I'm having some problems with my dog not eating. Should I change HK type? Just feed him at night? How do you handle feeding larger bones with your house dogs? Not worried about the bacteria on him, I know he can handle it.

Question

Hi Cindy,

I emailed you before about my rottweiler and loose stools. I'm not having that problem anymore.

Got a new problem.

Draco, my male rottweiler just at 1 year old, is such a picky eater. He was doing fine eating raw meat and HK Embark. I would give him about a pound of raw meat in the morning and HK and a 1/2 pound at night. One day he decided he didn't want that anymore. Wouldn't eat. I gave him kibble and he ate that for about 3 days.

I like the raw diet. He had more energy, his coat looked good, and I liked the fact that he was excitied about eating.

I have noticed lately that he seems to be eating more grass.

I wonder if he might have a worm infection again. He is on Heartguard Plus. I was afraid that he was getting worms again so I did a treatment in the middle of the month just to be sure he wasn't getting worms. Last time he went off his feed he had worms. But I would imagine that the worms would adapte to that? should I rotate the type of de-wormer I use. I have been checking his stools to for worms but have not seen anything. The texture of his stool changes everytime though.

In the morning he is not very excited about eating at all. I don't know if I should just feed him at night? I worry that he is not getting all the nutrition he needs. I know he won't starve himself. But if he is not getting the proper nutrition he won't grow. Also he has been at 70lbs for 3 weeks now. He is all muscle and bones though. I would like him fuller though. Our vet said he should be eating anywhere from 5-6 cups of kibble daily. And then I should be adding more so he has a weight gain.

I don't mean to sound like a frazzled women but my dog is growing. Also I am planning to start training him in Cadaver Rescue searching and as such am trying to increase his stamina. So, his eating is a major part of him being healthy.

1. Should I change HK type?

2. Just feed him at night?

3. I am afraid to give him big pieces of chicken because then he wants to hold it and I am afraid that he is going to get bacteria all over that house and himself. I know you feed your dogs in their kennels but how do you handle this with your house dogs? Not worried about the bacteria on him, I know he can handle it.

4. Rotation of de-wormer types? If so then how to work that in with his heartworm preventer?

Thank you for your time in trying to help and any advice you have offer is greatly appreciated. I feel like when you love your pets and expect them to behavior and preform a job then you should be concerned about their well being.

Thanks,
Kelly

Accepted Answer

The only way to be sure whether your dog has intestinal parasites is to do a microscopic exam. The worms that are most dangerous to our dogs usually can not be seen with the naked eye. The vet will analyze a stool sample by looking for worm eggs.

Some dogs like to eat in the morning, some eat better at night. You need to try and figure out what works for your dog. I have 2 dogs that eat once a day and one that gets two smaller meals daily. For putting weight on a dog, it usually is more beneficial to feed several smaller meals throughout the day instead of one big one. I would try adding some probiotics to your dog's food, to keep the beneficial bacteria at a good level. We use this here with every meal.

I also have a very hard dog to keep weight on, a 16 month old Malinois. I have been using a digestive enzyme on each meal and he's actually looking plump now. You open one capsule and sprinkle it on the food and it helps the dog get more nutrients and digest the food better.

Does your dog have a crate? We just feed our dogs in their crates, I don't let my dogs drag their food all over the house. You can also feed outside if you are worried about the mess in the house.

As for wormers, I only worm when it's necessary and use the best med for the type of worm found. I have found that healthy adult dogs RARELY need to be wormed and I don't give unnecessary medications to our dogs. Have the vet analyze a stool sample before you give him any additional medicine.

Cindy