Hi,

I have a 8 month old lab, who is currently being fed on James Wellbeloved  'Junior' ocean white fish and rice kibble. He was changed onto this from hills Science food aprox 2-3 months ago as he had terrible trouble with his ears (now under control and all clear) also bouts of vomitting and diarrohea (also ok now). the vet suggested a change as he thought it was dietry related - maybe wheat or beef intolerance. I have never done a full exclusion diet although rawhide chews will give him diarrohea but I only give these aprox 1 month as he loves them.

The thing is that he doesn't really seem to like the James Wellbeloved that much and will just leave it and then scrounge. He isn't getting a lot of titbits. He is a good weight (certainly not too heavy).

I don't know whether to change his food again but am not sure what to try, at the moment he has a lovely shiny coat and glossy eyes and looks really healthly, i don't want to jeopodise his health but would like him to get a bit excited when i feed him rather than turning his nose up and walking away, i think the poor little soul is feeling really hard done by.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks, Lauren.

He can't be eating too little if he has a good coats, energy and weight now can he, so realistically the dog is finding sufficient calories outside his food bowl whilst scrounging.

If you wish him to eat what is in his bowl, just cut his feeds down by half, and give NOTHING else, hunger is wonderfully motivating.

If I was hungry and could choose between cabbage and chocolate I am sure I would leave the cabbage, however if there was NOTHING else, then I am pretty sure I would eat the cabbage!

Hi,

Thanks for the reply, Totally understand what you are saying. Did not mention that when he scrounges all he gets are either carrots or apples (he absolutely loves fruit) but is never fed from the plate or dinner table, and never gets any 'rubbish' food. Going back to what you were saying, in the last fortnight i have reduced his meals from 3 to 2 and not as much quantity to try the hunger theory, but his attitude towards it is just the same.

I was just wondering if these was an alternative to the James Wellbeloved as it looks pretty dull and I think my boy thinks that it is dull!!!

Thanks, Lauren.

There are hundreds of brands in the UK  market, but what will you do when you get the next brand and he reacts the same?

All dry dog food is pretty dull, I am sure you would not like to eat "instafood" in 3 or 4 flavours every meal, every day for the rest of your life if there was an alternative! :D

Never known a dog to starve itself or become anorexic though! ;)

If you are worried about him then change the brand but you need to look at the ingredients because brand change does not necessarily mean ingredient change. 

Alternatively have you thought of a "wet" diet such as Naturediet or Duck?  Never known a dog to turn up its nose at those!

All dry dog foods are boring to people!   If your lab is a good weight and is not eating all of his food - you are feeding him too much.  Labs are notorious scrungers and especially when mature seem to gain weight very easily, if the labs in my area are typical.  

If your lab has had digestive problems that your vet suspects are diet-related I'd stick with what works.   If your lab suddenly decides to starve himself to death (a highly unlikely situation) than you can add perhaps a desertspoonful of fish to his dry food to coat it, since fish seems to go down well.  Pilchards in tomato sauce or a bit of tuna in spring water (not brine) would be okay.  

Any reason why you still give him the rawhide, even if it is only once a month?  Besides the problems you say it gives him rawhide is very easy for dogs to choke on - if you search this forum you will find many posts about the dangers of rawhide.  My dogs love it too, but I've had to pull rawhide from one of my dogs throats to prevent her from choking to death - so it's on my "do not feed" list.

If his not eating all the food I say his eating enough.  unless he starts to loose weight then I wouldn't worry too much to be honest. :)

You could try a different brand of foods but what if they don't suit him aswell as what his on At the moment?

Also, although naturesdiet is a great food of high quality it's a pain to get hold off again so wouldn't recommend trying that one yet incase it suits him and he likes it, and then you can't get hold of it :(

When I feed kibble I always add a little bit of something, either a splash of milk with water, natural yogurt, AMP frozen meat, tinned fish even a bit of gravy gives the food a bit of flavour.  My boys love the variety and always eat their food, I had real trouble with one of mine practically starving himself, he would go for days without touching a thing and he was so thin you could see all his bones, there was nothing physically wrong with him he just hated food - all food, even tripe and chicken wings   I ended up force feeding him for about 3 or 4 months, eventually he got the idea that eating was a good thing and now he is a complete gannet and practically clears his bowl every day

Lauren why not rotate between the diferent flavours of JWB. My dogs get a large variety of different foods,they get a different flavour/brand of dry food daily,plus raw or homecooked additions.They are not fussy,it's just that i'm a big believer in variety and not feeding the same old food day after day after day :rolleyes: :(

I do practically the same as you ClaireyS - I give 1oz of mince mixed with the junior JWB lamb & rice for lunch, and splash of hot water on the JWB fish & rice for tea with either a small amount of grated cheese or two pilchards mixed in. The splashes of hot water brings out the flavour apparently and makes it more attractive.
Had a few no go foods to begin with - she either didn't like them at all (wet dog food) or got very loose with others: chicken, turkey & duck. We were given a 2kg bag of the JWB lamb to try at the vets and she's been on it ever since.
As she's just turned 6 months old, she still has breakfast - a small handful of mixer meal with a little yoghurt.

We were just at the vets for a bag of JWB and to weigh her today - the nurse says she's just right for her breed & height and to keep her on the Junior until she's 10 months old.

.....by the way, has anyone else found the JWB cheaper at the vets than from other suppliers ? Ours is around 40p less on the 2kg bags and also it's cheaper in the larger sacks (can't remember what we paid but it was cheaper).

Hi,

Thanks for all your replies. Its not that I am worried about him, i know he'd never starve himself. i suppose i am just a soft touch when i see him look into his bowl and its as if he's saying 'not that again!!'.
I think I will try to spice (not literally) it up for him with bits of pilchards, tuna etc. Very interesting about the hot water - didn't realise that, the poor soul has always had cold water added to his!

Thanks again. Lauren.

The JWB rep told me to add a touch of hot water to the food and let it stand for a minute or two.  It brings out the flavour.  I do it for my lot as a treat and they go mad for it.

Regarding the stealing and begging for food, isn't that just a thing dogs do? It certainly is with my Flatcoats!! :)

P.S My vet is also cheaper than other suppliers, bizzare really when vets are usually so expensive....

> i am just a soft touch when i see him look into his bowl and its as if he's saying 'not that again!!'.<

I dont think you're being soft,he probably is thinking along the lines of "not that again". I think you're being a caring and alert owner :)

As i said before i'm a big believer in variety,not only for varieties sake as i do think they get bored eating the same thing constantly,but also for the different nutrients different foods supply.
Perhaps you're dogs begging will cut back if he's getting lots of different foods in his meals ;)

hi,

Thanks everyone for your replies - very interesting.

Ktee totally agree with what you said about the nutrients - i know that is what Drs advise for us, and can only presume that it would work with animals as well.

My vets are also cheaper than other stockist for JWB - strange but true!!

thanks again
lauren.