Change of Heart, Change of Mind, or is he just being a Jerk ? (Raw Food Related)

[mightymastiffs]

After the switch to raw diet about 7 months ago, my Bulldog mix has done great. Granted, the first few days took some getting used to but all in all it was not that bad.

The Bulldog took to eating and instantly tore into chicken, pork, beef, venicen, etc. Up until about 2-3 weeks ago he would eat his daily lot with little to no issues and was consistently the least picky of the pack. For the past two weeks he has not seemed hungry really at all when presented with chicken, but will tear into anything else that I give him no questions asked.

As I take the health of my dogs just as seriously if not even more seriously than my own, I have always maintained a fair balance of different meats with the core being chicken. (I like chicken not only because it is cheaper but also because it is a great combination of what is good for a dog but it takes little to no thought to get all three dogs fed besides roughing out who much to give each). On any given week they will have typically 3-4 days worth of chicken, one of pork, one beef, etc.

So to clarify the question... has anyone else had this experience with one or multiple dogs on the raw diet? Where one just flat out refuses to eat a component that for a long time was consistent to their diet? Did it last?

I know we as humans tend to want to associate a human emotion to our dog's thoughts and that it is wrong to do so in many instances. It perplexes me though since I am not sure they are capable of compound thoughts or understanding the cause / effect thing. Sure, they have instincts and do "learn" but does it go so far as that they develop a bias in their mind of a type of food?

Every other part of his health has remained the same. Good physique, breath, build, fecal output and everything else I look at to see that they are doing well. It is almost like he is tired of chicken being a part of his diet and for no other reason than him wanting options he is snubbing it..

 

[Smart_Family]

The canine nutritionist I know just went through this with her Berner pup. He went on a semi hunger strike for at least a week and then it passed and he made up for lost time. As long as everything else is going okay I wouldn't worry too much. If he's going days without eating then it would definitely be a concern.

 

[Marrowshard]

When we had our BM Ebony on a raw-ish diet (meat + potato or rice ... omnivore just worked best for us), yes she'd one day decide she didn't really want one part of it. We got in the habit of switching her chicken out for fish every so often. It's a more unique texture and flavor change from chicken than going to pork or beef, and she seemed to gobble it up. We'd go back to chicken and she'd be fine for a while. Same with the potatoes. She'd eat baked sweet potato like there was no tomorrow then suddenly stop and we'd give her rice for a couple of days and then yeah ... right back to normal.
Once we figured out her allergies (corn, mostly) we got in the habit of occasionally giving her a "topper" to her meal to keep things interesting: a raw chicken liver, a whole egg, some green beans from the garden, something dog-safe and nutritious.
Like SmartFamily says, unless he'd going days without eating it'll probably work itself out.

~Marrow

 

[ruthcatrin]

Apollo does this periodically, I try to rotate protiens and it happens less frequently that way. Though he'll still spend a day or two occasionally not eating much, then make up for it the next day.

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Our RAW food provider said that sometimes this can happen, especially with the whole mackeral so we feed different proteins with the largest chunk being chicken based.

 

[musicdeb]

Titan does the same as well. He will eat with no problems and then turn his nose up at it. At first, I thought it was the chicken, but he would eat a day or so later.

 

[mightymastiffs]

I had to wait out my Presa, and would do that with the Bulldog but I have already. He would eat just enough to not starve himself (maybe .5lbs) or so per day.

Yesterday I started a pork only diet, and will continue this for two weeks or until I see a change. One of my good friends has two Neo's and the girl is the exact same way.. where she will only eat pork or beef and just nibble on chicken.

I am struggling w/ the psychology of this. Since envy and greed are really only human emotions, it perplexes me that a dog would be able to associate a certain food with other physiological conditions and have the sense to minimize their intake of it or all together not eat it.

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

Thor did this as well and thats when I went back to feeding kibble. For right now ( with moving and getting settled) it works but I would like to feed raw again.