hi

really trying to keep this short and sweet - i do tend to babble so please excuse me! 

Since he turned 1, my ridgeback started a strange food cycle where roughly 3 times a month he'd wake up and not want to eat, on walks he'd frantically try to eat grass but if he did it didn't make him sick, and all day long his stomach would churn like a washing machine.  The following day he'd have a bout of diarrhoea and then be back to normal until the next time.  I was never able to put it down to anything either environmental or edible.  He was also incredibly fussy - his main diet was Arden Grange large breed which he did'nt seem to overly like - he started life on Nutro which again he wasn't massively keen on and i also tried Purina which  he hated.  I realise that if i had forced him to eat nothing but the kibble then he probably would have eaten it in the end but because i  was worried that he was quite thin and also feel a dogs meal should be something they enjoy i made a rod for my own back by adding other stuff to the kibble - i had to vary what i added as he'd get 'bored' very easily - so i would either add green tripe, or nature diet (flavour varied as again if he liked it one day, he'd leave it the next).  I was consistent with quantities on the kibble side of things.  He seemed healthy  - bar the days where he had his non-eating phases - but they seemed to be getting more frequent and he would never put any weight on.

Over the last year, he had about 3 bouts of sickness/diarrohea where he lost large amounts of weight (which he really didn't have to lose) and ended up having to have anti-biotic injections and pills etc and eat plain rice with chicken or fish for a few days.  The last time i went to the vet however they suggested i try him on James Wellbeloved hypo-allergenic food.  I bought some of the Lamb & veg kibble - when i opened the packet i thought there was no way he'd like it - really dull smelling/looking however he LOVES it.  For about a month now he has had nothing but the JW.  He still eats it happily and we have had no occurences of the non-eating cycle he previously had.  He also no longer farts like a trouper!  I saw a friend last night who commented how she'd never seen him look so well. 

I realise that JW doesn't work for everyone but for Winston it really seems to be the answer - he does'nt need anything added to it ( i guess the inital prob could well have been what i was adding - however i had to get him to eat the stuff somehow).

So my issue is that i'm currently feeding him 4 meals (i know this is excessive and will start cutting down to fewer larger meals now that his stomach seems to have stabilised) - of 200g - i.e 800g a day.  The recommended amount for his weight is 500g but he is still very ribby and could do with gaining a few more pounds so do i up the amount of JW that i feed him until he starts gaining excess weight or do i add something and if so what.  I dont want to make him fussy again but equally am worried about the amount of kibble he has.

Also i need training rewards and although i have been using individual kibbles as rewards, he is losing interest in them slightly.  What should i use?  Previously he liked liver cake, chicken etc. 

Common sense tells me its a case of trial and error but i'm paranoid about undoing the progress that i've made todate. 

Any advice would be welcomed and thank you for bearing with me on such a long - dull post!!

If he loves the kibble and it agrees with him I would use it as training treats as well and perhaps have something else for those times when a really high value reward is called for - as the additional treat wouldn't be used on a regular basis whatever you choose probably wouldn't affect his stomach. Perhaps you could try some chicken diced into small cubes as a treat as he seems to be able to tolerate that.

I wonder if the problems he was having before was due to a food intollerance.  One of mine used to have those exact same symptoms - the not eating, eating grass, churning stomach and BAD wind, he was also impossible to put weight on.  It was found he had an intollerance to chicken and duck, since removing these from his diet he has been fine and has gained a good amount of weight.

might be worth a simple blood test to check.

One of our Boxers Boys was always seriously ill with Colitis,he had loads of tests done at the vets for various illnesses that it could have been but the vet said it was Colitis, he had all the symptoms that your dog has all the tummy grumbling etc i used to dread hearing that noise as i knew i was in for a bad day with him most of the time the vet said it was stress related even walking some where different would start it off or sometimes he would dine out on cat poo.  From the age of one to he day he died at eleven and half he ate James Wellbeloved his measured ammount split into 4 on the vets say so as not to over load his stomach, to which all of our Boxers and Boston have been fed on and still with no side effects.Regarding training treats James Wellbeloved sell these they are for sensitive dogs they are quite soft so can also go in kongs.I would stay on the food and ammounts for the time being i would just be careful as i dont know if your breed suffer with bloat or not. i would speak to your vets or dietary nurse at the practice and see what they say.

Since i started feeding JWB turkey and veg my GR has come on in leaps and bounds,she had very similar problems to your boy.

She was very fussy with everything i gave her,but loves this food.
I give her nature menu treats for training on recall.
I also give her nature menu or nature harvest mixed with JWB complete. She is 2yrs old now and gets 2meals a day of 150gms each meal.
She weighs 34kg....and is very fit.
IMO removing the cereal from her diet did the trick.

It does sound as if he's had either an intolerance or an allergy to a food.  It can take anywhere between a few weeks to a couple of months for the gut to repair itself and in the meantime it would be better to aim for good digestion rather than try to pack weight on him ;)

If he's looking so much better in the last month then I'd stick with the JWB and the 4 meals a day, I'd also stick to the same amounts, he will gradually put the weight on - it sounds like he already has ;)  Once you're happy with his weight, then you could try gradually reducing the amount to that suggested on the packet.  

James Wellbeloved also do a lovely range of treats, Crackerjacks, Pure Incentives, and light treats which I'm sure your dog would enjoy as a training treat ;) 

http://www.wellbeloved.com/products/dog_food/pure_incentives.aspx

In your position I'd stick to what works ;)

To everyone who responded.

Thank you all so so much - really really appreciate all your advice.

I will stick with the quantities and meal numbers for now then and also try the JW treats.

I was surprised to hear that others had experienced the washing machine stomach noises - its horrible isn't it!  You can hear him when your upstairs!

Whatever is in or more likely not in JW definitely seems to suit him -maybe he was fussy because he knew it wasn't doing him good - tho that doesn't seem to be a trait us humans can relate to!! Or is that just me!

Thanks again for your time xxx

I've switched my 5 RRs and 2 Aussies onto JW. I did find that initially - and coinciding with the very cold weather - they did lose a bit of weight (but at the time that was no bad thing for a couple of them!). I've had to increase the amount for a couple of them as they went a bit far with the weight reduction but now they are up to the correct weight, I've reduced the volume they are getting. I do sometimes add some tripe to it. I've mainly used the Lamb and Rice, did use the Fish for a bit but overall I'm happiest with the lamb.

I agree with you that I like to see my dogs enjoying their food :)