# New Puppy!



## Nailin Baker (Sep 9, 2012)

Wow! I cant believe I have a new little GSD/Bi Color! We rescued her from a bad situation. 

But to keep it short-

This new little girl-ECHO-is 3 months old. She takes to certain treats very well, but she was raised, Im assuming, to graze. She will not eat but a few pieces of food at a time or I have to hand feed them to her / I dont mind hand feeding her but WOW, how do I get her to learn that she needs to eat all her food at once. Everyone in my house inhales their food, including the cats. 

What I have been doing is putting her food down giving her a few minutes, about 15 or so, then removing it. Is this a good way to go about this? I have never had this issue before so I am a little lost!! )

Another thing, when I put her bowl down, if I leave, she will follow me and not eat at all! Should I just make her stay in her crate with her food until her 15 minutes are over. (I am also in the crate training phase). 

I have never had a picky puppy!! HELP!! :O)


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

Nalin,

If she's eating from your hand already? Then use it as a training and bonding opportunity. Lure her into positions (sit down stand) and then mark and feed/reward. Good Luck with her


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## Elaine Matthys (May 18, 2008)

I would continue as you are doing to encourage better eating habits, but there are a lot of low food drive dogs out there where they just don't have much interest in food and that's just the way they are. It can be very frustrating.


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

Nailin Baker said:


> Wow! I cant believe I have a new little GSD/Bi Color! We rescued her from a bad situation.
> 
> But to keep it short-
> 
> ...


I've had many a dog who did not eat. Shephers are notorious when it comes to bad eating. There isn't much you can do that you are not doing already. I would put the food down and take it away 20 minutes later, better luck next time pup! I would repeat that same routine every day 3 times a day and in the end the pup would start to eat but still not like you would want to see them eat...

Funny enough most of them grew out of this behaviour around 16 to 18 months of age. Only one dog stuck with its strange eating patern and would not eat during the day. He was kenneled and I would give him his food every day only to have him leave it till well past midnight and then he would start nibbling away like a pro :roll:

Feeding the pup by hand? I see a lot of problems coming from that if you keep that up, also staying with him at the foodbowl will give him the wrong idea and will probably only enforce his belief to eat only when you are there to stand there or feed him. I would move away from that behaviour quite quickly!


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I'm with Alice. If they don't eat in 15 mins then it's taken away.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Congrats on the new puppy! Never had a picky one either.


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## Brian McQuain (Oct 21, 2009)

I agree with everyone else...pick the food up after 15-20 min. She won't starve herself. She's friggin adorable, btw! Im excited for you and Echo


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

I'm sure reading this situation different from the rest of you.
I don't see a picky eater problem that you have to insist the dog eat when and where and how you say and must be done in x minutes or the food goes away.
I see separation anxiety where the dog is more worried about where Nalin goes then with eating. What's wrong with combining hand feeding with bonding and training? I know lots of people who only feed their puppies during training (including tracking)


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

i'd like to hear it explained how "low food drive" can be considered genetic. i really don't understand that at all, and i don't really consider it a "drive", per se, but realize you can certainly add or subtract food motivation (value) according to how you feed

i've worked with dogs when their owner has said it had very low food drive, and wouldn't touch their food in a bowl, for hours, etc., but every one became very interested in eating after a few days being boarded. after doing some digging into their feeding habits and the way they handled their dog, there were always reasons behind it that weren't genetic at all. i also have found taking away the bowl in a few minutes often had no effect on working up and appetite either

if "low food drive" lasted longer than about a week it was sick and went to a vet for a checkup

but then again, i also tend to be in the "Thomas camp" regarding feeding and food. hand feeding helps me a lot in many ways, since the dogs i get to work with often have other problems besides picky eating. as an example, any dog i work with with any type of aggression problems NEVER gets fed in a bowl until there is improvement, and for some, they still get hand fed even if they do; raw or kibble 
...just how i do it, ymmv of course


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Bob Scott said:


> I'm with Alice. If they don't eat in 15 mins then it's taken away.


If they don't eat in 2 minutes, I'd take it away. A dog should wolf its food down.


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

Gillian Schuler said:


> If they don't eat in 2 minutes, I'd take it away. A dog should wolf its food down.


Do you find that this action encourages overeating? If they found themselves with an open bag of dog food would they eat themselves silly or stop after the first cup or so? I like a dog to eat but at least take the time to chew their food and not inhale it.


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

Sarah Platts said:


> Do you find that this action encourages overeating? If they found themselves with an open bag of dog food would they eat themselves silly or stop after the first cup or so? I like a dog to eat but at least take the time to chew their food and not inhale it.


or Bloat?


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Unless a dog is a self feeder (I've had a couple in my lifetime) most any dog will over eat if they find an open bag of dog food. You can say the same for a dog that finds a packet of rat poison. You can "what if" yourself crazy. It's our job to keep those situations from happening.


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