feeding 8 month old GSD

Question
Dear expert,

I have one question regarding our 8 month old female GSD pup.

We got this puppy about twenty days ago when my friend left the states. She seems to be an all-around great puppy, happy and energetic, but the only thing worries us is that she is very thin (weighing only about 42 pounds currently) and it is hard to get her to eat. She won't eat dry kibbles and canned dog food (we tried a lot of different varieties). Only if you mix them with cooked unsalted minced or chopped meat, she will start to eat, which is the way my friend used to feed her. I believe he also fed her a lot of human food in the past. Anyway these three days the puppy gave up eating that too. She still takes meat if you offer it, but once you mix it with dog food, she refuses to eat. The vet has checked her and could not find anything wrong. There is no sign of pain or worm infection (well she has not done her heartworm test yet).

Do you think might there be something else wrong with the puppy, or is she just trying to push the limit to get more meat or human food? Is there any chance that we can switch the puppy's diet back to dry food?

Any of your suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!  

Answer
Hi Cherry,  You do need to break her off any human food at all.  Some dogs will hold out for human food to the point of getting really skinny.  You need to get her on a good quality puppy food (she should be on it for 2 years) and add warm water to it if she refuses to eat it.  Warm water will bring out the scent better which entices the dog to want to eat it.  You should also put the food down for 20 minutes, if the dog doesn't eat after 20 minutes, lift the food and don't give her anything else (treats, human food etc.) until the next feeding, put the food down again and repeat what you did at the previous feeding.  The most important thing to do is hold out and not give her any extras until she is actually eating her fill of dog food.  Hope this helps,

Dawn