# should i change her food?



## cleo (Aug 31, 2011)

I am worried about Pixel as she hardly eats anything all day and seems to completely be off her food. She's not off her food completely as she will eat the very limited treats I give her on walks and tries to eat our food.

At the beginning she was ok and would eat the Wainwrights biscuits we were giving her. Then she would not eat them at all. We perserved but she was still not eating them so we mixed some meat in of the same brand. Again she was eating it at the start but now once again she is back to not eating much at all. I have tried to plonk her down in front of it again and again and she will eat a small amount. I have tried picking it up when she doesn't eat it, I have tried leaving it down all night if she doesn't eat it. We have also tried putting her bowl in her crate with her when she doesn't eat her breakfast. However, nothing works. 

She's only 8 months old so I really worry this is effecting her growth and health. We end up wasting so much food as she especially doesn't like old food. She's always been a funny eater, eating a tiny bit at a time and never all at once but she is not eating it at all now but wants our food so must be hungry. We have never given her any of our food so it's not like she wants it instead because she is used to having it.

Should I try changing her food or will we just have the same problems? I thought about just changing the biscuits as she was eating the meat but now she's not even eating that. 

What should I do? Which other foods are good, healthy foods for dogs without breaking the bank?


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## Emma (Apr 29, 2011)

How does she seem otherwise? If she is otherwise healthy I would try and stuck with the food. If u are worried about growth take her to vets and have her weighed regularly, my vets were quite happy to do this free of charge. I have had this same prob with Maggie initially no prob gradually went off royal canin then onto James well beloved. Same thing. She now gets barking heads and seemed to quite like this which I am told is due to its high meat content. However at ten months she has only been consistently eating her breakfast and dinner since Xmas.

Keep the food down and remove it after half an hour and be persistent! It's been a long hard slog for me but I now have a dog who locks her bowl clean after almost every meal. If she seems otherwise healthy don't worry if she is hungry she will eat! If u chop and change too much u could end up with a really fussy eater. When I changed maggies food over and u mix the old with new she used to spur it all across the floor and pick out the new stuff and leave the old. She was a madam. I was so worried about her eating. So I totally sympathise with u. Emma x


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## Nadhak (Jun 4, 2011)

Treacle has always been the same and I made the mistake of buying and trying every brand from the most expensive to cheap rubbish and also NI.
She goes off everything! Likes the first time and then Little Miss Fusspot turns her nose up at it!
i cannot alternate because once she has gone off it - thats the end of it!
She even goes off fresh food - lamb / chicken if I give it to her too often!
However - she is growing and continues to gain weight so she obviously eats enough!
She does eat her food in the middle of the night so I leave dried food down for her!

We are their Mothers and we do worry but as of yet - no solution in our house!


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

If she has been on that food for 8 months with no major probs and youare happy with it then continue, she will eat it if she is hungry.. but of course keep an eye on her weight 

I dont know if it may be related but I did notice my cockapoo Honey was not eating so much and lost a bit of weight around this age, then her season came ..... 

I feed my dogs Barking Head food and I am so pleased with it ... a few reviews on My Dogs Life ... if you do fancy a change ... 

None of my cockapoos are big eaters .. only hungry as puppies .. then they all seem to be quite light eaters ...


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## francesjl (Mar 24, 2011)

Rascal is a bit fussy - but he soon eats if there's a little milk or yoghurt on his biscuits !


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## Dee123 (Aug 20, 2011)

You could try putting her food next to you when you are having a Neal and pretend to eat from it. Then offer it to her. She my be keener on eating it if she thinks it's your food.

Not sure a food change is the answer. Maybe variety? If you could do slightly different meals each time? Mix of something in e.g. Sardine, carrots, spinach, yoghurt... People say dogs can eat the same thing all year but most like something to look forward to. You could also add some salmon oil... Supposed to encourage fussy eaters.


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## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

I went through all this with Biscuit between 10-15 weeks. It happened straight after his injections and he went from wolfing down his NI to completely turning away. I then added all the bits like sardines, etc which worked for a while but then the same thing happened. I then tried Nature's Menu, which he wolfed down but I really wanted him to eat the NI and suddenly at 15 weeks he seemed to be searching for food constantly so I re-introduced the NI and he is now back to wolfing it down! I share your frustrations as it was constantly on my mind for those 5 weeks as to how to entice him to eat at every meal.


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

You could try adding some Yumega fish oil. When Betty is being a bit fussy
( which is isn't often in fairness) I add a few drops to her kibble. I think the strong smell rouses her interest


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## Rufini (Sep 9, 2011)

Vincent has fussy periods. For about a week he'll eat everything in his bowl and more, then the next week he'll have a few mouthfuls and not be bothered!
We have switched from Wainwrights to Wellbeloved which he prefers, mainly because Wellbeloved is much smaller, I think Vincent doesn't like big pieces! 

francesjl we do that too  He LOVES yoghurt so if he is being especially fussy we give him some fat free yoghurt with his kibble :3


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## francesjl (Mar 24, 2011)

Rufini said:


> Vincent has fussy periods. For about a week he'll eat everything in his bowl and more, then the next week he'll have a few mouthfuls and not be bothered!
> We have switched from Wainwrights to Wellbeloved which he prefers, mainly because Wellbeloved is much smaller, I think Vincent doesn't like big pieces!
> 
> francesjl we do that too  He LOVES yoghurt so if he is being especially fussy we give him some fat free yoghurt with his kibble :3


Rascal doesn't like big pieces either !
A small tin of Caesar mixed in always gets his vote as well !


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