Puppy stopped eating all of his breakfast

[ks-man]

Cannoli is 6.5 months old and is fed 1 and 1/3 cups of kibble twice a day around 7:30am and 6pm.  Up to now he would devour all of his food as soon as it was put down.  The last week or so he has only been eating about 60-75% of his breakfast.  Occasionally he will go back and take a few more bites but about an hour later there is still some left over.  He has been eating all of his dinner.

I did get a new bag of his food (same food) around the same time.  I don't remember if this started with his new bag of food or a couple days before.  If the food was stale would he not eat any of it or do you think that if he is hungry enough he will eat it as much until he isn't hungry and leave the remainder?

Assuming it isn't stale food is this normal that as dogs get older they will stop eating all of their food?  He's been acting fine otherwise.

Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Puppies' calorie requirements go down as they get older and their growth rate slows. Even though they are larger and weigh more, the number of calories they require per lb. of body weight decreases. 

Check the feeding amounts for his age/weight. 

I'd try cutting back the amount of food you give him in the morning. Maybe just give him 65-75% of what he's been getting. I'd also pick up the bowl after 10 minutes. Sometimes, they are not as hungry in the a.m. after hours of rest as they are in the evening after hours of being active. (I'm the same way.) You can always add the extra food to his dinner if you're afraid he's not getting enough. Most of my dogs have always eaten bigger dinners than breakfasts. 

[ks-man]

It's tough to say what the recommended amount is since I don't really know how much he's going to weigh.  I had thought 40-45 but he is already 38 pounds at 6.5 months so starting to think he is going to be closer to 50.  For 50 pounds they recommend 2 and 2/3 to 3 and 1/2 per day so he is just at the bottom end of that.  Starting at 8 months they say 2 and 2/3 to 3 cups.

I'll start cutting back his breakfast and giving more dinner if this continues after a few more days.  Is it typically recommended that dogs have a mid day snack?  A bunch of the daycare/boarding places say they welcome midday snacks for their dogs but I'm not sure if it is a money grab since they sell pig ears and bully sticks, etc.  I do often give him a bully stick if he's home all day or some treats in a puzzle toy if he's being crated but didn't know if he should have a more formal midday snack and if so what people recommend.

Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

No, I don't recommend midday snacks. They don't need those extra calories. I use chew objects such as pig ears (which BTW are usually extremely high in fat) or bully sticks as a way to occupy them during "down times" when I am trying to get a dog to settle down, usually in the evening. (Hmmm, daycare might be using them for the same reason, lol.) Using them when crating is similar. Most pups are getting lots of training treats for at least the first year (or at least, I hope they are in training for at least the first year) and don't need more extra calories.