Fussy Eating Springer Spaniel
Hi all.
We rehomed a lovely bouncy unspayed 20 month old pedigree springer spaniel 4 weeks ago, we had her food and biscuits from her old home (a lovely family that just didn't have the time they thought she deserved).
She was being fed a cup of milk with a raw egg whisked into it in the morning (no idea what this was for) and 3/4 tin of dog food with a handful of biscuits in the evening, and would 'eat anything extra' going.
We continued this when we got home and changed her biscuits when they ran out from the 'supermarket value ones' she was on to a burns complete one and changed her tinned meat to pedigree from a value tin and cut down the meat with it but still kept up the milk, egg in the morning as she wouldn't eat anything else at this time of day and pined when the kids had milk on their cereal . All done gradually.
She enjoyed the burns food for about 4 days before turning her nose at it and walking away eating nothing for 2 days, I tried a meat complete food with no additives and she gulped that down for a couple of days then went another 2 with nothing and now I've put her on royal canin. It seems like she gets bored with the same thing after a couple of feeds.
She has pretty much lost her appetite since we had her and every evening when I put her food down will take a few pieces from me that I give her and maybe a mouthful from her bowl then walks away. She eats more if I sit with her, Her excersise has increased since we got her to 2 hrs a day and -4 a day on week ends. Walks and runs in the woods since she has been with us I would have thought she would be eating more to fuel up.
She has just started her injections again after she missed her booster with the other family, so I didn't know if that was it.
She is also unspayed and the lady did say she was due a season soon but having never owned a before I'm clueless about it and how to tell and the effects of it.She is still bouncy on walks and all over us when we come in but sleeping so much more than she was last week.
From this week we have now cut out the meat and she is now on royal canin medium dog food complete , the vets weighed her and she weighs 20kg. She is still only having a couple of mouthfulls of this each evening roughly about 120kg rather than the 280g on the pkt, only one or two earned treats. I take away what she doesn't eat after 15 minutes and she does beg when we eat our dinner and launch herself at the cat food if I leave it down.
Is it normal for a dog to go through periods of reduced appetite? Am I contributing to her eating by changing her food and fussing around her? She did have ear mites which have been treated and gets smelly ears, but the vet says they are clear.
She has settled in well with us and really has bonded and loves cuddles and wrestling and plays nibbling our feet when you put on thick walking socks and she knows its walk time. Someone said we might have been including her too much as she sits on the sofa, sleeps next to the bed, is in the middle of everything the kids are doing and loves toys and teddies. Then might be reminded she's a dog by being fed in a bowl on the floor in the kitchen.
any advice gratefully received.
thanks
Lizz and family