My puppy still wont eat regularly.

Question
I have an 11 month old King Charles Cavalier (Chester). I got him @ 8 wks old. I started him on Science Diet Puppy wet and small bites kibble 1/2 cup 2x daily. ate regularly for about 1 wk then speratically. @ 4 mos. I switched him to Ultra Puppy wet onlY, He didn't seem to like it, I then decided to grill a lean chicken breast, chop it in bits, mix with kibble 1/2 cup 2x daily. HE LOVED IT!! ALWAYS CLEANED HIS BOWL!. After a lecture from his Vet, I stopped feeding him the chicken.  Is Chicken prepared any way bad for him? Will he get Worms? I now have him on Wellness wet and Puppy Kibble...he still eats VERY irregularly...Help, what am I doing wrong?

Answer

Seven day transition s OK, when you say he started eating sporadically with the Science Diet, what do you mean by that? The thing is, with Science Diet, the dog will eat according to his energy needs- not just to munch down food like we do. Dogs and cats on SD regularly do not eat a lot of food because the food is very 'nutrient dense,' in other words, he was getting plenty of nutrition from what you thought were sporadic eating habits.

You asked what are you doing wrong? First thing was you should have left him on the Science Diet. When you start switching to lower nutrient foods the dog needs more to keep up with his needs. He didn't like the second food because it wasn't as palatable as the first one. In other words, it didn't taste as good. What you mistook for him not liking the Science Diet was him not needing as much of it as he did before his body got used to it.
Then you threw in a low quality food. Then you added people food which is for people, not dogs. You are starting to turn the dog into a picky eater. Picky eating dogs are created by owners, they are not born that way.
Now you have him on a third food- Wellness is made by?? Another low quality food that has very little nutrition and no flavor as evidenced by his refusal to eat it.

You need to start over Margaret, and get him back onto the Science Diet dry Puppy Growth for a short while, or just get him onto the Adult formula. He can eat the small bites if he prefers them but the regular would be better for his teeth. Transition him slowly back onto the new food over seven days. There is also a Nature's Best all natural food by Science Diet that is the only natural food on the market that is complete in its nutritional profile and provides your dog with a balanced and tested formula that will keep him healthy and make his coat shine.
http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/minisite/naturesBest/naturesBestHome.hjsp?FOLDE...
This food is the only food without pesticides from the growers to Hills and then out to the consumer. Hills oversees the whole procedure to ensure that is the case. Most 'natural' foods will claim to be pesticide free but have no idea if the growers used it. They may not add them, but if the growers did it's not natural and pesticide free.

So that is my suggestion. Get him on the Adult formula or the Nature's Best and remember that Hills has not only over 50 yrs of veterinary research behind their food but a 100% money back guarantee. You won't find that on other diets.

Get him a bag and let me know how he is doing in a week or so. I am enclosing a graphic that illustrates how to switch him over. Once he is back on it, don't take him off, don't feed him treats, and don't give him people food. He will live longer then the average dog if you follow these simple rules and be much healthier along the way.