Dog Food Questions - merged

kaya

i wouldn't worry about it, its not unknown for dogs to miss a meal now and then, be carefull of changing the food too often as will more than likely upset your dogs digestive system and make them feel ill, although some dogs seem to eat absolutely everything and are never ill, i would allow the dog to miss a meal now and again without worrying about it, just make sure its still drinking plenty-two tins of food a day and biscuits is a very substantial meal for small breed like a staffie, probably just not hungry, good luck anyway

elsien

Another thought - does your dog get indigestion at all? Mine will sometimes miss the morning meal, even though her stomach is going like a cement mixer and I can hear it across the other side of the house. I can tell if it's going to be one of those days, because she tries to eat lots of grass to try to make herself sick and once she's been sick she's ok.
The vet said dogs get indigestion, the same as people, and to let her get on with it. She's usually eating as normal in the evening, if that happens.

smileypigface

Our 10 month old Springer has never been the type of dog who will eat a bowl of food as soon as it is put down - he is fed on JWB dry food so it's not as if it's going to go bad if it sits around uneaten.

He tends to 'graze' rather than eat a whole bowl in a sitting. In fact he usually eats his breakfast ration on his morning walk as he will happily work to earn it kibble at a time as 'treats'.

The bowl in his run is often empty in the morning - so he must eat it during the night!

His weight is about right (can just feel his ribs through his fur - no flab) and coat is in really good condition (nice and shiny) - his general health is good and he poos at predictable times during the day which fits in with his exercise times (no having to get up in the night to let him out or anything).

Is there any reason why dogs should have set mealtimes (apart from if they are on fresh food that will go off)?

Alias_Omega

I made the wife change our dogs food, it was getting 1 tin of food a day, and was costing a fortune.

Put it onto the dry mix from tesco, £12 ish for a 15-17kg bag.

For the first few weeks the dog never ate it, then it got rather thin. We started mixing in gravy with it, and it started to eat it.

It was just tough luck really... poor dog..

Chesnut1

Could you be over feeding her? I only ask as we have 2 dogs a large Dobermann x Ladbrador and a good sized Golden Retriever girl a fair but bigger than a Staffie. They both eat the same 1 tin of dog food each a day split into 2 meals with a small cup of mixer at each meal. They are both very active dogs, the Retriever is spot on in weight and the Dobbie x is slightly overweight (Vet's opinion and mine). Apart from the odd dog chew they get no treats and sometimes the Dobbie x will miss a meal as he is not hungry.

pollyanna24

Gosh, I never actually thought I might be feeding her too much, that never even occurred to me! Maybe I am. Think maybe I'll stop worrying so much then.

She's not fat (although the vet did say she could lose a kilo or two - but what does she know? She only weighs 16kg which is fine for a staff), and has lots of exercise, and even when she hasn't eaten, she can still run after the ball with lots of energy.

She does go through stages of eating lots of grass. Bf stops her doing this as he says she does it because she doesn't want to eat dog food! But I was fairly sure they eat it for other reasons. He doesn't like her doing it because when she eats loads of grass, that is literally all she poos out and he thinks it can't be good for her.

How much should I be feeding her then? Surely 1 tin a day isn't enough? And I have to give her biscuits, it's just in my nature.

pollyanna24

On the same (ish) topic, I made the mistake of giving my cat wet food (she kept trying to eat the dogs food) and now she just ignores any biscuits I leave out for her.

Those little pouches are a fortune if I feed her four a day like it says to do. Will two pouches be enough and if she doesn't eat the biscuits as well, then it's tough titty to her?

pania

Hiya Pollyanna,

Just had a read through above and there could be 2 things for this.

1) dogs can use food to "trophy" sometimes, and picking at it little and often can be a sign of them "controlling" their food. in the wild the alpha always gets first dibs at the best food and none of the rest of the pack can eat until the alpha pair are done. does she eat before or after you? if she eats before you and sees you eating then this could be her "trophying" her food as the alpha. Also by her "asking" for biscuits, how does she "ask".
If you think this is the situation then 2 things to try. firstly, prior to feeding her get yourself a buizcuit or cracker or piece of cheese anything, let her see you mix her food and then let her see you eat the entire biscuit before puuting her dinner on the floor.
When she "asks" for bisuits send her away from you as she is in effect "demanding" them from you.
As soon as she is sitting/lying quietly away from you call her to you and offer the biscuit. This way she would get the idea that you are in control of the food and will eat up quite happily when you feed her as she knows the food will go if not!
2) yes you could be feeding her too much and i agree that it seems a lot for such a small dog. but what "size" are the tims? a tin of caesar in one sitting is much smaller than a tin of chappie lets say. try varying the amounts over the next couple of days, maybe half a tin each sitting and see if that shows an improvement. "complete" dog feeds are just that, be careful of upsetting the balance of these by adding "tempters" into them too.


Re the grass... If we have indigestion, or an upset stomach or feel under the weather, we take something to make us feel better. dogs eating grass is the canine equivalent of that and they shouldn't be stopped from doing it, yes it is manky when they poo it out but tis nature sadly. Maybe try explaining this to OH and the reasons why she does it, if he felt ill and couldn't take medicine it would make him feel a whole lot worse. If the grass eating is persistent then speak to your vet as it could be a sign of illness.
Hope that helps and kind regards. big lick to staffie.
P
xxx

Debt_Free_Chick

My Springer turned 3 in February and is only now starting to eat regularly. He's only 13kg and looks very lean .... but not quite skinny. He simply "ain't bovvered" which is the typical Spaniel attitude to everything, except food (normally).

I wonder whether young pups simply take a while to settle into a regular feeding pattern

Mine hates dry food, but loves raw chicken carcasses. Just at the moment though I've been feeding him on Naturediet as it seems good quality. It even smells appetising to me :eek:

Anyway, enough about the food I feed my dog ...... I really think there's a "puppy thing" going on with food

LittleTinker

Wow!! I wish I had your bank balance if you are feeding your dog so much every day!! You must spend a fortune.

I have 3 dogs and they have 1 tin of food a day between them, with Tesco complete. And only once a day for Adult dogs too!