Dog food recommendations

Miss_J

We've had our dog since the beginning of September. We got him from Dogs Trust and it's estimated he's about 12 months old.

When we brought him home he was on Wainwrights dry food as are all dogs from Dogs Trust. Straight away he was really fussy with his food so we started mixing it with wet food for him.

Having looked at dog food recommendations we've tried a variety of different wet foods to mix it with. Natures Diet, Natures Menu, Natures Harvest and Symply. He manages a couple of days and then goes off eating. Recently we thought we were onto a winner with Encore and cleared the shelves at Asda only to see him go off this as well. A few weeks ago with swooped over to Burgess Sensitive dry to mix as head gone off the Wainwrights dry.

So today he has gone off food altogether and I've gone out and bought bog standard Asda Meaty Chunks and Chappie tins but again he's turning up his nose at this too.

I'm aware he's had lots of different foods recently and is probably isn't good for him. It's costing a fortune in different foods and we're at a loss as to what to do with him now.

Anyone got any suggestions on what we should try?

artbaron

No idea what your dog would like but maybe try Lily's Kitchen, which is what my Staffie eats. I don't know if your dog will like it - my dog likes everything apart from raw - but it's the best quality wet food you can get. The price does reflect that, though. Personally I would never mix wet and dry but that's up to you.

Edit: You might also want to try raw.

krlyr

Try https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk - I'd for for 4+ star rated foods if within your budget.

Has he been checked to make sure there's no medical cause for his eating problems, e.g. dental problems? If he's given a clean bill of health by the vet, I'd try a little tough love - put his food down for 10 minutes then take it up until next meal time (I'd offer 2-3 times a day but that's it). A hungry dog won't starve itself, and it won't harm for him to go without food for a day or so if he's in good health.

7 different foods within 2 months is quite a lot - I know you want to look after him, but you may be teaching him that by refusing meals he gets something better. I'd also look at whether he's getting full on treats or chews if you're giving him any, too.

sheramber

krlyr wrote: »

Try https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk - I'd for for 4+ star rated foods if within your budget.

Has he been checked to make sure there's no medical cause for his eating problems, e.g. dental problems? If he's given a clean bill of health by the vet, I'd try a little tough love - put his food down for 10 minutes then take it up until next meal time (I'd offer 2-3 times a day but that's it). A hungry dog won't starve itself, and it won't harm for him to go without food for a day or so if he's in good health.

7 different foods within 2 months is quite a lot - I know you want to look after him, but you may be teaching him that by refusing meals he gets something better. I'd also look at whether he's getting full on treats or chews if you're giving him any, too.

Agree with this- He has you well trained.

Assuming there is no medical cause, put it down and leave him to eat it. Don't hovver or tempt him to eat, just ignore him.

After ten minutes lift the dish. Again no fussing etc just lift it up and carry on what you are doing.

Give nothing else until next feeding time and repeat above.

One thing, if he is not eating it do not fill the dish up - he's not going to eat it anyway. Just give half what you would give him.
If he eats it then increase the amount at the next meal.
If he doesn't eat it then offer less next time so you aren't wasting food.

rising_from_the_ashes

Have you tried a fish based kibble?

Most dogs love fish

Of course, you can still add some set to mix and make it a bit more interesting

Raksha

My latest dog has just been switched to raw (Natures Menu blocks and nuggets) having been just the same as the OPs dog on processed foods - 'picky'... I forgot to get some out of the freezer yesterday and gave her a sachet of Wainrights chicken and it was a real 'oh if I have to' performance.... I never get that reaction with raw...

Miss_J

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.

Yesterday he ate really well, I think he was really Hungry after not eating much on Friday. Today he's slightly off again, he's obviously hungry as he's barking at us when we eat and he has some food down which he's licked at but he's not really tucked into it much.

Yesterday we had a trip to Petsathome home and got him some of the Wainwrights wet stuff, which he doesn't seem really interested in. My hubby also picked up a bag of Natures menu raw food which he's talked about trying for a while. When we got home and put some in a bowl to thaw out, the dog helped himself to a couple of frozen blocks. We've fed the rest to him today and he wolfed it down but has left the Wainwrights. We've portioned some more out for tonight and will try it again later on and see how he gets on.

I did make an appointment with the vet yesterday morning but cancelled it after he wolfed his food down yesterday morning but we'll see how it goes.

Not sure how long he's was a stray for before being picked up, but the more I think about it maybe raw is more what he's been used to. He's a hunting hound and has come from Europe, so I'm wondering if he ate what he was hunting before he came to the UK, also as a stray he may have eaten more raw than processed dog foods.

Thanks everyone again for the suggestions, hoping he settles into some sort of feeding routine soon.

nick-nick

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Have you tried a fish based kibble?

Most dogs love fish

Of course, you can still add some set to mix and make it a bit more interesting

One of my dogs was quite fussy (well his stomach was) with the food he had. When he was a pup we had Wainwrights but we have found Autarky Salmon does the job, his weight has been good and he seems to love it and it agrees with him.