Hunger Strike

We’ve been going through some issues with Siggy’s food. The brand we had been feeding him, Pedigree German Shepard, isn’t readily available near our new apartment (it would involve two subway trains and a bus), and since we’re just down the street from Hundemaxx (a great pet supply store!) we decided to get him a better-quality brand that was nearby.

After talking to one of the assistants at Hundemaxx about Siggy’s sensitive stomach and shedding — both of which involve humorous stories some of you have heard before — she recommended Belcando Lamb & Rice. At €40 for 15 kilo, it’s not cheap, but it’s high quality and not filled with corn. We bought a small bag and he seemed to like it okay, so we went for the big one.

Gradually, we noticed that Siggy was eating less and less of his food. Sometimes he wouldn’t eat anything all day. I tried lots of different things to get him to eat: restricting mealtimes so that he’d eat when the food was out, adding tasty things like yogurt or pumpkinseed oil to the food…. No real luck. I was afraid the new dental chews I’d gotten him were much tastier than his food (which apparently they were) so that he’d rather starve than eat icky old food. We made it through one bag and had started on the second when I decided we needed to try a different flavor.

Kevin and I went to Hundemaxx and bought a small bag of Belcando “Multi-Croc” which is one of those wet/dry foods where you can add water to make a gravy. Rather than lamb, it gets its protein from beef and poultry. Wow! What a difference! He loves this stuff, and even though he’d rather have the treats, he knows he doesn’t get a chew until he eats his food. And boy is he proud when he bounces over to show me he emptied his bowl!

Kevin observed that, in hindsight, it probably wasn’t a good idea to feed LAMB to a SHEPherd…. Not really in their genetic disposition to eat sheep….

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