Appetite

[Carolanne]

Hi All

Henry is approaching 9 months now and has periods of not eating one of his two meals per day. He used to devour everything with gusto and is always ready for his breakfast but come the evening meal he has started to back away from the food and seems very tired. He is on grain free dry Lily's Kitchen Lamb and has always liked it. However, I bought some of their Fish Skin chews which should on the face of it be absolutely fine but whenever he has had one, I have noticed a decrease in his appetite and he seems more lethargic. Coincidence probably but wondered if any of you have found similar problems with your cockers.

He has just started showing an interest in the girlies though only sporadically. Do cockers become a bit lethargic and lose appetite once these hormones kick in? As you can see, clutching at straws so if any of you have an idea as to what could be the trouble I would love to hear from you.

Anne

[Mudmagnets]

Hi there

Don't know the answer as I don't feed Lily's kitchen, but can't say I have had problems with fish skins - altho a different brand, I imagine they are all made in much the same way, and there is not much to them - so wouldn't have thought they would affect
his appetite to that  extent.

Have you made sure he is ok health wise, if he is lethargic it may be worth checking there is nothing going on.

Sorry I can't be more help - hopefully someone who has experience of feeding Lily's Kitchen will have some guidance.

Hope it sorts itself out ASAP

[Hamad]

I'm a fairly new owner but while searching about entire males I have read a few times that they do become unsettled after meeting females in season which includes loss of appetite and changes in behaviour.

[Helen]

He could be secondary teething where the back molars bed in so kibble, if dry, could be quite painful for him to eat.

[Mudmagnets]

He could be secondary teething where the back molars bed in so kibble, if dry, could be quite painful for him to eat.

Good thinking - maybe you could dampen his kibble with some warm water - and leave off the fish treats for a little while?

[Carolanne]

Thanks all for  your comments. He has his dry food dampened anyway and I do agree with you all that it is unlikely to be the fish skins. He has had on and off bouts of upset tummy and has been checked for Pancreatitis, Addisons and all are negative.  My vet said don't feed him any treats as it seems he has a sensitive tummy but I have seen a change in his behaviour too so I do not think the loss of appetite is entirely down to having sensitive tummy.

He was showing interest in a female dog yesterday and the same night he would not eat. He also walks about whining at times. Medically he seems to be fine but he is not so exhuberant as he was and I guess he may just be going through that phase now his hormones are kicking in. Interestingly, my vet thinks he is a bit on the immature side. He thought he was only about 5 or 6 months when he saw him last week as his teeth are still coming through (maybe another reason for going off food??). Well he has eaten food this morning and is showing interest in my lunch so I think the female interest could well be the problem. He has gone from 12kg to 11.02kg now but vet not unhappy as he has done all sorts of blood tests and Henry seems otherwise very healthy. Back to the drawing board!

[Koslg]

Humbug is 4. He has days where he won't eat a meal. Then days when he'd like half his kibble in the floor and can suddenly eat it from there and not the floor. I'm not worried as he's the right weight. Just sometimes not bothered - but the next day he's usually quite hungry.

Hope all is ok x