moncheri
Grey Addicted
Broodies are the best!
Posts: 2,843
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Post by moncheri on Jan 29, 2012 16:08:23 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that Maelle is having difficulties since the move. As far as a dog dish on the floor goes, if the not skid material under the bowl doesn't work you can also buy dog dishes that have a rubberized bottom that will not move easily when placed on the floor.
Perhaps Maelle just needs the reassurance of you being near her when she eats (hence the hand feeding works). I would continue the hand feeding and then graduate to bringing the bowl to her but still sitting with her.
When Chicky was ill, the last 2 months was difficult for me to get her to eat and I had to administer so many pills into her that it became a challenge as most of them had to be given with a meal. But she would always eat the majority of her meal if I hand fed her or just sat with her as she ate from her bed - you just have to schedule yourself more time in the day to do this. I would often throw in some of her favourite foods to help entice her to eat - salmon (as you said Maelle likes), sardines, tuna, scrambled eggs.
Not to be a worry wart but if this continues through this week I would take her in for a blood panel - just to be sure there isn't an underlying issue.
Good luck & keep us posted on her progress.
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Post by mcmaster on Jan 29, 2012 21:17:27 GMT -5
weirdly Royal got scared of her metal bowl and we eventually just fed her on a tray. odd I know
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Redhead
Grey Lover
Teague (Natural Red Head)
Posts: 823
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Post by Redhead on Jan 29, 2012 21:24:12 GMT -5
I have the opposite problem with my (non-grey) rescue Karma who has some weird anxiety issues, a big one around food. Her problem is she won't eat with me around. I tried everything with her, and finally figured out that the less I try things the more she eats. It is funny though because she still usually only eats when I leave the house for work, or if I go into the shower. You may just want to scatter Maelle's food around the floor, and not even use a bowl for a bit. If she likes this, and will eat it on her own, then you could scatter some around the food dish to gradually condition her. Or...maybe a simple change in bowls and eating location will do the trick!
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OwnedBySummer
Hound Nut
"Summer" (aka Coach Standifer)
Posts: 1,392
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Post by OwnedBySummer on Jan 29, 2012 21:37:26 GMT -5
If you want to try steel bowls on the floor with the non-skid rubber trim... I have a set you can try.
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sugarsmomma
Grey Lover
Maelle captured by the fantastic Leslie Town
Posts: 551
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Post by sugarsmomma on Jan 29, 2012 21:44:39 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the responses. When we first brought Maelle home a year and a half ago, we placed her food bowls in the Kitchen. She ate there....for about a week. She wasn't a fan of the slippery floors and it took her several months to go back in there. Also, our apartment was all stairs, and the flight to the 3rd floor Living Room was steep and she did it fine, but always hesitated going down them. Also, we never ate at the Kitchen table and as a result we didn't spend a lot of time in there and of course she wanted to be where we were. She didn't want to eat in the Kitchen if we were upstairs so we brought her food bowl up and that's where it stayed for about a year. She has always eaten around us...except once in a while she will wait until we leave the room to eat, or want to eat when the coast is clear for lack of a better term. If there is too much commotion around her, she won't eat, or if we are traveling she will eat her food at night while everyone is asleep. At our new place, her bowls are in the Living Room. They used to be in the Kitchen 6 feet away, but when my parents came at Christmas she refused to go over there to eat because of my mom's dogs running around. There was too much commotion for her so I moved her bowls into the Living Room so she would be more comfortable when eating. All of her bahaviour this last week all began the day the dvd player incident happened. If it was random and she didn't want to eat or drink at all, suddenly for no apparent reason, then I would take her to the vet. But the fact that she will eat from my hand, and now eat and drink from her (metal) bowls if I bring them to her bed leads me to believe there is nothing medically wrong with her, just that something has spooked her in addition to the dvd player thing. She stares at her food bowls (sometimes whining), and she wants to eat and drink, but she won't go to them. I will gradually try to get her to go back to her bowls, because I really don't want to make this "feeding her" thing a habit. I hope she gets back to normal soon. Thanks again everyone for the comments and suggestions. Much appreciated! Kara
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sugarsmomma
Grey Lover
Maelle captured by the fantastic Leslie Town
Posts: 551
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Post by sugarsmomma on Jan 29, 2012 21:49:59 GMT -5
If you want to try steel bowls on the floor with the non-skid rubber trim... I have a set you can try. Thanks Lisa! I'll see how we do with her current ones and go from there. It's not the bowls she's scared of, it's just that I can't get her to get up to go over to her bowls. But bringing them to her is ok. I'll let you know. Maybe I'll have to sign the jammies back in, and sign the bowls out...lol!
