Food switch?

[UggaMugga]

I have a 10 month old doodle. He has always been somewhat picky regarding food. Finally, we were on good run but recently he is turning his nose up at his Orijen puppy. He will eat it if I add an egg or some chicken. He is not vigorous with food though. I'm wondering about trying something else. Either Orijen 6 Fish or Fromm. Any thoughts?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, at 10 months, you're fine with switching to an adult formula, so the 6 Fish might be a good choice. I would not switch to Fromm, though. It's a good brand, but they do not make any formulas with a nutrition profile similar to Orijen's The adult Orijen formulas are nutritionally similar to the Puppy formula, which makes for an easier (and healthier) switch.

As far as your pup not being an enthusiastic eater, or turning up his nose at his food, there could be a couple of reasons for that. One, his growth has slowed way down as he approaches adulthood and he simply doesn;t need to eat as much. Or, he is just not the kind of dog who loves food and lives to eat...he's the type who eats to live. The latter is much healthier, for dogs and humans both. 

We've had a lot of discussions here about dogs who don't "like" their food and owners who are trying all kinds of things to get the dogs to eat. The fact is , a normal healthy dog will not starve himself. Often, we create picky eaters by trying to entice them with toppers, etc. 

Please read through the following discussion we had here about this topic. It's funny, but it contains a lot of wisdom. 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/an-ode-...

[UggaMugga]

Thanks Karen. My gut is to try the 6 fish. He likes things with an odor. I was trying to keep him on puppy food as he is a bit slender. I think he needs the calories. He is definitely an eat to live kind of guy. Of course right now I think he has kennel cough so I am being particularly vigilant watching his input and output. Vet wasn't all too concerned.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Please let us know how he does with the 6 Fish. I hope he likes it, and feels better soon. :)