Our Beagle World Forums banner
1 - 11 of 11 Posts

· Registered
Joined
·
23 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 ·
For those of you who were around when our new dog Millie joined us, we love her so darn much! She's become a TOTAL mama's girl, which is ironic since I'm the one who didn't want a dog.

She no longer panics when DH leaves, sleeps in her crate like a good girl every night, and is getting along (for the most part) with the cats. She still growls at one of the cats now and then, and has even growled at my son a few times, but not in a threatening kind of way. We are working on helping her understand that they are all above her in the pack, so that she doesn't feel threatened by them.

The biggest problem we are having is her input and output. She isn't developing any sort of potty routine, which I believe is largely due to her lack of intake of food and water. She goes to the vet on Wed. at 8:30 for her spay, but I wanted to hear what you all on the board think, too.

I know it's not well-liked here, but I bought Iams because I was at the grocery store on the way to pick her up from the pound. I didn't want to grab the crappy stuff, so I got a bag of Iams. She is barely touching her food. I realize that she may not like it, but don't they get to the point where they'll eat just because they are hungry? Her water intake isn't much better. She was on the electric blanket last night and sat up panting from being hot. She knew to go to her dish and lap up some water, so I know that she understands where it is and what it's for.

I gave her some leeway for the first week, figuring that since she was at a good weight when we found her, she chose to catch up on her sleep and affection instead of food and water. But it's been about 10 days now, and she all but ignores her food, save for a bit here and there. There was one day that she ate her whole serving, but since then it's just been a nibble once or twice a day.

Does this sound abnormal to all of you? She's VERY interested in people food, but we aren't giving her any right now. She seems finicky. I did try a carrot and a slice of apple, but she turned her nose up. I also have tried several different training treats, and there's only one she seems to like. She turned up her nose that Science Diet dog bones I bought, so I think that she might not care for the SD dog food.

Any suggestions? I have done a search on the board for food suggestions, but I found a lot about content. I am willing to try a few different brands, and really don't want to switch to canned food.

If you had to list 2-3 brands of food that you think are good and I could try, what would they be?

And do any of you have any thoughts on the behavior surrounding her food? She loves to go for walks, seems healthy, and loooooooves to cuddle--she doesn't seem ill or like she's losing weight. But she doesn't seem interested in eating, either, so I'm fielding all suggestions!
 

· Premium Member
Joined
·
1,100 Posts
Does she like to play? When Sadie and Pooh were little they didn't eat their food to my satisfaction. I had them on Science Diet puppy dry food. I would sit on the floor and roll the pellets of dry food across the floor. They would chase them down and gobble them down. Yea, I know I am strange, but that is how I got them to eat.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
129 Posts
Iams is in there with the crappy stuff. As a rule if you can find it in the grocery store it is not a good dog food. In order to produce the quantities needed to fulfill the grocery stores needs they need to use a lot of fillers. Try going to a specialty store where they have high end kibble like Innova and Origen. Try giving her a piece of raw steak and see what she does. What are her stools like. She may not want to eat it if is does not agree with her. An awful lot of dogs do not do well with grains and frankly they just do not need them. Are you just leaving the food out for her to eat or feeding her at specific times?
 

· Registered
Joined
·
23 Posts
Discussion Starter · #4 ·
She isn't too playful at this point. About the only thing that interests her is running to catch a tennis ball, but that's only 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time she gets distracted by a smell and is looking the other way by the time we throw the ball. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

She's only pooped with my husband, so I'm not sure what her stool is like. What should we be looking for? She doesn't seem gassy or uncomfortable.

If she likes the raw steak, what does that mean? I know for a fact that she likes parmesan cheese--she went crazy over trying to get a container of it and another time licked my son's plate clean after he had pasta with olive oil and parm.

She may be used to eating only canned food or human food. She's VERY interested in whatever I do in the kitchen when it comes to food. But I don't want to indulge her by seeing what she'll eat. I think there's some sort of habit going on. Whether it's begging for people food, eating out of garbage cans, or eating canned food--I have no clue!

