Nat
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 05/14/2007 6:41 PM |
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Yall I swear I don't know what Cookie's deal is...but she just doesn't like dogfood I guess. We have tried every brand out there. I got her the Nature's Balance last week and at first she LOVED it. Well I filled her bowl up last night (I give her about a cup at a time...I free-feed her) and she still has not touched it. I absolutely have no idea how she cannot eat for 24 hours and still have so much energy. But I guess she IS on the skinny side....I can easily feel her ribs...is this common in their build?
Also..is this common for ratties...to just not "need" to eat? I mean I know she eventually will..but still...it's just so weird to me. |
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xoxo,
-Nat
http://www.NatInAustin.com
http://www.myspace.com/cookieinaustin
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Morgan
Moderator
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| 05/14/2007 6:56 PM |
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| Hmm, thats weird. I guess she will eat when she is hungry. If you have tried many different foods and you are still having the same problem I would try not doing "free-feeding" for a week or two and see if that makes a difference. Just keep her food out of reach and put it down for an hour, if she doesn't eat, take it up and try again the next day. I've heard it makes a difference sometimes. Let us know what you try and if it works. |
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-Morgan (Bella's Mommy) |
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mario07
Bratty Ratty
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| 05/14/2007 7:10 PM |
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OH, Miss Cookie, picky?? LOL Well, she IS a princess, isn't she?? LOL 
I think Morgan had some good advice.. Cookie might freak out but she'll eat when she's hungry.  |
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~~Shannon, Mario and Pepper's mom!~~
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Nat
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 05/14/2007 7:23 PM |
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But is it hurting her to just keep doing it like this? I would hate to be gone all day and think that my Princess has a growling stomach.... |
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xoxo,
-Nat
http://www.NatInAustin.com
http://www.myspace.com/cookieinaustin
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mario07
Bratty Ratty
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| 05/14/2007 7:28 PM |
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| Nora feeds her dogs once a day. I would offer Cookie food in the morning, if she doesn't eat, I'm sure she'll eat when you get home. She'll be okay. If Nora's doggies can wait til night to eat, I'm sure Cookie can too. |
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~~Shannon, Mario and Pepper's mom!~~
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Morgan
Moderator
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| 05/14/2007 7:28 PM |
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Posted By Nat on 05/14/2007 7:23 PM But is it hurting her to just keep doing it like this? I would hate to be gone all day and think that my Princess has a growling stomach.... 
Haha, I think she will survive. It's not hurting her.  If she was hungry, she would be eating. She's just being picky I think. Plus this will make you the boss.
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-Morgan (Bella's Mommy) |
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Morgan
Moderator
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| 05/14/2007 7:31 PM |
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I feed Bella when I get home from work. And if you haven't seen a picture of her lately, shes not hurting from it, haha.  |
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-Morgan (Bella's Mommy) |
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Nat
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 05/14/2007 7:32 PM |
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| Ok. I will try this. Besides...JT kitty has been eating her food lately and I'm scared they will get into when I'm gone. So starting tomorrow I will feed her in the morning...if she doesn't eat by the time I leave at 8 then I will pull up her food and feed her again at 6 when I get home. Will she be ok??? |
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xoxo,
-Nat
http://www.NatInAustin.com
http://www.myspace.com/cookieinaustin
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mario07
Bratty Ratty
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| 05/14/2007 7:33 PM |
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| Yeah, she'll be fine. |
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~~Shannon, Mario and Pepper's mom!~~
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DaisysMom
Moderator
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| 05/14/2007 7:35 PM |
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I agree, Nat. She will not starve herself - she'll eat what you put down for her when she is hungry. I would try and get her on a schedule as suggested. It helps establish you as the provider/alpha. Once she realize the food will only be offered once or twice a day and then put away, she'll learn to eat at the designated meal times and to eat what she's given.
And you should be able to feel her ribs, that's a good sign she's at a healthy weight. And many ratties tend to run toward the "thin" side anyway. |
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Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom
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Morgan
Moderator
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| 05/14/2007 7:37 PM |
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Posted By Nat on 05/14/2007 7:32 PM
Ok. I will try this. Besides...JT kitty has been eating her food lately and I'm scared they will get into when I'm gone. So starting tomorrow I will feed her in the morning...if she doesn't eat by the time I leave at 8 then I will pull up her food and feed her again at 6 when I get home. Will she be ok???
Yep, she will be ok! And don't feel bad if you have to take the food up if she hasn't eaten. I would do the same thing in the evening...give her an hour and then take it up and try again in the morning. Just remember, when the food was down all day she went that long without eating on her own terms. So this is no different. She will just have a more routine schedule of eating.
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-Morgan (Bella's Mommy) |
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Ski
Ratastic
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| 05/14/2007 9:57 PM |
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| It's actually normal and healthy for a dog to fast for a day. Fasting is a normal occurrence for carnivores. It enables the energy used to digest food to be used for other things in the body. Of course they should have water available and it's not recommended for puppies.
I've heard of people that feed a raw diet withhold food one day a week. |
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bratt
Firehouse Big Dog
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| 05/14/2007 11:25 PM |
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| Savanna is not a picky eater, but she does skip meals occasionally, or eats very little. She's fine. Cookie will be too. It's just the way they are. My Lab will also skip a meal sometimes. |
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Debra~KSSM Queen II
Savanna~Princess Easy Street
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swatson6
Attention Starved
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| 05/15/2007 9:20 AM |
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| Jack skips meals too, they won't starve themselves. When he's hungry he eats, Cookie will too. You can feel Jacks ribs a little too and the vet has said he is the perfect weight. I think these guys just run a little on the thin side. |
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Sarah
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Russ' Pal
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 05/15/2007 10:22 AM |
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Russ is another one that eats once a day and sometimes skips a day. I leave the food out, but he will typically only eat when we come in from a walk. If I'm out in the kitchen he will lurk around hoping for a goodie, if I ignore him he will eventually go over and eat his dog food.
Once in a while I get nervous about him not eating and I call him over to his dish and hand feed him a few bites, then he'll start eating from the bowl on his own. |
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-Sarah, pal to Russ & Peca |
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JenMax
Firehouse Big Dog
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| 05/15/2007 10:30 AM |
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Max will never pass up food! |
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Jenny - Max's sister
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Mitzy's Mom
Alpha Feist
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| 05/15/2007 10:38 AM |
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I keep telling all of you with thin dogs - it's the whippet/IG in them! As long as they've got energy and are healthy otherwise stop worrying. Did y'all know that one of the hallmarks of a healthy whippet was that 3 ribs should show? My whippet simply will not gain too much weight....even on the Natural Balance Duck/potato she porked up but still had 2 ribs showing! LOL
Now, with the Teddies/Type B's they are stocky (Corgi blood) so I really do have to watch their weight...but all of my guys except Skipper are nibblers. I give them their food at night and they nibble on it through the next day. (If bowls are empty in the morning I give a little more but that's only because Mitzy and Loco will sometimes spit up a little from not having food in their tummies.) |
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Mary Beth, mom to the Lollipop Kids
Georgia Foster Mom
www.ratbonerescues.com; www.newrattitude.org |
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JenMax
Firehouse Big Dog
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| 05/15/2007 1:00 PM |
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Posted By JenMax on 05/15/2007 10:30 AM
Max will never pass up food!
I guess that I was wrong. My mom tried to give him one of those raw medallions (like Nora feeds / part of the patties) chicken/turkey for lunch today. He did not like it. He finally ate a bit of it with coaxing. Very weird.
I thought that it would be gone in 2 seconds. Apollo and Mario loved the samples that Nora gave them. |
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Jenny - Max's sister
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