I have posted before about Whistler's food. He was on Eukanuba as a pup (from his breeder) when we got pup 2 (Beta feed) we tried to get both on one food (mistake 1). It was about July and Whistler had a runny tummy. We had the perscription diet, kaolin mixture stuff from the vet and we ended up on Natures Best. Jake we changed to another type of Beta and he got an upset tum so he is nearly two and has the adult Beta same as when he was a pup.
Whistler does not eat well at all, I feed him once a day Natures Best and he picks at it, so I usually pick it up (or else Jake eats it) and he has it again as a breakfast before his early morning walk a small bag would last him about 2 weeks.
Now I find I have to mix it with a bit of grated cheese, sardines, white fish & rice to get a bowl emptied and thats rare.
He does not appear to be underweight, his coats fine and he is active, is it just that he's a small eater or should I try another brand? Or just leave well enough alone hes 2 in Feb. He will steal food given half the chance but which dog would not. He loves cheese (not every day) I do add gravy and last night sardines went down well with both dogs.
I know Beta isnt possibly a good food but Jake is shiney coated, has cosequine tabs every day for OCD and is in lovely condition so OH is sticking with BETA.
But Whistler I am not sure did I say he's a cocker? advice welcome.

I wouldnt say beta isnt a good food or eukanuba  ,We all have are favourites  ,t , i have the same probelm with one of my boys and the only  food that suits him is dr johns , i dare say many would say thats not a good food either but it suits him and the others eat it and do really well on it , he isnt a big eater either but i would stick with what suits even if it does mean putting  tempting morsels on his food

my boys wont eat complete without something tasty mixed in, I mix amp blocks of frozen meat in.  one block lasts the two of them a day.  When I look after my friends cockers I mix a tablespoon of meat in with their food or some natural yogurt and they eat it all.

I suppose dogs get bored like us - I couldnt do the special K diet, I would get bored !!

I have 2 toy poodles one aged 4 and the other 2 and a half, the older dog has always been a problem to feed and I have tried various foods. I buy Royal Canin mini sensible as it has very tiny kibble and up until recently natures menu in pouches. The reason I say recently is because I have not been able to get NM due to the company who packaged it going into liquidation or so I have been told. I then tried Natures Harvest which Rusty the 4 year old wasn't keen on have also tried Nature Diet same reaction not keen. Then in my local pet shop noticed Natures Menu in tins expensive at £1.19 a tin bought a tin and Rusty ate it up straight away. In fact he now has 2 meals a day instead of one and still seems to be enjoying the tins although I don't think he likes the salmon and chicken one as much as the other 3 varieties. I have found a supplier who can get it for me for £12.80 for 12 tins which works out at about £1.06 a tin. I don't mind paying the extra as I am so pleased to have found a good quality food Rusty likes. I can only imagine he prefers this to the pouches of Nature Menu as the consistency is different ie the pouches were more like a pate and the tins are more solid. Hope this may be of help to you if you don't mind feeding wet food. I also give them the Royal Canin in Kongs to pick at.

I didnt know you could get ND it tins apart from Sainsburys and Pets at Home I have no idea (oh and Scats) where to get stuff. I will try SCATS and see if I can get another food to mix in. I know BETA isnt that good but Jake is doing so well on it and my OH feels if it was good enough for his Breeder its good enough for Jake. But I will try a wet food in with dry and tit bits are not as bad as I thought they were? Thanks

If you are interested in trying Natures Menu in tins you could try asking at a pet shop as some will get them in for you although I did try at Pets at home and they said they could only order in items they were listed for.  I don't know whether you have a Pets Corner near you but they will order in for you or possibly try any independent pet shop. I live in Sussex so buy from Bearsden Pet supplies. You can also get it from Berriewoods or Natures Menu themselves. Hope this is of help to you.

Yes thanks Im in Hampshire Nr Winchester so its Pets at home or Sainsburys, Tesco ect v little else.

If both dogs look good on Beta then I see no need to change it. The best food for your dog is the food the dogs like, look good on and suits your pocket. Just add something else in if you wish to make it more tempting for them. If I'm cooking mince, sausages, chicken or anything that fat comes out of it's always kept to go over the dogs dinner. If I don't have any fat I'll use a tin of sardines, grated cheese, gravy, tripe or occasionally a tin of meat or a chub over their complete.

> I know BETA isnt that good

Beta has been very good for mine :-)

Yes Jake loves it but Whistler is on Natures Best he did not get on with BETA. Reading some posts I note its not that highly thought of but Jake looks fantastic on it beautiful coat and teeth.

> Reading some posts I note its not that highly thought

You always find that :-)

If you have a Jolleys pet store near you they stock the Natures Menu in tins!!

I've never added anything to my dogs' food. If they don't like it or don't finish it - tough. I never change their food either. I changed Sam's from Proplan to Arden Grange recently because his skin was very flaky on it. i don't like messing with their feeding habits. My dogs don't get scraps or anything but lick the yogurt pot when I've finished. I guess if you start adding stuff to make it more attractive to a dog, then you're kind of turning it into a fussy eater. Same when you keep changing brand, flavour etc. My Sam went through a phase of hardly eating half of what he was supposed to for a good while. I never gave in and he just got over it (mind you, he wasn't getting thin, or else i would probably have had to react!). It was just a phase, the routine might have been different, the weather etc... All this has a big influence on his appetite. Now, competition with the little one has turned him into a food-obsessed doggie!
Dogs have so few taste buds compared to us. Fussy eating is often more a behavioural issue than a matter of taste. What I say is : if your dog is fine on this food, then don't mess about, don't change it, don't add stuff only to make it tastier.

Besides, if it's a good complete food, you shouldn't have to add so much. Tripe, Lamb fresh or in frozen blocks, ok. But not all the veg, rice etc that are already present in his food, which dogs then don't need so much of.

Im inclined to agree but its just (like most Mum's) you start to worry a bit, I gave him his dinner last night and he didnt even go and look at the bowl so after half and hour I picked it up. I put it down again this morning - nothing - so he'll get it for his tea.
I will get him weighed this weekend but I think he looks fine, nice coat, wet nose waggy tail so he's obviously better at dieting than I am!!
Last try to change diets cost me over £300 at the vets, and it was not his food but we noticed year 2 that when I pulled the pond weed out he would sneak back and eat it!! nasty!!

I dont want a picky dog but I also dont want him getting thin or losing condition. I think I'll give it another week or two unless he has lost weight.

Thanks guys for the advice.

Hi Whisler
My young golden is very picky with complete, and the only one she will touch is JWB turkey and rice mixed with nature menu tins.
She knows straight away if its not JWB so i dont bother with even trying her with owt else, as been there as well and spent a fortune.