I have a 2-year-old Cocker spaniel who is a bit of a fussy eater. I've tried all sorts of different dry dog foods which he will occasionally eat and I give him a tray of Harrington's wet food every morning. I'm worried hes not getting enough food so any suggestions on what you feed would be great
Dry food only for all my dogs.
Ranging from Beta to Dr Johns
All on Beta working just now.
'Good', wheat-free dry food for our current and previous.
Currently on Canagan lamb.
I’m worried hes not getting enough food
Sweeping generalisation, but, basically, if he's hungry, he'll eat. Put the food down, give him half an hour to eat it, if he doesn't then he doesn't get another chance until the next meal time.
Yora puppy here, which she likes. Don't change straight from one to the other, I'd transition over about a week. Another trick is to crumble a treat of tiny bit of cheese into it to get him going and then gradually reuse.
We got a dog in Feb 2020, and one of the neighbours got his brother from the same litter.
Ours is a happy but picky bag o' bones, and despite the vet's reassurances I worry sometimes that he's too skinny. His brother, on the other hand is a barrel.
On a recent walk with the neighbour I got to talking about the different sizes of the pair and the neighbour said they just stick fatboy's food in the microwave for 10 seconds then he wolfs it down regardless of the content.
I've tried it and can confirm it works for our Cupar.
Raw minced chicken or beef. She loves it and clean up has never been easier.
Oh, and cat crap. Lots of cat crap…
they just stick fatboy’s food in the microwave for 10 seconds then he wolfs it down regardless of the content.
A bit of warm water on dry food can do a similar trick
Have you tried smaller meals but more regular?
My current boxer is a fussy eater but once started he'll eat well. He eats dry food but often needs a little something on top to get him started so I add things like kippers, chicken, tuna, raw tripe etc. Variety also seems to be key
Cyclists.
Sweeping generalisation, but, basically, if he’s hungry, he’ll eat. Put the food down, give him half an hour to eat it, if he doesn’t then he doesn’t get another chance until the next meal time.
Another generalisation, dogs don't eat as a social activity with friends and a nice glass of wine while discussing good fence posts in the area, or what the bitch at 42's back end smells like.
They eat for sustenance and as fuel (and yes - some will also eat because it's there!) and as long as the dog is able to function and exercise and is in good condition, etc., I wouldn't fret about whether it's eating the amount it says on the side of the pack. If it was undernourished quickly that would be evident.
A few potatoes, carrots,peas, broccoli - boiled and mashed, then about 250g of fried beef mince mixed in. Make into meatball sized lumps once cooled
Dry food, again grain free.
Fussy eater? Really, they eat shit at the drop of a hat.
2 and a half year old greyhound. 2 scoops of dry kibble with either raw beef mince, sardines or raw chicken wings on top.
Chum
Have you tried smaller meals but more regular?
Or, indeed, larger meals, but less often? Then you know he's hungry at the time of feeding.
Our Cocker went through a few months of being really fussy, we tried a load of food and have finally settled on the following which she now 'woofs' up (fed when wakes up in the morning and late afternoon);
Kibble - Essential - I think we're using Highland Living at the moment, high meat content and well rated on the comparison site we used. Also direct sales model so cheaper than Canagan etc.
Topper - Forthglade Complimentary
We use a spoonful of topper for taste and microwave with the kibble for about 10 seconds. You can get a box of 12 trays which lasts ages as a tray lasts several days.
Previously she has tried James Welbeloved (breeder kibble), Royal Canin (which she loved but is not nutritionally good), Arden Grange and Canagan. The Essential food has resulted in the best stool consistency by far.
Raw with a lot of variety - rabbit, venison, lamb etc,. with a % of offal and bone mixed in and fruit or veg.
Probably shouldn't own a dog if you think feeding it on dry food is the right thing...
Raw minced chicken beef rabbit turkey what have you.
He prefers the cats food though.
