advice please

hey everyone marleys 10mths now and my 1st staffie just wondering if they can be sometimes picky eater's as for the last few days hes been right fussy ,eating one day and picking at his food the next not really wanting it mores going in the bin not that it gong in bin bothers me just worryed about marmar everyone says he'll eat when hes hungry but cant help but worry bout my boy should i take him to vet or am i just being daft :/

He wont let himself starve, if you place his food down leave him to get on with it, it he has not touched in after 10 minutes remove the bowl, but do not give him any treats or biscuits etc. Then try again at the next meal time.

BTW what do you feed him ??

Some dogs dont like kibble. Lexi will not eat kibble alone (she used to with the other dogs but since they died shes more picky) so try it with some gravy on it, or tuna or something to make it smell good.

Have you ever considered raw? I love a raw diet but it isn't practical for me personally at the moment. But in the future i will definitely have my dogs on raw.

ok i'll try that thanks , i feed him on Webbox Chubs meat tried him on alsorts dry and wet from expensive to cheap he liked bakers gravy bites for a bit but wont touch them now, with my last dog the butcher used to make up scrap bags with liver and alsorts but think hes stopped it now have to ask x

but chubs thats all he will eat

If you are able to get raw again i really think he will be happy on that. Webbox are not very nutritional and contain a lot of vegetable/wheat matter, which a dog doesn't need. Its also not so good for their teeth.

Ledger sometimes wont eat dry kibble in the morning now it is getting colder, he gives me a 'wheres the gravy?' look so just add a bit of hot water and let it cool a bit while I sort my breakfast he then eats no problem

i'll give it ago going to pet shop today to get some samples of dry food to try him again only tried the puppy dry stuff few time never met a dog like him had dobermans before him and they would eat u if u stood still long enough not use to fussy pooches thats for your msgs xx
xx

Don't think it's Staffs in particular that are fussy eaters. Anyway, if he doesn't eat his food, as was said, take it away and give him nothing until the next meal. Eventually he'll eat because he'll be hungry. That said, if you think something might be wrong, no harm in taking him to the vet if times goes on and he still doesn't eat.

Not sure if this will help but we find that Dexter will not eat properly until he has had his walk, so we feed him both times after a long walk. I think he likes to feel he has worked for it Also what people have said about a touch of gravy or similar, hope you find a quality food he will eat soon, try not to worry too much

good idea to get some samples from the pet shop

shell28 wrote:i'll give it ago going to pet shop today to get some samples of dry food to try him again only tried the puppy dry stuff few time never met a dog like him had dobermans before him and they would eat u if u stood still long enough not use to fussy pooches thats for your msgs xx
xx

Snap! I have bored everyone on this site with my dobermann tales but they were the only dogs I really knew and would eat whatever they were given (and thrived). When we got our Staff I was flummoxed and went on this site for advice, which I got in plenty - everyone was so helpful, and I was assured that Staffs are NOT fussy eaters.

Kuchar will eat everything (except raw or dry dog food) ONCE, but won't tolerate having the same food served up the next day. I THINK (hope) that we're now settled with Hi-Life Complete Moist Mince, with something mixed in (different every day!) like sardines, Butcher's Tripe Mix or most favourite of all - pig's liver which has been cooked in the oven and then chopped up small and mixed in.

Do let us know how you get on ....

new Staffy owner wrote:

shell28 wrote:i'll give it ago going to pet shop today to get some samples of dry food to try him again only tried the puppy dry stuff few time never met a dog like him had dobermans before him and they would eat u if u stood still long enough not use to fussy pooches thats for your msgs xx
xx

Snap! I have bored everyone on this site with my dobermann tales but they were the only dogs I really knew and would eat whatever they were given (and thrived). When we got our Staff I was flummoxed and went on this site for advice, which I got in plenty - everyone was so helpful, and I was assured that Staffs are NOT fussy eaters.