I will try the pet store tomorrow and see if they have either of the brands mentioned above, thanks for the info.

jennifer
 

· Registered
Joined
·
752 Posts
Jennifer,

Your pup sounds normal. Everything you described was just like our first pup.

Stay away from cheese though as it tends to bind and may casue less bowel movement.

We went through several different foods before settling on one. We serve Purina Pro Plan dry and canned. They love this stuff.

All Beagles are easily distracted by scents because they have hundreds of years of breeding behind them to get them that way. They are hunters by nature and use that powerful nose to do so. Anything that produces strong smells, like cooking, always will get a Beagles attention. Try feeding your pup the same time you and hubby eat.

Good luck
 

· Registered
Joined
·
23 Posts
Discussion Starter · #6 ·
Joe, good idea about having Millie "eat dinner" with us. I'm going to be out today and will stop by the pet store, and will try feeding her tonight with us.

Thanks so much to all of you for your advice!

jennifer
 

· Registered
Joined
·
275 Posts
I would get a bag of quality dog food, and a can of food made by the same company. Then, mix about a couple of tablespoons of the canned stuff with some water, and serve it over the food as a gravy. Soft food isn't good for their teeth, but it sounds like the lack of water is the more immediate issue. If she's used to scraps, it doesn't seem weird that she wouldn't want dog food. Honestly I'm surprised that any dogs go for pellets when they smell our dinners cooking. Especially since they're so scent oriented.

If I were looking for a food for my dog, some of my choices would be: Canidae or Chicken soup for the dog lover's soul
 

· Banned
Joined
·
19,926 Posts
You've gotten some great suggestions -- couple of other thoughts. One, it does sound like you've given her table food/scraps in the past. She could well be holding out for more. If I am cooking and I give Maggie anything, say, one little piece of cooked chicken or shrimp, she won't even look at her dog food for a couple of days. You really have to commit to not giving her any table food/scraps and that means everyone in the house has to do the same. It is really hard when those big eyes are looking so sad ... You might also consider adding some pumpkin to her dry food. She might like the taste and it is good for their digestion. Make sure you get the 100% pumpkin and not prepared pumpkin pie. Good luck!
 

· Premium Member
Joined
·
1,194 Posts
So glad to hear that Millie is settling in so well. You've gotten some good suggestions--I know you said you don't want to give canned food, but the idea of mixing canned and dry might be just the thing to tempt her. Then maybe you could gradually wean her off the canned. Or you could try pouring gravy or bullion over the dry food, to make it smell more appealing. I feed Shiloh Beneful, and she likes it pretty well, but she waits to see if she's gonna get a better offer before eating it! It only becomes her first choice it if I add something like that to it. Or the water from a can of tuna fish. She loves that!! Good luck!
 

· Banned
Joined
·
2,994 Posts
Our two woof their food down, probably worried that the other one will steal the food.
I think the suggestion of mixing canned with dried food is good, also servng her her food when you eat.
The idea to offer her raw meat is just to test what she likes. Some people feed their dogs nothing but raw food, you can read up about this by typing in BARF on your search engine.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
191 Posts
I would not feed her any people food for now. A little chicken broth in her dry food to get her to eat it is okay, but then wean her off of it. She has shown she will eat when hungry. If you give in to her you may create a monster. (A picky monster that is.) Try putting some food in with her at night. Emma does not like to eat in front of people. She eats when I am not there or at night when she thinks I am asleep. Drinking is the same thing. (You should see me at the park when I give her water. I have to put the water down, raise up & look away. She has gotten a little better, but not much.) She is not really food driven unless we are at my mom’s (Grandma gives Emma whatever she wants.) She too doesn’t like all treats. Bil Jac are her favorite so far. (Soft is the key with her.) She will eat something she wouldn’t normally eat if she sees another dog eat it. You might be able to get the cats to help you with that.
 
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top