Thanks for all the help Bruce is now eating normal after reducing his food by a quarter, my fault I wasn’t really taking into account his training food so he was eating too much, it’s his first birthday today so he might get some doggy cake. @Jo Laurens The gun dog training went well although Bruce is more interested is smelling than fetching or the other dogs, training was more about praise than treats.
Research shows that dogs don't value praise enough to work for it and for it to function as a reinforcer. So unless you can fix his food motivation, you will not have anything to combat his interest in smells and sniffing. Personally, I wouldn't accept it - just flat out wouldn't. I would rather fast the dog for 24 hours before a class and have him work for every single individual piece of kibble for weeks, than see a dog turn his nose up at food. Because control isn't force. Control over a dog, is a dog falling over themselves to do what you want - because you have, what THEY want. If you don't have what they want, you can't train the dog. http://www.sue-eh.ca/page24/page39/
Max is a healthy eater. He gets both kibble and chicken with rice, spinach, pumpkin, mint and thyme. Some days he wants only the cooked food and leaves the kibble after a few bites but eventually he will go back to his bowl to finish it. The vet told me that I should change the kibble brand from time to time as dogs can get a bit bored with the same food all the time.
