[Goldbeau]

Beau has been on Wellness Super5 mix chicken for about 6 months. He seems to really not like it. We think he was spoiled over the summer when my parents watched him and added treats to his food. I was thinking of trying Wellness Super5 mix lamb. I thought I had read some concerns about lamb as a main proteins source. Can anyone recall that?

Thanks so much. Just when I thought we found the perfect food, Beau decided it wasn't.

 

[Tahnee GR]

Why do you think he does not like his food? As pups mature and begin to reach their adult size, they will require less food and so will naturally eat less.

The concern with lamb was lack of taurine in the food, which can lead to serious health (cardiac, I believe) issues. Any lamb based food now should have taurine added, but I would still check for it.

 

[MyBentley]

I've read before that lamb doesn't have as complete of an amino acid profile as chicken does. I certainly don't think that would preclude having your dog eat a lamb-based formula for a while - especially if you occasionally added a scrambled egg. Some people say their dogs develop a slight odor when eating lamb, but I'm sure it's an individual thing.

 

[Goldbeau]

Thank you both. When we used to feed him he would would be excited and eat right away. After about 6 weeks or so on the new food he would wait several hours before eating. We tried taking his bowl away after 10 minutes. Now he only mainly eats once a day and doesn't finish what we give him. He is still a healthy weight and checked out fine at the vet. Also when I put food in his dish he automatically lays down (he actually acts depressed - if that is possible)

 

[slip_kid]

our guy wouldn't eat his chicken based food the first 3 weeks we had him, switched to lamb and rice and he kills it, looking for more.

our "treats" are Natural Promise food logs cut into small chuncks. so we get turkey or beef versions of that, and try to have cookie type treats with some chicken in there too.

we'd give him an egg once in a while but his bfast tends to be a few hours earlier than ours on the weekend...

just like us, chicken every night can drive you up a wall.

 

[Bock]

How much are you feeding him at one time? Also, how long has this been going on (the laying down and not eating)?

 

[Goldbeau]

How much are you feeding him at one time? Also, how long has this been going on (the laying down and not eating)?

We are feeding him about 1 and 3/4 cup in the morning and at night. Which is the same he had on Canidae - except Canidae was higher in calories. He will be 2 in January, maybe he needs less. He has been laying down like that on and off for several months now.

 

[Bock]

If he's not eating and it's been about 6 months I would lower how much you give him per meal. Like others have said, take it up after 10 minutes. He may just not need as many calories.

 

[jwemt81]

It's more than likely not that he doesn't like his the food. Puppies will gradually start eating less as they get older since their nutrition requirements are changing. Tucker really slowed down on his eating when he was around 6-7 months old. At that point, we cut his feedings down from 1 cup 3x a day to 1 cup 2x a day and then we switched him to adult food.

 

[Goldbeau]

Thank you everyone. I will try cutting back the amount and see how he does. Do they always still love their treats when they don't eat their food? He eats his treats like he's starving.

 

[GoldenJoyx'stwo]

Taurine (sp) I think the concern at one time was Taurine. Not enough??? Ardeagold is the one who told me about it. Shadow doesn't do well on any of the other protein sources. He's allergic to many including Chicken, Turkey, and borderline allergic to duck and rabbit. He's eating one of the Lamb Forumla's.