Happy boys

[Jolene Hegarty]

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Our happy boys! Cobain has settled into his new house marvellously can’t believe how well he’s responding to being part of the family. Couple of accidents in the house I assume he was marking his territory but he’s done his business in the garden this morning so that’s good! He settled well over night and has enjoyed being petted. Any tip on getting him to eat would be helpful as so far he’s not touched his food and only ate cooked meat? I don’t not if he’s testing to see what he will get or if he’s nervous about it.

 

[JudyN]

He is so beautiful Do you know what he was fed before coming to you?

You could try making a meaty liquid by boiling up something like a chicken carcasse and moistening his food with (you can then also feed the cooked meat, but don't give him any cooked bones). Or consider raw feeding?

 

[Jolene Hegarty]

They said he was On a mix of dry and wet so I tried that. I’ve just cooked him some chicken he’s ate that boy knows what he likes they said they think he was only fed once at night in Portugal and that he’s never ate his breakfast but I’ve made the chicken because he never ate the breakfast at shelter yesterday or his dinner in here last night.

 

[JudyN]

A friend had a rescue dog who would only eat at night at first - though she was also too scared to come out of her crate during the day, and my friend had to spend the first week or two pretty much ignoring her.

So very different to your lad, but you could try leaving the food down overnight to see if he'll eat it then.

What brand/variety are you using? Will he take it if offered as treats/rewards?

 

[Jolene Hegarty]

We have bakers complete and pedigree chum hasn’t touch that or the the treats but has are chicken and gammon I thought maybe he was scared but he’s ate something so I think he’s maybe pushing his luck lol

 

[JudyN]

Bakers and Pedigree really aren't great foods - I would definitely look at finding something better quality. The best resource is www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk - you can put in details of your dog, with an idea of your budget, and it will suggest various foods, with ratings. Of course, he still may prefer cooked meat, but as you say, he may just be trying it on and you might have to practise a little 'tough love' (not too much - it's still early days and the less anxiety he has the better).

 

[Jolene Hegarty]

We just went with that as that’s what he was getting tbh. I see us probs sticking with cooked meat.

 

[JudyN]

Just cooked meat is likely to be unbalanced. A quick google has found this: 'Your pet needs protein (animal meat, seafood, dairy, or eggs), fat (from meat or oil) and carbohydrates (grains or vegetables). They also need calcium (from dairy or an ingredient such as egg shells), and essential fatty acids (from certain plant oils, egg yolks, oatmeal, and other foods).' So you can cook your own, but you will need to do a bit of research (or feed raw, which is easier and healthier).

 

[RGC]

Hope (and please forgive me if it appears that I am) teaching someone to suck eggs (horrible phrase) as that’s far from my intention. Are you letting your imagination and/or very kind nature go into overdrive. When we adopted our rescue she was in one helluva emotional state and didn’t eat for at least two days. Mind you, she was overweight but my point is that she did start to eat when she responded to hunger. We didn’t starve her but couldn’t leave food down for a long length of time as the cat would eat it. Mabel now has a healthy appetite and thrives on a raw diet. Two main meals a day - 08.00ish and 15.30 plus treats. I’m sure that Cobain’s just finding his feet. Hope it all goes well. He’s a lovely boy but who tangoed his handler?

 

[Jolene Hegarty]

If he wasn’t eating anything at all I would agree but since he’s not touching the meat or dry food but will eat the cooked chicken or gammon suggests he’s being fussy or simply doesn’t like the food but as that’s what he was on that’s not it. I will see how today go and slowly look at changing. I put a wee emoji on so my sons face isn’t in it on much better note he’s crying when he needs out for the toilet and hasn’t had any mess inside for 2 days

 

[arealhuman]

I'm in a similar situation. We're currently feeding Rusty mainly cooked chicken. He will and does eat other things, but the chicken is king. We will be moving him over to Platinum dog food soon, we have a trial box arriving shortly.

I think the irregular feeding is from their time in the shelter - they'd have to battle (probably not literally but in terms of lots of dogs vying to get fed) for their food so we're probably seeing the remnants of this. I'd say let him continue at his pace and settle into a routine so he knows when he can eat. He's eating, that's the main thing. As I'm sure you know, it's all new to him so it will take time for him to realise he's safe, his food won't get nicked and so on.

I agree with the comments about Bakers/Pedigree Chum. We did the same when we first had Jimmy (our first rescue dog who we lost a couple of months ago), partly to ease the transition and partly because we didn't know anything different until coming on here!

You're journey together will be a wonderful one, you will have trials and tribulations no doubt, but the rewards of helping a dog like this are plentiful for both of you