Dexter's off his food :(

Morning all

Dexter has been off his food since yesterday lunch time... didnt eat his 'tea' and hasnt eaten his 'breakfast' this morning.

He's absolutely fine in himself and eating biscuits and his treats (rewards for doing good), and drinking plenty.

do puppy's go off a brand of food or is he just having an off day.

any advice welcomed, thanks

The good news is Dexter is drinking so I would imagine he's either having an off day (unlikely as he's eating treats) or he simply doesn't fancy it.

My girl will miss a meal once in a while so it's not uncommon. They can get bored of the same thing every day, I think I would too so you could try different flavours or add an egg to make it more tempting Mandie & see if he goes for that.

I've yet to see a Staffy deliberately starve itself so I would imagine he's being a bit of a diva

Agree with Ian give Dexter some egg , tuna, or sardines mixed in his food, Blue falls for this if he decides he don't want his own food which must be boring all the time.

hiya get a food and stick with persevere despite the sad" im starving" staffy eyes don't change the food constantly as it will upset his stomach

thanks all, great advice as always

I really didnt want to go down the road of changing foods as this one really agrees with him, so shall try the egg/tuna oil (which I know he loves)

should I be feeding him 3 times a day still or cut it down to 2 xx

We're having a problem with Arthur.He has always been a hearty eater ,his food disappeared in seconds.We had to get him a slow feeder to prevent him choking .We have now changed from Pro-plan puppy to Orijen puppy and change his dish as he has outgrown it and he had trouble getting his nose in each section.He is now refusing to eat out of any other dish.It is really frustrating,he will eat it if we put it on the floor or in our hands.Also if we put sardines in it.I have never had a dog who refused food before.We feel we are making trouble for ourselves,but are at a loss to know what to do.We have reduced the meal if we give him sardines as we don't want to over feed him.
Every other way he is an absolutely wonderful dog,just this strange little quirk with his food.
Any experts out there that can help us please?

hiya jenny first question what age is arthur?

mandieD speak to your vet firstly but imo he should be on 2 meals each day and around the 8 month mark be changed to adult food imo

Thanks Mia05,
Dexter is back eating now and I've cut him down to two meals a day, he eats better now x

glad I could help mandie , thats what we all try and do here at the forum great avatar dexter

Glad to hear you've cracked it, Mandie.

Jenny, my Millie has moments of becoming worried by her bowl and it is concerning (the first times it happened!), but they do settle. Hunger is a great motivator. If you find that sardines help, then use them in the short term, adding just a little to the regular meal to give the sardine smell. After 2 or 3 meals, reduce them till you've phased them out and hopefully you'll be fine.

Hi Mia
Sorry for the delay in replying to you,but I haven't been able to log on since my last posting,for reasons unknown.Arthur is 10 months old tomorrow.
We have been putting a bit of raw mince in with his meal and decreasing the amount of meal and it seems to have done the trick.Also we have got him a new dish which he seems to like.
I can't believe the fussy little monkey.
we have got one bag of Orijen left then I will order the adult ,hope he approves.

Thank you LizP for you help.You will see from my previous reply we have hopefully cracked it.I just hope he doesn't get too used to the finer things of life and refuse his dry meal.As you say hunger is a great motivator.
He is my first Staffie and I am amazed with his intelligence,he soon learns how to wind us up.

indeed they do like my mia she likes expensive treats too funny

You're welcome, Jenny. They are sensitive souls, our staffs, and it sometime doesn't take much to upset them