I feel so guilty posting this. We have a new puppy, who in many ways is the sweetest thing ever, but her disinterest in food (all food, not just kibble) is getting really frustrating. We’ve had her checked by 3 vets and she’s been given a clean bill of health.
Background: Before my partner and I got a puppy, we tried to do the best we could. Tons of research, making sure the breed of the pup fit our lifestyle, good breeder, parents no genetic or health issues etc. I had 3 dogs many years ago, and my partner and I also regularly dog sit for our friends. However, due to work travel commitments, we weren’t in the position to have our own until recently. We were so excited. Bought tons of (too much) treats and toys, watched training videos…
Our pup has been with us for 2 months. She’s a lovely dog, charming, smart, well-socialised, chill at times, playful at others. She’s loves cuddles, settled well into her crate, can already walk on a lead without pulling (unless she sees other dogs but she’s still a puppy so that’s ok). Lovely.
But every meal time is a struggle. She is completely uninterested in food if we leave it in a bowl. She’ll eat when we give her kibbles in a toy, but slowly and she gets distracted from it easily. We also use kibbles as a training treat. But this process takes around 1h per meal, 3 times a day. And in the best case we get her to eat around 70% of her recommended intake. She’s on the thin side of healthy but it’s been a struggle to keep her weight up.
We tried soaking her food in warm water, bone broth. Nope. We tried other brands of kibble. Nope. Very expensive freeze dried food. Nothing. Tried removing her food after after 20 mins. She eventually gets hungry enough to eat, but she’ll eat maybe half of a single portion (after missing 2 meals) and she’s done. Tried her a couple of times of fresh food, which she’ll take (no vegetables though), but only on the day it’s made. No fridge/ frozen and reheated food for her. Cooking a fresh meal from scratch every day is just unrealistic for our schedules.
She is picky with treats but she does like 1 or 2. By like, I mean she will eat it and do training if she feels like it. But she doesn’t go crazy over them. If she doesn’t feel like training then she’ll just walk away. Even when we cook or eat human food, she won’t be interested enough to come over.
Honestly I have never seen this level of disinterest in food in a dog ever. Any tips?
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