Dog food suggestions please

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Thistle

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I have 3 dogs, a 10 year old boxer dog, a 6yr old lab abd a 3 yesr old staffy (both girls)

I have always fed Chudleys working crunch and I'm generally happy with it. All my dogs are fairly high energy, we have a large property, they dogs have free access to about 1 1/2 acres and spend alot of time outside, they are good guard dogs and like to check out the boundaries for intruders, rabbits, pigeons etc. The two girls also spend hours playing. They also get walked for between half and 1 hour most days, less if it's hot. The lab also swims in out large pond when we allow her to.

Splke the boxer is a very fussy eater, he is very suspicious of all food (except pizza) and he has to do a funny little dance around his bowl before he will eat. He occasionally declines a meal, I just pick it up and share it between the girls next meal time and he gets a fresh meal. They are fed 2x a day.

Lately I have noticed the girls are desperate to eat his faeces (yuk) and he has dropped a bit of weight, particularly muscle around his back end, he has always been a bit lean and can't really afford to lose weight (he had peritonitis as a 12 week old pup and we nearly lost him).

Vet is reasonably happy with him, says he is in ok condition for his age and breed. Although 10 is quite old for a boxer.

I have increased his food but he will only eat what he wants to (I feed all seperately as the lab is a pig)

I feel he isn't digesting his food properly and that's why he has lost the weight and the girls are eating the remnants.

Any suggestions of a similar biscuit type food that is easily digested that a fussy dog will eat. maybe one for older dogs. I don't mind if it's more expensive as i will keep the girls on their Chudleys.

He won't eat any veg or fresh meat, he teeth are still ok but not brilliant, he has soft gums that bleed easily. I can't give them bones as the boxer will steal them all and guard them but not really chew them.

They also have a handful of shapes at bedtime which he has no problem chewing and eating. He also wolfs down left over pizza crusts (his favourite food)
 
Has the vet listened to his heart lately? My dog went off his food with his heart murmour, he's not on a good dose of meds and eating well?.. and what with being a boxer and very old too...........

Does his faeces have a skin on them like a sausage?, this is often a sign of digestive disorders....

There is some powder you can sprinkle on their food to digest the food for them called Tryplase powder.... worth as mention to your vet.

There are 3 reasons why your other 2 are eating his poo:-

1) they are looking for nutrients themselves (doubtful as you have them on complete food)

2) Boxer boy isnt digesting his

3) behavioural (doubtful)

I would have a check up for boxer and discuss with vet xx
 
The boxer sees the vet fairly regularly, my dogs like the vet so they all come along to say hello when one needs a visit!

His heart is listened to quite often, I keep a close eye on him.

He isn't off his food at all, he never has been a great eater, in fact he seems more hungry now than he ever has.

I think the poo eating is the staffys fault, she is a rescue and was starved, I caught her eating it a few times in the early days, she then stopped when she realised she wasn't hungry anymore (she isn't a greedy dog) The lab, being a total pig realised that poo is a useful extra food source!

Vet feels that older dogs don't fully digest and others are taking advantage of this.

Trouble is, I google senior dog foods easily digested and they all come up as lower calorie to prevent weight gain in less active dogs. He needs more nutrition, not less as he only eats what he wants to.

I wondered about Chudleys Performance, the next step up in nutrition terms from the working crunch, high oil and protein, chicken based and green lipped muscle for joints.

I'm guessing it will be very similar to the food he is on now so he'll probably eat it! I suppose I could buy a bag and see, the others will eat it if he doesn't.

Do anti copraphagia supplements work? And do they taste pleasant enough that he will eat them in his food?
 
Thistle said:
Any suggestions of a similar biscuit type food that is easily digested that a fussy dog will eat. maybe one for older dogs. I don't mind if it's more expensive as i will keep the girls on their Chudleys.
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Healthy Option: http://www.muckypupz.com/page/healthy_option_pet_food

Worked wonders for canine Puppy when she started having digestion problems which came on with age. She was picky, but loved it, it put the weight on her and she definitely digested it better. I keep my current two on it now and even vets ask me what I feed them because of their coats.
 
Its gross, but won't hurt your other dogs eating it, its fairly normal in the wild. I have heard feeding pineapple to boxer makes the poo taste horrible, but not sure u would want to do that!.

My elderly patterdale goes on senior food in the winter as he loses condition and he gets fat on it, don't worry about lesser calories, remember its easy to digest so they get more from it! Mine have cheapo Tesco brand senior! Summer i put him back to regular food as he needs to lose some weight then, he ranges from 9-11kg :-)

If the vet thinks not digesting food properly perhaps he could let you try tryplase capsules/ or powder, it literally digests the food for the dog before it eats it, so the gut has less work to do, might let you try it? xx
 
How does he feel about tinned sardines? You could mash a few into his regular food, or just on their own. I feed the ones in oil (for the extra calories), but you can get them in brine, in case of upset tums
 
I would have maye recommended skinners, but mine dropped weight on it (well a few) not all, so although good quality for money it's not my 1st choice for poor weight holders.

Good for weight gain (Arden grange) and the do a big variety, a friend has had alot of trouble keeping weight on her weim and she switched to Arden grange and him and her bitch have gained a nice amount of weight and condition.
Also fish4dogs, good quality food but I personally would try the AG 1st.
Also second the sardines/tuna mixed in and a glug of vegie oil, this is also very good for weight gain.
Ps in most cases the crap eating is indeed greed/learned habit.
 
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CAYLA said:
Good for weight gain (Arden grange) and the do a big variety, a friend has had alot of trouble keeping weight on her weim and she switched to Arden grange and him and her bitch have gained a nice amount of weight and condition.
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Which AG do they use? Harley has always been ribby. Vet not worried at all, but it would be nice to not see his ribs :( . Had a look on their website and I was wondering which one worked for your Weim?
 
Both mine eat the Barking Heads ^^ and do well on it. (Although, to be fair, they eat meat as their main meal and only kibble as breakfast/travelling food.)

What about a handful of something like Orijen mixed in with what he's getting? Mine love it and the older dog still gets a bit mixed in but as a standard diet we found it made them fat (or we had to feed so little they were still hungry) and loopy! Might be a useful addition for yours though.

Would he eat a supplement? Cod liver oil and/or maybe a probiotic?
 
A boxer who isn't an utter dustbin? Surely some mistake...
I have a v fussy JRT (another anomaly, the rest would eat anything that stayed still long enough... or was catchable.)
The rest are all happy on Chudley's Classic, but the fussy one now gets a mix of Bakers Complete Puppy and HiLife Complete Moist, has put on weight in a month and now looks really good. Both are available in small bags/boxes so you'd be able to see whether he liked them. mine all love them as treats, esp the Hi Life stuff, very palatable apparently.
Or, daily pizza order, i guess. ;) ;)
 
To add, my "gastro-intestin-ally challenged" dog definitely does better on a gluten-free diet. To be honest, I feel a bit silly doing it (the horse also does better cereal free . . .figures) but it makes such a difference to her and it's not her fault she was compromised as a puppy. I don't know what Chudley's composition is but it might be worth a change if it does have wheat in it.
 
Mine doesn't need to gain weight but I can definitely recommend Arden Grange. My Border Collie looks great on it - he also gets sardines in oil or tomato sauce twice a week, an egg once a wk (or when I remember) and paddywhack or pigs ears as a treat at the weekend.
 
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