Kuchar will eat everything (except raw or dry dog food) ONCE, but won't tolerate having the same food served up the next day. I THINK (hope) that we're now settled with Hi-Life Complete Moist Mince, with something mixed in (different every day!) like sardines, Butcher's Tripe Mix or most favourite of all - pig's liver which has been cooked in the oven and then chopped up small and mixed in.

Do let us know how you get on ....

thank i will let u know going to get some samples of dry foos 2moz for him and some butchers scraps if they still do them, fingers crossed lol oh and marley & kuchar share same birthday

Monty will eat anything and everything... unfortunatley!

Pixee was and still is a fussy eater, but I know now. She has been with us since Jan this year. She went off her dried food after a few weeks with us, we tried all sorts from the advice from this forum. Then I found a wet tray from wainwrights, theres a couple on here or so that eat it, and Pixee loves it, Duck and Turkey, phew thank god I will say. I did start to feed her human food, but was so worried about her diet thats what made me look at the wainwrighats trays. She still does have human food for scraps, loves them. Loves liver ever more, but not too much as its very iron rich. I have stopped worrying about her, if she does not eat breakfast now, thats fine with me, all it tells me is she is one of those that is not a pig for food , and she will still eat her tea. I have a kong that I fill with dog for fish dried food, and seal it with peanut butter, that she has twice or so week as a treat and she totally enjoys this, only time she will ever touch dried food and only the fish for dogs. Sometimes its filled with ham and cheese. She is a lovely weight too. I have grown up with dogs, and Pixee is my first staffy, and I would be lost without this forum. Have learned so much about them from here. She is infact the best ever dog, and I did love my other dogs.

thanks all for ur suggestions got marley a few bags of the butcher's offal mix (heart,liver, etc minced up) he loves it just filled his bowl full not even 20mns ago and hes only left a tiny bit yay my baby boys not sick just a fussy bum lol

shell28 wrote:oh and marley & kuchar share same birthday

By Golly so they do - that and Dobes - how spooky is that?

Glad to hear Marley yummed up his offal mix, let's hope that you have found what he's happy with. But just a tiny word of caution:- I have thought many times Yippee! something Kuchar will eat! when I've given him something new and he cleared his bowl. Trying it again the next day though he's said (in so many words) "oh no not this again" so I do have to chop and change.

Wainwright's trays (Staffy lover/Pixee's post) look lovely - almost good enough to eat ourselves! But they are so tiny and not cheap. Staffy lover:- how many trays do you feed a day, and do you give anything else mixed in or "on the side" for her main meal (apart from tgreats you've mentioned)?

new Staffy owner wrote:

shell28 wrote:oh and marley & kuchar share same birthday

Wainwright's trays (Staffy lover/Pixee's post) look lovely - almost good enough to eat ourselves! But they are so tiny and not cheap. Staffy lover:- how many trays do you feed a day, and do you give anything else mixed in or "on the side" for her main meal (apart from tgreats you've mentioned)?

I just feed one tray a day and works out at 75p a tray a day as I buy in bulk, see link of one, http://www.petsathome.com/shop/wainwright-s-adult-tray-dog-food-with-turkey-and-rice-395gm-12-pack-27693.
sometimes I have a little bit left over from that tray for the next day with more added from a new tray. I never go over one tray a day as Pixee is only 18.4kg in weight and she has her other treats now and then. The only thing I mix in it now and then is the cooked liver. Otherwise she eats it as it is and loves it. Trust me they are not tiny. that is for breakfast and tea, out of the one tray.

Thanks Lynn - they LOOK tiny, size for toy dogs. Maybe that's the only size I saw? Next time I'm at PAH I'll get some though, cos they do look yummy!

Just for your update Lynn - in PAH today I looked at what I was referring to above as yummy. I'd got confused in my old age, what I was referring to was actually Aplaws pouches - looks like soup. I'm pretty sure Kuchar would love one of these mixed with his usual food, but at £1.50 a go, that's out!

But the Wainwrights trays still look pretty good and I bought two (65p each) and mixed one tray with his usual food tonight. Yum ! All gone.