border collie - fussy eater

[chazza]

We have a border collie who is a very fussy eater, everything we give him he turns his nose up at. He is very thin but the vet says he is perfectly healthy and that this breed are sometimes very thin.

Would anyone have any suggestions as to what foods we could try him on that he would be more keen on? We usualy use the dried stuff and sometimes add a bit of meat flavoured sauce from the petshop but he still doesnt eat it.

[empressali]

Have you tried some fresh meat? Pop a couple of chicken breasts under the grill and see how he goes with them. There's always liver to try or mince.

Good luck!

[chazza]

We tried him with turkey at xmas but it made him sick! we're going to try some kidney or liver soon!

[divegirl]

Hi, have a look at this thread......

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Animals-and-Nat ure/Question290833.html

Lisa x

[spineless]

be firm honestly my border collie is a anyway mix a well known make of biscuists or moist meals with some dog meat.
if he/she wont eat then take it up after an hour, and ignore him. Exercise him well I take mine out for a good fetch game every 3 hours up and down a hill. pity i dont do the fetching as well :-) and offer it to him the next day.
But persevere dont give in they are extremley clever dogs and if they feel your anxious they will be too. Leave him to eat but again if he doesnt do make an issue of it pick it up and do the same the next day.
He will grab the idea that thats all hes getting and your not bothered if he eats it or not.
give in once and your done for.
Exercise him and treat him for being good but dont be anxious like i said they are clever dogs and NO dog will go hungry.
ALL THE BEST BE STRONG it may seem harsh but collies know how to wind you round their paw.
I also have a labrador and they are greedy you cant win

[Smart lover]

I had a border collie for 15 years, she was a fantastic dog but she was so fussy eating - lost count of how many times I fretted over her not eating but on vets advice I gave up the worrying and just monitored what she did eat. Seems that she ate more then I originally thought. She seemed to fast for a few days after eating well. My vet assured me this was quite normal for collies and as I say she lived to the ripe old age of 15, and mother two lots of pups - so it couldn't have harmed her any.

[DaveH3]

I too have a Border Collie, or Border wallie as I sometimes say. They are very intelligent and mine even makes up her own games including hiding things for me to find. True, believe it or not.
However she is also sometimes a fussy eater.
Try this.
I feed mine one good meal aday, dog meat and meal with some tasty morsels mixed in for good measure such as our left overs chicken meat, sausages ( tescos finest ) corned beef, meat gravy etc and usually after some excercise around the park.
As the other people have said they are very sensitive to your emotions, so do not be anxious or they WILL pick up on this and it will make them nervous.
Now if mine for any reason will not eat her dinner I leave her and ignor it for an hour or so, then if she still has not finnished I threaten to eat it myself. " GIVE IT TO ME. I`LL HAVE IT. MMMMMM THIS IS GOOD.
I try to push her out of the way of her dish, this is always met with barks and growls.
It`s very commical to watch and anyone who does not know dogs thinks she is very vicious when they see it done, but she has never bit anyone ever, and she is now 11.
I promise you it works every time fo me.
If your collie is active, bright eyed and happy / playful just don`t worry.
Hope this helps,
Regards, Dave H

[gelda]

Go steady on liver and kidney Chazza, dogs should only have this once a week, not good for them too high in protien and will probably give him the runs! Gelda

[chazza]

Hi
Thanks for the answers, part of the problem is that we also have a labrador, and if the collie doesn't eat his dinner then she scoffs it as soon as our back is turned! It is difficult to just leave him to eat when it suits him, and we dont really want to put one of them outside to separate them.

Anyway we took him to the vet yesterday and he had a bit of a temperature and an upset tummy. The vet also told us chicken (thanks empressali) which he scoffed so hopefully he's on the way back up again!

[leelapops]

Hi Chazza! Hope you've found something that your boy likes. I do think it's a matter of trying various things.

My Collie is gluten-intolerant now, but prior to that Jack used to love a mix of dry food and turkey mince, with some human gravy (gravy made FOR humans, not FROM humans lol!) Some people don't recommend gravy, saying it's too salty, but I think in moderation it's not a problem.

They can be choosy-a lot more effort used to go into his tea than mine! Since diagnosed as GI, he has dry gluten-free complete food, and the odd bowl of mince or gluten-free sausage.
As with most aspects of pet ownership, people have conflicting ideas about feeding; some say that it's never OK to give meet "because they can't have it all the time". But I can't have chocolate all the time, and I don't avoid it completely!

I know fresh meat isn't always cheap, so in terms of training your dog, perhaps what has been suggested by others here is a good idea too, putting the same down every meal til he gets the hint!
Good luck :)
Lisa x

[benjiesmum]

Border collies I have known have also been very reluctant to eat. All of them were working dogs owned by various friends but all of them were the same - they were not to taken with eating a great deal of food. In comparison to the dustbins of the dog world - Golden Retrievers and Labs they appear to eat very little!