Lack of interest in mealtime...help?

[Tracy & Teddy]

Hello, new friends!

Nothing like a good health issue as your first "real" discussion topic, huh? :) I just joined but am wondering if others have had this experience with their doodles.

My 5 month old Teddy is overall fairly uninterested in mealtime. He will scarf down treats or hot dogs and fun things that I give him to chew on, but when it comes to breakfast/lunch/dinner, he sits for it and then just sort of sniffs at it and wanders away. We have taken to tethering him in our corner setup (what we sometimes use as a timeout--a 3 foot leash tied to a corner of his crate) so that he can't get over to the couch to laze; and then when he finishes, we untie him as a "reward" for eating. Writing that out it sounds worse than it is--he really doesn't seem too upset by it... if he doesn't want to eat, he just plops down with his head on the floor and his arms all sprawled out, very doodle-like, and then eventually might saunter over and eat a few bites. Then he sits and looks at us and we untie him and take away the food and try again later. Sometimes, maybe once or twice a week, I will feed him by hand and he is interested and scarfs it down. Other times when I try to hand-feed, he just sniffs it and ignores it. I also tried adding canned pumpkin as a topper, and adding water to the kibble--both of which he liked for a while but now is less interested in that, too. And THEN there are other times where we feed him and he goes right to it and eats it all up very quickly! (This doesn't happen very often, but it does happen.) Maybe he is just picky?

I am really worried about him not growing properly and getting his nutrition, but I don't know how to get him to eat his kibble!

If it's relevant--we are feeding him Now Fresh Grain-Free Puppy Food by Petcurean (it is the same food that the breeder had him on, but I loved the ingredients and it seems very healthy). He's about 36lbs or so now, I think (was 35.2 three weeks ago); and so I try doing 1c in the morning and then 1.5c in the afternoon and 1.5c in the evening.

The only other thing that I can think to mention is that he had been biting at his paws a lot a few weeks ago and sneezing/coughing in the mornings, so the vet recommended Benadryl twice a day for allergies...so I give him 1.5 Benadryls twice a day, each time wrapped in a small piece of hot dog. Not sure if I have spoiled him with tasty hot dog and now nothing else will do; or if it might be the allergies. He is otherwise energetic, happy, and totally normal--doesn't seem sick or anything at all to me.

I suppose that my next option would be to try switching his food... is that something that you guys end up doing a lot? I really love the ingredients of the Now Fresh and was happy to stick with it until it was time to switch to the Adult version.

Phew. Sorry for going on for so long, but any advice would be great because I feel like I am doing everything wrong! D:

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Regarding finding out what he is allergic to, that is possible, but not until he is a least a year old. Veterinary dermatologists do skin scratch testing under anesthetic and it's a very accurate way to learn what the allergens are. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid most of them, as they are things like dust mites, pollens, and molds, which are always present in the air. But that's a whole other discussion. :)

My dogs have always wanted me nearby when they eat, and I'm so glad that's helping Teddy as well! 

[Tracy & Teddy]

I like to think that if he has allergies, he is probably just taking after his momma (me--I'm allergic to dust mites, mold, cats, dogs, mice... the list seems to go on forever!). :D Poor baby.

Thanks again about the advice! It is still working out great! :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

A healthy dog will eat enough food.  Put her food down and if she doesn't eat it within 15 minutes, pick it up until the next meal. Don't entice her to eat, don't use toppers as an everyday thing. Don't over-feed treats. Figure out if she wants company when she eats or if she wants privacy.  I have one who doesn't care, one who wants company, and one who prefers to eat in private.

[Tracy & Teddy]

Thank you for the advice! I'm definitely going to curb the toppers. :)