switching to adult food any suggestions

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Henny

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Hi I am soon to switch my dog to adult food, he is very fussy and doesnt have a huge appitite. I think he may have a slight wheat intolerance, as JWB made him rub all the hair off around his eyes. I have had some samples from skinners but he just turned his nose up, and I have tried orijen where he lost weight. He is currently feed on symply puppy. but wondered if there is something better. he is a very active jrtx
 
SYMPLY!!!!!

Salmon and potato adult Symply. Nothing beats it. Trust me! My lab (16 months) is absolutely blooming on it. Its amazing, and everyone who's tried it swears by it and wouldn't change.

They also have lots of flavours so you could alternate xxxx
 
well, he has done well on their puppy chicken and rice. Would you say the salmon is better than the meat flavours (i know you won have tried it yourself!!). I just struggle to get him to eat any where near the reccomended amount, maybe i need to be stronger about those puppy dog eyes asking for a bit of real meat on top!!
 
If your dog is a fussy eater have you tried pouring a little bit of oil over his dinner - or anything that would excite his taste buds?

I often, purposely, make too much gravy when I am cooking dinner so that I can pour the left overs in their bowls - its such a treat for them!

My 6 month old collie is now on adult kibble, she doesn't seem to have a huge appetite and picks at her food but I base it on the fact that if she was hungry she would eat it!
 
Ive tried the gravy trick and the oil. I think I need to be a bit stricter when I move onto this new food. I know he wouldnt starve himself, but Its very disheartening when he turns his nose up at expensive dog food but will eat some manky dirt off the pavement!!
 
LOL - lots of people will recommend a tin of tuna or such like added to their dinner and I can see that that is very good advice but I don't want to turn my dogs into fussy eaters and they are perfectly healthy on what they are fed - but I don't buy expensive brands, I buy straight forward working dog food in big sacks!

How old is he and how often do you feed him?

If you only have the one dog would an ad lib system suit him better?
 
I think part of the issue is I've done the tins of tuna and a bit of minced beef so now he thinks thats what he should have every day!! He is 9 months old and fed twice a day. I dont think the adlib system would work because he is eating more on two feeds a day than he did on three. I think he feels he doesnt need to eat it when it is always there. I would like him to get excited about when i put it down. The other problem is that he spends all day at the stables, so when he gets a bit peckish he will eat horse poo or something else equally horrible!
 
LOL - typical dog eating all the disgusting stuff!!

I find it interesting though that you think he eats horse/sheep poo etc when he is hungry - do you think he is hungry? I always thought that mine ate at that because it was available and tasty (eugh!!) not because they are hungry.

Natually dogs would eat as and when they can, so us putting down a bowl of food at a set time of the day is something they become routined to - don't you think?

Not all dogs are food orientated and perhaps he doesn't need as much as you think he does?

If it is still an issue, have you tried making him sit and wait for his food until you give him the command to eat? Pehaps that might make him a big more eager :)

Is he underweight?
 
Have a look at fish 4 dogs, it has some very good quality food, I have a puppy on it and she loves it, it's very strong in smell (fish to be precise): as it's 70% fish and they also do bottles of salmon oil.
 
I've had success with Fish4Dogs too, mine is wheat/corn/rice intolerant and it's the only kibble she will eat (has it down ad-lib and the remaining 60% of her diet is BARF). They do sachets of pure salmon mousse too which is really tempting stuff and also ideal for stuffing kongs with.

If he eagerly eats mince and tuna, have you considered feeding more BARF type foods? There's no reason half a pack of raw mince can't be a whole meal in itself and for a JRT type it won't cost the earth. :)
 
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