I've been trying to get my 2-year-old Papillon to put on a little bit of weight. I've tried the "tough love," but he tends to just eat barely enough to survive. He'll eat when he gets really hungry, sure, but not enough to gain some weight back.
He's had a lot of traumas recently (most significantly losing his previous owner), so I'm sure that's affecting his appetite. But he's also never been food-motivated and was never a voracious eater to begin with.
He likes natural gold canned food, but on its own it gives him very soft stool, so I've been mixing it with dry food (in the hopes I could eventually wean him back fully to dry food). He still doesn't eat tons of the wet/dry mix, but at least he's eating closer to the amount he should be.
He was on Science Diet and Newman's Own Organics kibbles when I got him (gross!!!). I tried gradually switching him to the Nutro Max dry food, but he would spit out all of the Newman's food and just eat the Nutro. And who could blame him! He doesn't like the Canidae All Life Stages dry food, which I had hoped he'd enjoy. He eats the Nutro when he's really hungry, but I just don't think he likes it. I'd love to find a nutritious dry food that he also finds appealing. I don't want to start picking blindly, or else with gradual transitions and all I could be trying foods for the next several months! Any ideas?