Hi, I'm looking for a bit of advice from all of the food experts.  My 18 month old staff has been on burns for approximately 10 months and looks great on it but in the last few months she has been reluctant to eat it.  I was adding extra things to the food e.g. chicken or egg to encourage her to eat it (I know I'm making a rod for my own back!) but now she eats whatever is added and leaves the burns.  She has developed the skill of taking a mouthfull of food, eating the 'nice' bit and spitting out the dry food.  she has tried all of the flavours but i got big bags of the venison one as that seemed to be her favourite at the time we were experimenting.  I have recently been feeding her without adding anything but she refuses it and tries to scavenge left overs in the street - surely it tastes better than that?  I am wondering whether I should change food because she doesn't like it or whether to persevere because it is a good food and when she does eat it she looks great on it.  I can't decide if she is just chancing her luck so she can get extras all the time.  She also gets some raw food, mainly chickens (with bones) and beef mince.

Well, I think she's got you trained better than most owners get their dogs trained, she's a very bright girl  :D :D

It may be that she doesn't need as much of the Burns as you have been giving, at 18 months she will have stopped growing and won't need as much as a growing pup.  Is she due in season or just had a season? this can affect appetite too.

Basically by adding 'nice bits' you're telling her you think Burns is icky ;)  But it isn't according to the dogs who try to raid my pockets when I'm using it as training treats :D :D :D  especially the venison :D  

Hope this helps
Regards
Dill

mine think burns is abit dull too! ive switched them all to nutro which they really like, (& to of them are very picky eaters)

Different dogs find different foods dull and boring.

I would hate to eat a packet of weetabix twice a day myself for the rest of my life.

Hence why I feed raw.

Dogs don't starve themselves to death. Most "picky" eaters I know still lick their own bums, scavenge and eat various types of manure! :D

ive barfed for 3years thanks!!!! & they were just as picky!!!! collies are picky its more uncommon for them NOT to be!!!!!

Wish you would tell my lot that Michelle :D Never had a picky one yet lol and have to make sure their is nothing they can't scavange.Gillian

right mine can live with you for a week then & i will have yours ,see if we  can both influence a happy medium!!!!

:D

My dog did not like Burns either and was very reluctant to eat it, even with extras.  However, that was the case from the start and if your dog is suddenly turned her nose up at a food she happily ate for 10 months - then what you have is a prima dona pup.  :-)   Switch food if you like, but I betcha you will be in the same place again - and a lot sooner than 10 months time.  If you want to indulge her a bit you might try switching varieties within the Burns range, if that's the brand you prefer to feed.

Stacey

>She also gets some raw food, mainly chickens (with bones) and beef mince.<

That would be why.   She much prefers the real meat and bones to the dry food.     I expect you prefer a proper meal to dry biscuits.   Why not put her on BARF properly?

Wendy

thanks everybody for confirming what I already know - my dog is a pampered princess!  The reason she isn't on raw full time is because I haven't got the storage space and haven't the time to stock up regularly.  No car, a small freezer and weird working hours makes dried food most convenient and they deliver it to the door.  I think I'll probably go back to buying smaller bags of burns and getting a variety of flavours to tempt her.  Its definitely true that she has trained me better than I have trained her so at least one of us is happy with the level of training!!

What about giving her some Nature Diet for a change - I think they will deliver this to the door.   Maybe she would prefer a wet food.   You don't need a fridge or freezer for this and can store it in your garage or loft even.  You don't have to stick to just one brand of commercial food.  Very glad to hear she is getting some raw. 

Wendy

she goes daft for chicken wings and a chicken leg keeps her quiet for a good couple of minutes - which is always a bonus.  I might give the nature diet a go to see if she likes that rather than adding human food to her dish.  But in all honesty I think she would eat burns if she saw my plate piled high with it because with this pooch the grass is always greener.

Ah Ha - methinks you have set yourself up for this one!

You eat Burns and see what happens.   Bet you £10 at least you don't finish your meal!

Wendy

don' think I could stomach the burns food, like tohme suggests I'd be more likely to lick my bum (if I could reach) and scavenge for leftover mcdonalds and pizza in the street.  Might need to go on the burns diet for the lean muscular look instead of the human diet which leads to lardy and lumpy!

Human food can be healthy - what about a nice plate of stir fried veggies?    Gotta taste better than Burns ;)

Where can you get Nature diet? :)

Naturediet can be purchased from most pet shops such as Pets at Home and also via the website Naturediet.  It works out cheaper buying it direct, but only if buying in bulk which can be a problem if you have limited storage!

I buy Naturediet from a pet warehouse, which for me is a lot cheaper than Pets at Home or buying from Naturediet directly.

Stacey

after reading some of the responses to this thread I bought some nature diet to add to her burns and she loved it.  It was the lamb nature diet and reminded me of the meatloaf I used to get at my grans when I was wee.  the only problem that appeared with the nature diet was the amount of poo and it was bright yellow!  I think I have been spoiled with burns because theres not much residue left from it.  Anyone else noticed the huge amounts of nature diet poo?

hi stacey,
what is the e-mail address of the warehouse you buy your naturediet from.  I've been looking on the net for stockists that deliver but they all only do local delivery and none of them are local to me.  I live in dundee so if anyone has any suggestions they would be really appreciated.  thanks in advance.

Hi my dogs are the same, they have just changed to the Venison and won't touch the stuff, I've put some chicken in there to encourage them to eat it but they also eat around it.

Rosie if she could talk would say " Your fruity if you think Im touching that cr*p" I can see it in her eyes ;)

I've take to giving chicken wings but just dont have the time or money to have a BARF diet....

I don't know about others but I find BARF costs me a fraction of the cost of anything else.I buy tripe etc from 22p lb and get chicken carcasses free and pigs trotters for 20p each.The biggest expense was the initial outlay for a freezer.I would guess that on average it costs me £20 a month to feed my 4 dogs.
Time however is of course different although apart from making up my offal and veg mix once a month it only means getting food from the freezer and of course  a bit more washing up afterwards.
However I'm not critisising...its not for everyone , each to their own
Archer

I thought it would take longer to prepare?? I dont really have the freezer space to be honest, we've only a small house.

Has anyone got some simple recipes as I wouldnt know where to start...

Hi - My dog is on Naturediet and does small hard poo - just in case you're interested!!