[aphex944]

I adopted a black/tan coonhound mix male, about 1yr 4mos old from an animal shelter here. He had a very good temperament, and seemed energetic and non aggressive. Not sure on his history, his "sheet" said he was an owner return, the volunteer looked up his file and said he was found as a stray. He has definitely been handled and in a house before, and is completely submissive to me(not so much with my sister and mother). He likes to lay in his crate, and walks VERY well on a leash in a submissive manner. We named him Indy..

But, I am worried because he really hasn't eaten much. The shelter said their feeding times are 9am and 4pm. I bought a brand they recommended, Eukanuba, which listed chicken as the main ingredient. After giving it to him, he sniffed it, and walked away. He came back a moment later, and briefly ate a little. I put it up, and expected him to definitely be hungry in the morning. This wasn't the case, he sniffed it again, and didn't show much interest. He's drinking normally. He also loves his dog treats. I decided to try a different food, so I bought Purina One based on lamb. He scarfed most of it down. That definitely gave me some relief. However, his next feeding time came around and he ate a little, but hardly any. He sniffs and sniffs the food, but doesn't eat it. At dinner time, he is VERY interested in table food, but I don't let him have any or get near it. I know he won't starve himself, but I want him to get into a normal routine.

Also, for being pretty young, he is NOT playful really at all. I've taken him on long walks, and ran with him a bit, which he does great with. His normal behavior is to walk up to people, sit, and expect to receive affection. He shows little interest in any kind of toy(I bought several different kinds). He has played with a bone I got him for maybe 2 minutes. He seems very docile and lethargic. I would actually LIKE to see him bark once! He has jumped up a little when someone comes to the house, this is usually dominant behavior but I let it slide a few times. When I saw him at the shelter, he was vocal(barking), and played with a few toys, he seemed much more comfortable and energetic than he does here.

I am probably coming at this way too fast, and he needs a chance to settle in and learn the habits of the household. I guess I am just worried he's depressed or too nervous. Anyone have experience with this and know what's going on? He's SUCH a good dog, and I just want to make sure I'm being the appropriate leader and giving him the right setting here. Any tips would be wonderful..

Here's a picture of him

 

[skyskraper]

when i got my dog at 12 weeks old, he showed little to no interest in any food apart from what humans ate for a good week, then he became a pig. so id keep an eye on him for a few days and then see if he still isnt eating and get some advice from the shelter. apart from that all i have to offer is good luck! dogs are wicked but a lot of work. thank christ ive only got a small one.

my dog

 

[Aman]

When I first got my dog, she was little under 14 weeks old, and, just as you described, she was unexciting, not playful, and never hungry.

The dog needs to adjust to your new household and grow a bit. Within a few months she was a blast

 

[Bunnyears]

Oh boy! You have a fussy eater. If the dog doesn't care for dry food, you can try a semi dry food or a canned food mixed with kibble. Usually large dogs don't have that problem, but sometimes it happens. What ever you do, don't give him people food, and don't feed him when you are eating. Put the food out for him at regular times, and then if he hasn't eaten after an hour, take it away. Just chuck it. It won't hurt him to miss a meal. Next feeding time, put out new fresh food, and he will probably eat it without a problem. Just be sure that whatever you give him is nutritionally sound and appropriate for his age and activity level.

Or, you can do what I did for years, I took what ever I was cooking, mixed some of it with the kibble, and watched while the dog picked apart her food, leaving behind all the kibble and eating more and more of the people food. Then I sat while the kids put the dog on the kitchen banquette between them and put her dish on the table while they ate so that she could be just like them. By the end of a month, I didn't have a dog, I had another daughter who became the fussiest eater in the house. At least she didn't beg, she knew she was eating the same food at the same time as the kids.

Edit: I just looked at the dog again. This is not a puppy, but a young adult dog. He should only be fed once a day! If he's not eating twice a day it's because he really doesn't have to. Just be sure to give him plenty of exercise. He's got a beautiful shiny coat, which indicates good health, and an alert intelligent eye. He needs to adjust to the household routine, especially since he is not with all the company of the shelter anymore. give him some time and I'm sure that all these little problems will resolve themselves.

 

[Bunnyears]

If the puppy seems lethargic, be sure to take him to the vet for a thorough check up. Many times the puppies have picked up parasites or other things at shelters. Make sure all of his innoculations are up to date.

 

[EyeAmEye]

Animals, in general, are very territorial. A sudden change in environment is upsetting. Give your dog a few weeks to become comfortable with his surroundings and your family. Within a few weeks, keeping a steady routine, he should be fine and become more active and attentive. He will always be more submissive to the one family member he identifies as his master, so it isn't out of the ordinary for him to react differently to you, so long as he isn't aggressive and volatile to another member of your family, everything should be fine.

 

[thrawn86]

sometimes that can happen with mistreated dogs too. We adopted a greyhound who had been mistreated, he hardly ate at all for two weeks.

He doesn't *play* like other dogs do, he just likes to walk up to you and cuddle. you have to remember, not every dog is as energetic as a toy chihauha.

