I have a 7 month Cocker, we have had problems from the begining with his food. Tried JWB, Science Plan, Arden Grange..no joy wouldn't look at it. He has been on Pedigree complete plus puppy tinned, but he toilets at least 3-4 times a day and it is usually soft and occasionally runny....any suggestions. He even soils his crate...didn't think they would soil their own area, again and advice

The general advice is to decide on a food and stick to it. Fussy feeders are made, not born - chopping and changing his food can not only upset his stomach but can also make him even pickier! So put his meal down and if it's not eaten in 15 minutes take it away and don't offer him anything else - no treats, no titbits - till the next mealtime, when you repeat the process. Sometimes it can take several days for them to get the message that you will not weaken; that the options are:
a) eat it
b) go hungry!

As for soiling in his crate - how long is he in there for at a time? Being crated doesn't stop them needing to toilet - it just means you have to let them out before they need to relieve themselves.

We have tried that and she didn't eat for 3 days, also regarding the crate, the longest she is in it during the day would be an hour. She has her last toilet at midnight and we have her out in the morning no later than 7a.m. usually before this...also she wets, but she does drink a lot of water.....I am not sure whetehr to take water bowl out at night.

Remember, no healthy dog ever starved itself to death! ;) If she held out for three days before you now know not to give in till at least 5 days, because you have proof that three days without food causes no ill-effects ...

No, don't take the water bowl out - apart from the fact that good husbandry (and the law) insists that fresh water should be available at all times, in this hot weather it would be downright cruel. Kidneys need plenty of water to enable them to function properly - please don't risk longterm damage.

Do you ensure she's weed and pooed before you put her in the crate?

We never had a dog yet that wasn't 'loose' on Pedigree. One thing ours has never done is soil in the house after the first few days, but had plenty of puddle accidents! Have you asked your vet about it in case there's a problem other than what he's eating ? 
We did find with our SP puppy that she gets loose on chicken or turkey based food, so put her on JWB lamb/rice & fish//rice - perfect! She wasn't keen on this type of food, so we mix very small amounts of tasty stuff with it such as grated cheese, mackerel, tuna or a couple of ounces of cooked mince. One of our other dogs did well with Nature Diet.
I think they generally do a poo for every meal they eat - ours is on 4 meals per day until 6months old.

I am really confused by the puppy changing sex between the first post and the third!!

Why didn't I spot that?

Sorry about the sex change..Erin is actually ny daughters dog, we have a cat...male so I tend to get mixed up between he and she.
I am sorry if people may think I am loopy. We just want to have a healthy happy dog as like most people do...no need for sarcasm

>He has been on Pedigree complete plus puppy tinned, but he toilets at least 3-4 times a day and it is usually soft and occasionally runny<

>....any suggestions.<

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?pid=685639;hl=;hlm=uid#pid685639

Hi,
Sounds like your puppy prefers a 'wet' food instead of dry. Why not try him on Naturediet or Natures menu. My CKCS is also very fussy but will eat both these foods and he has never had runny poo except once when he was 12 weeks old and had a tummy upset.

Hayley

My faddy dachsie is on Natures Menu and JWB mixed and he now eats regularly with no problem, he was a nightmare before this, trying to find something he would eat after his usual food went of the market due to a factory fire.

I had a cocker up till last July when he died at 16.5 yrs,he was a great eater and I work nights and came home to a dry clean house each morning till the last few weeks which I put down to old age catching up with him.

I hope you get your dog sorted out soon,it is a worry and very expensive buying different foods,I eventually went down the route of contacting various companies and asking for samples,Natures Menu sent me 3 x 300gm pouches with different flavours,I now buy the packs with 8 pouches of 4 different flavours.

Rhona