to most expensive brands and the recommended brands from others on here and he just isnt interested. But he eats them as a treat if you hand feed him. Hes fine in himself playful etc and as i say will eat dog meat, human food, real meat and treats from your hand and sometimes will eat with yoghurt/cottage cheese on it. He wont touch the dry food on its own. What can i do? Ive run out of ideas on how to encourage him to eat his food. As a small pup he used to get soo excited for meal times now he sniffs the food bowl and walks away as if to say 'oh its that!' x

 

[RiiSi]

I hear you. My older bully is the same, except he's never been interested in food. He gets motivated by food when training, but other wise he couln't be bothered. I switched to raw when he was 7 months and it got a little better and then again a little better when he turned two. But still he is really picky and not really interested. If you don't want to try raw you can try just leaving the bag of food open and let him eat it when he want's to. Unfortunately that can't be done with raw...

 

[MeekosMummy]

I cant do raw .. You see im not a meat eater myself (im not a vegetarian j just dont like meat except sausages and mcdonalds lol!!) but the look smell and thought of real meat makes me gagg theres no way i can do that for him.. I even buy the fresh cooked chicken from the deli for Meeko as i cant bare to look at it raw and wouldnt be able to touch it. X

 

[Petra]

Two of my bulldogs used to be very picky and not at all interested in their food, and the third one sometimes puked for no reason at all. Then at one point they ended up only eating once a day (used to feed twice) and now they are all so excited about their food and the puking ended My bulldogs are all over 2 years old so feeding once a day is enough and since they seem to feel better eating this way I just keep doing it. If your bullkid acts happy and healthy he will probably eventually eat when he gets really hungry... I struggled myself doing this to my little bulldog boy when he didn't wanna eat, I sat on the floor with him feeding him his food one by one but I soon realized if I keep doing it he will never wanna eat himself, he got over it and started eating. Think we all have gone through periods when our bullies doesn't wanna eat

 

[Sherry]

If he gets fed by hand through out the day, perhaps that is his favorite way to eat. Maybe try to cut down on feeding by hand may help. ??? not really sure.

 

[cowsmom]

well he may just not like the food or he may just be "playing" you to get something better to eat. i have found that bullies will play you to get what they want and they are very good at it. you may want to just put his kibble down and nothing else for a few meals and when he realized nothing else is coming he may go ahead and eat. thats means no treats nothing else but the kibble. if after a few days he still wont eat then you can try some canned food. i put just a little on my bostons food and mix it in and they eat it up good. you could also get some like chicken or beef broth to put on it for flavor.

 

[MeekosMummy]

Im bein a strict bully mumma from today. He is havin his dry food with nothin extra. I put warm water on their as i read the smells appealin to them. Left it down for 20 mins he didnt eat it so picked it up. Hes not havin any treats etc and i will do the same at tea time. I think he has learnt that if he refuses his food i panic and put chicken/meat/yoghurt or anything to help him eat. This all started when i started to give him cottage cheese on his food he started to refuse to eat without it and has got worse and worse. eventually he will hopefully realise hes not havin anythin else and start eatin normal when he gets hungry .. I hope ! Its gonna take so much strength not to give in and worry that hes starvin / lookin skinny x

 

[Tracy T]

I think all kids go the starvation route at least once in their life. I do think Meeko has you figured out to get the yummy treats- all of the pudding without any meat and veg, so to say.

Be firm, and don't worry about him starving or looking thin. He can go for likely a month without food, but he should start eating again within the week. His belly will eventually override his brain!

 

[Sherry]

yep he has you trained

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi, I agree, if you keep hand feeding Meeko, or keep offering many different foods, then he's going to get used to being fed, and won't want to eat on his own, and by giving many choices, he's going to get more picky. You would be better off to pick one good quality food, probably one that he has eaten before and been okay with, and just leave it in his bowl, and offer nothing else other than fresh water, he will eventually get hungry and eat. It's like when you have a picky human child , and you offer to many choices, or give treats in between, they won't eat. My Grandson is a very picky eater, and sometimes won't eat for a day or two , i tell him all the time you live on air, there are many things he doesn't like like meat, sauces, ketchup, cheese ( he says it smells). Lol. , he is funny with smells and textures. We have taken him to the doctor many times and she tells us all the time don't worry , all kids go through phases like this and will eventually eat, she tells us you don't live in a third world country, so as long as you offer him food he will eat what he needs. The other advice she gave us is to offer one meal, and if he doesn't want it's, or eats just a little, hen let him wait until the next meal, but don't offer him multiple choices, or let him eat junk in between like Chips , cookies, pop, or other treats, because he will eat these, but then he fills up on junk stuff and won't be hungry, so we offer him his meals, and if he doesn't eat at one, he is given his next meal, and eventually if he gets hungry enough he will eat . Sometimes he asks at off times like later at night, and if he hasn't eaten much during the day we offer him a healthy snack, like vegetables and a dip, he loves all vegetables, or crackers and cheese. Meeko will get hungry enough eventually and will eat.

 

[JeannieCO]

Boy that's just odd to me. I have to say I have never had a dog/puppy that would never eat. I sure hope Meeko starts eating soon. I may have missed it but what does his vet say? I'm wondering if it's health related like a sore tooth possibly? The only experience I've ever had with my dogs not eating was when one had a tooth issue. There were times when they didn't want to eat but nothing like poor Meeko. He has to be hungry I would think.

 

[mabel lou]

My vet said a dog will eat when they are hungry. My girl went three days without food and I was so concerned of her getting sick possibly falling over that I called them in a panic and they said I am going to cause myself to get sick with worry. I tried all the many things to make it appealing and still nothing. Finally it was a decision that either you will eat it or you won't. I left it down for a little bit and then picked it up and basically once I stuck to my guns she caved in. Sounds like your dog is use to getting people food more so than a kibble. I agree that giving all the treats and enticing them can be good but bad at the same time. Now I am different when it comes to anything they get simply because I don't want to start something I won't continue. Dry kibble it is, she eats each and every time!

 

[AubreysMom]

well he may just not like the food or he may just be "playing" you to get something better to eat. i have found that bullies will play you to get what they want and they are very good at it.

^^ This is so true. They are too smart for their own good. Skip the extras outside of meals and he will eventually eat his food once he gets hungry enough. He's trying to play the system and you just have to show him that he can't.

 

[MeekosMummy]

Day 1 is over he ate a few nibbles of food at breakfast and tea time then showed no interest. So true to my word ive picked it up after 15 mins. He has had no nibbles or treats. Its just a game of who cracks first.. Me or Meeko. Be strong tasha lol x

 

[kazzy220]

Day 1 is over he ate a few nibbles of food at breakfast and tea time then showed no interest. So true to my word ive picked it up after 15 mins. He has had no nibbles or treats. Its just a game of who cracks first.. Me or Meeko. Be strong tasha lol x

I wish you luck!! It certainly seems that he is playing you!! Smart bullies!!!

If this doesn't work, I know you've already said that you couldn't bring yourself to do raw, but what about homecooked food. That seems to be a strong and growing trend in bully world too!! There are plenty of members on here who do it and who could help you.