Dog food help

[dreamcrisp1]

So about 2.5 months ago, I switched my dog's food from the one he was on when I adopted him (Purina) to Merrick. And he loved it. But lately, it seems that he isn't as eager to eat. He does eventually eat it all but it takes a while. He used to devour food but he doesn't anymore. I split his meals into 3 meals for reference. 

Do you think maybe he doesn't like the food anymore? Or that the new food is much more filling so he doesn't feel the need to devour food anymore? 

I don't know if I should be concerned or it's just normal. He's still eating the food, just not as eagerly as before. 

[cmeon]

Unfortunately, Nestle (so Purina!) actually OWNS Merrick now- and history tells us that when crappy food makers buy the good foods, they eventually (sometimes very quickly) make changes to the formulas to cheapen them.

I'm not saying that's definitely the case- but, it's well within the realm of possibility- and you wouldn't know it if they did make changes for many months, because ingredient lists can lag behind for half a year.

It's also possible your dog is just bored, or the food is stale (I've had dogs who were really sensitive to "old kibble"). But, Nestle's buyout is enough reason for me to kick Merrick out of our rotation- there are plenty of other good foods out there. GL!

[Deleted]

Can you grab sample bags of other foods and see if he prefers a switch? I purposefully pick a brand that has multiple formulas so I can switch up their food every bag. (salmon, lamb, bison, etc).
How does he eat treats and stuff? Normal? I might try giving him rice/chicken/egg and see what his appetite is then? I can't say much on this as my dogs eat...everything with gusto unfortunately.

[nomad100]

You may also want to check his mouth and teeth. I know that one of our dogs cut her mouth on a stick and she was more tentative when eating until is started to heal.

[notatree]

Is it the end of the bag? Some dogs just dislike the end of bag food as it may be stale.

I feed my cat merrick, I had no idea purina bought merrick.

[dreamcrisp1]

Thanks everyone for opinions! It's a new bag so I can't imagine it is stale but who knows. I think he just doesn't like it based on observations. He's still excited to eat, devours treats, and anything else. I'm gonna buy new food and transition him to it. I've been monitoring ingredients on website of Merrick and so far good. But I'm gonna try a different kind. Also I think he was on food like purina for 5 years so this is a change to him. Poor guy.

[gamechanger22]

Like nomad100 said I would check for cavities or broken teeth. Not super common but can happen. My pup was real picky about food, wouldn't touch the fancy grain-free foods, but was allergic to grains. I called an old friend who said that the pup was just being spoiled and to give it time. Lo and behold, that pup started chowing down!

[dreamcrisp1]

Yeah he just hated the food. I changed it since this post ( 4 months ago) and it improved immediately. Haven't had an issue since.