Hi All

Hamish my 1 yr old Westie has gone off of his dry feed, i am feeding him the Eukanuba small/medium dog dry biscuit, he has been on Eukanuba since he was born and has been doing really well on it, in January i changed him from the puppy biscuit up to the adult and at first he couldn't get enough of it he was scoffing it down with his chicken that i dice up onto the biscuit and was absolutely fine but the last few weeks he has gone completely off of it, he will eat a few biscuits and the chicken but leaves a lot of biscuits, on the bag it says for the weight he is that he should be having around 90g per day but at best he is only eating around 50g with his chicken, i have tried to be stubborn and say well if you don't want it you will have to go hungry but what do you do for the best. He is lively and fine in himself so i don't think there is anything wrong with him and when he goes over the field he runs around like a mad thing, but i am concerned that he was eating his dinner fine and now he sniffs the biscuits as if they don't ever smell the same. Can anybody give me any advice as to perhaps why he has suddenly gone like this, he will eat any other treats that i give him but it is just his biscuits! Is he just being awkward and should i stick it out or maybe think of chenging his food but i am a bit concerned about changing the food to another brand as he has done really well on the Euk and i would not like to upset his stomach.
I have been measuring the amount let per day and as i say out of the 90g he has been eating around 1/2 the amount, i know some people say what is written on the bag is too much anyway but when i first changed him from the puppy to the adult he was eating the 90g and still looking for more, is it just that he may be full and just doesn't want anything more to eat, because if the biscuits are in his bowl and he turns away i guess he has had enough!
I would appreciate other peoples opinions or thoughts.
Thanks
Helen and Hamish

I'd get him checked by a vet - he may just be having you on, but Westies do suffer with a jaw problem that may be affecting his eating.

Hi

Thanks for replying to me post, i don't think there is anything wrong with his jaw as he eats other biscuits that i give him and they are much harder than the Eukanuba biscuits, he does eat some of the 90g but only roughly 1/2 of what his daily feed should be.

Helen

The 90 grams of feed recommended on the pack surely refers to the amount of food when it is the sole food given, as you are giving chicken as well it is likely that he is getting enough food.  He would not need as much meat as biscuits (by volume) as meat is more concentrated.  Feel his ribs, if they can be felt but not 'sharp' then he's getting enough food.  Don't forget that as a small breed he is not growing that much now and may even have stopped growing.  Also the recommended feeding amounts on dog food packs are often very generous, often the dog just doesn't need any more food.

Hope this helps
Regards
Dill

Westies are renowned for being "awkward" and I think he may be having you on. Both my Mums and my westies have tried this trick, its to see if they get given anything better.

Hi

Thanks for your message, i think he is just being stubborn as i have found that if i sit there and feed him the biscuits by playing games with him he will eat them but it depends how he feels. As i said i am following the amount on the Eukanuba bag for his weight and it says 90g per day, he also has cooked chicken mixed with this (which he absolutely loves chicken) and would eat a bowl of just chicken on its own but i feel he must have this mixed with the biscuits as the biscuits have the vitamins and goodness that he needs, he always eats all the chicken and then looks as if to day well are you going to give me more then Mum!
He has a markie in the morning and he also likes gravy bones and chicken bones, so i don't think there is anything wrong with him just that at one time he would dive for his bowl and now he is not that bothered. I assume chicken is okay to give him, he only has about 5 cubes of chicken that i cut up and put onto the biscuits, not sure how much meat a dog can have but i don't think this would be too much!
I guess he may be going through his 'teenage' stage as he is now just over 1 year old, and he has been trying his luck lately, especialy when he wants to do something and you say no to him, i think i will just stick out on these biscuits and see what he does, i don't really want to change his food as he has done really well on Eukanuba since i got him at 8 weeks old and i would rather him stay on this, he is not losing weight or anything and is fit in himself and lively.
Thanks again, if you have got any other tips i would be very grateful

Helen and Hamish