My dog is now 9 mths old and has gone off her food. She is fed burns extra with a bit of adult in. Usually she eats it in seconds but now won't touch it, to the point of scrounging anything else she can find, especially ther cat food, which is something she has never done, waits for the stair gate to be open, up she goes eats it then back down?? Thought maybee due in season, but its been a week now and she is starting to look scraggy looking. My dog food deliverer is in Cyprus, and i don't know what to do. Oh have tried adding natures menu and she is spitting out the burns, that must be what she has been living on.
Shall i change her food or persevere???
Thanks Aly xx

Hi Aly,

You don't say what breed she is - so the amount of Nature's Menu she would need to fill her may be prohibitive for you to afford that being her only food .....  

If not, then personally I would go with that if she enjoys it.  Some dogs (occasionally breed specific or in a specific line) can be faddy and although occasionally great resolve on their owners' part to not give in can result in normal eating being resumed, for others it's a nightmare and then a switch of diet is necessary.

If your comfortable to change and she's already keen to eat something you have in sufficient quantities then IMO you should do so :)  I prefer my dogs to actually enjoy what they're having rather than take it out of necessity alone - BUT, that said, they can be a faddy breed so sometimes they would be as likely to turn their noses up at steak as kibble :rolleyes:

She's a GSD X Roti I think Teri (if my memory serves me well...am I right Ally?)
Have you ruled out all other factors... (are her teeth/gums ok..etc)
Which Burns variety are you using?
   Bit of a generalisation here perhaps...but this does seem to be a common experience for those using Burns (this question comes up many a time, again hoping my 'elephant' memory isnt letting me down here ;) )
   When my chest freezer commited suicide last year I used Burns for a time and my Sibe pointedly turned his nose up at it (sibes can be picky..but this ones a Gannet normally ;) )
  Im with Teri..I prefer my dogs to enjoy what they eat too (Being a card carrying glutton myself! ;) :D)

>She's a GSD X Roti I think

Ah, may take a fair few pouches then

> Bit of a generalisation here perhaps...but this does seem to be a common experience for those using Burns

Yep,i've noticed this too,and not just from this board,it seems to be a common dilemma.My theory on the scavenging,cat food and poo cravings,low weight or loss,dry or scurfy coat which seems to be the norm for alot of Burns feeders is the abnormally low protein and fat content in this food,it is far too low for a normal,healthy active or even inactive dog.I havnt looked further into the food,as in k/cals per cup and vit/min content but it could be lacking in these departments also,who knows?? :rolleyes: :(

If i were to feed Burns i would only use it as a small part of a balanced diet,not as a whole or majority of it.

>If her pooh is fine on just these do i mix anything in or just give her the meat?? Any ideas how many blocks she would need,

It should state on the pack how much she needs :) What do you mean by "mix anything in",in with what,what meat?

The meat is prize choice minced chicken, it is frozen blocks from my pet shop. It dosen't tell you how much to feed.  She has REALLY BAD diarreah today.
Aly x

could it be a bad batch?  I used to always feed by staffy the venison burns and she went off it too and would eat round it rather than eating the or toofood.  I still feed her burns but alternate the flavours.  I also buy the 7.5 kilo bags rather than 15 so she isn't eating the same flavour for too long.  HTH

Don't think it can be a bad batch cause, i've tried the chicken and the fish. I normally get 7.5 of the extra and 2kg of the adult flavor, so she has a change.  Aaarah, she was doin well on the burns as well, but she really dosen't like it.  She was on the burns cause of her pooh, it was like Mr Wippy b4 and there was loads of it, don't know what to change her too now?? 
Yep she is a Rottie/GSD.
Aly xx

Try Wainwrights salmon and potato from Pets at Home, it smells really fishy (like cat food) mine love it and are doing well on it and they are very fussy.  Its only £20 for 15kg at the moment so good value.

Oh, the natures menu is the frozen blocks from the pet shop, If her pooh is fine on just these do i mix anything in or just give her the meat?? Any ideas how many blocks she would need, we think she is about 22 kg.
Thanks Aly x

I'd stick with a complete food if I were you, have you looked at Nutro, Timberwolf, Pets at Home complete (Silver bags).

My dogs had terrible stomachs on Burns I could truthfully say, I wouldn't recommend it.  That and JWB.

Hi,

I find it really interesting that your dog has had a bad tum on Burns as my bunch are having the same bother despite having being on Burns for  a  while. Could they have changed their ingredients or something?? Had the same bother with JWB.

I have decided that I am changing now and am considering Timberwolf or returning to Nutro.

Isn't it annoying, she was doin fine on the burns as well. Like i said my dog food lady is on holiday so she can't offer any advice. She won't be eating till tomorrow night then only chicken and rice. really have no idea what to try her on now? Her undercoat has been coming out in handfulls and she does look scraggy, although i just thought that was her age??
Thanks everyone
Aly xx

I have perservered with Timberwolf for about 6 weeks now, I  say perservered as one of my dogs loves it (Mia!), one wasn't keen (Curtis - but he's better now) and the other won't look at it so she's (Miranda)back on Pedigree (Suits her and she eats it & at 12 yo who am I to quibble?  :D )

I have had so many people come up to me and comment on Curtis's condition saying how fit & healthy he looks, his coat is so shiny and he looks like a fit, well muscled, healthy dog.   I'm hoping once Mia's coat starts to come back in again it'll be come back even shinier than it usually does.   

Can you buy timberwolf dog food in smaller bags than the 15kg, just in case she dosen't like it and is it only available online??