 

[gsferrari]

familiarity and comfort...thats the cure...

Spend some time with him, sit him down with you when you watch TV and keep petting him...basically make sure he hangs around you a lot...

 

[gabedamien]

See, I still hang around a little.

What a sweet looking dog! I wouldn't be too worried about it unless he's losing weight. I have two German Shepherds; one is a ravenous beast that scarfs entire meals down in about a minute, and the other is the daintiest little picky eater who literally chews each grain of dry food one by one. And occasionally skips meals, although she's an evil beggar when my parents are not around.

With adopted dogs careful vet checkups and inoculations are an absolute must. Parasites are a big concern there.

He's not a puppy, so he won't be as impressionable and quick to fit in. But time and good care will probably fix that. I mean, I'm no vet or expert, but my great-aunt adopted a poor thing that had obviously been severely beaten in the past. Sad dog would run and tremble and generally panic at strangers, run from my great-aunt, hide under porches, etc. Well, a few years down the road this pathetic creature has become one of the most social and energetic dogs you've ever seen.

A family friend adopted a grown stray. He too was docile and quiet at first, though not timid like the above example. He's still restrained, but he's become a vocal and happy dog.

These are just personal anecdotes. Who knows what your dog is like or will eventually become? But I would count your blessings - many people would consider a quiet, well-behaved, healthy, clean dog a scientific impossibility.

Good luck, and I hope you and your new dog become good companions. Dogs are wonderful pets.

 

[Hajime]

That is a beautiful dog! Out of curiosity, what program did you adopt him from?

 

[aphex944]

Thanks for all the replies, they have been VERY helpful.. I am making an appointment with the vet tomorrow for checkup and get any the other follow-up shots lined up.

I adopted him from the Wake County SPCA(www.spcawake.org). They have a pretty impressive center, much better than other shelters in the area.

 

[Mikey01]

They are all like that at first. He will eat when he gets hungry enough. Don't let him in the kitchen while you eat. Never feed him scraps off of your plate or he will get the idea that any food on a diner plate, unattended, is allowed and he will go for it. And keep table scraps to a strict minimum or he will never go for the dog food. Canned dog food is usually too rich for them to eat to often as well as expensive. I only feed them enough meat fat to help with a shiny coat and prevent dry skin. A cap full of vegitable oil poured over the dry dog food and let set in will make it more tasty for him and help his coat or dry skin also. But don't do it all the time. If his coat is not shiny or dry than do it. Never give chocolet or onions to your dog. Both will make him sick. However, after an Itallian meal, rinse off any tomato gravy leftover onto the dry dog food. Or rinse the dead catsup bottle of it's remaining residue in the dry dog food the same way as well as any tomato soup residue leftover. He will love it. Tomato helps keep worms and parasits out of his system. They can't tolerate the acidic value of the tomatoes and the tomatoes are healthy for the dog. Check for heart worms, worms in general, as well as other parasits. But most important to him is to give him lots and lots of love and always talk to your new furry friend....A LOT. Dogs also like to work and feel needed so get him a job. Teach him how to do income tax or something. But really, I make my dog put away her toys before the vacume is run and I make her go out and get the paper, ect., ect. We also taught her to pick up things dropped on the floor and return them to you. The dog now loves doing this. And always give him lots of praise for doing things right and being good or well behaved. Chow

 

[plainsong]

No dog I've ever known has liked Eukanuba. In fact, Pixel ate it and threw up. We have to remember about dogs that there was a time that they didn't get the same meal every day. I'm from the school of thought that says variety is better. For instance, it's your first day home, so you get some cooked chicken, rice, and carrots. Rice and carrots are also good if they are under the weather in a general purpose kind of way.

Otherwise, we've had lots of good look with Hill's.

In the morning Pixie gets dry food with a little bit of cheese, and in the evening she gets dry food with a little bit of Cesars.

And she's not really finicky. After all, she does also eat cat poo.

 

[waltermeyer]

