Hiya,

I rehomed a collie/spaniel cross from a rescue centre a month ago.She was picked up as a stray and is quite happy to scavenge for food but...

She will not eat her dog food without a huge amount of encouragement.I've switched brands several times, i've bought her different dog bowls., and i've switched the time of her meals and the place i give her them.

When she does eat her dogfood i am faced with a pathetic animal, ears flat ,head hanging, tail between her legs. I keep telling her how good shes been but she just whimpers at me like her world has just ended.

I don't know what her previous owner has done to her regarding food, i'm wondering if they fed her and then abandoned her as she was eating.There is no way of telling but if anyone has any tips on how to encourage this dog to eat confidently they'd be gratefully received.

cc x

Same reaction to dry and soft food? If it's always hard, any chance she's whimpering because it's hurting a broken tooth, or gum or soft tissue disease?

My Mom had a Westie (love the one at the top of the site w/the heart), who used to act like she was eating poop at meal time, and then go out and hunt for squirrel and rabbit droppings like they were gourmet food. And that dog's meals were a combo of premium dog food plus beef or chicken!

Anyway, while she's out and about looking for those tasty little treats she likes to scrounge for.... any chance you could ensure that she'll find a tid-bit or two of the food she's refusing to eat out of the bowl? That might let you know if it's a situational thing.

Just a thought. Good luck!

I agree that the first thing you should do is have the dogs mouth and teeth checked by a vet. I even once knew a stray that had a piece of glass stuck in her gum for a few months before anyone realised thats why she rarely ate.
If everything is okay there, it could be the treatment she had with previous owner, and could very likely be the shelter she was in as well (not saying it is a bad place). At feeding time in a shelter, the noise can be deafening, and sometimes sensitive dogs can develop a few quirks from that rather quickly. If she was at a rescue that put strange dogs in one large run together, she may have been bullied by a more agressive dog at feeding time.
I would say that you are reinforcing her behavior by making such a big deal over her feeding. I know its seriously hard, but Im going through similar pains with a stray I have right now as well. She has such seperation anxiety, that she wont stop and eat unless Im asleep half the time. However, you are only telling her that there is something to worry about, because you are going to sit here and be with her while she eats. As long as there is no medical problem, she will eat eventually. It seems like she has some big fear issue with feeding, which could easily be abuse from people, or having to eat around a dominant agressive dog. As she begins to feel more at home and safe in general in her new home, she will understand that those things are not a part of her life anymore. You just dont want to cultivate a behavior that will have to continue forever by indulging it now. If her teeth are ok, leave her dry food (even soft dry food - Beneful seems to be tasty and not too hard or soft) out all day. Then she can take bites as she feels ok, and eventually, she will understand nothing bad is going to happen. If she will not eat for two or three days however, you need to speak with your vet about the whole situation. I wish you luck, and she will start to work things out after a bit.

We fostered a dog like this one time, actually a couple of them have had similar behaviors.
What we did is feed a good quality food and then I made up a little dog stew: meat, broth, and carrots. I mixed the two together. I fed at the same time and same place every day. The first week was tough and I was sure the dog would starve to death! Our vet really encouraged us to keep it up. By the third week the dog was eating just fine and we could move on to other issues.
A month is not very long to have switched foods. Buy a good quality food and then stick to it. Makes sure that there is no other food the dog can get to.
Beneful is a great food and so are a couple others that our vet recommended. I can't remember the names of the dog food for anything at this point though!
These poor rescued dogs has been through it all. They just need someone to just be patient. Oh and the dog may need a bit of a long distance relationship while they are eating at first.