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Millies but not too keen.....

7K views 31 replies 7 participants last post by  ttfan1978 
#1 ·
Archie has been on Millies for about threes months now, he had countryside to start and Ive just changed to the obedience mix however he doesn't seem to be keen on either, he seems to reluctantly eat it (very un lab like) and looks as if he's eating it because he has to! When I feed him he looks down at his food and then at me as if to say cripes not this again!

Tonight he walked away from it altogether but was bothered about it being in his bowl because I think he was hungry so ate it eventually, he was sick earlier but don't think that has anything to do with it as this has been going on for a while now.

So I may have to change his food again but to what? The vet was really pushing Hills but think this is because they sell it but I'm stumped as to what to try him on now, I thought he would love Millies but it seems not to be the case.

I'm keen to keep him on a good quality food but can anyone suggest an alternative to Millies? Maybe he's a wet food dog??

Any suggestions?

Thanks
 
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#2 ·
Can I ask how much you're feeding him? Reason I ask is cola was off her food for a whole two days(wasn't sure if it was due to a new wormer) anyway I called Millies and was advised to change her to the adult feeding portion sizes. I wasn't keen as she was only 10-11 months old but I did so and she was absolutely fine. They had advised that I was actually feeding her too much so when i was putting her food down she wasn't hungry enough to eat it,they were spot on.

She has been on the adult portions since and absolutely fine and scoffs it all down :) she gets 140g twice daily. I occasionally add some warm water to it to make a heavy and she still loves her food :)

I wouldn't use hills as it is so poorly rated,our vet tried to push their cat food on us when we had our kitten spayed. Told them I was perfectly happy using Millies for both cat and dog.

Millies also do a wet food and they are launching both new dry and wet foods this year :)

Cola had also had a couple of sickness episodes but she was eating too much then.
 
#3 ·
Hi

He has 380g over two meals a day, according to their feeding guide he should have 375g to 450g per day for his weight (33kg) so I'm not giving him as much as they suggest for his age range which is nearly 450g. He looked fed up with the countryside which is why I changed to obedience but he still looks bored with it.

He had his yearly vet check yesterday with his booster and I gave him half a drontal tablet today plus he ate lots of grass today so I think this is why he was sick.

He certainly dosent gobble his food down which makes me feel quite sad as I want him to enjoy his food - sounds silly really but it's not nice to think he is eating it because he's hungry but dosent enjoy it:)
 
#5 ·
Before deciding to change it may be worth giving them a call as they may advise swapping him to the adult feeding portions starting at the lowest amount so see if that does the trick :)

As much as he is still a puppy he may just require less, it took me a while to get my head round that when they explained it all but Cola is doing well on her adult sizes. she is around 23 kg and gets the 280g (adult) a day but if on puppy portion would be about 350g which is just too much now.
 
#6 ·
This is some advice they emailed me earlier this year when Cola was 10.5 months.

I have just had a look through your past emails, given the dogs age you need to reduce the feeding amount down to the adult feeding amount as it looks the dog's metabolism has slowed down (as expected for the age) as the dog can not process the volume of food it is being presented with it will be reluctant to eat it as she is still full from the previous meal.

The feeding amount for the dogs current weight should be around 280 grams per day, we normally suggest rotating between recipes every 3-4 months, if you plan to change more frequently than this you will make a fussy dog, stick with Ranger for now but feed slightly less.

I followed his advice and everything perfect after that :)
 
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#8 ·
Not fed that food but my girl back when she was about 10months ish would decide not to eat and I did some changes of food.
With hindsight she was getting fat. She'd reached her adult weight and was going past it and gaining too much. At the time I worried. She is now at 8 years old about 5/6kg lighter than she was back then.
Her food bag recommends she eats more than double what she does normally each day. She gets extras in kongs and treats but dog food packets in general do over-estimate what a dog needs I think. Don't fret too much.

It is a common reaction to jabs for a dog to feel off-colour... many vets say that jabs are absolutely fine and safe but some dogs fall very poorly because of jabs. Keep an eye on her. x
 
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#13 · (Edited)
I have a feeling it may be because he is getting too much as should now be on adult portions. If it was just one flavour he was turning his nose up then maybe it could be that he just doesn't like it however at least two flavours have been tried.


They have a good amount of different foods in their range with lots of tasty meats so should hopefully be something there to suit. Every dog is different of course and one may like something that another doesn't, it's only natural.

James wellbeloved is an ok food but it appears to contain as much rice as it does meat which I wasn't keen on and not very inspiring flavours.

http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0006/james-wellbeloved-adult
 
#12 ·
If you are thinking of changing I am a huge fan of Markus Muhrle Natur Nahr.