Wife signed up for a trial of something called butternut box. He preferred that. It got cancelled when the intro offer ran out…
Probably shouldn’t own a dog if you think feeding it on dry food is the right thing…
Oh, get in the sea.
Steroids, so she's never not hungry!
Canagan Turkey works for us, but she is the furthest from a fussy eater you could get. Former street dog and now with added 'roids. Only things she won't eat are other dogs poo (but all other types are IN), spinach and banana. She loves raw skin on Butternut squash too!
Active feeding helps too, the food is then a reward for a training/brain stimulating activity, to the point we don't even have a bowl for her.
Oh yeah stool consistency. Major bonus of the raw diet. A couple of dry nuggets instead of a pound of slop to scrape up.
Oh, get in the sea.
Agreed, the sea of cluelessness
Oh yeah stool consistency. Major bonus of the raw diet. A couple of dry nuggets instead of a pound of slop to scrape up.
That (the nuggets), is exactly what we get on Canagan dry.
Probably shouldn’t own a dog if you think feeding it on dry food is the right thing…
Probably should back that up with some veterinary science..
+1 heh, never heard that before but totally agree (sea comment).
Oh yeah stool consistency. Major bonus of the raw diet. A couple of dry nuggets instead of a pound of slop to scrape up.
Absolutely, Essential is the only food we've used which results in consistent solid dog eggs.
We fed my Cocker a mixture of raw and kibble, kibble in the morning and raw for dinner.
She is a fussy bugger, although not when it comes to begging for scraps, and would often leave the kibble as she knew she would get the raw later.
About a month ago she started throwing up the raw, happened 3 or 4 times in a row. We switched to a different raw food and she did it again, for whatever reason her stomach didn't seem to tolerate the raw anymore even though she seem to love it.
Now she is on Royal Canan kibble which we top up with some boiled or roast chicken and a bit of boiled veg.
Probably shouldn’t own a dog if you think feeding it on dry food is the right thing…
Utter crap
14 month old cockapoo here. He has had some stomach problems originating from Giardia as a small pup. All good now but still a bit of a sensitive stomach. He was on Royal Canin gastro high fibre kibble for much of his first year, with a 1/3 tin of Chappie in the morn (recommended by vet as a wet benign mild variation).
He loves the Chappie so have stuck with that, and kibble wise he's now on Scrumbles, which goes down a treat and comes out the other end ok too...
We give our 7m old Spinone dried food, a white label grain free from These guys. we have it on repeat so get a further discount.
We did a lot of research on this site to find a good quality food and am very happy with the results.
We used to give 100% raw, but, needing the freezer space to store what we'd need and how we'd buy it to make it economical wasn't really an option. We do still have a few tubs of Nature's Menu in the freezer which we use as a topper, will sometimes give him some as a whole meal. We do however give him lots of raw 'treats' chicken wings/turkey/chicken carcasses/rabbit ears/fish etc.
We feed our Bella a raw diet. We keep mixing up the proteins but have found too much chicken isn't good for her. She benefits from more bone than the standard mixes. The Utterly Rawsome stuff is lovely big chunks. Actually looks really appetising.
We also supplement with lamb necks, bull pizzles, sardines etc. Things with fur or feathers still attached as it helps clear any parasites. We also do regular stool samples and only worm if required.
She also loves apple cores, slices of cucumber as well as cauliflower and broccoli stems. Those aren't an official part other diet, just what she gets while we're cooking.
Typically, the most cooked thing she gets is some Forthglade in a Kong.
Fittest dog we've ever had and folks are surprised to hear how old she is.
We use a combo of Butternut box, Harringtons kibble & our own mush (sweet potatoes, sausages & carrots roasted & blended with some chicken stock)
We also us puzzle feeders & the aforementioned mush in kongs
Only raw food for our lad, get it online from a place called Natural Instinct. I’ve no personal views or experience between dry food or wet/raw, all I know is our dog loves it and it’s gone in seconds, so he clearly likes the stuff and he’s healthy as a result. Oh and his shits are small and like bullets.