I only know of Zooplus that sells it in Europe and they just stock 15kg size.

I've gone for the wafcol salmon and pot. I can get that to order from my local pet shop. I bathed her today and she is skin and bones under her thick coat, i feel so guilty for not noticing. Fingers crossed
Aly xx

Ali if wafcol doesnt work,or if you want to rotate between different foods(which is what i do),you could perhaps give Arden grange prestige a try,most dogs put on weight with this food and the ingredients and P/F content are better than most.But i will still recommend TO above and beyond any other food.

>Her undercoat has been coming out in handfulls and she does look scraggy, although i just thought that was her age??

Unfortunately you are not alone when it comes to this mindset,BUT you atleast have done something about it and i bet you're dog will be shining and healthy in no time :D It's the people who's dogs have rank breath,scurfy dry or oily coats,high shedders,creaky joints,low energy,hyperactive,disease,allergies etc etc and pass it off as normal or old age,or completely ignore it and refuse to aknowledge their dogs state could be because of something THEY themselves are doing or feeding,these are the dogs and people i feel most sorry for :(

Aly,

How much are you feeding? and how often?
It sounds like a contradiction in terms...but...if you over feed you get alot of poo (possibly account for the diarrhea) and the dog loses weight.
so (and here's where the 'contradiction' comes in ;) ) when your in this situation its better to feed less to get a dog to gain weight.

Just a thought hon...

p.s you might find it useful to consider giving her some Omega 3's, fish oil supplements to help out with the coat and skin.You'll see a lovely difference, and sounds like she needs it from how you've described her condition.
Good Luck x

you could also try giving a few raw chicken wings/ some lamb breasts/ or even tripe seperately aswell (taken into account with the dry food so not too overload. These wil help to get the weight back onto her again. the fish oils that HG mentioned will help aswell. I always use 1000mg codliver oil. This made a hug difference to my boys skin before i changed his diet to more raw feeding.
Good luck and don't beat yourself up about it. This will correct itself, just give it a bit of time :-)

Supplementing with Salmon oil is an excellent idea :) Dont forget to also give vitE when giving fish oil,as the oils deplete the E from the body,so they work in conjunction with one another.

The dosage of fish oil for dogs is 1000 mg per 30 lbs of healthy dog, 1000 mg per 20 lbs of itchy/flaky dog, and 1000 mg per 10 lbs of chronically ill dog,and vitE is 100iu per 25lb dog. Also, keep in mind that the natural E(D-alpha) is more potent and effective than synthetic E's(DL-alpha).

Hi Aly,
I would consider changing her diet too I feed Nutro and my three are looking good on it I occasionally give them some beef ,lamb, chicken and fish but they dont need it as such I just like them to have some variety.
I would also recommend SA37 for a little while if she is loosing her coat its a good supplement and will do her good while she is not eating so well.

Like to add that I have never fed burns but have fed JWB and had horrendous tummy / skin problems with one in particular which came on over a matter of days the vet told me to get them off it at once she had also had dogs with problems on JWB before as soon as I went back onto Nutro they were fine.
Everyone is different.

Merry Christmas
Roni

Alyson,
Just a thought, once you get yourself sorted food wise..
I can highly recommend supplementing with 'Salmopet' (Its a salmon oil from Norway with NO additives, I used to use Timberwolf Salmon oil but was hard to get from States) Ive only been using it since end of Oct (and BIG thanks to christineW who recommended it to me) The Little Eurasier I rehomed had a horrendous coat all flaky skin & brittle, the difference already is great!! (probably pertinent to say she is raw fed..however my mother whippets are on kibble and she's using salmopet too and reports the same, esp in her older dogs who were losing condition)

Thanks everyone. Been feeding wafcol salmon and Pot and things look great. I give raw tripe on top, and she is looking good. she started her 1st season on xmas day, don't know if this had anything to do with it?? will give the oil as well. Thanks.

Roni good to see you back, whats this 3 Dogs now????  LOL
Aly xx

I have my IW on Wainrights and he has been for about 4mths. He is fed tripe to and he is starting to go off the Wainrights. He usually leaves half a dinner. To me he is under weight for a Wolfhound. I have tried putting different things through his meals to give him a different taste ie Chum select cuts but he still leaves the Wainrights. We alternate the flavours to. Might have to change his food. Throwing out more than he eats. He isnt ill and is very lively just turning faddy with his food.

Nice to see another IW owner on here :) What age / weight / height is he? Unless he is really underweight I wouldn't let him be faddy. IWs can be quite good at training their owners!

Hi Jas. He is 16mths old today. He is a red brindle and is 37" at the shoulder. I think its because he has a long back he looks lean to me. Compared to some of them in the ring he could do with a bit more weight. But there is also ones that are overweight. He is lively and full of life just not bothered about some meals.

Forgot to mention he is 63kg's.

Hi housetrained, some of the IWs in the ring are heavy for my taste. :) We've been very lucky in getting our IWs to a good old age - our last bitch made it to 15 - and we believe that keeping them on the lean side helps with longevity. At 16 months I wouldn't worry a bit about him being lean and long, and in fact I'd be pleased about it! He has loads of time to fill out. Our current IW boy didn't come to us as puppy (long story) and by the time he arrived he was not only a very big boy, he was quite podgy. He also had OCD in both shoulders and I'm sure his weight didn't help. It's now a strict diet, £2500+ of surgery and 5 years later. He is still very tall and solidly built, but he doesn't carry an extra pound of fat - and he can keep up with my deerhounds!