# Help with a fussy eater!



## bebemac (Aug 14, 2008)

Hello

My cocker spaniel, Marmalade, has recently been poorly with what the Vet settled on as being an inflammation of the gut. She had lots of treatment and her stomach appeared to return to normal, i.e.,normal firm poo's. 

However, she has turned into the worlds fussiest eater! She was taken off all her food and put onto a really bland diet of chicken, rice and scrambled egg while she was poorly. Then, as she returned to normal, we eased her onto Nature Diet food, mainly chicken and rice or rabbit and turkey, both of which she ate no problem and enjoyed. Now though, she is turning up her nose at those foods. She just doesnt eat (although she still drinks nicely). I know she is hungry because I found her eating some Cotton Wool that i had left in the bathroom! 

I really dont want to start spoiling her and giving her food that I know she will gladly eat, such as fresh chicken & skin, ham, etc as I am worried the digestive problems will return. I KNOW she likes these foods and I really think she is just throwing her dummy out the pram. 

Please help! Any advice on how to deal with feeding issues would be gratefully received!!

Thanks in advance!


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## Guest (Sep 2, 2008)

I fed a lab that we had rescued (rehomed now) on nature diet for a while as he had never eaten solids before in his life, but i stopped because there is actualy hardly anything in it other than water! (moisture) so my mum put him on a fresh meat and veg diet, and it was amasing the difference it made. I dont think its spoiling him by giving him food that hel eat as long as its not food thats bad for him... unless raw minced beef and veg will cause him problems?


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## gillieworm (Jul 4, 2008)

My boy has always been a fussy so and so. We changed over to the raw diet about 6 weeks ago and its the first time he has actually got excited about his meals.

After all would you want to go to dry food after having a feast of fresh meat?

If you don't fancy going onto raw maybe put a little bit of meat mixed in with the dry food


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## bebemac (Aug 14, 2008)

Yes, I must say I have been intrigued by the whole RAW debate that has been raging on the forums lately! 

The Nature Diet she is on is actually the wet food variety, in the little trays. I dont think she will want dry food again either! 

We are on holiday for 10 days on friday and have a friend coming to stay to look after her, so I dont want to start changing her over to RAW until I am back and can oversee it. Its a bit of a responsibility for someone else to do! 

As Marmalade is 10 now, is this too old to change her over? 

Re: her eating now, should I be treating this as a behavioural issue or a health one? I dont want to indulge her but I do want to see her eat!


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## gillieworm (Jul 4, 2008)

Any age is OK to make a change over in food. Although I agree with you about waiting until you are back from hols.

I'm not vet, but my guess would be behavioural. If she's anything like my boy, I think he used to like getting sick because he enjoyed the chicken and rice diet much more than commercial food  and he used to turn his nose up for a few days. We had to be quite strict with him and only leave his food bowl down for 10 - 15 minutes and if not eaten it went in the bin and was given nothing till next meal time, and if necersary the whole 10 - 15 minute thing again. No dog will starve themselves and they soon realise that if they don't eat it theres nothing till next meal time. My boy has been known to miss 3 meals voluntarily with no ill effect this way but it does jolt him into going back to noraml routine.


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## kimpossible (Aug 12, 2008)

I was given some great advice about fussy eaters which worked amazingly well on my lhasa apsos. Buy the ceaser pouches, the gourmet/extra special (called something like that) ones - the ones in the black box. Put half a pouch of that underneath your dogs normal food. The smell from the pouch is amazing (honestly, good enough for us to eat) and they will be unable to resist. They'll eat all the food in their bowl without noticing! You might need a full pouch to begin with dependinghow much your dogs eat, but cut it down day by day and by the end they will only be eating their normal food again.

This worked great for my two who went stroppy after I expected them to eat dog food again after a few days of scrambled egg or tuna pasta and boiled chicken (I had nothing else to do so I wanted to make them good healthy food to see what they thought).


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## Guest (Sep 2, 2008)

Both my dogs were fussy eaters, my eldest bitch was just fussy anyway and my youngest was neglected before i got her which made her into a terrible eater which made things hard especially as I was trying to put weight on her at the time 
My eldest has always been on RAW and complete but when the youngest came i left out the complete totally and my dogs like gill said actually get excited over meal time now which is a first


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## cav (May 23, 2008)

my cavaliers are always been been fussy with food but since i went raw ive had no problems they all clear their bowls


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## bebemac (Aug 14, 2008)

Thanks for all the fab advice! 

I will try the "hiding food under her normal food" trick and also the leaving it down for 15 mins and then taking it away. When she eats well, I always give her a big ear rub which she loves and I totally ignore her when she doesnt eat. Do you think that might help?

Re: RAW, can anyone tell me what a typical days diet would be for a smallish cocker spaniel? (She weighs 9kg)

Thanks in advance!


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## sullivan (Aug 29, 2008)

our cocker had a belt of pancrititus which is inflamation of the gut too and spent two nights on a drip at deaths door he was so bad. He too after two days of being drip feed was put on to scrambled egg, white fish, or chicken with rice. It took him a good week to week and a half before he finally was well enough and stools were back to normal before starting his dry food. Of which was recommended by the vet [breeders dry complete food] this is what the kennels use and is meant to be light on there stomach. He turned up his nose for 3 days and then finally gave in when he wasnt going to get what he wanted. We now have to be really carefull as to what he eats. 
This can be a reaccuring problem and is well known in some breeds.All i can say was im so glad we have dog insurance. Hope hes back to his normal self very soon and you manage to find a suitable food for him.


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