I also saw a tv add for https://tails.com/ they claim to blend the kibble they use to suit your dog. Their website asks questions about your dog and then uses your answers to tailor the kibble blend.

I've not tried it as I'm so happy with MM but their website looks interesting and you get a free trial.
 
#16 ·
Thanks all for your advice

I haven't had a chance to call them today as I'm at work, but I put a smaller portion down this morning and he took one or two kibbles and walked away. He even rejects it when I put it in his large kong for a change (the dispenser type)

I'll see what happens over the next day or so to give the annual jab a chance to settle in and see how he is then.

I hadn't considered it may be his molars Pam what age does this usually happen?
 
#20 ·
My labs have been eating Eukanuba for about 3 years now all together. It's definitely my personal favorite - it was my vet's recommendation, and it has surpassed my expectations. Best dog food, in my opinion. I originally got it because it is gentle on my dogs' sensitive stomachs, but it's good for any dog, really. It has an excellent blend of proteins and vitamins, and my dogs certainly seem to like it :eek: It's available most places that sell dog food.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Every dog is different and some will do better than others on different foods however Euknauba is not really a good quality food. There are some in their range better than others but most are not very good quality. Vets will always recommend any food they sell. Mine sell hills and Royal canin but I wouldn't use any of them when there is so much better out there.

http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/search-all-about-dog-food.php?q=Eukanuba+large&submit=


I have picked one out which shows it is not very good, http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0095/eukanuba-adult-large-breed

They also own pedigree, frolic which again are very poor quality foods :)

What owners feed to their dogs is down to personal choice and we all have our favourites but the all about dog food site is a great resource to use.
 
#23 ·
Haha, that growling tums recipe gets around. I know of two people who sell that recipe as their "own brand". It isn't bad food though it does contain beet pulp which is a filler.

I really don't think your problem is the flavour because Millies has quite a strong meaty smell. I think it likely that your dog will turn his nose up at other brands too.
 
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#24 ·
A friend at work has a small dog who would stop eating her food so friend would go out and buy another brand, after a few days it would happen again and she ended up buying nearly every brand of food! It turned out the dog was getting too much and just wouldn't eat.

After finally settling on Millies and dropping the portions all was fine and has been for a good 6 months. People were advising that the dog was being fussy but it fell on deaf ears for a while. She did end up reducing food and using the tough love approach :)
 
#28 ·
Hi

He's still picking at his food but does eat it if encouraged so still not great, he's over the injection and is back on top form so no excuses there. I've reduced his amount by a little and am waiting for a response from an email that I've sent to Millies to see what they suggest.

I think it also depends on what mood he's and how hungry he is, yesterday he ate his breakfast no problem and then rejected his tea so it sat in his bowl for an hour before he decided to eat it (I picked it up and he looked worried! so I put it back down and he ate it ha ha!!)

I'll let you know what they say.

How's Cola getting on??
 
#29 ·
What a monkey :) hopefully you get a reply soon, they do have an answering machine and I find they get back quicker if you phone and leave a message. They are all very helpful, I have spoken to mark and Jenny in the past.

Cola is fantastic, I just love her to bits and love spending time with her. The weather has been great so I have been taking her everywhere, we were at the market in Sunday and she loved it. She did very well lying by a burger van taking in the smells whilst we had a cup of tea :)
 
#30 ·
What a monkey :) hopefully you get a reply soon, they do have an answering machine and I find they get back quicker if you phone and leave a message. They are all very helpful, I have spoken to mark and Jenny in the past.

Cola is fantastic, I just love her to bits and love spending time with her. The weather has been great so I have been taking her everywhere, we were at the market in Sunday and she loved it. She did very well lying by a burger van taking in the smells whilst we had a cup of tea :)
Bless her I'm not sure Archie would be that content sat next to a burger van!

I've heard back from them and they have said that they recommend switching to adult portions once they have reached their full height - she has said this would be 295g-400 per day for him, so I'm giving him 350g atm as he's not quite at full height yet (and this is slightly less than he was having)
She has suggested that we try Gamekeeper next time as the salmon, venison and trout means a more novel protein source and this may promote some interest (I'm sceptical about this as he's rejected two of their flavours already)
She has also suggested using a wet food as a topper to mix in and give the food some texture which I may do eventually - I like the sound of this !
She has suggested that we try Gamekeeper next time as the salmon, venison and trout means a more novel protein source and this may promote some interest, I have about a week of Obedience left so will re-order next week and see what happens then.
Watch this space!
 
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