Canine Philosophy 101

We have an eight year old German Shepherd. He came home at about eight weeks old. He was very easy to train in commands and house. It seemed to me that a large breed dog would find it uncomfortable to bend all the way to a dish on the floor for food and drink. So I built a raised platform for the water and food bowls. Some dogs are energetic eaters and almost attack the food offering, this guy never seemed that excited about eating. He is a healthy size and gets good marks at the vet. Sometimes during feeding he will drop some debris on the floor. I got him to follow the command,” clean up your mess.” This was after he had finished and moved away from the bowl. When he returned to clean up, he would usually return and eat another helping of the meal. I tried an experiment a while back: Even if there was no debris and he had moved away from the food, and there was only a portion eaten, I would drop a few bits in front of his bowl and ask him to “clean up his mess.” He does and then he hits the bowl again. I have had other dogs that were much more enthusiastic about food, seem strange to coax a carnivore to eat. Any large breed owners have similar experiences?

We have a very large doberman and we also have always had raised bowls for him, it's much better for their necks and backs over their lives not to be hunched over while eating. As for the appetite thing, yeah it's been hit or miss for most of his life. Sometimes he won't touch his food and other times he'll be starving and can't get enough. He does have thyroid issues though so that might be part of it. One thing we do when he doesn't want to eat is mix some wet food into his dry food and that usually does the trick.

Rexedgar said:

We have an eight year old German Shepherd. He came home at about eight weeks old. He was very easy to train in commands and house. It seemed to me that a large breed dog would find it uncomfortable to bend all the way to a dish on the floor for food and drink. So I built a raised platform for the water and food bowls. Some dogs are energetic eaters and almost attack the food offering, this guy never seemed that excited about eating. He is a healthy size and gets good marks at the vet. Sometimes during feeding he will drop some debris on the floor. I got him to follow the command,” clean up your mess.” This was after he had finished and moved away from the bowl. When he returned to clean up, he would usually return and eat another helping of the meal. I tried an experiment a while back: Even if there was no debris and he had moved away from the food, and there was only a portion eaten, I would drop a few bits in front of his bowl and ask him to “clean up his mess.” He does and then he hits the bowl again. I have had other dogs that were much more enthusiastic about food, seem strange to coax a carnivore to eat. Any large breed owners have similar experiences?

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I had a great Dane/golden retriever mix that ate like a cat. Just keep his bowl full and he'd eat as much or as little as he wanted. Always stayed thin, even though he got lots of leftover people food.

We had him for twelve years and he was grown when we got him. Pretty good for a big dog.

Some dogs just aren't food motivated.

I have a medium sized dog, he's a little over a year now. He has never been a huge eater of dried dog food (which is 99% of the time what he gets). The dog before that, literally did the happy dance in circles when it was time to eat, he would find us anywhere in the house and lead us to the kitchen. He inhaled it so fast sometimes we thought he was refusing to eat, but it was all gone.

So with this dog, it could be how he was raised, he had unlimited food as a puppy I think. But maybe most breeder dogs are like that. He sometimes goes hours before coming back to it, and little things can keep him from wanting to eat. Always loves treats though.

We sent him to a trainer recently (unrelated), she recommended this yellow lumpy "ball", that you put their food in, and they roll it around to get food out. It's not a puzzle/treat one, it's meant for food so it's not that hard to get out and holds a bit. Anyway, he loved it, he'd walk around the house rolling that thing. Being lazy sometimes we'd just put it in the bowl, and he'd just look at us like "really?!" The trainer gave all this commentary about how we all like to work for things, and just getting it all is not very rewarding...I can see that maybe, but I know so much of dog training is just make believe. Some of that's maybe best for puppy/high energy dog, he definitely enjoyed the extra work.

I think it could just be personality, some people just aren't gaga for food (my wife), and some eat every meal like it's their last (my daughter).

What if...? said:

I had a great Dane/golden retriever mix that ate like a cat. Just keep his bowl full and he'd eat as much or as little as he wanted. Always stayed thin, even though he got lots of leftover people food.

