Had Ellie on a raw diet now for approx 18 months, in the last few months she has become quite fussy. i feed her twice aday with rabbit (jacket on) being the main source of food but supplimented with chicken, all offal, pork ribs and belly and lambs breast. did try fish but she wont eat it. However in the last couple of months she takes her rabbit into the garden and leaves it, chicken she now turns her nose up and walks away. sometimes she will not eat for 3 meals on the trot. i lift the uneaten meals so as to discourage grazing. I dont mind spending the money to fed her raw but it does bug me when i have to throw away meals because she wont eat them. So hence i am considering a diet change. i have also noticed her coat is not as white, bright and glossy as it used to be.

As my two girls have got older I have noticed they are not eating as much as they used to do.
I only feed my two once a day at about 6pm after their walk/run
I don't think its about being fussy my opinion is that she is just not hungry .
.
I know that it can be a worry if your dog is not eating but dogs wont starve themselves
They don't know about the la-*test*-('") fad diet and they really don't give a damn about being a size 8
If my two don't eat whats put in front of them within 10 mins I pick it back up pop it in a freezer bag and put it back into the freezer and its their tea tmrw.
I don't worry about defrost freeze as we would with humans.
If you change her to Kibble /dried food and if you really want to its up to you but I believe if you put too much of this down for her she will not eat some days.
If you want to keep feeding her raw put the food down leave it for 10 mins if she doesn't eat it pick it up put in in freezer/fridge put it down for her tmrw do the same again if she doesnt eat it. She will def eat when she is hungry.
My two won't wont eat fish but they love sardines /makeral
As for the white and glossy coat. Dottties coat has changed has she has got older much thicker and courser . She still has beautiful white teeth though with no hint of discolouration.
one really good sized rabbit each with their coat on lol and my two dont eat anything at all the next day. its a banquet lol

Have to agree with everything Jill's said here Karl and I also really don't think Ellie is hungry. There's really no need to throw her food out, keep it cold and it will last for days and when you next feed her don't give her so much, feed her just once a day instead of twice, it sounds as if you are trying to give her too much and she's just saying no thanks I'm not hungry and you are assuming she's just gone off it, no dog if healthy enough will turn down food if it's hungry and don't forget you are giving her really good food, food which she is digesting and using completely and not just passing straight through her. As for her coat colour, are you just looking for another excuse or is it really not as good as it was, coats can lose their colour for many reasons, water they swim in or mud, dust and dirt or grass pollen As long as you're sure she's healthy enough and isn't unwell at all I'd stop feeding her for a couple of days, no treats, absolutely nothing but fresh water and then see what's she's like, warmer weather can make a dog less bothered about food too especially if they aren't very hungry in the first place.

It would be a real shame for you to go back to kibble but if you think it's the right thing for both of you then fair enough but be ready for a few digestive problems and a change in overall appearance which might not show up immediately but I bet it will sooner or later. You know what's best to do but whatever you decide hope you get some peace of mind and Ellie finds her appetite again

Sandy

When it gets warmer, my men don't eat near as much. If they aren't interested, it's picked up and put away. They aren't allowed to graze and they have to do something for their meal.

You, or better said Ellie had the problem before, if I remember right. She seems to be a fussy eater. I know what it is like as my madam is a bit the same. Well she used to be awfully fussy, I cut her food down, 1/3 less at the moment, as I noticed, that when I put food down ( she is fed every 24 hours), she often didn't even get up immediately, walked slowly across, had a sniff and thought 'oh, well, have it later'. I thought, this dog looks not hungry. Cutting food down helped a lot. She is still not enthusiastic as some other dog (but there are dogs, they are just not greedy and that's it), means she is not a hoover when she eats, but she does eat up now, most of the time. when I read your post I thought the same as the others said before, what makes you think that she will eat the kibble with gusto? She might do a couple of times, but as Sandy says, if you feed her too much she won't eat that either.

I would cut her food down, try giving her 1/4 of the normal amount and not only once or twice, but for a few days and when you notice she eats better, go up slowly, in 50gr steps or so.

Let us know please what you try (kibble or less raw) and how it goes .

I have always fed ellie twice aday, normally 1/3 rabbit per meal, if chicken then 2 thighs, offal would be 2 lambs hearts or 3-4 kidneys, 3 slices of pork belly. Yesterday i gave ellie 1/3 rabbit in the morning, this she didnt eat so she had it for her tea, again she didnt eat it. this morning i gave her some liver which she normally wolfs down, this again she didnt touch so i put it back in the fridge. i obviously want to give her the best diet possible but i am getting frustrated that she is being so fussy, this has been going on for a while now. condition wise she is really healthy and lean ( feels like she is wearing a tee shirt over her ribs rather than a jumper) she weighs 17 kg and is exercised twice a day and seems to be happy, as for her coat - the liver colour used to be very shiney but seems dull now and the white is off white now.

Fipps weighs 17 kg as well. I always weigh her food as I'm useless at guessing and I like to know how much she eats. I give her 370-400gr/day at the moment. I only feed once a day as if I fed her twice, she wouldn't be interested in her food 10 hours later . I know it's frustrating and disappointing if they don't eat, esp when we think they MUST be hungry . Give it a go with the drastically reduced amount and when it works, don't go back to your current amount as it seems too much anyway, otherwise you're going round in circles . And don't be tempted to give seconds etc when she is hungry and eats better in a couple of days

i dont generally weigh her food, from the replies i think it could be that i am over feeding her. on a normal day she could have a third of a rabbit in the morning then 2 chicken thighs or 3 drumsticks for her tea, this im sure will far exceed the 400g you feed fipps christine.

for ellies weight should i therefore be feeding her 400g ish a day? if one meal a day is sufficient is it better to give that meal in the morning or evening?

With raw feeding it is generally advised to feed 2-3% of the body weight, so 2% of 17kg is 340gr, 3% is 510gr. Some dogs get only 1-2% to eat. Try it out, start with 250-300g max for a couple of days. Whether you feed morning or night is up to you really. I feed in the evening, again as I imagine after a day awake, having had exercise etc she is more hungry as after a nights sleep. I'm sure you'll get there.