He is very cute. I just got my 4th dog recently and she was a stray also and about a year old. (I adopt all my dogs from the pound and admire you for doing so. Especially an older dog. Most of the puppies get adopted, but the dogs that are a little older often get put down. Unless your area is blessed enough to have a no-kill shelter.) Anyway, she was very stand-offish for a while. Not scared of us or anyting, just kind of like you said. I think strays of an age like your dog or mine, have probably seen several different homes in their short life. Its sad but your dog might have just got used to the pound after just getting used to her original home, and thats if he only had one home before the pound. So he might think your place is just another temporary place. Once he gets used to the surroundings and feels like its "home" he will warm up to the living situation. About a month after me and my wife got the new stray, we went on a weeks vacation. I had my mom stay here with them, (they are our children, very spoild), two of the four need medicine twice a day. The new dog got so depressed and actually dug under the fence and got out on about the fourth day. She never tried that in the month that we had her. My mom found her in the neighborhood luckily shortly after. But she tried to get out several times while we were gone and was very depressed. And when we got home she freaked out! She probably thought that we were not coming back and my mom was the new owner and said "well I dont want to live here anymore, see ya". She has been abandoned before, she thought it happened again. Adult strays sometimes take more work in other areas. Its nice because they are usually house trained, but there are different things you have to work with them on. And on the eating, its all tied together. But unless somethings wrong which you said you will check out at the vet soon, (right?) he will eat when he gets hungry. The dog probably would have eaten the Eukanuba eventually. As long as he's drinking water. Dogs get depressed just like we do. But like I said I admire you for adopting an adult dog. I wish that more people would adopt dogs of any age vs. buying from a breeder. I dont support pet stores and breeders. Thousands of dogs get put to sleep every day because there are no homes for them. And for someone to breed more just for money. Its horrible. But keep working with the dog. Show him you are his companion now. You will soon have the best friend you ever had. Nothing beats a dog. Here are some pics of my pups. The black and white spotted one is the new girl. Enjoy you new companion.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s3-9-04005.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...r/PC010012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...r/PC010006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...r/Belle1lq.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...lleBrutus5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...r/jan05031.jpg

(Sorry, Im like a proud parent when it comes to my dogs. If you cant tell.)

 

[Old Pa]

I have been feeding Eukanuba exclusively to my dogs for the last 18 years. The consensus of vets and breeders around here is that it is the best and most digestable dry kibble on the market. It comes in several formulations other than the chicken based, including lamb and rice and various formulations for different ages. All of my dogs have found it very palatable and most of my friends have switched to it after seeing how well my dogs do and the quality of their coats and eyes. That accounts for more than a dozen more satisfied customers I know of at this time. One particular attribute of Eukanuba is that you feed much less of it (about half) than you would for grocery store brands. This provides for less pressure on their intestines if you have to be away during the day and they are in the house. My grown 40# to 50# spaniels get a little less than two cups a day, fed morning and night. We feed twice a day to make sure each girl gets her own and to even out their blood sugars and gut loads.

There are different practices in feeding dogs. When my brittany was an only girl, we put out her chow in the mroning and she ate it when she felt like it. She's just be sitting around and then decide to wander over and kill the whole bowlful. It took a while for her to get used to the morning and evening feeding schedule, but after a while she got used to checking out the other dog's bowl and seeing they had the same thing she had and then snarfing her own.

Your shelter may have just put the chow out and left it until it was consumed. As has been said before, dogs have a fundimentally different digestive system and nutritional demands than people. Soft people food is especially bad for them and feeding them anything at the table or when you are eating will lead to behavioral problems. Dry kibbles also keep their teeth cleaner and their breath fresher. That said, my girls still get small quantities of lean cooked meats away from the table on rare occasions and both of them like raw carrot when I am cooking.

I know the feeling of having a dog that will not eat and being worried about them. The advice you have received about parasites and other GI problems here already certainly is good. If this doesn't work, you may want to consider a complete blood workup. This costs around $160 in these parts, but will tell you if their are any major organic problems, or, if not, what your dog's serology panel looks like normally for future reference. You can also then rule out that the dog is refusing food due to systemic toxicity from illness.

Behaviorally, all dogs are individuals and you do not know how a rescued animal was treated in the past (other than that somebody rejected them for some reason

). I like field stock english springer spaniels for companions and grouse hunting and get my pups from a field trial breeder at 7 to 8 weeks of age. This is the age when they are ready to leave the litter and bond with their primary owner. Success at this time can lead to the best possible results. Coincidentally, this breed is active, LOVES frisbee, and is very demonstratively affectionate. I am extremely grateful to all the spaniel breeders over the centuries who have lovingly devoted themselves to creating my sweethearts for me. While we support several rescue operations financially each year (as well as direct action, where appropriate), my purposes are particular, time is too short, and I fall in love too easily to go with any other dog aquisition plan. At the very least, your present dog is helping you define what you want and need in a dog. I loved my brittany dearly and she taught me many things including that I am a springer spaniel boy.

Your boy is certainly beautiful and has wonderful eyes. As he has been betrayed before, it will take him a while to trust and open up again. Sounds like he may have been through a rigorous discipline program. Jenny taught me to avoid this and the resulting damper it may place on later lovable doggie enthusiasms. My girls know their yard commands and that the old man only asks twice, but I realize they also need to be doggies and encourage that. They love their daily rawhide chew strips, which take care of their need to chew and further promote their good dental health and fresh breath. Your boy need to know he has a place and has his people. Sort of a burn-in period.

Sounds like you are taking good care of him. Maybe he'll teach you, like Jenny taught me, the way of the dog.

NOTE: Some people here know that I have been nursing my 12-and-1/2-year-old Maggie back from liver failure. We certainly appreciate their kind word and thoughts and prayers for Maggie's recovery. While it's still a work in progress, as of last night her ALT levels were less than 10% of what they were at her worst. She seems normal, has gained four pounds back, frolics, chows down, goes for walks, and spent the weekend soulfully smooching me raw. One of her first nicks was Little Miss Big Kiss.