Hi my 11 month DDB has gone off his food in the last few days..he was on burns with a bit of nature diet mixed in.He just wont touch it no matter what and has refused again today.Even tried to offer some of my staffies tinned meat but to no avail.He seems very well and healthy hasnt got runs or acting poorly..any advice please?..We managed to get him to eat some by grating cheese on it other day but now that doesnt work either..

Stu, how long has he not been eating for?

I wouldn't add things to the food (like the cheese) because you might end up making a stick for your own back because you will then always have to add something to get him to eat it.

Will he eat just Nature Diet on his own?

Dogs can go for quite a while without food, as long as he is still drinking and seems well himself I wouldn't worry.

Keep offering him food at his meal times, wait 10 minutes, then pick it up.  Don't leave food down all day for him.

If he LITERALLY doesn't eat anything for 5 days or more, I would take him to the vet for a check up to make sure all is ok.

Hi he did feed this morning but he hadnt fed for two days..spoke to the vet and they said if will take treats table scraps etc then he is probably just being fussy and expecting something nice on top all the time..as you say didnt want to add cheese etc but hated seeing him go without food.Tried him on just nature diet but again he got bored with that..thing is dont want to keep changing his foods else he will never settle on one brand..going to persevere and as you said if its not eaten in 10 mins it gets taken away..he is very healthy in himself and no signs of sickness so thats a relief at least.

try increasing his excercise-jo

He does get exercised but due to his breed we do not over do it. What amount of exercise would you recommend for a 11 month old Doque De Bordeaux? I see your point maybe we could up his exercise a little more but we have always been told not to over do it with him.He gets a short walk 1-2 times a day.

This breed of dog was originally breed for working and at 11mths its getting to be
Almost full grown I believe the life span of these dogs is only about 7-9 years .
However I suggest you contact one of the DDB Clubs to find out exactly but 2 short walks a day for working dogs is IMHO could be less than adequate  i would not change thier food dogs do not have as many taste buds as us humans so switching to a differant flavour  makes no odds nor adding somthing else stay in charge you have to be the master!!!  -Jo 

It could be he is having a growth spurt and he doesn't feel hungary.
I've found that when my Boxers have refused food it's often for the following reasons no 1) teething (puppy)
2) head is changing (growing pains?) 3) they starve themselves if they have an upset tum.

Another thing you could try is changing once the brand of dog food that you feed or even
the flavour of the food you feed as Burns does do different flavours. As he may not like the flavour food he is getting.
Try asking some other DDB breeders what they feed their dogs as that might give you an idea
of what to feed.

Once you've made your mind up, try to stick to it. As constant food changes, adding tasty morsels can
make a dog fussy.

Best of Luck :)

Have you tried mixing in a little gravy, or maybe some raw tripe or raw minced meat?

Cheers for the replies..Jo I think we are going to up his excersise a bit more and see if it helps him...since I posted this thread he has eaten two meals yesterday and his meal this morning..so hopefully he was just being picky and realised he wasnt getting anything other than what he is offered..We do mix tripe in occasionally.Fingers crossed he will carry on as he is now.Thanks for the replies much appreciated.Wouldnt say he was fully grown though..dont think he will get much taller but they can fill out until they are 2-3 years old...

merry christmas-jo

You too Jo and everyone else..have a great day..