Hi

New to the boards, but have a 10wk old dobe dog (Ruben)
He was fed by the breeder on beta puppy and we have kept him on that, however he eats very little and appears to be getting thinner, having read the boards we are going to try JWB today.

He does have the splats every other day, however we may be doing wrong by feeding him tripe strips, he also has cooked bones from the petshop (for him to chew on) and we have bought some treat biscuits for training altho i tend to give him these as he eats little enough.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Paul

Hi

I would stop the bones asap as this maybe giving him the splats.  JWB is an excellent food I feed my own dog on it although she only likes the Lamb and Rice when you change the food be sure to do it gradully as not to upset him. Do you give him lots of treats?  This maybe is why he is not eating his complete food so well, as dogs are not stupid if there is something better on the go they will wait for it!!!  Also you have to remember to count treats in there daily food intake.  I know this sounds really horrible but better with a fit healthy pup than a little fatty.

Hope this helps
Claudette

Hi Paul, Welcome to Champdogs

I never had any solid poos at all when I fed pups on Beta Puppy - melted chocolate was the general description.

If your pup is getting too much food this can also cause the runs, and too much exercise can cause him to be overly thin.

He has reached the age where he will be going from rolly-polly pup to a more slender and "pointed" version so this *may* be why he looks thinner?

You could use part of his food ration for training - for some reason when food comes out of the pocket rather than a bowl it appears quite different.

Christine

Thanks for the advice, i've removed the bones, except for a smallish piece and mixed his food together, altho he only picked out the JWB and left the beta.
I think he is a fussy eater as he only takes a mouthful and wanders off, returning for more 30 mins later but it is probably the most i have seen him eat in 2 weeks.

Paul

I have (amazingly for my breed) had fussy eaters, and the more we try to get them to eat, and gie in to their whims the4 wrorse they get.

You say he takes a mout6hful and comes back half an hour later/  do not leave his food down for more than 15 minutes each meal time.

I can't remeber h9ow old he is, but if over 12 weeks or near that he should be on 3 meals a day.  He will soon learn that if he doesn['t eat at meal times there will be NOTHING to eat until next meal time (no treats or biscuits).

Might be better not to give the cooked bones at all,they can easily splinter and cause problems,get him a nice raw marrow bone from your butcher.

I agree with Brainless. leaving his food down is encouraging him to be picky. Leave his food down for 15 mins & then don't feed him again until the next meal time. Overfeeding also causes dogs to have the runs & if you leave food down all the time, you can't be sure of the amount he's eating. Don't pander to him as you will just encourage him to be fussy & will be making work for yourself for years to come!!