What brand of food do you feed your Doberman?

Question

My dog will eat a certain brand, and love it, and then all of a sudden, she won't even think about eating it. But will eat another brand. I have several bags of dog food just wasting away because she "changed her mind" and now dosen't like it!! Isn't that silly, or is this normal?

Oh, please no rude comments about how dumb I am or how stupid it is that I have a doberman. I don't care to hear that. I just want to know what other Dobe's are eating. And if this behaviour is strange or is my dog just being stubborn, or if she is just being a spoiled brat?

Answer 1

I feed mine a blend of Nutro Natural Choice and Nutro Ultra. The NC for the extra glucosamine and chondroitin and the Ultra for the antioxidants. He's eleven now and in great health, so obviously it's working. He particularly likes the Ultra, because it has salmon in it.

As for the hunger strike, she may have discovered that she gets extra attention or special food if she chooses not to eat for a bit. Sounds a bit like she has you trained. :) No shame in that, they're smart dogs. She should be eating twice a day. If she doesn't eat a meal at the scheduled mealtime, take the bowl back. Sometimes just learning that they need to use it or lose it will make them change their minds.

You obviously love her a lot, so hang in there. I think you'd benefit from finding the local DPCA chapter and joining up. They're a great source of info.

Answer 2

It's normal for some dogs. I have German shepherds and one will happily eat just about anything under the sun, but the other one will get bored with dog food. she used to get really excited about feeding time and would run through all of her tricks, then when we set the bowl down she would sniff it and walk away. She even did this with canned food if we fed her the same kind long enough. When we got our second dog, she got better about eating her food more consistently. And now they get "extras" mixed in (yogurt, pumpkin, frozen veggies, cooked ground chicken, etc...not much, about 5g worth) and she eats every bite of food every time (knock on wood, we do switch up the extras a bit so hopefully she won't get bored with them). I have found that I have to give her less than I did when she was eating just dry dog food because when she eats all of it she gets a bit chunky (she's actually eating the same amount because when I gave her more without the extras she didn't eat all of it so a lot went to waste).

It is up to you how you want to deal with this. If you want to try adding in extras or keep switching between foods that is fine. you could probably even go back to one of the previous foods since she hasn't eaten it in a wile and she'll probably love it again. I personally don't believe that a dog has to be on one food and only one food their entire life or they'll develop stomach issues. Some dogs really do need a gradual food switch, mixing the old food and the new food, to avoid tummy upset, but others are fine switching straight away. If you want her to stop being picky, then pick a single food and offer her only that. She won't starve herself, eventually she will eat when she learns that she won't get anything better or different.

Answer 3

Sounds like she is being stubborn and spoiled. Best thing to do, even though it sounds cruel, is to stop buying new food. Teach her that what you bought is what she will eat. Kind of like a kid mwho doesnt want what their parents made for dinner, but they have to eat it....or go without it. Given time she will realize she doesnt have a say in the matter. I fed my two Dobs Pedigree and they loved it. Maybe try mixing in leftovers or wet food (just a little) to get her to eat it. Dogs love the leftovers...gives them something new and different! Hope that helped! Good luck!

Answer 4

I find that Dobermans do tend to do that.. We have been thru every decent brand of food out there.. Usually every six months or so, they decide that they don't want it and like it's poison or something.. We are feeding the Canidae now tho, and they absolutely love it.. No signs of changing their mind, and they are doing really well on the food.. I bought the All Life Stages, it's good for puppies to seniors.. My dogs are aged 18 mos to 8 + years of age, and they all really enjoy the food and other than their carrots and yogurt, don't bug for people food at all.

Answer 5

Dobermans can be stubborn. I feed my Dobies Natural Balance by Dick Van Patten. They have many different varieties of dry food and it is a four star food. Try not switching up so much or so often.If you find or know a brand that he likes just stick with it. He'll eat it when he gets hungry. Good luck to you and your Dobie girl!!!!

Answer 6

Chances are what it is eating now is as good as even the most expensive foods. If your Dobe is doing well on it, stick to it. There isn't any real evidence ay of the brands are enough better to be worth the risk of problems when you switch. All you will gain is bragging rights are Starbucks.

Answer 7

A ver friends told me one time, that unless there is something medicaly wrong with a dog, one will never starve himself to death as long as food is available. I know this, the better the food, the less he will eat. I think your dog is spoiled, like mine! Just stay away from wal marts ol'roy..... Good luck!

Answer 8

LOL She is just spoiled--my Dobie's get a high protein dry dog food from the feed store where we buy our horse feed--If she doesn't want to eat--she's not that hungry--just leave it out for her and she will eat it--Dobie's don't go hungry!!

Answer 9

WHO SAYS DOBERMANS ARE STUPID!!!!!!! AND IF THEY SAY YOUR STUPID FOR HAVING ONE, THEN THEY CAN COME TALK TO *ME*!!!!!!!!!!! there just jealous they have ugly little nasy animals in bags.

And you dont worry, its normal. My dobie changes his mind one in a while, but if you have a problem with it, like I did, dont get her another brand, just wait till she gets hungry, she'll eat it. Also, sometimes it may see like she dosent like it, but she could be just not hungry. And the other dog food is just to try bc its diffrent.
I feed my Dobeman Purina. Its his favorite(and only one he will eat), and I make him homemade food.
And its ok for dobie to be spoiled! LOL!!! mine are!

Answer 10

we use Royal Canin, but we mix in several different canned foods, and people food. Especially veggies- green beans and broccoli and carrots