No eting

Question
QUESTION: Recently we rescue a border collie from a shelter, she is 6 months old, and weights 25 lbs.  She refuses to eat any dog food. She loves dog treats, but when we put the food for 15 min she looks at it uninterested.  We believe prior owner fed table scraps because she is interested in people food.  We try adding gravy to her food and it worked the first day but not any more. We exercise her once a day, and use treats as a training tool. Should we cut training until she starts eating.  What can we do to get her to eat normally. She drinks plenty of water

ANSWER: Hi Sandy,

First of all, have you had a thorough veterinary checkup to make sure there is no health issue behind the inappetance?
next - I don't believe in the term "people food" as distinct from dogfood. Dogs and people both eat meat, fish, poultry, grains and vegetables - only difference being we are used to highly porcessed canine products with questionable nutritional value. If your new dogs has food preferences, that's ok - we are all entitled to preference. I might start by asking, what type of dog food are you using? If it's not a premium food, sometimes just a switch to a high quality diet can  get a dog interested in eating again.

Now, at 6 months old you REALLY need to get the nutrition into her. I often advise a home made diet for adults, but with a pup, you need professional guidance to DIY. I'd start with looking at some premium dog foods and see if you can't entice her to eat. Then again you may already be feeding one, I don't know from your post. If you are feeding a premium food, it may be a question of just switching to one she prefers. Let me know some more and I'll make more specific suggestions.

What treats do you use for training?
Catherine

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We have tried several dog foods including Purina, Science Diet, Good Life and Iams.  Have also tried soft foods Alpo and Benneful in addition to "people gravy" added to her food. The treats we use for training is Authority liver treats and Authority bisquits.  She also gets an occasional raw hide for chewing.  She has been to the Vet a couple of times and he tells us that if she continues to have problems, he will do some testing, but that will be expensive and we want to avoid if possible.  I don't think she has health problems, I think that she is just very finicky about what she eats. She is a very happy dog and has a lot of energy, likes to run and play.  The only time she has eaten any of her food, we have hand fed or spoon fed her. I would guess that she takes in no more than 1/2 cup of food per day.

Answer
Ok - you DO need to try a premium food. <g>
Let me make some suggestions for this girl.

1) Canidae All Life Stages
www.canidae.com - my first choice for puppies

2) Natural Balance
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/UltDog.html
also excellent


3) Wellness
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_dry_index.html

4) Innova
http://www.innovapet.com/products/default.asp?id=502

I would not recommend ANY of the foods you have been using, and I'm willing to bet your girl will be much more accepting of the better ones. ANy one of the above foods would represent a quantum leap forward in terms of health and nutrition. And whle they are indeed more expensive, you have to consider the cost of your dog over her whole life. Good nutrition NOW means you pay more at the checkout and way less at the vet. I urge you to look into these products.

For some eye opening information on what's really in grocery store pet foods, check out:

http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

I know it's upsetting, but this is why nutritionists like myself no longer recommend brands like Alpo, IAMs, Beneful etc.
Hope this helps and good luck, I am here if you have more questions.
Catherine