We changed our 2 year old cocker spaniel's diet to raw food about 6 months ago and I would not go back to kibble now.
He used to have Acana or Vetspec kibble which he liked (he eats anything) but he had a few minor skin issues and constantly has ear infections. I was initially against raw but did a lot of research about it and decided to give it a go. His coat and skin are now in great condition and his ear infections have reduced significantly (also helped by keeping his ear hair short on the inside and not too long on the outside). He absolutely loves his raw food and his weight and general health have definitely improved.
We use Nutriment raw food which comes in handy 500g tubs that fit in the freezer easily. We top it up/supplement it with a bit of fruit, veg, sprats, chicken feet etc. We also mix up the flavours for him.
*narrows eyes at Onzadog
Is our Henry masquerading as a girl and living at two houses? That sounds just like what ours eats. And can I just say there's a depressing lack of photo's on this thread.
edit - meh, including me. You'll just have to click the link! Sure Insta posts used to embed somehow.
Despite what they may tell you, not all dogs get on with raw food. We tried over months to transition our dog over and she never took to it, got the runs constantly and lost weight.
We now feed a small scoop of 7 grain free kibble and 5th of a tin of 7 grain free wet food, all mixed up with a drop of water, twice a day. She eats it pretty quick, but can miss a meal without tearing down the walls.
She was a fussy eater, but in the sense that some foods gave her the runs, but that was in her first year whilst trying to work out what food suited her. She settled on Canagan but then moved to 7 as she got on with it and was much cheaper.
Not sure. Is Henry a bull lurcher who's so hench, everyone assumes it couldn't possibly be a girl (even with a selection of pink collars)?
Just clicked the link. Cute as he is, if that's also our Bella, then he's a master of disguise!
Came across a cocker-poo the other day called Chester. Name was inspired by the Goonies.
https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/
She gets on best with 60/40 or 50/50 mixes. We bought small bags for her to 'try' until we found a few mixes she likes. Now buy bigger bags and just rotate it round. (Also gets a variety scraps when we are making breakfast/lunch/dinner from cucumber to carrots and bacon to beans.)
Frozen sausages.
Our mutt (75% Cocker, 25% Poodle) has only ever had raw food - usually SouthCliffe or Naturaw - that is 80% meat, 10% bone & 10% offal. It comes in loads of different varieties (chicken, rabbit, lamb, turkey, etc., some with added fish). We regularly give her some raw veg as well. She loves it. Her coat is super glossy and her dog eggs are like bullets.
Feed our Ridgebacks raw like (I’d hazard a guess) 85% of the rest of the owners/breeders in the show world. Yes it is a bit more of a hassle defrosting and storing it but you soon get into a routine. (Although our first Ridgeback would only eat frozen meat which was handy) Like other posters have said the dogs coats are always in great condition and the number 2’s are solid so easy to pick up and help express the anal glands as they push the stools out. Know of several people who’ve had dogs with skin problems, changed over to a raw food diet and it’s disappeared.
The old saying fit as a butcher’s dog rings very true IMO
Hedgehogs
Our two Cockers have kibble and usually a sardine mixed with it, if it's a Sunday and we're having a roast, then they'll have a roast dinner instead. They didn't seem to like the kibble the breeders recommended and we switched to one from a local place that's for working dogs, which they seem to love. It usually gets eaten pretty quickly, they have great coats and vets say ideal weights, they do get a load of exercise too. So all is good.
Raw, we generally stick to the Dougie's stuff - chicken and pork, chicken and salmon, beef, venison, lamb, turkey and duck.
Occasionally we top up with bits of veg we have going spare - carrots, broccoli and courgette she seems to like.
Raw egg complete with shell, it still makes me wince a bit hearing her eat it.
She gets rabbit's ear and chicken feet every now and then as a treat, but by far her favourite is the ostrich bone...
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