Hi Everyone - newbie here! Just joined to see if I could get some other ideas. My 9 month old Coton Shitz (Bailey) won't eat anything even people food. We've had him for 7 months now. I've tried a lton of things people food and all varities of dog food soft and dry, all the treats in the world - doesn't care about them either. He's alert, barks, runs around, drinks water, eats the odd treat, and plays with his Coton brother constantly. He just won't eat. His brother eats but there's no fighting over food at all. He's had the odd piece of cheese, chicken, beef and sometimes eats a crunchie or two. Anyone ever heard of the shape of the mouth affecting the eating? Next stop is the vet I suppose. Just wondering if there's any kind of supplement to increase appetite or a boost juice of some kind. He seems normal other than the fighting with the food. Any clues. Thanks from Canada.

Hey dude, welcome to the forum.

You mentioned something about the shape of the mouth-- does this dog have some sort of defect? I know that in humans, children born with a cleft palate will sometimes have difficulty nursing because of it. And in adults, a dental abcess will inhibit eating. So if that's the case, you definitely need to ask the vet for some advice/help.

Otherwise, in the case of no interest, we always tell the big dog owners that the dog needs to "earn" his food-- he needs a "job." Run him through some basic obedience, rewarding him with a bite of kibble from your hand for each command. With my dog, after a dozen hand-fed bites, she will eventually show interest in her bowl (or I hide several bits and let her seek for them, since she is a bird dog). You could even teach him some tricks, like "helping" out by carrying a sock or a shirt to the laundry for you; he sounds like an energetic and smart doggy.

Have the vet check him over first. He might have retained puppy teeth that are making his mouth sore, for example.

If the vet doesn't find anything wrong, stop coaxing him to eat. He's probably refusing to eat because it gets him attention. Put his food down at the appropriate time, and leave him alone. If he doesn't eat it, pick it up and put it away until the next meal time. Don't fuss at him for not eating. Make a fuss over him only when he does eat. After a couple of missed meals, with no treats in between, and no attention on your part, trying to make him eat, he'll figure out "If you snooze, you lose" and start eating.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will check out the baby teeth theory because he seems to have double set of the big ones in the front. No there's no signs of a cleft palate when I had him checked after I got him. I will definitely try the good boy tricks with the crunchies. Yes he does need alot of attention. He's insistent on getting picked up all the time. I too agree with "Snooze you lose". But of course, of all these suggestions, I will take him to the vet and see what they say. I'm also going to check out a certain pet store that will give me samples of dog food and check them out. Hey maybe I'll get lucky with that. Thank you all for making me feel welcomed and most of all friendly and concerning advice. From one dog lover to all you dog lovers - thanks. Keep you posted. ps I'll try to put a pic up - you'll enjoy his face for sure!

[rayter]

There are pills that can help your dog gain desire to eat, but again, you need to bring your dog to a vet.