i've been feeding RMBs for over 3 1/2 years, ever since i got a mastiff pup from a breeder who requires it. this pup was weaned on chicken wings, and ate all kinds of chicken parts heartily until about two years ago. then he started getting picky about his chickens.

first, he wouldn't touch any piece of a chicken that came from the local hutterite colony. i could hide that piece in his other food, and he wouldn't touch it until i took the hutterite chicken out of the bowl.

then, he started refusing commercial chickens as well. it turned out he would only eat sanderson farms chickens, which advertise they don't put in any additives. i know the hutterites and the other chicken farms inject their chickens with saline or soak them in it.

so, fortunately, the sanderson farms chickens are cheap and available in bulk.

this past year, he started refusing the sanderson farms chickens, too! he'll take them if i order him to (i growl at him and then he'll take it), but many times he'll leave the chicken lying in the yard and i have to pick it up and rerefrigerate or refreeze until next time.

now, in the past six months, sometimes i can't get him to eat chicken at all unless i cook it! he loves cooked chicken. i throw it in a pot of water and simmer it for a couple of hours, let it cool, and debone it before serving with the broth.

this is, obviously, a total pain, but better than throwing it away.

now he's developing fussiness towards other foods as well. he's started turning his nose up at canned salmon on occasion. last week he refused a beef side of ribs. he'll eat it eventually if i leave it out there long enough, but the only things he has real gusto for any more are beef hearts, beef liver, turkey necks, and pork necks. i didn't even bother to buy a case of chickens this past shopping trip.

he's got a brother who is so spoiled, he'll only eat if fed by hand. and he does have a highly acidic stomach. if he doesn't eat twice a day, he'll vomit bile.

maybe he's nauseated and that's why he doesn't eat?

does anyone have any ideas for me? whole chickens are the cheapest and easiest rmbs for me to feed. has anyone else here had problems with their dogs developing an aversion to chicken? how did you handle it?

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......has anyone else here had problems with their dogs developing an aversion to chicken? how did you handle it?

I suspect that this is not a big problem among working dogs <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />, so I'll PM you some links and ideas. My own dogs are pigs, but a neighbor has a dog who's very picky.......

I have an English Mastiff on a raw diet. Aside from any medical problems that haven't already been ruled out, I'd say that your dog is totally spoiled and over-fed. Put the food out for ten minutes and if it's still there take it up and put it back in the fridge for tomorrow. Feed once a day. After three days you should see a change in attitude toward chicken. I've not seen a dog starve itself with food in front of it. hope this helps. My dogs are going to have to really up their performance for me to start cooking for them. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

One last thing. I hope your not only feeding the dog chicken. Give him/her a little variety. i feed chicken, meaty bones, tripe, old uncooked pork chops, venison, turkey (when their free), etc..

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....I've not seen a dog starve itself with food in front of it. hope this helps. My dogs are going to have to really up their performance for me to start cooking for them. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> What he said!

I did send Alice a bunch of info about Giardia symptoms and testing, but otherwise ditto to everything you've said here.

well, he is a working dog, he is my pack dog in the mountains and he goes hiking nearly every day. he's quite skinny, he doesn't need to eat fewer meals. usually he can't tolerate skipping one. like i said, he vomits bile if his stomach is empty for too long.

he's not spoiled, in that i do pick up the food and bring it out again later, i do not cater to him. the chicken only gets cooked when it gets down to cooking it or letting it go bad.

connie, got your note. please see mine.

as i noted he gets turkey, beef, pork, and sometimes wild game in addition to chicken. chicken is only maybe every third or fourth meal.

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i do pick up the food and bring it out again later, i do not cater to him. the chicken only gets cooked when it gets down to cooking it or letting it go bad.

So you DO let him skip meals when this happens, or do you give him something different within a short period of time?
T

A couple of things I am curious about. Do you ever just not feed him during the Picky times? And while I really don't consider following a human around while they hike "work" (like you could possibly go fast enough) You mention nothing about him not keeping up. Soooooo, you have a spoiled brat that can get you to freak out. Next time he turns his nose up at his food, skip a couple, three days. Only dog food companies say you have to feed every day. I never feed every day and formerly picky dogs learn to eat it while it's there. Try and remember that he is a dog, dogs are scavengers, and they should be dang lucky when we feed them.

yes, tracy. he has to eat what is put in front of him. if he refuses the chicken, he gets it at the next meal, and the next, and the next, until it is in danger of going bad, and then i cook it. i don't want him eating spoiled food. (not that he would, anyway.)

the modification i make is that i offer him the food again in a few hours, instead of waiting until his regular meal time. like i said, if he goes without eating too long, he gets nauseated and vomits bile. i try to avoid that happening because it only makes him less inclined to eat. so he gets frequent opportunities throughout the day to eat the chicken, rather than waiting until the next day. but he does not get a substitute.

there is one exception, but it was two years after the chicken aversion began. the worst episode we had of this was this past summer, right after our older dog died. ben didn't have much appetite for a couple of weeks after that. he refused chicken for four straight days until i got worried about him. it seemed to me it was developing into a power struggle. i decided to feed him the most tempting possible foods for four days, and then try the chicken again. after four days of getting the foods he likes, he ate the chicken the first time it was offered to him, without protest! it was like he temporarily forgot that he didn't like it.

these are human grade chickens from the supermarket, so i don't think they are bad, but sometimes he behaves as if some of them have something wrong with them.

hm, you might be onto something, jeff. but i don't know if he can go for longer than a day without eating without getting sick. the way i've managed it in the past is to give him pepcid to reduce the acid in his stomach.

he really is too skinny to fast the way i've fasted my other dogs.

overall, the input i've received from you folks has me decided that i'm going to get him checked out by the vet.

thanks.