The hunger strike is over

Champ wouldn't eat the first few days that he was here. That's common with shepherds, so common that we refer to it as the German Shepherd Hunger Strike. It's much less common, in our experience, with rottweilers, who will typically eat anything, anytime, anywhere.

Jack

Here's a typical feeding scenario for a new German Shepherd:

First Feeding:
"That's not my food, that's not my bowl, and you aren't my daddy. I couldn't possibly eat that."

Second Feeding:
"As if."

Third Feeding:
"That's the same stuff you've been pushing for the last couple days.  Not likely.  Nice try though."

Fourth Feeding:
"Hmmm.  Smells ok, you seem to be ok, the other dogs eat it, I'll try a couple bites."

Fifth Feeding:
"This is really pretty good; I love you, daddy, I'll eat anything you put in my bowl."

Champ is now eating like a big dog.

This is a typical scenario for a new foster rottie:

First Feeding:
{Sniff} {Snarf until bowl is empty, and look up} "Um, is there any more?"

Second Feeding:
{Devours food in seconds} "That was good, but seriously, where's the rest of it?"

Third Feeding:
{Hoovers up the food} "Dude, I'm a rottweiler, not some scrawny German Shepherd, we need more food. Is there a shortage?"

Fourth Feeding:
{After inhaling food} "Okay, I've been thinking. You are obviously low on food so I'm going to help you out. Have you noticed how cute I am? Take me out in public, preferably to a pet food store, and I'll hustle up some food by looking cute and pitiful. It won't be hard at all. I'll even share it with the other dogs. Yeah, sure I'll share it."

Fifth Feeding:
{Empties bowl in seconds and licks it clean} "How long till dinner? I might survive until then if I conserve my energy."

Sparky has been seen playing with
Champ when they are outdoors.

I always just wait out the hunger strike. If they are upset enough not to eat, chances are that their digestive tract won't be too happy with food at that point anyway. Champ is very much a rottweiler, but his reaction to food was more typical of a German Shepherd for the first few days. He did eat at first but he vomited it up, ate it up again, and barfed it up again. After that, I didn't try too hard to get him to eat until he was ready. Finally the time arrived Monday morning. I put him in an outdoor kennel alone with his food bowl, but only about half the amount I would have fed him. When I came back later, the food was gone and the bowl was gone too. He had taken the empty bowl back into the a-frame house in that kennel. I gave him some more in a new bowl and he did the same. Now he has a collection of bowls back in there that I'll have to fish out with a long handled rake, but at least he's eating.