My 5 month old border collie has been on James Wellbeloved since we got her and all of a sudden she had stopped eating it. We have tried a different flavour of it but still won't eat it. Any suggestions would be appreciated as don't want a fussy eater and was hoping to keep her on dry food only.
The Most Dog Friendly Community Online
Join and Discover the Best Things to do with your Dog
5 month old puppy gone off food
- Thread starter Lynndud
- Start date
- Messages
- 58
- Reaction score
- 11
- Points
- 8
Lucky you, having a puppy! I think it's not uncommon for puppy's to do this. Our last spaniel puppy was the same and never went back to eating the range of food he came with from his breeder. . Firstly though is this a general loss of appetite? Because a puppy that just stops eating is needing a check-up with the vet. But if it's just the diet on offer I don't see anything wrong with adding to what you give. In the wild dogs would eat a variety of foods and probably naturally look for other food items. You could try adding a little cooked veg to the mix or raw grated carrot (but never raw potato). Or some fish or an egg. Your puppy is growing so it's really important to make sure it gets the best possible diet at this time to develop. As for dry food only some dogs thrive on it, some don't. Like people they're different.
And this is just a personal view: we restrict a dog's natural behaviour in so many ways so they can live with us. And food is a dog's major pleasure. I always want to feel my dogs are enjoying it as well as it's doing them good. It makes me feel good.
And this is just a personal view: we restrict a dog's natural behaviour in so many ways so they can live with us. And food is a dog's major pleasure. I always want to feel my dogs are enjoying it as well as it's doing them good. It makes me feel good.
- Messages
- 5,674
- Reaction score
- 5,268
- Points
- 113
Great advice from Deegee, just dont add too much cheese as it can be fattening! There is a very good website called www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk where you can compare different types of dry (or wet) food. Sometimes moistening with a little hot water it helps. Cooked vegetables are very good to add - not onion or tomato -but I often buy a pack of frozen that contains cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, carrot etc and cook a few to add if the veg we are eating aren't suitable. For a collie a couple of tablespoonfuls would be plenty. This gives variety and adds back some vitamins, so it's quite a healthy choice.
Last edited by a moderator:
- Messages
- 350
- Reaction score
- 68
- Points
- 28
My youngest did this. We fed her large breed orijen puppy that she just refused to eat once she got to about 6months . We mixed liver, chicken., fish, heart , kidneys ..you name it but she just wouldn't eat it. I always leave the food down for 20mins and take it up again till the next meal..but I thought why am I paying a fortune for food that I have to dress up just to get her to eat a little bit..i moved her onto millies wolfheart ..it was a lot easier to get hold of , cheaper but the same quality..she did the same with that eventually and now she is raw fed ..good luck . That website is a very good one in helping to choose a great food
- Messages
- 1,224
- Reaction score
- 320
- Points
- 83
Do be careful not to encourage a behaviour problem. If she gets lots of attention when she refuses to eat you may be inadvertently training her not to eat!
Put her food down without making eye contact with her. Busy yourself nearby but do not look at her. After about ten minutes of ignoring her, pick up the food and do not put it down again until the next meal time.
Is she teething? If so then just softening the food with warm water may help. Not good for the teeth long term but ok for a short period.
Put her food down without making eye contact with her. Busy yourself nearby but do not look at her. After about ten minutes of ignoring her, pick up the food and do not put it down again until the next meal time.
Is she teething? If so then just softening the food with warm water may help. Not good for the teeth long term but ok for a short period.
- Messages
- 2,369
- Reaction score
- 1,904
- Points
- 113
This reminds me of a border collie that we had about 35 years ago.
We had had her from 8 weeks of age, just exactly what we were feeding at the time I cannot remember (it would have been tinned with mixer). She too went right off her food at about 1 year of age, just exactly what we tried I do not remember, (we would have been feeding tinned with mixer) . We somehow discovered that she would eat raw rabbit (we lived on a farm so she had probably caught one herself!), we started making every effort to catch wild rabbits for her.
The rabbits were caught and just the belley's opened up for her, she did the rest. Needless to say she started to put weight back on (she had been like a walking skeleton) . Thereafter she remained on a raw diet, (not as easy as it is these days). She lived until she was 16 years old.
We had had her from 8 weeks of age, just exactly what we were feeding at the time I cannot remember (it would have been tinned with mixer). She too went right off her food at about 1 year of age, just exactly what we tried I do not remember, (we would have been feeding tinned with mixer) . We somehow discovered that she would eat raw rabbit (we lived on a farm so she had probably caught one herself!), we started making every effort to catch wild rabbits for her.
The rabbits were caught and just the belley's opened up for her, she did the rest. Needless to say she started to put weight back on (she had been like a walking skeleton) . Thereafter she remained on a raw diet, (not as easy as it is these days). She lived until she was 16 years old.
