Dexter is a fussy eater .. advice ?

[Fozzer]

Hi all I’m new the the forum , I have a 9 month mini black and silver called dexter and he’s always been a bit fussy with food , and latly he just pushes his food into a pile and leaves it and doesn’t seem bothered with it , but will eat treats etc so he will eat but not his food being , proper stubborn I’ve had him on raw when I got him he went of that then tried him on fourthglade trays he loved that then went off it a few weeks ago so tried him on dry royal cabin and started eating it now he’s stopped again , I’ve also stopped leaving food down and taking it up after 15 mins of it being out , any ideas on what’s the best option and a food he will eat I appreciate the advice

[zeta1454]

As regards the best type of food, I am a great advocate of raw feeding (choose a good quality brand if you are buying frozen ready prepared raw meals with the correct balance of nutrients).

Are you feeding more than he needs? It is quite common for young dogs to stop eating if they are being over-fed and it is easy to do this when you have been used to feeding more meals / larger amounts to a growing puppy. Although Dexter may not have reached full maturity, he will not need the amount he was eating when younger.

Is he on two or three meals a day? If he is on 3 meals, cut out the middle meal. If he is already on two meals then I would reduce the amount at each meal. As said above, I would always recommend raw feeding, but if you don’t want to go back to this, I would definitely avoid highly processed kibble such as Royal Canin as this type of food is not ideal for any dog is frequently high in carbohydrates and unspecified poor quality meat products. Find a good quality raw or minimally processed food and stick with it; try to avoid giving treats until Dexter is eating his meals but do check that the amount you are offering is not too much as I have known a number of dogs where there was concern that they were not eating their meals and in every case it was that the dog was being given too much food and once the amount was reduced they started eating as normal.

I agree that you should not leave the food down if Dexter shows no interest in eating it.

[Fozzer]

Thanks for this I’m goin to see how he goes over the next few days and not treat him hopefully try and move him over to raw , thanks again

[Dawnspell]

Dogs actually prefer to work for their food its called contra free loading. Jasper is a fussy eater if I put food down on a plate he wont go near it.
If youre giving dry food you could start animating it by rolling a few pieces along the floor. This gets them engaged in the food and will normally eat the pieces you roll. You could then progress to scatter feeding so he has to sniff out and hunt the food. If Jaspers not interested I will throw a few pieces of treats and gradually throw in normal food once he engages in the game. For wet food you could stuff hooves or use lick mats.

I wouldnt get stressed about it so long as hes not losing weight. Some days Jasper doesnt even eat a quarter of whats recommended on the packet but he'll eat more another day. Hes weight has remained constant for the last 2 years so its not a problem.