Should I hand feed a new dog?

[Petrocelli]

Reporting back. I put kibble in Sara's crate moistened with a little milk the past 2 nights. She ate every bite! Thanks!

Bob

[Two&Counting]

We had a St. Bernard that wouldn't eat out of a bowl and wanted her food right on the floor! That was a mess so we had to start her out with a big paper plate.

I would give her a couple of bites out of my hand, and then drop the rest of her kibble on the plate. It really helped when I added yummy bites of chicken to tempt her, and I only added enough for her to really get a decent smell of it and the rest was her normal food. It really didn't take all that long either. We did the same thing all over again to get her finally eating out of a BIG bowl; she was a St. Bernard after all! I just kept working on it and we had to try a couple of different bowls to find one to her liking - she didn't like the shiny stainless steel kind at all.

Good luck.

[missjenneygirl]

Well, I'm glad your little girl is eating, but why did you add milk instead of water? Cow's milk is not good for dogs. The enzyme lactase is very hard for them to digest. Think lactose intolerant in humans. It can cause upset stomach, with gas and diarrhea.
Also some (not often) dogs are allergic to the protein in milk.

You need to feed her what you plan to feed her long term. Don't start trying to intice her by adding other things, you will just create a very picky eater.

Set the bar for a healthy diet, and that is all she should need. Some owners end up dancing around from one brand to another, trying to find one their dog will like. If she only knows one food, she will figure out that is all there is.

It certainly doesn't mean you can't change foods periodically, but stay with a game plan while you get her settled in her new environment.

It will all work out.

[Bella's Mom]

Originally Posted by Two&Counting

We had a St. Bernard that wouldn't eat out of a bowl and wanted her food right on the floor! That was a mess so we had to start her out with a big paper plate. .

I would give her a couple of bites out of my hand, and then drop the rest of her kibble on the plate. It really helped when I added yummy bites of chicken to tempt her, and I only added enough for her to really get a decent smell of it and the rest was her normal food. It really didn't take all that long either. We did the same thing all over again to get her finally eating out of a BIG bowl; she was a St. Bernard after all! I just kept working on it and we had to try a couple of different bowls to find one to her liking - she didn't like the shiny stainless steel kind at all.

Good luck

that's how Bella was. I think she was used to eating out of a crate and maybe no bowl. She acted like she didn't know what the bowl was. She also ate laying down.