We had him for twelve years and he was grown when we got him. Pretty good for a big dog.

Some dogs just aren't food motivated.

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Our Shepherd has a dinner routine. He gets a small amount of whatever we have with his standard fare. We sit down at the same time his bowl is presented. He will sniff, take a drink of water, return and sniff and only if he approves, he wil cherry pick the bowl.
After we finish, he has us trained to offer each plate one at a time and then he returns to eat the remainder of his meal.

Rexedgar said:

We have an eight year old German Shepherd. He came home at about eight weeks old. He was very easy to train in commands and house. It seemed to me that a large breed dog would find it uncomfortable to bend all the way to a dish on the floor for food and drink. So I built a raised platform for the water and food bowls. Some dogs are energetic eaters and almost attack the food offering, this guy never seemed that excited about eating. He is a healthy size and gets good marks at the vet. Sometimes during feeding he will drop some debris on the floor. I got him to follow the command,” clean up your mess.” This was after he had finished and moved away from the bowl. When he returned to clean up, he would usually return and eat another helping of the meal. I tried an experiment a while back: Even if there was no debris and he had moved away from the food, and there was only a portion eaten, I would drop a few bits in front of his bowl and ask him to “clean up his mess.” He does and then he hits the bowl again. I have had other dogs that were much more enthusiastic about food, seem strange to coax a carnivore to eat. Any large breed owners have similar experiences?

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Some dogs are gulpers, others are finicky eaters.

A couple of things -- he may be better off if he eats more slowly, which is less likely to cause gastric torsion. I lost a Saint Bernard to torsion just three weeks ago, and GSDs are also prone to the deadly condition. In my dog's case, it may have been related to her mammary cancer but large-chested dogs are at risk.

I've raised and shown champion Saints for years and in all that time, this is my first experience with torsion, but I know other Saint (and GSD) owners who've lost dogs to it.

I'd be careful with the raised food bowls. There is a debate going on over that, and as far as I know, it hasn't been settled one way or the other. Some say a raised bowl will reduce the risk of gastric torsion, while others say the dog's neck and body are not in a natural eating position so it could increase the risk.

Eating slowly, as your dog does, reduces the risk, but it's also a good idea to keep him inside for an hour or so after he eats to keep him from running around with a full stomach, which some say increases the risk of the stomach twisting.

Just a thought. Sounds like you have a great dog there!

Rexedgar said:

We have an eight year old German Shepherd. He came home at about eight weeks old. He was very easy to train in commands and house. It seemed to me that a large breed dog would find it uncomfortable to bend all the way to a dish on the floor for food and drink. So I built a raised platform for the water and food bowls. Some dogs are energetic eaters and almost attack the food offering, this guy never seemed that excited about eating. He is a healthy size and gets good marks at the vet. Sometimes during feeding he will drop some debris on the floor. I got him to follow the command,” clean up your mess.” This was after he had finished and moved away from the bowl. When he returned to clean up, he would usually return and eat another helping of the meal. I tried an experiment a while back: Even if there was no debris and he had moved away from the food, and there was only a portion eaten, I would drop a few bits in front of his bowl and ask him to “clean up his mess.” He does and then he hits the bowl again. I have had other dogs that were much more enthusiastic about food, seem strange to coax a carnivore to eat. Any large breed owners have similar experiences?

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I have a small dog that's a picky eater. After quite a few dogs that make breakfast the highlight of their day, I was blown away by this creature that didn't particularly care for food.

So it seems this quirk is just an individual dog trait.

I have 4 dogs. I meal feed them. Once in the morning, once in the evening. They eat after we do. They sit and wait to approach their bowls until I release them.

