new to foum - problems with 9 month old staffie male and eating

Welcome to AADF Introductions
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hi hope you can offer me some help - I have had Buddy since he was 10 weeks old he was fed pedigree chum and mixer by his breeder - I weaned him off this after about 2 weeks on to James wellbeloved wet and dry food. I noticed after about three weeks he was not eating the dry just the wet , so I tried Natures own nuggets and mince - at first he ate them with no issues then started leaving them was still giving some dry as well so continued with this and he was on and off eating . In August he went to kennels for two weeks and came back and for 2 weeks after ate his kibble with no issues . then one morning started growling at his food bowl turned it over and from then on I have struggled to get him to eat …no idea why he changed there was nothing different about the bowl, the food the day nothing …

So I changed his bowl - tried feeding on the floor , by hand , in cats dish… nothing runs over all excited has a sniff and runs away - was managing to get him to eat some kibble in his crate out of a kong but nowhere near the amount he needs daily .

I tried him on just natures own mince - not interested, tried Basils raw mince but he spat the bits of bone out and wouldn’t eat it at all even out of a kong , then tried nutriment complete mince… well out of a kong he loved it - result I thought …for two weeks all was good then he started getting very loose toilet , then he started messing his crate of a night , then during the day - sometimes he was doing 4 toilets in the space of an hour ! Nutriment said could be underfeeding but the more I fed him the more he went toilet . so I stopped the raw after 4 weeks and bought a sample bag of Millies wolfhart kibble I could only get him to eat a quarter of his daily requirements he just spits it out , I then ordered some kibble from Tails and he wont entertain it at all spits the kibble out - I have soaked it , put some wet food on, put it in microwave to bring the smell out , put it in a kong and nothing…

I am at a loss what to do with him, he is starting to loose weight as his harness is loose on him now … can dogs just dislike kibble? someone mentioned naturediet food to me but I have tried so many I really do not know what to do for the best and its costinga fortune- he will still not eat out of a bowl ( drinks from it fine ) nutriment seemed ok but three weeks of the runs was also not good for him - his toilet is back to normal now he is off it .

I have put the food down and taken it back up after 15 minutes he is not bothered he just sits on the sofa and watches me , I have left the room to see if he shows an interest sometimes he sniffs it but mostly he just sits and waits for me to come back, I started thing he had teeth trouble but give him a treat hard or soft and its gone in minutes . the longest he has gone with no food is 4 days then I cave in and force him to try wet food or something even then he does not eat what he needs

he is 9 months old and currently weighs 17kg - any suggestions I really do not know what to do…

thanks carol

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Hello and welcome to the forum. You seem to be having some problems with your Stafford and it is obvious by your post that you have gone the extra mile, trying various products in order to find something that he will tolerate and that suits him.

Sometimes owners expect their dog to eat more than they need but from what you say this isn’t the case. Because you have seen the weight loss I think that the best thing to do is to take your dog to the vet for a thorough examination and to exclude physical reasons for the anorexia. It may be that a blood test will be needed to check for liver/kidney problems.

My experience is that a young dog such as yours should have a good, healthy appetite and that they usually do not starve themselves. From your description it sounds as if your dog is not a fussy eater but there is something that is depressing his appetite. I don’t suppose that he could have swallowed something untoward? I think it is best not to waste any more money on food until you have spoken with the vet. I hope that he or she will be able to help and that your dog soon recovers. Please let us know how you get on.

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hi thanks I was thinking of the vets … I’m sure there is nothing untoward with him as I say give him a tripe stick or a pigs ear and he chomps away happily - I wondered if he could still be cutting teeth as his ears feel a little warm at times and he is chewing his rope toys like mad … but If he does not improve with the food this week I think a vets visit will not hurt - he is fine in himself playful… naughty etc …

I will update you midweek with his eating and vets apt

thanks for your reply

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Hello and welcome to the forum. As Dottie says, it sounds like you have done lots to try and encourage your boy to eat.

One time my dog seemed to develop a fear of her bowl. She was eating then suddenly jumped away. She did this a couple of times and then wouldn’t go back. Luckily a change of bowl solved the problem but to this day I am not sure what happened. I am guessing she got some static shocks or the clanking of her tags on the dish scared her. I changed from a metal bowl to a crockery one. It sounds like this isn’t the case for you as a bowl change hasn’t helped. I find nutriment produces firm poos. It does sound like he needs a check up to rule out a physical cause. Hopefully it is something which can be fixed easily and he will be back to eating happily soon.

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Hi welcome to the forum. Have you tried a tinned wet food? Natures menu do a gently steamed tinned food although could be pricey given his weight…I had issues with feeding.the only way I could get him to eat dry was to feed him wet first then when he’d finished feed him his dry.I’m now too worried to upset this routine as it’s worked so well.