Hey Everyone (Need a little help) Questions

Discussion in 'French Bulldog' started by Odin, Oct 2, 2020.

  1. Odin

    Odin New Member

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    Hey Everyone (Need a little help)

    I would just like to start by saying hi to everyone first.
    My wife and I have a one year old male French Bulldog named Odin and he’s our world. He’s an absolutely wonderful addition to our family. Amazing personality and extremely loving.
    One issue we’re having is that he’s not eating. He’s extremely picky and eats maybe half a meal per day, if that (some days he goes without eating at all).
    We have tried many, many different solutions to try to entice him to eat but nothing works (including changing his food to adding toppers, to putting his food on the floor to trying the ‘Starvation Method’ , etc - all at our Vets instructions).
    We’re at a loss because we don’t know what to do to get him to eat.
    We just had blood work done and he’s perfectly healthy so we eliminated any physical issues or parasites etc.
    He’s now starting to lose weight as he was 27 lbs about 2 months ago and now he’s 24 lbs. This is worrisome.
    Has anyone experienced this with their French Bulldog? Had anyone experienced this and was able to help their Frenchie get their appetite back?
    Like I said, he is a part of a very loving environment and is very spoiled. We have created an amazing bond with our little guy.
    I have owned Boxers (2 in total at different times in my life) and have never experienced anything like this before, especially with a puppy or a juvenile.
    If anyone has a suggestions we’re all ears.
    Thank you.
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  3. Chris

    Chris Member

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    If he's losing weight I'd try hand feeding. Dog often have more of an appetite if the good is hand fed.

    One thing I've found works with my own when they are off their food has been to give a different meal every time for a few weeks, then wean back to what they usually eat.

    Keep a very strong eye on his weight and if it continues downwards then back to the vets
  4. CaroleC

    CaroleC Member

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    Does your Frenchie actually look thin?
    The last two months covers the natural transition from a soft puppy frame to a leaner adult shape which should have a marked waistline.
    Having said that, over the years I have had two dogs that had long periods of refusing to eat. The first was a female Cavalier who never filled out enough to make the show ring, she would go for weeks just eating balls of raw minced beef, - and ginger biscuits! After she had a litter of three, her appetite improved a great deal. She was an extremely athletic girl and lived to 12 years - a good lifespan for a Cavalier.
    The second was a bought in Cavalier male who seemed to prefer a vegetarian diet. He was very highly sexed, and because I kept bitches, he went to live as an only dog with friends who were vegetarians. He stayed slim and always moulted a lot, but was otherwise happy and healthy. He regularly escaped from the garden to seek out bitches in season. In retrospect I think he might have been better if I had had him neutered.
    I don't know whether any of this helps, but it is my experience.
  5. Odin

    Odin New Member

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    CaroleC likes this.
    He looks a little thin in his abdomen. His ribs aren’t fully showing yet but they’re starting to. He does look healthy still but a little on the thin side. He is at a healthy weight too even though he’s lost some pounds.
    He finally ate a full meal tonight after trying the starvation method for a full day (including last night) which is a good sign.
    We’re going to keep trying this method to try to engrain in him that he eats at meal time and that’s it. If he doesn’t eat by the time we take his food away then he’ll have to wait until his next meal time. Hopefully this way he’ll learn that if he wants to eat, he’ll have to do it there and then (this is what our vet recommended).
    Knowing now that he is in a transition stage from puppy to adult does make sense as most dogs do hold a more lanky frame during that time - so that might account for him looking a little ‘thin’.
    This has been going on with him for so long that it gets worrisome as well as frustrating.
    We just want him to be a healthy and happy boy.
  6. Odin

    Odin New Member

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    We have tried hand feeding and sometimes he takes to that but we were also told to refrain from that as much as possible.
  7. who owns who

    who owns who Member

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    How about adding 2 tablespoons of raw goats milk on top of his kibble. My dogs pretty much dance now when I’m putting down their food bowls with goats milk. It’s also very good for them. If you can’t find that I also sometimes give them goats milk kefir. Have you tried any of the frozen raw dog foods?
  8. Queensland blue

    Queensland blue Member

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    Having a good bit of exercise works for my dog.
    He comes back hungry when he wasn’t before we left
  9. Odin

    Odin New Member

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    He does get a ton of exercise because his energy levels are high.
    He gets 2 to 3 walks per day plus I take him out back to play and run at least twice a day for about 20 min to a half hour each time plus 3 trips to the dog park per week minimum. he loves exercise, playing, running, chasing and being chased.
    Most of the time it doesn’t really change his appetite unfortunately.
  10. Odin

    Odin New Member

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    We were giving him kefir for a few months but then, like everything else we give him, he seemed to lose his taste for it and stopped eating his food if there was kefir in it.
    We’ve tried so many different things to entice him to eat.
    We haven’t tried a raw food diet yet.
  11. Andrew Sheldon

    Andrew Sheldon Member

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    Tootsy my cross breed has always been a very finicky feeder, I mean absolutely terrible. I have mentioned this a couple of times on this forum. She isn't like a normal dog that wharfs her food down, I put the food in her bowl and initially she wont even check it out, instead she will wait till I have walked away. She will then go up and have a sniff. If it isn't to her liking the food will simply be left, this happens an awful lot. She can go without feeding for at least a day. This has been going on for over 4 years, whereas I used to stress about it I tend to be a wee bit more relaxed. She has always maintained a good weight, being a very active dog its probably not such a bad thing she hasn't put on too much weight.
    Her favourite food is chicken, sausages and our left over food from our meals, even then she will carefully pick out the bits she likes and leaves the nasty bits...
    We have bought the most expensive makes of kibble and she simply will not touch them, it is most frustrating...
    Good luck and I hope your woofer has no underlying issues and is just a finicky pooch like my Tootsy......
  12. Odin

    Odin New Member

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    Thanks for the response.
    We don’t give him table scraps or any of our food but we feel like we’re running out of options.
    We spend so much money on dog food and then end up wasting a lot because he won’t touch it.
    Hopefully this is just a phase.
    Either way, we’re going to keep trying different
  13. Malka

    Malka Member

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    Just a suggestion, but if you can get hold of a raw chicken neck or wing, offer it to Odin and see how he reacts. He might do better on a raw diet. I have been a raw feeder from mid-2011 and the first thing I offered was a chicken wing. My girl had been on kibble since she was a puppy and I changed her completely to raw in just a couple of days.

    Regarding the waste of food that Odin will no longer touch, I had just bought a 13 kilo sack of holistic kibble shortly before changing to raw. My vet was only too happy to take it from me, so at least it was not a complete waste.

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