# Monthly Self Fasting?



## Jami Craig (Jul 5, 2010)

My two year-ish male (intact) mal goes off his food for a day or two once a month....poop is normal (occasionally a little soft by the second poop of the day or after working..which I figured was excitement), behavior is normal (except the not eating part), energy is normal. He's normally the "food vacuum" type and is fed in small meals out of an easy puzzle toy (just something to slow him down) or I stick an oversized ball in his bowl so he can't inhale.

It's random when he does it but it's approximately once a month, he will take treats during this time and work at his puzzle toys to get treats out, if I was to hand feel him kibble by kibble he'd eat, it's usually for a day, sometimes for two....I usually pick up his bowl (I have two dogs, and my mal will gladly let my older dog eat his food) but if I was to leave it down in his crate he'll play with the food but won't eat.

He's eating grain free Taste of the Wild: High Prairie, when he's really been working hard or if it's very cold I will also give a 95% meat, there is no correlation between when he gets wet food and when he stops eating. He's 55-60lbs and gets about 2.5-3 cups of kibble a day (recommended 2.33-3). He's in good weight. He's wormed, frontlined, etc regularly. We have no "real" neighbors and the closest house that has a dog has a spayed female...so I don't think it's a female-in-heat thing...

My vet has no clue the cause but just tells me to watch him during these periods, if he behaves in an odd manner then give him a call. I've heard that dogs fed raw sometimes fast themselves a day (and owners who feed raw will force this every once in a while) but is this was my kibble fed dog is doing?


----------



## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

My male Dutchie does the same thing intermittently for a day at a time. I never really thought or worried about it. The female never does go off her food.


----------



## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Does he have occasional access to a dogfood storage area, a cat dish, the other dog's dish, trash, or anything like this?

The only reason I'm wondering about these detective-type things is that this dog is so food-driven. 

I've had self-fasting dogs (not many), but not really with such a foody as this guy. :lol:


----------



## Jami Craig (Jul 5, 2010)

Connie Sutherland said:


> Does he have occasional access to a dogfood storage area, a cat dish, the other dog's dish, trash, or anything like this?
> 
> The only reason I'm wondering about these detective-type things is that this dog is so food-driven.


Nope, not at all. Dog food is in a sealed container, dogs are fed in closed crates or with supervision, cats (which are no where near my closed room) are not free fed and are supervised while eatting or they'll fight. Trash is sealed (and food trash is in the outside bin). There isn't much edible (or nonedible) he could eat in my room (which is the only place my dogs exist while in the house, I rent one room) without me noticing.

While he loves his food (except for 1-2 days a month) during meals...he's not actually that food driven in training or in general. Even if I skip a meal I have better luck using a stick I picked up on the ground and hit against my hand a few times as a reward than his favorite treats (or his kibble). Throw a stick into the bushes he'll search for it for hours...drop a treat on the ground at your feed he'll sniff it and go look for the stick which in his mind is soooo much more worth his good behavior...

He's still at that age where if I leave the room, he's crated or with me. However apart from hoarding non-food items in his crate (which is why he's still in the crate when I'm not supervising him...his preference is my most fragile and expensive drawing pens) I've never had an issue with him breaking into anything. At this point even on slow days where I only get to bring him out to train/play for an hour he's never really gotten into things that aren't his...he has barely even chewed things that I didn't specifically give him even if they are for dogs....we're still working on "sleeping" and "there are more speeds than 'run' and 'run faster'" but he's actually pretty much the ideal non-destructive house dog...


----------



## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

My dogs are gluttons, so going off food would be a sign that something is very wrong. 

A few years ago, it took me a couple of days to figure out that my labx was able to get in to the kibble container. I was starting to think he was maturing and not feeling the need to inhale food, but just politely eating his meals. He went back to his usual barking and spinning for dinner self once I secured the food bin.

I did find adding water to kibble slowed my dog down enough that he wasn't choking on his food. Changing his food bowl to make eating quickly more difficult just seemed to make him more stressed over food rather than slow him down. 

So throwing out ideas. Is something spooking your dog off his food? Is the other dog giving him the evil eye, has something changed in his environment? Did he get something that upset his stomach? Chew something that may have made a tooth sensitive? Is there any pattern to his not eating?

Sounds weird. Hope you can figure out what's going on.


----------



## Jami Craig (Jul 5, 2010)

leslie cassian said:


> My dogs are gluttons, so going off food would be a sign that something is very wrong.
> 
> A few years ago, it took me a couple of days to figure out that my labx was able to get in to the kibble container. I was starting to think he was maturing and not feeling the need to inhale food, but just politely eating his meals. He went back to his usual barking and spinning for dinner self once I secured the food bin.
> 
> ...



I did check his teeth the first time...but haven't done it since. I just double checked them, there doesn't seem to be any discomfort, and he's been perfectly willing to clamp down on his toys. 

My older dog isn't really a bully and they eat back to back. Even shut in his crate it doesn't change however (he'll play with the kibble...still isn't eating it). I've been curious about the upset stomach idea but it seems odd it would happen every month and he will eat other things? Most recent treats this time were little bits of cheese and hotdogs (not unusual for him).

It is around every 30 days no matter what the season, and does include if that time falls while we're on the road or at my parents house, other areas, etc. 

I've put something in his bowl or put the food in a toy pretty much since I got him at around 11 months old (on the 27th he'll be 2) after he jumped into his bowl so quickly he managed to launch kibble onto my high bookshelves, and I always thought soaking kibble was a big no-no because of bloat?


----------



## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

I don't soak the kibble, just add warm water right before I put it down. Kinda like adding milk to cereal. I have no idea if it would be associated with bloat, I'm not sure what the mechanism would be that would cause a dog to bloat on slightly moistened kibble. 

There doesn't have to be any overt bullying for one dog to pressure another. My old dog used to simply lay in a spot and that was enough to prevent the other dog from getting to the far side of the room. I watched my friend's GSD who was hanging her head out of the car, make the merest lip twitch and my dog who was approaching turned and went in a different direction. They can be pretty subtle. 

I am not a vet, but I have had some experience with horses and colic, which makes me wonder if there is something going on in his digestive system, like intussusception, where the intestines telescope into each other... not enough to cause a full blown medical event, just enough to make him uncomfortable. Throwing out ideas, I could be way off...

Or your dog could just be a bit weird and quirky and not feel like eating sometimes. If he's otherwise in good health and your vet is aware of what's going on, it may just be one of those things to keep an eye on, but not lose sleep over.


----------



## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

not much to go on since there doesn't seem to be anything obvious that jumps out

if it were me, i'd try to keep Everything the same and then fast him on MY terms and compare his behavior/poop/pee, etc to when he fasts himself on HIS terms.

the part about eating from a puzzle confused me a bit...the way i read it sounded like you fed him via the puzzle, but then, when he was refusing food, he would still eat from the puzzle (?)
...is it treats vs kibble thing ? will always take treats but turn down the kibble ? or are the treats also the kibble ?


----------



## Daniel Lybbert (Nov 23, 2010)

look on the bright side. At least you dont have to pay for food for a couple of days. I wouldnt worry about it.


----------



## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

I dont think this is uncommon...I have had lots of dogs do this...

I am betting if you doused the food in bacon grease he would eat it...


----------