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Post by Heather (& KC) on Jan 29, 2012 22:01:03 GMT -5
Kara I feel for you but what I'm reading in all the posts is that greyhounds don't have "normal" feeding habits! Your normal is normal. Max is a little weird with his eating. He eats when we come home and often brings mouthfuls of food into the kitchen to eat on his pillow. Since you're not sure what will work and there is little danger of her overeating at this point, if it were me I'd set up bowls in 2 or 3 spots and see what works. She'll eat where she feels safe. Good luck!
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sugarsmomma
Grey Lover
Maelle captured by the fantastic Leslie Town
Posts: 551
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Post by sugarsmomma on Jan 29, 2012 22:15:04 GMT -5
Kara I feel for you but what I'm reading in all the posts is that greyhounds don't have "normal" feeding habits! Your normal is normal. Max is a little weird with his eating. He eats when we come home and often brings mouthfuls of food into the kitchen to eat on his pillow. Since you're not sure what will work and there is little danger of her overeating at this point, if it were me I'd set up bowls in 2 or 3 spots and see what works. She'll eat where she feels safe. Good luck! Yes I was actually surprised to get so many responses about this to be honest! I didn't think so many would have this issue, and all different issues at that. Maelle does the same as Max- she has always brought some of her food to her bed and eaten it there. Setting up bowls in different places is a good idea. I will try that and see. Thanks!
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Post by Heather (& KC) on Jan 30, 2012 6:44:40 GMT -5
Keep us posted!
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xtrawld
Grey Lover
Both thirsty....can't wait for their turn....
Posts: 625
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Post by xtrawld on Jan 30, 2012 10:04:43 GMT -5
Ryder has become scared of our freezer. If he sees a hand go on the handle he's out of the kitchen SO fast. I've been working with him a little bit with being able to cope with the freezer door opening but it takes work. I encourage him to come with me with food, I open the door, he runs but I call him back while it's open and I give him a treat. I give him another treat. I give him another treat while the door is open, I convince him to take a treat from the shelf of the freezer while it's open. I do this again and again with a variation. I close the door, I give him a treat, I move my hand on the handle, he gets a treat. I open the door, he gets a treat. He knows that if he is close, he will get a treat. I'm making the opening of the freezer door a good thing, a very good thing, because he's getting food for hanging around an open freezer door.
Much like Maelle, you will need to "re-train" her to use her bowls again, but if all else fails, no bowls at all. My sisters dog will not eat food in a bowl, rather he will eat it off a placemat in the living room. He has a problem with anything jingling in his vicinity.
Fear and anxiety are so hard to overcome, but use positive reinforcement and yummy yummy treats to help her gain her confidence back. You must be firm, but understanding, and repetitive at the same time.
Try to feed her in front of the dvd player, have someone be around to eject the door while you do this and try this for a few minutes everyday for the next week. Don't do it for an hour, it will just get frustrating and the point won't get across. It would be helpful if someone could at least keep her corralled in the area so she can't leave while you are doing this training. If that's where she will eat her dinner for you, start that first. I would work on the food bowls later in all honesty. You noticed she stopped eating after the DVD incident, so work on repairing her faith there first. If she won't eat her kibble in front of the dvd door, use some hot dogs cut up instead. Praise her when she stands there as the door is opening and closing. Lots of food and lots of praise for just standing there in front of it when NOTHING is happening. Build up her confidence.
Look up "immersion training". I honestly find this the best kind of training out there. It works well for me and Ryder.
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kwarner
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 139
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Post by kwarner on Jan 30, 2012 20:08:41 GMT -5
I'm not sure if you're open to this idea but I've had very good experiences with an animal communicator. I've used her with my dogs and my horses and know of a number of people that have used her as well. Her name is Lauren Bode and her web site is www.animaltalk.ca - if you decide to go this route she is able to work on pictures alone and then talk to you on the phone. She may be able to give you some insight into what is going on in your girls head!! Another thing that comes to mind if she is so spooky - does she always seem like she's on edge or ready to jump? Have you tried giving her massages? Go easy at first and give her praise when she relaxes. Its a good bonding exercise as well. I sure hope she starts eating better soon!!
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OwnedBySummer
Hound Nut
"Summer" (aka Coach Standifer)
Posts: 1,392
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Post by OwnedBySummer on Jan 30, 2012 21:39:32 GMT -5
Oooo! One thing I remember from Camp Greyhound's dog massage class, should you try massaging Maelle... is to massage the legs only from the feet UP to the body. Not from the body DOWN to the feet. This helps with their circulation.
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