My new service dog will not eat anything I try and feed him. What can I do about it?

Question

Mr. Frawley,

I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at your web site and reading the articles... I have been selected to our department's K9 unit, and have been a handler for approximately 3 months. I have been given a 3 1/2 year old Malinois that has been KNPV trained and is PH1 titled. My issue is this, our department supplies the food for our dogs, but since I got him approximately 3 months ago, it has been an all out fight to get him to eat. I'm not sure if he is still adjusting or just picky. I have tried just about all I know and been told, to get him on a normal schedule.

While I was at the training facility we were given dry dog food, and this is when my problems were noticed. After 8 days of minimal eating, I was instructed to mix wet food with the dry. He began eating, but I didn't know if it was because he liked the wet and dry, or just plain hungry. When I returned home, my problems continued. I've tried the 20 minute feeding routine, and for an example, after 3 full days, he ate about 2 cups of dry food, and this was only after a lot of cheerleading.

I have tried numerous brands of dry and wet, but it seems like my Mal really likes human food. All the other Mal's in the unit are eating about 6 cups of dry a day, and my Mal on his best day might eat 1-1/2 cans of wet food. I've tried the gravy type, enticing the dry with cottage cheese,, etc.... I know he is hungry, but he will not attack the food bowl. He will lay down with his back towards it, which shows me a pretty strong body language that he will not eat it. I pick it up, and he is done. After this display of non eating, my wife says he must be full, but if get a hot dog, stand back, he will consume it in a heartbeat... The feeding issue has gotten very frustrating, and I have consulted my Vet. Samples have been taken with negative results. Basically the issue is, he eats what is smell appealing, but if he doesn't want it, he will walk away after smelling it, it is getting really hard to keep weight on this police K9, and I'm worried his performance will soon suffer. I didn't know if this is just the dog or if it is part of the training he received regarding eating. Even with his Dutch eat command, it is a fight.

My Mal is also handler aggressive, and I have been bitten numerous times, because he does not like being corrected. When I firmly correct him (while in a pinch collar) he immediately does "an alligator roll" and will continue to roll until the leash is given slack, then he will roll out of it. It is an obvious way to get out of a correction. He also bites toward the correction and my leash is just about worn out due to him biting it during a correction. On a few different training scenarios I have attempted to "hard out" him from his reward or the bite, and been bit. I have started using e-collars, for outing and other corrections, and they seem to working well on him. My Mal is a very strong-willed dog, that seems to need constant reminding of who is in charge. Do you have any suggestions for me on theses two subjects, your knowledge and expertise will strongly be appreciated. FYI he is crossed/dual trained for EOD work and patrol.

Sincerely,
Brad

Accepted Answer

I would recommend that you switch this dog to the all-natural diet. You can read about this on my web site and on my web discussion board (it has 4500 registered members). There is no question that this is the best way to feed a dog. Its much healthier and the fact is its not difficult. http://leerburg.com/diet.htm You can go to Wal-Mart and buy 10 pound bags of chicken leg quarters for 37 cents per pound. You don’t need to start with all the veggies. Start with meat.

In your case I would do what you are doing – use an e-collar. There are so many training steps to doing this properly I don’t have the time to write them in this email. Sorry – keep an eye on the table of contents of my web site for when the tape is finished that I am producing on training with and e-collar. You will see when its finished. I always announce new videos there.

You also need to deal with the handler aggression in this dog. I would use the dominant dog collar we sell. There is a protocol for this. My memory is that I have written about this in the Q&A section on my web site. You will need to do some research to find it. I need to run this morning.

I would also recommend that you read the article I wrote titled DEALING WITH THE DOMINANT DOG. You can find this on the article page on my web site.

I hope your department lets you switch to the raw diet. You will find the dog is healthier, they live longer and they have more energy.