Feeding problems with Staffy

Mrs_Gene_Hunt

Hi have just typed a long message and it seems to have disappeared. Could any body give me any advice please, just about tried everything i know. We have a 10 month old girl staffy who will no longer eat her dried food, she used to have Wainwrights until she was about 8 months but just lost interest in it, we have done the hot water and tried gravy and it perhaps worked for a couple of days, she just sucks the gravy off and spits the kibble out. We changed her to James Wellbeloved as we were told its a better food but she will only eat a small amount, no where near enough to what she should be eating. The vet said she will eat when she's hungry, but she's not and she's losing weight. She is hungry and tries to get our cats food or anything else except her own. We cant carry on like this, she wastes more food than she eats and its so expensive, we havent got a lot of money to spare. Thanks xx

Sagz_2

:T Clever dog - she is training you well!
So far she's got you to add hot water, gravy and then change food. And she's got you worrying!

No healthy dog is going to starve it's self to the point where it becomes ill - yes, she may drop some weight, but most pups go up and down in weight until they are mature so it's not a big problem.

You've got to decide which is the best food for her and then stick to it, changing diets often can cause more problems than a dog that's chosen not to eat as much as it was (upset tum, inbalance in nutrients etc.).

Also, most dogs will eat less in hot weather, my own are eating about two-thirds of their normal daily amount (very MSE!).

There are two ways of feeding to try:
Freedom feed - so a bowl of dry kibble down all the time and the dog helps it's self.
Feed and remove - offer food, as soon as the dog walks away from the bowl pick it up and don't feed again until the next set meal time. NO treats between meals (that's a hard one!)


Good luck in your battle of wills xxx

EssexGirl

Norbertsmum wrote: »

:T Clever dog - she is training you well!

Good luck in your battle of wills xxx

My staffie will eat pretty much anything PLUS her own food. We have to feed our cats on a windowsill to keep her from eating their food. Maybe you could try that, so she's not getting food from any other source. If you have kids give them strict instructions not to feed the dog between meals.
Picking up the bowl after a set time and offering nothing else is sound advice.
We feed ours on Wagg dried food and Butchers tins. Cheap and cheerful and the vet said she's in beautiful condition.

Watch out she's not eating stuff when she's out on walks. Discarded food on the street is like a picnic to a Staff. My dog likes to try to eat other dog's poo from time to time. She may be "filling up" that way.

ninky_2

out of interest how long have you had the current batch of dried food you are giving her and how is it stored?

dried food can (and does) go off and becomes contaminated with food storage mites and moulds etc (although it might look alright). dried food should be stored in airtight containers that are washed out and dried between refills.

it would be very unlikely for a dog to spit out food that was edible especially to the extent it was losing weight so either it is contaminated or maybe she has an allergy to it? any other symptoms?

Kittendreich

Dry food might be expanding too much for her? It took ages to find a food that our dog would eat and tollerate (lots of enthusiastic eating...only to be puked up a while later - he was a rescue so we didn't know what he ate before!). Many dry foods puff up loads in water and I can imagine that if they eat until they are full...then it will blow up when it mixes with stomach fluids and be really uncomfortable. She might have learned that this happens and be cautious of dry food.

This isn't a scientific point of view, just what I imagined happens with my dog. He has never been a 'good' eater and was very skinny for a while and usually avoided kibble/mixer, but ate 'wet' food. But we have been on Bakers meaty chunks for him to graze at during the day and a tin of wet food (no mixer) at night for nearly a year now. The meaty chunks don't expand as much and leaving them for him to graze at has helped him eat more. This isn't a problem as we have no other pets and I don't do it with wet food which he eats or loses!

It is worrying when they don't eat, but even if they are on the skinny side if they are acting 'themselves', seeming healthy with lots of energy then don't worry too much.

kerri77

i dont blame your dog for refusing kibble to be honest ,, its not the best thing for dogs it has very little nutrients,, despite what your vet or what the dog food label says,,

have you tried raw feeding,, chicken beef bones chicken carcasses etc etc,, cheaper than kibble and ultimately the best start in life for your dog!

Bigfella

Hi, i must say that if she is eating the cat food and any other treats, she is just being fussy. Too often people think dogs dont like the food they are give, in reality, dogs will eat anything. In this weather my dogs eat less, so I give them less!The first Rottie I had was the same. When we got her she was used to raw tripe, which i had no intention of feeding her, I use Omega. After I reduced the tripe gradually, all food was eaten till the day there was no tripe with the Omega, she refused the food. So this is how it goes, put down the food, give her a few mins, if she doesnt eat it, take it away till next feeding time, no treats in between and no letting her get the cat food. No healthy dog will starve. My Rottie eventually got the message, whatever is in the bowl is all thats going to be there. I have an 8yr old Rottie and 8yr old Staffie now, they get a piece of bread and a bonio in the morning and in the evening dry food, in fact its Omega I use, but Pets at Home have an own make brand that is good too, it doesnt have to be expensive brands like Wellbeloved, I know its hard but in the end it will be worth it just to see your dog gobble up her food whwen you put the bowl down.

Mrs_Gene_Hunt

Hi thankyou all for your replies. Yes i think you've hit the nail on the head, she's playing me like a goodun! We've never stored dried food for long and its usually in an airtight container so i know it should be ok. She is the first dog i've had in 25 yrs since my beautiful Brandy died of a tumour in his nose, it devastated me and i swore i'd never have another dog again. But here i am ... again, i didnt think another dog could ever hit that spot in my heart again but she has. I suppose thats why im fussing, want to do the best for her to make sure i can give her the best life possible.

Has anybody tried Wainwrights and do you think its any good, want to find one that she is going to stick on and no more messing, im not this soft on my poor kids, they eat what they're given and now im feeling quite guilty.:D

staffiecat

Hi, my staffie was the same at first, when we rescued her she was being fed James Wellbeloved but she wouldn't touch it for me. Instead she tried to eat the cats food and anything else she could find. My cats now eat their food from a high windowsill and Lilly (the staffie) has slowly come round to a mixture of Hills and some Pedigree - she really loves the pedigree kibble. I also mix in some meat in the evenings and every few nights give her some chicken. In this hot weather she has reduced the amount she eats and I have also noticed that she won't eat unless we are at home!

Your dog will come round just settle on your choice of food and perhaps mix in with some meat. I personally left the food down and she either ate it or didn't but in the end she does now!

Good luck

blue_monkey_2

Our staffy was the same at 8 months and I moved her onto wet food and mixer. Ours would starve and she would follow you around if you had food so we had to shut her in the kitchen when we ate as the minute you turned from your plate she would be trying to snatch something.

After 3 days of eating nothing (she even stopped having a poo) I bought some canned meat. And if she is sniffing around for more food I'll put some kibble down and it'll still be there the next day.

She will not even eat the cat biscuits, they are down all the time and she has access to them. She just hates kibble.

You just have to do what is right for you and your dog to be honest. People feed their dogs all sorts of food, if it did not sell it would not be on the shelves, just avoid Bakers as it has additives in it and Staffys are already mental enough (ours is!!).

however, our dog does not eat properly if it is hot, neither does my friends staffy,, so bear this in mind too. Now my dog will not even touch her food before lunchtime so I put it down then now, otherwise I was chucking it away. I've no idea why she does not eat before 1pm though. Strange dog!!

Sublime_2

I've owned 2 staffies, and yes, they are picky eaters. I have always put a portion of cooked chopped meat on top of their dry kibble for variety (yes, spoilt! ).

Neither were big eaters. My current staffie doesn't always eat his dinner, and only needs a fraction of the kibble recommended.