Hi all,

First time poster here. I've been doing a lot of reading on this Web site, lots of good stuff. So here is my situation.

I have a 14 month old female Rottie who has started to not eat much. Intially we were feeding here Pro Plan, which we thought was good, and about 3 or so months ago started to add a raw mixture to her kibble. The raw is from the trainer we go to. It's a bunch of ingredients ground together, beef, bone, veggies etc... The dog was eating all this just fine. Then we found out how not good the Pro Plan was and decided to switch the kibble to Natures Variety - Prairie along with some of the canned Prairie also. Around the same time we decdied to take a break from that trainer and hadn't gone back to purchase any of the raw from him and we made some ourselves. Now I see how important doing this correctly is, from reading this site.

She also does not like the crate too much, because we didn't crate train her properly, so it was suggested to feed her in her crate too.

Well the point is she is barely eating the kibble & canned, or just kibble, or just canned and doesn't even touch raw beef anymore.

On top of all this she busted a nail a couple of days ago and I'm sure is uncomfortable.

As I type this I can see how crazy this is. Seems like so many things going on at once. Now I am at a loss and I don't know what to tackle first.

Can some one please help us with our direction on what to do next?

Is she sick?
What do I feed her?
Where do I feed her?

Thank you for your time.
Happy Thanksgiving!!

-Stephen

Busted a nail how? Torn? What? Blood? Swelling? Limping?

How is the dog's weight? Maintained? Losing? Gaining?

Is she house-trained OK?

Is the dog healthy, energetic, otherwise?

What are the poops like?

Let's separate the crate problem from the no-eating problem. What happens if she is fed just canned food, not in the crate?

 Quote: Stephen Wood

... Well the point is she is barely eating the kibble & canned, or just kibble, or just canned and doesn't even touch raw beef anymore.

Exactly how much is she eating per day, and how much does she weigh?

How much/when/how are you feeding?

I doubt she's sick, unless there are other changes (lack of energy, personality changes, poop changes, vomiting).

She probably has just gotten tired of all the food changes.

Additionally, at 14 months old, her food intake requirements may have changed, now that she is about done growing.

With that said, a vet checkup never hurts, if anything to reassure you.

A healthy dog will not starve itself when offered food.

Figure out what you intend to feed the dog, and commit to feeding that for at least two months. The frequent changes only lead to digestive upset. You can always switch down the road, but do so gradually.

Once you've made a decision as to what to feed, really put your foot down.

Put the dog in the crate, put the food in, and give her 15-20 minutes to eat. If she isn't actively eating after that time, take the food away, and don't offer it until the next normal feeding time.

She'll get hungry, and she'll eventually eat. It may take a day or two, but once she learns that she must eat when food is offered, you won't have this problem again.

Fasting is not harmful, and in fact can be healthy for normal, adult dogs.

You just have to be more stubborn than the dog.

Thanks for the responses:

She is about 70-75lbs.
When we feed both canned and kibble it would be about a cup and a half a can at each feeding, which is twice a day. Around 6:30 - 7:00 AM and around 5:30 - 6:30 PM.

Has she gained/lost/maintained?

Also, I was asking how much she was actually eating, as opposed to what you were offering.

How much food per day is she eating (actually eating), and how has her weight been affected?

QUOTE: Well the point is she is barely eating the kibble & canned, or just kibble, or just canned and doesn't even touch raw beef anymore. END

How does that translate into amounts?

Also:
Busted a nail how? Torn? What? Blood? Swelling? Limping?

Is she house-trained OK?

Is the dog healthy, energetic, otherwise?

What are the poops like?

Thanks for the questions Connie.

When I get home tonight I will gather the answers and let you know.

Connie,

I weighed her this morning and she is 81 pounds. It's been some time since I've weighed her when she was 70-75.

Also this morning I fed her 1.5 cups of just kibble and left it down for 15 minutes. There was .25 cups left over.

I believe she broke her nail scratching at her crate.
See picture here:
http://www.stephenwood.us/images/Allie_112608_01.jpg

House-trained in terms of using the bathroom, yes.

Energy is fine, she'd like to run around the backyard and chase the ball if I would let her. We have been play less impacting games though.

Poops are logs and regular.

Maybe I am too concerned or stressed myself, but we did have another Rottweiler that did have irritable bowl disease and didn't live past 5 years old because of the meds and such.

Allie, my 14 month old is my second dog. So you can see my experience level is not that high .

Thank you again.

Happy Thanksgiving

I can only comment about the nail thing.

My dog broke his nail just like that one time, cracked it right down the middle. It was very painful and he licked it all the time and limped. the rescue that owns him had me put table sugar and hydrogen peroxide on it once a day so it wouldn't get infected (it didn't). It took two weeks to grow out and I did have to eventually cut off the part that was hanging (this was a two person job - he didn't want us touching that foot!).

The other option is you can have the vet remove the claw, it will eventually grow back.

 Quote: Stephen Wood

Connie, ... I weighed her this morning and she is 81 pounds. It's been some time since I've weighed her when she was 70-75. ... Also this morning I fed her 1.5 cups of just kibble and left it down for 15 minutes. There was .25 cups left over. ... Energy is fine, she'd like to run around the backyard and chase the ball if I would let her. ... Poops are logs and regular.

OK. She left 15% of her kibble; she is gaining weight; she is energetic and seems healthy; she has good poops.

What was the question again?

Just kidding. Hey, I'm there with projecting a tragic illness from a previous dog onto a new one.

Are there any symptoms at all of a possible ailment besides not finishing the food?

Is the dog too thin? Does the vet think she is too thin? Do you?

Can you post a link to a side view (taken from her level, with her standing) and one taken from standing over her?