hmm well yes and no
Are they really being fussy getting bored of the same old day in day out?
I think they are just being smart holding out for a varied diet

I took the advice with Ben, from about 5 months old till 8 months old he ate JUST about enough to keep him ticking over - about 1/4 of what the packet said
then after months of this I tried top dressing his kibble, mixing things in with it
He actually sucked wet food off the kibble and spat the kibble back into his bowl

I took the hint and put him on a varied raw diet and now it is rare for a bowl of food to last more than secconds

Not saying it is for everyone in any way

But really HOW can it be healthy to eat the same food day in day out - that is just a con by the health food companies - we dont know enough about the interactions of microneutrients for any food to truly be 'compleate'

I feed raw, but that is not for everyone, but I find it interesting that horses, cows and sheep do not "bored" of grass!

A food can be nutritionally complete, just as we can find nutritionally complete milkshakes etc. The trouble with advising the "add variety" route is that in itself can compound the problem of fussy eaters, ie it makes them MORE choosy as the owner has taught them that if they hold out, the owner will provide an alternative.

Exactly the same is true of children.

I had a cat once that I inherited, the owner told me it only ate fresh fish. After 4 days of refusing the complete in its bowl, it realised that those days werre over and never left a bowl of food again! The cat had a choice, eat or starve!

As for fussiness we are talking about animals that lick their own bottoms, eat putrid flesh, enjoy consuming faeces and garbage, how fussy can they possibly be?

Well, Ben is fine all is healthy the vet did take blood but said he was pretty sure there was nothing untoward and he'd phone me tomorrow with results(I am at work tomorrow)

He also sggested adding warm water or gravy to the food and that may "kick start" Ben into eating but if not then perhaps a change would be best all round.

So have to think what to try next if we need to go down that route - sadly Raw is not for me though I am sure it would suit Ben.

Smokeybear we have been very strict the last 3 days vout himm getting anything other than his food he has had a dentastick a day as per his normal diet and I tried him wiyh 1 large bonio biscuit just to see if maybe the texture of his biccies or something was hindering him and he wolfed that down.

Buthe hasn't had scraps from us which he might sometimes do but not just now but that is 3 days at 6pm tonight an dhe is just not interested at all I will soak the biscuits tonight and see if that helps any.

This isnt about training tho, its about feeding & theres always the possibility of a dog being sick, if you were to starve an already sick dog for 4 days, well thats your provocative, its not a route i would follow before consulting a professional, i.e. A Vet.

Doctors and vets work on the Pareto principle too.................

ie 80% of their cases will be due to 20% of possible causes...............

Benzmum: so glad you got sorted, you know your own dog best & know what suits him. Hope blood results are ok & hes soon back to his happy self. Hugs from us. xx

Hmm - i would say that the owner knows 100% their own dog better than any principles/figures etc. In this case an otherwise normally good feeder goes off his diet for 3 days, that to me says its a situation where the dog may be sick, not one to further starve the dog to eat. The poster Poster did the right thing in consulting their vet.

As for the cat, you were lucky it stuck around, most would have taken themselves off.

Not had an animal leave me yet!

Benzmum, have you seen this link I have posted before?

http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/inappetence/

No I hadn't read that but some of that is very interesting reading. He is out for a walk just now so I have moistened food and as we are habing parmesan with our tea I will sprinkle a little through it and give him his bowl in half hour to 45 mins and see how e get on!