Advice, please!

I'm taking care of a bitch puppy, 4 months old.

Have any of you got any advice on how to stop her from toeing out. Is it possible?

She is not very keen on eating and it is a "struggle" every day to make her eat. I try not to make too much fuss about it, but I'm sure it shows anyway(I'm sure she can tell anyway).
I've had similar food problems with my other deerhounds (when they were young), but this is worse.

Please, send me advice on how to make her eat.

I'm out of ideas and would welcome any advice at all.

And if there are any breeders out there willing to share some of their experience I would be so happy.

Thank you in advance!

hi pia have you tried abit of grated cheese in with her meal or aspoonfull of natural yogout on top kira my dh loves this and will eat everything in her bowl.

Hi. I have had some success with Dowest Herbs and the Malted Kelp tablets for increasing appetite. They did the trick with a lovely shiny coat as a bonus!
Also from experience, they do know when you are fussing so it is best to reduce the amount you offer in each feed and let them finish up, till they get in that habit - and don't be tempted to offer more!!
Which is how I can sometimes fail as I think ' oh good, their are on a roll' It never works
As for toeing out, to my knowledge it is a hereditary conformation problem and can also be exasperated by to much exercise/stairs etc. Having said that our first Deerhound spent his first 10months on a balcony with no exercise as such and he toed out very badly.
He was a rescue - we didn't keep him on the balcony in case you wondered!!!
He was a terrible eater as well.
We learnt a lot of what not to do from him!

good Luck

Not to scare you but have you checked her mouth for correct pattern of teeth?
Had animals before whose teeth cut into sides of mouth. Needless to say they didnt like eating!
Any mouth injuries from chewing bones or sticks etc?

With the toeing out, puppies can go through stages while they are growing where they can go east west. Unless it is a hereditary fault, the feet normally straighten out when their chest begins to fill out.

Often putting cooked sausage on top of a dinner can stimulate them to eat

Good luck

Sardines are also good for those reluctant to eat,tinned,either in oil or tomato sauce.Nice and smelly,and seemingly irresitable to dogs.

You could also try chicken stock on top of her food,
if you can get hold of some carcases boil them up and pour the stock over,
raw green tripe works as well for fussy eaters, i would how ever
becarful as once you get in to a patten of putting something over there food
it ends up getting in to a cycle of they wont eat unless they have what ever it is over there
food, im lucky with layla, shes a ganet, no matter what i put down - she will eat it.

When Layla came to me, she was toeing out,
tbh i was verry worried that there was something wrong,
but after a chat with a few people, was told that some go through stages
were they will do this, and it would correct itself,
layla has started to stand stright now, she still does it from time to time,
but she does correct herself.

Liverwurst and other smelly sausages always worked for me. Then of course there are the magic meatballs or satin meatballs, the recipes for which litter the hound lists.

Toeing out seems to occur in even the best lines, often rights itself, when the chest drops as Sam said, can be inherited or be due to an injury as slight as turning a foot the wrong way. My boy Taggart has a slightly flat foot now due to a tendon injury when younger.At four months I certainly wouldn't be worrying yet. Cheers Kathy CG aka KayCee

When I got my first deerhound , aged 4 mths , I really wanted her to eat more , until I realised , she was absolutely fine weight and appettite wise and I just had compared to other breeds ( had had herding dogs and terriers before ) , so , it was a learning process . In hindsight I'd have to say , she was a really good eater , always . Never had toeing out here ( reared 5 dhs so far ) , but have seen it with others ; when the owners reduced the protein levels in the food it went away . If fed kibble with grains in , adult large breed food is just fine for a deerhound puppy , around 21% protein, the highest 24% . Mine are fed mostly raw/homemade food - with very little , if at all carbs /grains in - and do have plenty of ( free running ) exercise , also as puppies - somewhat modified of course for the first few months . Usually they really want to be fully included once they are 7mths or so . Meaning , from then onwards they come with me/us on my both of the daily regular walks , ok , I make the " big one " a bit shorter , 1 hour or so and building up from there . I find exercise and the company of other dogs very appettite stimulating for deerhounds .

To persuade eating I also limit the amount of food in the bowl and feed little and often if feasible. I'm afraid I've also resorted to hand feeding to keep things going which I stop when the hound gets into more of an eating pattern. But often, as long as there's not a health cause for the lack of appetite, not worrying about it (I know easier said than done) is usually a good solution. Then if the dog doesn't eat you remove the food or even better give it to another hound which often stimulates the appetite a long with exercise as already mentioned.

We've been tying something similar to what verenav mentions but it's already pre made up with raw meat, veg, ground bone, aloe vera, hemp oil and others I think. See Darlings Dog food in the directory or www.darlingsrealdogfood.com/ It seems very good.

Hope everything goes well. Elise

Hi everybody,

thanks ever so much for all your advices.

Unfortunately my lovely Tova had to be put to sleep when she was seven month old.
She was born with porta cava shunt and there was no possibilty for her to survive.
When we found out what was wrong with her I fully understood what had caused her fussyness with food and other personality issues. When I read about porta cava-shunt signs... Tova had them all - except for beeing tired all the time. Sometimes she ate like a horse and other times she hardly looked at the food. She gained weight and developed nicely, although she could have weighed more (of course). Anyhow, I would never have guessed that she was in such a bad state. If I had suspected it I would have gone to the vet instantly. The reason why I took her to the vet when I did was that she'd peed indoor and I discovered blood in her pee. I thought it was a simple urinary infection.

...had to deal with someting much worse than that...

She was a true deerhound, loving, beautiful dark eyes and lots of energy when it came to things she liked - like barking and chasing my other deerhounds for example.

It was a great loss and I miss her very much. She was such a sweet companion and family member. <3

Oh how dreadfully sad. She was a beautiful girl. My heart goes out to you.

Wendy

Pia I am so sorry for your loss. How devastating! Sending hugs.

Hello Pia,

Very sad message over Tova.

The life is sometimes very unjust.


Hope the best for your all in future.

Joerg and Yoki

So sorry to hear such a sad outcome for Tova. She looked so beautiful and was so young. You did the right thing for her though.

I am so sorry to read about you loosing Tova - what a shame ....Good thing though you noticed the blood and she was diagnosed . I never heard of porta cava shunt and will read up on it .

(((((Pia))))), I am so sorry for your loss. She looks so lovely in the picture.

Tamara, xx

Hi so sorry to hear about Tova our thoughts are with you .

So sorry to hear about Tova, what a dreadful thing to happen. Poor girl she looked georgous in the photo.

Pam

Sorry Pia..only just looked at this thread..what an awful shame..
At least she didnt suffer..
We are all thinking of you...it will get easier..take care,and be strong..