Our Sheltie has become a really fussy eater

B

Bob R

Forums Regular
He's 14 months old now, healthy and hungry, but last several weeks he has decided to eat only some of his meals...Proplan Chicken and rice. He picks at it and after a few mouthfuls he walks away. Bought a new bag thinking it was perhaps stale or spoiled in some way. But he persists in his disinterest. Not sure what to do.

Bob
 
I'm not a fan of ProPlan, or any Purina product because of the ingredients. I've found that frequently, puppies go through a fussy eater stage between 10 and 18 months. He may need a change in diet. I'd steer toward a better food if you can and try changing him gradually, not all at once. Be careful though not to baby him or he'll train you....hand feeding, mixing tasty morsels in etc. If a change in diet doesn't do it, have your vet check him out just in case. But usually it will resolve itself with a good change.
 
You can get great deals on Chewy.com. I'm using Fromm now -- many outstanding formulas.
 
When I gave my girls kibble I used Fromm and I think they are great, lots of choices, grain free. I would get your beloved boy OFF chicken. Some sheltie's really do not do well on poultry. I would opt for lamb. If you don't know the source of the chicken those birds can be really pumped up with all kinds of stuff that isn't good. I wouldn't trust Purina for anything these days. Dog food is a dumping ground for all kinds of mystery substances that aren't even in the food group. Sheltie's are sensitive gut dogs and prone to lots of allergies in general. Guard what you feed them now or the Vet bills later can get expensive. :(
 
For the record, I feed Fromm as well, and I also use chewy.com. You can get great deals there and free shipping too.
 
I may try the Fromm, but what if he has the same reaction. I'd hate to become a dog food experimenter at the prices they charge for it. What about canned dog food...has that gone out of fashion...we used to feed our Collie that and he loved it. Just don't know and to make matters worse he's going to be boarded for a week coming up middle of next week...we are suppose to bring the food he is on to the kennel...which for now is the Proplan which he's developed a distaste for. I guess I will get a small bag of Fromm and see if he will enjoy it enough to say he back to normal again. I have never had a dog that was a fussy eater in fifty years of having dogs as pets.

Thank you for your help.

Bob
 
The first thing I would do is take him to vet to rule out any kind of illness. The dog I had before my shelties went through this. It turned out that he had pancreatitis (which was likely chronic, but became acute). It could very well be something else but I would first rule out a physical illness.
 
Bob R said:
I may try the Fromm, but what if he has the same reaction. I'd hate to become a dog food experimenter at the prices they charge for it. What about canned dog food...has that gone out of fashion...we used to feed our Collie that and he loved it. Just don't know and to make matters worse he's going to be boarded for a week coming up middle of next week...we are suppose to bring the food he is on to the kennel...which for now is the Proplan which he's developed a distaste for. I guess I will get a small bag of Fromm and see if he will enjoy it enough to say he back to normal again. I have never had a dog that was a fussy eater in fifty years of having dogs as pets.

Thank you for your help.

Bob
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If you can find a mom and pop type pet store and explain what is happening, I found they will work with you on finding the right food. Also, call or chat with the reps from the different companies, I got samples doing that. Kaleigh as a puppy was weird about kibble size. It was during her teething and she would NOT touch any kibble that wasn't smaller. Then you can order from Chewy.com. Some of the chain pet stores host times for reps to be there-usually weekends-and they give away samples.
 
My dog Piper would go through several picky phases off and on from about 10 months up until at least 18 months. I ended up stopping babying him and he got 10 minutes to eat his food (fed 2 x/ day). After 10 minutes I took away any uneaten food and he didn't get it back. 2nd meal he'd typically eat most if not all. Took less than a week and he was eating ALL of it in less than 5 minutes. This way we train them, they don't train us (and yes, I did the vet route, he was just picky). Now however I feed him a raw diet....he never leaves a crumb of food behind and boy oh boy he loves his bones.
 
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