my 9mos old golden retriever would not eat dog food...pls help?

Question

whenever this happens, i feed him with rice&pork. after 5-6days only he would stop eating rice & pork also, so i have to switch him back to IAMS dog food and yes he would eat dog food again. IS THIS A NORMAL ROUTINE?

Answer 1

Goldens are known to be very clever, and yours proves this. He's got you well trained. ;)

Your dog has learned that if he holds out long enough, you'll give him something different to eat.

Its ok for a dog to skip a meal here and there, so don't worry if he doesn't want to always eat his meals. When your dog doesn't eat for more than a day or two that's when you start to worry.

What you need to do is pick a high quality dog food. Iams isn't a high quality food, and I don't blame your dog for not wanting to eat it.

Once you have your dog food pick out, you need to stick with it. You're going to retrain him using tough love. Put his bowl down at meal time, leave it down for 20 minutes, then pick it back up whether he's eaten or not. No snacks or anything until the next meal time. Again put your dog's bowl down for 20 minutes, picking it up when time is up whether he's eaten or not. Repeat. A healthy dog won't starve itself, and he'll soon get the point that he better eat what's in front of him when its in front of him, or he'll be hungry until the next meal.

Here's how to find a high quality food for your dog:

I don't recommend puppy food for any puppy. Why?

Explanation as to why puppy food is BAD for puppies, especially large breed pups: It contains WAY MORE protein than needed. It causes rapid growth, rapid growth then leads to future bone and joint problems. Feeding a high quality all stages food will promote a more desired slow growth, and thus lessen the chances of bone and joint problems later. Puppies should grow up slowly, not spring up like weeds.

In my opinion "puppy" foods should only be fed to pregnant and lactating dogs who actually can use all that extra protein and calcium.

Nothing you find at a grocery store is going to be a good food. High quality foods can be found at large pet store chains, or online. A couple of foods I like are Nutro Natural, Innova, Innova Evo and Cannidae.

There are other high quality dog foods. Here's how to spot them:

A high quality food will have little or no fillers such as corn, wheat or soy. These aren't very digestable for dogs, and are common food related allergens. Since you were seeing corn meal in the first few ingredients, those are not high quality foods. Foods list ingredients by content, with the ingredient it contains most of at the top.

A high quality food will not contain BHT, BHA or Ethoxyquin, these are all chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer.

A high quality food will not contain by-products of any kind. Meat meals are ok as long as the source of the meat is listed, such as Chicken Meal.

A high quality diet should have meat as at least the first ingredient., and be made from human grade ingredients. Foods that don't use human grade ingredients often get their ingredients from less than desirable sources, such as meat from animals that were diseased, or euthanized.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm.........

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htm...

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html.....

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html.....

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&m...

Answer 2

Your retriever, with the excellent nose, smells everything you are cooking (and probably what you have in the frig and pantry) and then gets the same hard, processed kibble. I would go on strike as well. It is the equivalent of living in a bakery and never being allowed to sample the goods. So place a little of what you are eating at the bottom of his bowl, cover with kibble and put it down. He may eat the kibble, he may lift the bowl and dump out the kibble, he may make a mess. He is a dog and there is nothing wrong with giving him real food provided that it is safe for dogs (no onions, heavy spices, etc.). It will not spoil him, it just gives him a nice treat. When he is hungry, he will eat what is available. Dogs are scavengers but some are more discriminating than others. Dog food is over enriched so even dog food companies understand that adding in other foods in place of some of the dog food does not affect dog nutrition.

Answer 3

This is normal. Younger dogs generally want the same food that they have become use to eating. He should be fed adult food soon. You may want to mix his puppy food with adult food slowly in order for him to eat the adult food. IAMS also has adult food but is more expensive than some other dog foods. Just hang in there and be firm. With that big smile of a retriever, I am sure it is difficult to be firm.

Answer 4

A healthy 9 month old Golden should not be doing this. They can be picky eaters if you allow them to be, and it sounds like he has got you trained very well.
Around this age also they start to come into what I call the teen age time and they can be a hand full. Don't give into the fussiness of your Golden. No dog will starve themselves, especially a Golden. If he has been to the vet recently and he checked out OK. then it's you who has to stand firm and refuse to give into this behavior. If Iams is the only food he will eat then give it to him, Just be sure it's the one for large breed dogs OK. I prefer NUTRO large breed for my Golden's but then none of mine are fussy eaters!

Good luck and stand firm!

Answer 5

Try mixing a little food or gravy with the dog food. Maybe try a different brand to alternate. He probably gets tired of the same thing

Answer 6

I am not sure if this is normal,

stick to one kind of food, some dogs will try anything to get their wners bo buy different kinds of food and then not eat it, if you use IAMS, then maybe add some warm water, cooked rice, or whatever your pup likes to it for a while until he/she gets used to it.

good luck

Answer 7

At his age ,not eating for a day is no big deal 3 days is a problem. If he is active and regular don't be to worried.

Answer 8

Maybe you should just keep him on a steady diet of one kind of dog food.

Answer 9

mine eat what ever i put in my mouth
spoiled dog

Answer 10

i never heard of that before, check with your vet, but i don't think it will hurt him. just your wallet.