Hi all, sorry if this is a bit long winded!
I hope someone can help me as frankly I don't know where to go from here.
Since about 4 months old Obi has been fed a raw diet, he's done really well on this but in the last few months his appetite for his food has slowly declined, and recently he's been, quite frankly, a nightmare where food is concerned.
He has hardly been eating anything I offer him, though I've done my best to be strict, taking away the food when he hasn't eaten and only offering at the next mealtime etc.
I've tried changing him to once a day feeding and reducing the amounts, but everytime I'd offer him his meal (even things like lamb breast that he's loved in the past) he'd run away and hide
It got to the stage where he was only eating chicken wings and lamb hearts, obviously not a suitable diet!
A few days ago I just gave up in despair and gave him some 'Naturediet', he wolfed it down, and I must admit it was lovely to see him eat and enjoy a meal, so I bought some more and have been feeding him that for a couple of days.
He's finished every meal, and had no diarrhoea (he had chronic diarrhoea as a pup on every kind of commercial food I tried which is why I researched and put him on a raw diet).
All was going well until this afternoon, when he's vomited 3 times, each time bringing up bile and undigested rice from the Naturediet food, the first time was about 7 hours after he'd eaten so I would have expected it to be digested but it wasn't at all.
So obviously that doesn't agree with him either
I don't know what to give him now, I'd prefer to keep him on the raw diet as I know it is best for him, but what's the point if he doesn't like it and it makes him miserable?
Can I feed him mince and add ground eggshell or something for calcium? If so, how much eggshell?
He weighs 18kg and I would say is on the skinny side (hardly surprising considering his diet recently ).
Please help, any suggestions are welcome, I'm at my wits end and could do without this, my 11 year old lab isn't well and my stress levels are high enough as it is
XXX

Daisy goes through phases like this, at the moment, lamb is the only thing she'll go for!

I just keep her eating what she's willing to eat, and then try and reintroduce other things after a few days. She has a beautifully shiny coat, is full of health and fit as a fiddle so certainly doesn't seem to be suffering from a less than varied diet.

if she gets really, really fussy, I resort to Chappie for a couple of meals, or frozen packs of tripe from PAH usually get her interest!!!

Sandy will probably be along in a mo to tell us both off, but as I say, Daisy doesn't seem to be suffering too much.

Thanks
Glad to hear it's not just Obi who can be a pain in the bum

Off topic, I've just realised I misspelled 'Please' in the title, and it's REALLY bugging me Do you know how I can correct it?
XX

Oh help you poor soul, you sound stressed and nearly in despair . I don't know really what to say, maybe he is going through a phase where he isn't so bothered about food as Daisy's mum said. Fipps used to be like that, even to the point where a ret. vet commented how thin she was and I should give her more food, but since she is spayed she gets more greedy by the minute . I was worried sick over her as she turned up her nose. Glad to say she is still about and didn't starve herself, so I don't think Obi won't either.

Sandy is the person to speak to, but I think she is awfully busy just now

I'm lucky, if it's raw it's gone in seconds in this house, none of them are particularly fussy, Is it possible Obi could have just picked up a bug or similar and that's why he was poorly after a few days on the naturediet, it's a good quality convenience food if he has gone off the raw, have you tried starving him for 24 hours and then going straight back to raw to give hima kick start?

Hiya, if you're sure he's not physically unwell (which it doesn't sound like it from the fact that he wolfed down the kibble) then it sounds like he's just trying to wrap mum around his little finger

I have one that does this too, Archie... he can be a pain the bum regarding his food sometimes whereas Sonny practically inhales his!

I agree with maybe starving him for 24 hours - plenty of fluids! - and then reintroducing his raw diet...

My two don't get a vast amount of variety because of Archie's temprementality - it really frays my nerves if I prepare offal or rabbit or lamb and he goes all 'song and dance' over it and refuses to eat it - some weeks if Arch's really playing up he will get chicken all week and that's it (except for a once off bowl of tuna and raw egg and yoghurt), cos I refuse to pander to his whims... It's kinda like a kid that will throw a tantrum about not eating it's mashed potato and veg, but stick a bowl of jam roly poly down and it's gone in 60 seconds!

I think Sandy once said a dog that's hungry will not turn it's nose up at any kind of food... spaniels by nature are intelligent animals and sometimes they just what buttons to press with us humans... on some level maybe he's sensing how worried you are about your other dog and within yourself and is just doing it for some attention? Maybe by getting you to change to the kibble he feels like his acting up has won, and he'll do it all over again when he wants something different! don't give in to him would be my motto but then again ST has turned me into a hard mum these past few months!

Good luck with whatever you do, I know when Arch gets stroppy it frustrates me so much as I just want him to eat... but then I think of the days when I just can't be bothered with food and sometimes miss meals and think to myself maybe the dogs entitled to have his off days too... he'll eat it again when he's hungry...

tinks x

I remembered Carl having similar problems with ellie so I have dug out this thread. Is it possible you may be over feeding so he is not always hungry when its time for meals? I know I used to Providing you are happy there is nothing physically wrong I wouldn't feed him for 24 hours then put him back on raw.

Maybe this will help

Similar Thread

Thanks everyone, I knew I could rely on you for good common sense advice
Yes Obi sounds exactly like Ellie, what are they like these Springers, my lab Honey Bear will eat anything and everything
XXX

Agree with above.
First thing to remember is that dogs wont starve themselves, they don't put themselves on a diet because they think they are overweight esp springers
My cassie didn't eat anything yesterday , I put their food down dottie wolfed hers down cassie turned her nose up .
I feed my two once a day I do give them a variety of food but I haven't got a diet sheet I just try to make sure they have a variety of foods over a couple of weeks.
The girls have been out for 3 hours today with the OH and cassie has come home and wolfed down her food and lots of it she might not eat tomorrow or she could eat loads I don't worry either way I know she will eat when she is hungry.
Quite a lot of raw feeders on the raw feeders email website don't feed their pets for one or two days a week.
I always put food down but if it isn't eaten in about 10/15 mins it goes back into the fridge/freezer and its tmrws dinner.
As for feeding Kibble/dry food . My son feeds dry food to his boxer and when my two go there they head for the kibble bowl and eat some well they used too my son now lifts the kibble bowl when we arrive. I see kibble as morish a bit like pringles once you pop you cant stop doesn't mean that this is good for them though.
I

Why do they do this?

Some answers to your question spaceman

Why do some Raw feeders not feed once or twice a week.

I don't do this but I can understand it.I still put food down even when the girls have eaten a whole rabbit (jacket and all) 9/10 they don't eat anything the next day but I still put food down for them. I don't worry if they dont eat it .The raw feeding email forums have so many exp raw feeders from all over the world.
Some of the thinking on there is.

If our pets were wild or (A wolf sleeps on your sofa)and they didn't have us humans pampering to all their needs. They would kill their prey and gorge themselves and eat the whole prey and this would satisfy them until they could find their next meal which could be days later . They would def survive without us humans lol Doubt we humans would without a supermarket lol
Most raw feeders esp in the UK don't feed the whole prey so this wouldn't work for all saying this Even dogs who don't eat the whole prey would benefit from a day without food we do tend to feed ourselves too much food and also feed our dogs more than they need.

So this is the way they feed them giving them a days rest in between I have read some who give 2 days rest between meals.these are dogs that have gorged themselves on half a deer though.
Join a raw feeding list it is def an eye opener and a amazing source of raw feeding information which you can take on board or not whichever you prefer.