Anorexic Dog

Sunna is a 5 year old rescue GSD. Her owners lost their home and couldn't afford to keep her. She entered rescue very thin. She is still quite thin.

I'd like to train Sunna positively with treats. But her interest in eating food is pretty low. She will get excited when I fill the dish, then lie down with it between her paws until she decides to wander off and do something else. Unfortunately, she recycles her food immediately -- which causes me to give her a treat to take the smell out of her mouth. If I pour melted butter or gravy over her food (dry), she'll eat it. Once started, she'll usually finish; although my house mate came in the room once while she was eating. She looked up at him and lost interest in the food (she didn't get up to interact with him, just remained there for a bit, then wandered off).

Right now, I am planning on putting the food down for 20 minutes, three times a day, and see if I can convince her to eat. If I have to return to adding butter, I lose the use of food treats in training. (She isn't that interested in toys either.) Even finding treats she is eager to it is hard.

Sunna is very active, about 5 pounds underweight, and healthy. She is happy and does not seem depressed at all. Her original owners had said she was "off her feed," which we thought was a euphemism for "can't afford to feed," but that is certainly not the case right now.

I've convinced dogs they can eat without gravy using this method, but those dogs weren't underweight. Sunna really needs to eat and eat well. I've been trying different additions to her food, but nothing makes her eager to eat.

Anyone have any ideas? A friend says she thinks there is something you give people with a poor appetite. Is there something for dogs? Or should I just doctor her food until she is at the correct weight and hope she will then like to eat? She should start class in two weeks, but I'm afraid it might be frustrating for us both if she doesn't care to take treats, much less work for them.