Rexedgar said:

We have an eight year old German Shepherd. He came home at about eight weeks old. He was very easy to train in commands and house. It seemed to me that a large breed dog would find it uncomfortable to bend all the way to a dish on the floor for food and drink. So I built a raised platform for the water and food bowls. Some dogs are energetic eaters and almost attack the food offering, this guy never seemed that excited about eating. He is a healthy size and gets good marks at the vet. Sometimes during feeding he will drop some debris on the floor. I got him to follow the command,” clean up your mess.” This was after he had finished and moved away from the bowl. When he returned to clean up, he would usually return and eat another helping of the meal. I tried an experiment a while back: Even if there was no debris and he had moved away from the food, and there was only a portion eaten, I would drop a few bits in front of his bowl and ask him to “clean up his mess.” He does and then he hits the bowl again. I have had other dogs that were much more enthusiastic about food, seem strange to coax a carnivore to eat. Any large breed owners have similar experiences?

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Years ago I lived with a friend who had a Lab-Golden Retriever cross who wouldn't eat all he was fed. You'd go to feed him today and there was still a little left from yesterday. Unfortunately, this attracted rats (did I mention he was always fed outside, in the carport?). We had a hell of a time getting rid of the rodents and had to feed Zack indoors. Never could get him to eat all he was fed at one sitting, though.

Rexedgar said:

Our Shepherd has a dinner routine. He gets a small amount of whatever we have with his standard fare. We sit down at the same time his bowl is presented. He will sniff, take a drink of water, return and sniff and only if he approves, he wil cherry pick the bowl.
After we finish, he has us trained to offer each plate one at a time and then he returns to eat the remainder of his meal.

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I have to ask: Is he an only child/dog? I currently have two large dogs in semi-residence, and this has changed my doggie's eating habits. Bit of competitive eating going on there...kinda like the competitive litter box action you see when you have multi-cats. Soooo important to be first!

nota bene said:

I have to ask: Is he an only child/dog? I currently have two large dogs in semi-residence, and this has changed my doggie's eating habits. Bit of competitive eating going on there...kinda like the competitive litter box action you see when you have multi-cats. Soooo important to be first!

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Yes an only “child.” I have never had the good fortune to have an animal as long as we have. I understand that twelve years can be expected. As we all get older, we have thought of another dog for his and our company. I just don’t see it as ‘fair’ to the only child now to expect him to start sharing at this stage of the game.

Rexedgar said:

Yes an only “child.” I have never had the good fortune to have an animal as long as we have. I understand that twelve years can be expected. As we all get older, we have thought of another dog for his and our company. I just don’t see it as ‘fair’ to the only child now to expect him to start sharing at this stage of the game.

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I understand. I had both my large dogs 12 years, and anything over ten years is such a gift, particularly when you have children who grow up with them. I did adopt a doggie-in-training companion for my Aussie (because Aussie), and now all I have is that little pitbull-in-disguise doggie. When my Aussie died, my man-cat went crazy for about a week from grief, but now he's besties with Athena and grooms her. So, so great to see.

Rexedgar said:

We have an eight year old German Shepherd. He came home at about eight weeks old. He was very easy to train in commands and house. It seemed to me that a large breed dog would find it uncomfortable to bend all the way to a dish on the floor for food and drink. So I built a raised platform for the water and food bowls. Some dogs are energetic eaters and almost attack the food offering, this guy never seemed that excited about eating. He is a healthy size and gets good marks at the vet. Sometimes during feeding he will drop some debris on the floor. I got him to follow the command,” clean up your mess.” This was after he had finished and moved away from the bowl. When he returned to clean up, he would usually return and eat another helping of the meal. I tried an experiment a while back: Even if there was no debris and he had moved away from the food, and there was only a portion eaten, I would drop a few bits in front of his bowl and ask him to “clean up his mess.” He does and then he hits the bowl again. I have had other dogs that were much more enthusiastic about food, seem strange to coax a carnivore to eat. Any large breed owners have similar experiences?

Click to expand...

We had a German Shepherd who was decidedly unenthusiastic about dry dog food. Canned food was much better received. Dog jerky was accepted readily any time, but not as much as people jerky, which was actively begged for even from strangers. Seems dogs have their preferences, even if they do appear to eat so fast that they taste nothing.