Originally Posted by
hwhite84
Have you tried feeding kibble of slightly better quality than Hills or Pedigree? Somewhere in between the steak and Hill's? lol
Some of the cheaper brands just don't have the taste (I know, they eat their own poo, but I've heard of berners being picky about their food, and all of them were on a diet bought at the vets). Go to your local pet store (PetSmart, Global Pet foods, etc) and you can get small sample bags for really cheap and try that out. You probably don't need to be giving him wet food (if he is really young), a large breed puppy food will have all the nourishment your pup will need. Simply adding a little warm water to the kibble and mixing it up with your hands will release the smells and make it more alluring. Try some of the other diets, ask someone who works at the store.
You don't have to go super expensive, but I think it's important not to cheap out either.
Thank hwhite,
tried a large variety of kibble from the best to the worst, spending the cash is not a problem, its just a matter of him not eating thats in question.
He had 'Madra' kibble today (one of the cheapest kibbles on the irish market) and wouldnt you know he ate it all! but i don't like this as the nutrition is all wrong for a growing berner and who knows what else is in it. i'd much prefer if he would eat a premium kibble for large breed dogs. but for now the priority is to put some weight on him.
a few days ago I tried a 6star premium (cant think of the name... started with K?) again and he just turned his nose to it even though he hadn't had food all day and was clearly hungry.
I tried adding warm water before to release the smells but it doesn't work.
pet shops here don't offer the trial bags but i try as much kibbles as i can get my hands on. he just doesn't seem to want to eat kibble in any form/quantity/mixture, even when i add a handful of kibble to 1lbs of mince he will turn his nose to the whole thing just because the kibble has been added!
I try to balance his diet as evenly as possible and he gets 'denta stix' and 'joint care' a few times a week also, which he loves.
to sum up -
-he refuses kibble, especially premium types (at the moment he seems to be eating a low grade kibble)
-he wont eat wet dog food
-he will eat meat but only the best lamb and beef
-he will eat dog treats (pedigree) in large quantities
-he's been to the vet and the vet agrees this is a behaviour problem as he is in good health apart from weight loss.
-feeding him twice daily at the same times, leaving the food down for 10mins and then removing it if he doesn't eat it - has not worked
As you can imagine, having a dog that is clearly losing weight but will not eat is worrying and frustrating.
I have seen picky eaters before but nothing as bad as this!
PS his name is Darby and he's 11 months now.