# Why Doesn't Dulcie Want To Eat?



## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

How old is she? Puppies who are teething (especially those back molars) can have painful mouths and not want to have to eat/chew. 

Otherwise, how much exercise does she get? Does she get a chance to work up an appetite?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I would start by checking her mouth and teeth. Is she generally off colour? Are poos normal - in frequency, etc? If it continues for a second meal for no obvious and unworrying reason I would have her checked by your vet - much better safe than sorry, especially if you are about to go away.


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Good point about teething ShamrockMommy. DUlcie is 4.5 months and is teething - her adult canines are coming in and also I can see molars coming. Maybe it is something to do with that. After a bit, she did eat the small bit of kibble I put down. I then put a small bit of the frozen raw down - still frozen - and she ate some of that and then came over by me again.

She gets a couple of walks per day, lots of fetch and also at least one outing in the car per day which involves going to Petco or similar and then walking in the strip mall greeting people and practicing sit and down with distractions. Last night, she seemed to have a lot of energy in the evening, however - wanted to play A LOT and also did zoomies for much longer and more times than usual. (there is a funny story about that which I will post in poodle talk )

I did notice this morning that she was after all the acorns that are falling in our driveway now - and I realized hmmm she has been trying to eat them all week and leaves too and the twigs that come down too! I take most away but rarely can get the acorns before she has swallowed them. The other thing she did yesterday was she discovered the leaves in the potted ficus I have here - and she has been going back to it repeatedly - and leaving potting coil on the floor. That was a first (last night) so I wonder if she ate some of the soil and it upset her stomach? argh. I don't even know what is in that soil!


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Yes, fjm, teeth may be it for sure. Also yes her poos are normal and she is peeing normally. She just seems a little quieter than usual, not really ill.

Although I did notice just now that her nose is hot and dry - is this something significant? Normally her nose is cold and moist.


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## nataly (Jul 31, 2014)

If she looks healthy and her teeth are alright, she maybe just telling you she doesn't need 3 feedings a day any more. It seems abrupt, but happened to me. It also happened like that when my dog was letting me know I feed him too much. He would just start skipping meals. As soon as I cut his food a bit, he would start eating twice a day again...
I would wait and see if she is hungry by the next meal...


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Buck threw up some bile with acorn in it, so I agree that it might a yard debris upset stomach PLUS teething. Thank goodness it's not a mast year!


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I know this is a double post, but I wanted to mention how happy I am with the flirt pole I got Buck. You can do training with it or just give these insatiably energetic dogs more exercise indoors or out. Mine has a leather lure and he enjoys chewing and chomping on it, so I'm hoping it will help with teething. Also, I forgot to add that I think Dulcie's food amount is fine. They need their fuel for sure!


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

mfmst, what is a mast year?

I'd love to see a picture of the flirt pole!

I took Dulcie to the vet, just to be on the safe side, because she coughed again today and it sounded really guttural. Also, she is just not herself - off her feed and lying around.

Vet said stop feeding her the chicken wings - it is possible for her to get a splintered bit caught somewhere. If she is still off tomorrow, I may bring her back for an x-ray. However, it doesn't look like she has any tenderness or other digestive issues (i.e. vomiting or diarrhea) so probably not a serious issue even if there was a little bit caught for a while.

She also thought it is possible that Dulcie may have picked up a virus as she is out and about much more now. She could have a strain of kennel cough, as the vaccine does not cover everything all the time, naturally. Again, I will be watching her and seeing how she does.

meanwhile, back to PetSmart to look for chewy things that she might find tempting. She simply does not have any interest in nylabones, kongs or much of anything else meant for safe, healthy chewing. I resorted to USA made rawhides, and even these she can take or leave. She does like bully sticks - for a little while - and I have been giving her some even though they give her gas and looser stools. Vet says that's Ok.

The big thing is that I want her to have safe things to chew and clean her teeth with - and I thought YAY she loves the raw chicken wings! Now I guess I have to go back to the drawing board.

At PetSmart, I found dried pig's ears (which I have heard people here use with their dogs) and a couple more kinds of bones and also beef tendons. So far, she hasn't had much interest in the pig's ear. :-(


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Be careful with the ears, they are super high in fat, can cause pancreatitis in more sensitive dogs. 

I don't feed raw, but I find that a lot of vets are very uneducated about it. I don't choose to feed it because I can't stand the mess, but I don't agree that it causes problems. So many dogs seem to do fine with it. 

I would think the acorns in the yard are much more of a hazard. 

Anyways, I hope Dulcie is back to her old self shortly! It is always so worrisome when they don't feel well!


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## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

Nifty, I'm battling the acorns too. My deck is full of them and it's a battle to get them all off the deck without Piper chewing on them. It drives me nuts. ha ha

Oh, I hope Dulcie is feeling better. BTW, Piper just got over a dose of what I think was a mild kennel cough. She actually didn't cough, it was more sneezing. I know it was a "thing" though because my daughter's dog started with it and my Yorkie got it too. Bodhi goes to puppy kindergarten so... My Yorkie had a little hacking cough with it too but still it was very mild and gone in about 10 days. 

