Expert: Have4Paws - 1/20/2011

Question
Hello...my family just adopted a 4 year-old male, neutered beagle from the Humane Society. He has only been home 2 days, but he is not eating his dog food. I bought Pedigree, as that is what the shelter said they use. He is a little on the chubby side, so I know he was eating there. He is interested in food (he watches when the people are eating and is a little bit of a beggar), and did eat the biscuit I put in his bed, but has not touched the bowl of kibble. Also, he drank an entire bowl of water yesterday evening after we came home, but has not been drinking a lot today. He is urinating though. I know he will not starve, but is there any way I can get him to eat his food in his dish? I don't want to give him any treats until he eats that first. Thanks!

Answer
Hi Becka, sorry for the delay ... I occasionally have computer issues but this time my whole system crashed and I had to go buy a new computer so it is now just finally up.

In my estimation Pedigree is a substandard food, they use it at the shelter because it is inexpensive and the manufacturers often give them good bulk discounts. That being said his not eating most likely is due to the transition from wherever he was before the shelter, the trauma of being in a shelter and then now at yet another new place. This is always a hard transition for a dog. It can take several weeks for him to come around and months before he feels completely confident and safe and "at home". I am sure if he isnt really eating he is hungry, in other words his belly is telling him he is but he is kinda of depressed which is as I said normal with all he has been thru.

My first suggestion is go and buy him a quality dog food, for his health and longevity. The stuff he has been getting is full of fillers and grain. Beagles are very allergy prone and often don't do well on these types of foods, even getting stomach upset from it. I recommend Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet for all beagles. It is grain free and they use novel proteins with either potatoe or sweet potatoe (proteins that a dog wouldnt have ever been exposed to before therefore not allergic to). It has just the right amount of protein and fat and is a very healthy diet. It will also cut down on the amount of pooping they do, the cheap foods make them poop a lot. Beagles tend to be obese, they love to eat, and they will literally eat until they pop so feeding them foods that are high in carbs and grains puts excess weight on them and severely shortens their life span.

So now how to change his food.... You cannot just shove a bowl of new food in his face, it has to be done very, very gradually mixed with the old food or he can end up with diarrhea and stomach issues. People often think that dogs need variety in their diet, this is absolutely not true, they are perfectly fine eating the same food over and over again and as long as it agrees with them they are happy. So when you begin the change you will add a very small amount of the new with the old and each day gradually increase the amount of new until that is all he is eating. It should take about a  week or so

You are absolutely right about not giving him treats unless he eats his regular food, otherwise why bother with eating if I can get snacks instead? In addition, you should NEVER give him any human food,not only is this teaching him not to eat his own food, but as you know he will become a beggar, it is also not healthy for him, his body is not able to properly digest our foods, quality dog foods provide everything he needs to be healthy, slim and live a long life. As well please don't what we call free feed your dog. He should be fed twice a day, food is put down for 5 minutes and if he ahsnt eaten it it is picked up until the next meal, he need to be on a schedule he can rely on like 7 and 7, or whatever.

If you are still having issues getting him to eat you can add a tiny bit of meat or chicken broth to try and encourage him, but this would be temporary, If he goes more than a couple days without eating ever this is your sign that he needs to go to the vet.

Hope this is all helpful! Let me know how he does and settles in, remember it will take months for him to feel completely comfortable in his new environment and you to see the real him so shaping his behavior now and being the ALPHA is very important.