Hope someone can help me.
I fed my Lab pup on Hills (Large Breed puppy food, only chicken flavour) since 3 mths old and now he seem to have lost interest. Can they get fed up with same food. He does evenually eat it, but I take that as he's no choice. Can someone tell me if pedigree large puppy food ok for a Lab as they have different flavours.

Any help or suggestion??

Many thanks
Val

It is normal for pups to go off their food . Gus is on Hills Science Plan and seems to get bored at times . I add sardines or tuna , chicken or tripe occasionally and he woofs it down . Which goes to show he hasnt lost his apetite more bored of the same old food .
Do you leave his food down all day as this can sometimes be a factor ?
Lel

People say that dogs aren't like humans and they don't mind having the same thing for every meal, but I don't agree. I think if you mix in a bit of grated cheese or leftovers from your food your doggie will soon wolf it down. Be sure to reduce his allocation a bit to compensate for the added bits or you may end up with a fat pooch.
HTH
Jane

I have heard the same thing - Gus always gets excited when he sees his dinner dish coming and rushes over but sometimes when he only sees the Hills in it you can almost see his little face drop as though to say "Is that it ?"

We take food off him if he still hadnt eat it in about 20 mins, but 2hrs later he'll start petering me for food but like your dog, his face drop when I put hills down. Any way I've send my hubby out to get tuna and chicken, also will try with cheese aswell, so hopefully his face will look better at teatime.

Thanks to you both for the info.

Val

Like already mentioned cut down on the dried food to account for the added extras . Make sure you also get tuna in oil and not BRINE as it affects the shinyness of their coat .
Sardines they also tend to love and you could try turkey .
As dried food is meant to have all the vitamins and nutrients in , dont give extras at every meal as it may upset the nutrional balance .
Do you feed every two hours when he pesters you? As you should have set times for feeding . How old is he and how many times do you feed ?
Dont forget sometimes the warm weather can make them go off their food .
Goodluck
Let me know how he goes :)
Lel

Hi there,

I would go off my food if I was fed the same thing for every meal, every day!
True, we are not dogs but I know Murph really enjoys his food. He Has raw in the mornings, that could be anything from fish, chicken, fruit, yoghurt, etc and Burns in the evening. I might add some yoghurt or olive oil to that sometimes. He's a lovely healthy dog who is not picky at all.

TTFN

I feed him twice daily about 7am and then at 4pm, but this morning he didnt want to know it so i put them back after 20 mins. He then start to petering me at 10 so I gave him hills and he did ate it all, but very slowly, anyway i've fed him at 4 with tuna and he ate it all straight away no problem, he did look up for more, but I said no. He will be 7months old next week. The only thing I'm concern about is once I've mixed the food, will he ever eat hills on its own again??

Gus will still eat it on it own tho' much prefers it with the goodies mixed in - then we get a clean bowl .
Dogs will always pester for food throughout the day anyway though as they are naturally greedy ( most of them anyway). But he will pester if you are giving in too him anyway . They do learn quickly :)
I have not had any experience of Labs - maybe this is a common trait with Labs. There are a lot of Lab owners here so you may get more advice later
Lel :)

Gave him weetabit mixed with water then add hills for breakfast, enjoyed it :D He pester me for food at 1pm, but ignore him. He had 2 long walk today to school and back, so when i gave him just hills for tea he ate the lots I think the extra exercise have help a bit
Val

Scrambled or boiled egg added in for breakfast is always a favourite too :)

I swap my boys feed flavour around on a regular basis so they get some variety and always add either meat or fish to make life more interesting.

Taz was always very fusst, and I tried 8-9 different foods before I found one he was happy with. Ash was similar.

Just out of curiosity, why Hills, its so expensive,and only seems to have one flavour.

Julia & hooligans

Thought Hills was ok in the long run, 15kg bag cost £40 and last a month. What do you think to that or is there a better one than that???
I know its only one flavour, but the adult one, i think, have 3 different flavour. Please advise.

Val

I use Hills because at the time I thought it was one of the best - he has been fine on it and looks healthy and well which makes me reluctant to change his food . It is damn expensive though compared to others. I pay the same as Val but there is much much cheaper food around which probably gives the same goodness

I'm not sure if I agree that there is much cheaper food as if you add up say can food with dry for a month, because I use to have a black labrador with sentitve stomach so I give him chappie which cost about £1 for a big tin and dry biscuits. He have that for tea every day and weetabit for breakfast, so if add up its could be nearer to £40. Does anyone agree or not??
Val

Youch £40 a bag!!

I have been using Jollyes own brand xx & Rice for sometime now. They have Chicken, Turkey, Fish or Lamb. The main ingredients are the Lamb etc and rice and it appears to have a lower level of additives than some of the others. My boysa are all glossy and healthy on it. That said I am moving to a more raw meaty diet cause Taz prefers it and Ash needs fattening up.

Jollyes own costs £13.99 per 15Kg.

How about Burns food. That is excellent and is around £30 for 15Kg. Good for sensitives too.

Julia & Hooligans :)

Sorry to butt in. Just wanted to clarify fish in oil versus brine.

Fish in oil is GOOD because fish oil is good for the skin and coat.
Fish in brine is BAD because a lot of salt is very bad for dogs.

Hope this helps. :)

Try tuna with spring water as not sure if brine or oil was good, but thanks for the info will get tuna with oil.
Val

Hi Val

I have the same problem with my 5 month old pup. I was in a pet shop the other day and they sold "dog sauces"! BBQ, Cheese, or Gravy!! I think nexxt time I'm passing I'll pick some and mix it in with Hills occasionally for a different taste. The pet store was called Jollyes - they have a web site listing all the stores accross the country - to find it I did a search on Yahoo - it might be worth a try. I'll let you know if Dexy likes the sauces!

We've tried those "dog sauces". To me, they all smell of plastic. My picky dog wasn't impressed, either.
:)