I had a dog that I fed chicken wings and sometimes he rejected those. 

Did Dulcie eat later on in the day?

pr


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I gotta disagree with your vet about the chicken wings!!!! As long as they are fed raw and your dog 'chews' and doesn't gulp it's food they are a lot safer and more beneficial than rawhide! Most 'Rawhide' is processed with chemicals!!!!! And rather than pig's ears try buffalo ears...they are lower in fat! Also, it doesn't have to be just 'wings'... drumsticks and thighs are easier to find at the market!!!! Also less $$$$ LOL!
Other things for chewing are tracheas and tendons and chicken or turkey feet, ....Go to BestBullies.com if you want to see all the good things for chewing that are available!


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Hi Poodlerunner, yes the acorns are a PITA. I remember my daughter's dog was mad for them,too - though they didn't seem to do her any harm.

Another thing I have noticed is that Dulcie has been at the potted ficus - did I mention that? She won't leave it alone! I am concerned about what may be in the potting soil. Ugh

Yes, she did eat her supper tonight (a mix of dry kibble and canned Instinct). Ate about half first and then finished it up about 10 minutes or so later. 

She seems more or less fine - no more coughing either and her nose is cool and wet again. Vet said no fever either. Perhaps she just isn't hungry today!


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

MollyMuiMa, I sure would like to continue feeding her the raw chicken pieces (I didn't know I could use thighs too - that's excellent). She really loves them and it was so satisfying hearing her crunching away - she took her time and crunched and crunched every little piece. I don't doubt the vet is correct that splintering could happen - although Dulcie chewed every little sliver so thoroughly, I felt really comfortable about it. And best of all, it seemed to give her tremendous chewing satisfaction! I just don't know what to do next regarding that. before I started the chicken (at few weeks ago at 4 months, per breeder's recommendation) I was pulling my hair out trying to find things she would like to chew. None of the usual stuff seems to interest her (puppy chews, nylabones, kongs, etc - she just ignored them all, even when I filled them with yummy stuff). Once she started the raw chicken, she seemed to be so glad to finally chew and crunch and chew! And her biting also diminished.
Ugh, I wish the vet hadn't said "Don't do that" because now I worry that if I give it to her and by some chance she DOES get a splinter lodged in her intestine somewhere, well I was told, wasn't I?


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Buck eats chicken necks with no problems, although his vet was less than thrilled with raw feeding. Chagall's Mom, my breeder and others on PF gave me confidence. I see nothing dangerous about the necks. The bones are small and he chews them thoroughly. He gets his holistic(?!!) grain free kibble at the other meals. The raw helps keep teeth clean. Frankly, I'm more worried about the yard nibbling. A mast year is when there's an inordinate acorn drop. Sticks, pine cones, leaves, acorns and the gross unidentified are all things he puts in his mouth. I have to watch him like a hawk until he figures it out. Hope the X-ray will be unnecessary and Dulcie is back to her best by tomorrow.


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

That's really interesting about a "mast year" - I had never heard of that before! (I grew up in a place where oak trees are not indigenous however, so maybe that is the reason).

I'm going to look into getting her some chicken necks, perhaps.

Thanks for the well wishes!


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## FireStorm (Nov 9, 2013)

I just wanted to chime in and say that Hans was very hit or miss with eating while he was teething. He skipped meals, but we stop into the vets office once a month to weigh him and get flea/heart worm meds and she always says his weight is fine so I gave up worrying about it. 

As for the chicken wings/necks/etc, I always though that the risk of splintering was for cooked chicken (or other bird) bones and not raw. Hans gets raw chicken parts fairly often because my mom raises chickens and saves him the parts she doesn't use. He does just fine with them. I thought about feeding only raw but we travel so much it would be difficult.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

This might ease your mind a bit about chicken bones.......Google this: Dogs Eating Chicken Bones, Facts and Fables


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## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

nifty said:


> Hi Poodlerunner, yes the acorns are a PITA. I remember my daughter's dog was mad for them,too - though they didn't seem to do her any harm.
> 
> Another thing I have noticed is that Dulcie has been at the potted ficus - did I mention that? She won't leave it alone! I am concerned about what may be in the potting soil. Ugh
> 
> ...


Im so glad to hear that she ate her supper. That would make me feel much better. My guys are wild about beef trachea to chew on. Gross I know, lol. Also the yak- milk bones are a winner with the poodles over here. That's awesome that Dulcie chews the wings so thoroughly. People feed chicken wings all the time. I think the wings are better than thighs or drumsticks because they are non weight-bearing bones, which makes them less softer. I wouldn't even bother telling my vet that I feed my dog raw food. Keep us posted how she s tomorrow. 

Pr


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Lily and Peeves both were slow eaters while teething. Also we do use buffalo ears, not pig or cow ears. They love them!

I hope Dulcie feels better tomorrow. It is so hard to wonder what they are feeling and wish your could make them understand they will get better.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Both of mine were very intermittent eaters when they were teething - soft food livened up with chicken broth helped, but I think there were days when they felt yuck and didn't even much want that. They made up for it by being ravenous on other days, though! 

I would move the fig plant - not a good thing to have around a curious pup prone to nibbling...


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