[centexPITS]

Hi, so i have a 5month old pit who i got about 3weeks ago. Since i've had him, he hasnt eaten much. I do understand that taking a dog of it's "comfort zone" will throw his diet off and what not. But he has gotten well adjusted here at home but still no luck. I've been feeding my pits Authority from PetSmart since that's what the breeder i got my pits from told me to get. And his sister who is of course the same age is way bigger than him. Im not sure what her owner feeds her but idk if there something i can do to have my dog gain weight. I've heard Diamond has pretty good food for them, so idk if switching over will make things worse.
Ive tried mixing in wet food with it and still no luck. He does exercise regularly though so idk, confused on this one. any help is great. thanks

 

[bahamutt99]

Is he skinny, or is he just small? If he's small, that's his genetic lot and there's not much you can do about it. If he's skinny -- more than a rib or two showing, hip bones, spine points, etc -- have you had a veterinarian examine him for internal parasites? They would need to run a fecal and/or blood test to rule out any yuckies inside him.

If there is no health reason for his skinny-ness, switching to a better food might be a step in the right direction. But not Diamond, IMO. First thing you should do is pick a high-quality food that you can afford to feed long-term. If you buy your food from Petsmart, probably the best thing they carry is their Blue Buffalo formula. There are other brands which are higher-quality, too, such as Taste of the Wild, Nature's Variety, Solid Gold, etc. Those you will need to go to a dealer or specialty pet food store for. As a rule, anything you see carried in the grocery store is the lowest of the low. Pet superstores carry stuff that is a bit better, and specialty retailers carry the best.

Here are a few resources to help you decide on a good food.
Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble
RATE YOUR DOG'S FOOD

Whatever you pick, you should slowly transition him over and not switch cold turkey. He will need time to internally adjust to a high-grade kibble. Of course, that will only help if he will eat it. Establishing good habits helps. If you free-feed -- ie, leave the food down for him to eat at his leisure -- stop. Put the bowl down for 5 minutes, then take up what he hasn't eaten. If he is easily distracted, I would suggest putting him in his crate or a closed-off room to eat, so he can focus on the task at hand. You can use a bit of canned food, water, or oil (olive oil, flax seed oil, fish oil, etc) to entice him to eat at first, but you don't want him to get in the habit of "holding out" for better stuff if he's bored with his food.

As a rule, a healthy dog wont starve to death if there is food available. Exercise patience and consistency. He should come around with time.

PS, I saw the other thread and he didn't look skinny at all. Maybe it was just hard to tell from pics? Or maybe you're accustomed to seeing a bulkier dog? Can you post more pics of him?

 

[performanceknls]

Rule out the medical first since he is a new dog but some dogs just mature at different rates. Don't compare him to his litter mates but look at him and his body. Any dog can go through a gangley stage and some get long and lean before they fill out and mature. I have to disagree that you have to go out and buy the more expensive food, Diamond is an ok food for a grain food it's better than authority. I think your pup is just going through a stage and he will start eating again when he settles in. Dogs will not starve themselves to death they will eat when they need to. This thread talks about pups going threw eating stages.
http://www.gopitbull.com/health-nutrition/27671-puppies-not-eating-well.html

 

[bahamutt99]

To each their own on the quality of food. Ever since giving up junk like Iams and Purina, I've been all about giving my dogs the best I can afford. Loki gets Nature's Variety Prairie, and Terra gets NV Instinct during the show season. I feel like it makes a big difference, and not just how they look. I've never seen a food allergy, rarely have loose stools, no gas, only get itchies and whatnot when its in the environment. I swear by high-grade foods. Well worth the $$$. Plus, when Nature's Variety sees a problem, they voluntarily recall before dogs get sick. Many dogs died on Diamond before they recalled with that last debacle.

But like I said, to each their own. I've been a lot more aware of what human food I'm putting in my body, and I myself feel a big difference between "eating clean" versus Taco Bell. I think a lot of problems we face nowadays (both human and canine) could be alleviated by some better nutrition. Lots of people just never bother to question what they are eating, and what they are feeding their dogs. If its got a big name and its own TV commercial, they trust it. IMO, this is why we have the health problems we have today, and why companies are making a killing off special supplements to make up for the deficiencies in our foods. [/partial OT]

 

[performanceknls]

I agree and if I could afford I would feed Evo.... I have 20 dogs so I feed the best kibble I can afford and have never had any issues. If I could afford to feed Evo and TOTW I would but as far as grain foods go I feed the best I can and have great results. I think it depends on the dogs too, I have some that do not do good on grain foods so I have to feed TOTW but the rest of the kennel eats a good grain food.

As long as your not feeding total crap like ol'roy and your dog does fine then you do not need to get the most expensive food just one that works.