SKINNY DOODLES?

[Sine]

Joey, our 10 wk goldendoodle just arrived three days ago from a very reputable breeder and has been such great addition! Everything from socializing to potty training has been going amazingly well. The only thing I am concerned about is his poor eating. We feed him three times a day and leave his food out for awhile each time. He will look very hungry and interested when preparing his meal but when he starts to eat, he picks a little, then almost darts about a foot away to eat what he has in his mouth. It's almost as if he thinks someone will take his food while eating? Then he will repeat this a couple of time and finally will just lose interest completely. He will not finish any of his meals. If I feed him from my palm, he will eat much much better but I know this is a bad habit to get into. We do give him tasty treats during training sessions or to reinforce good behavior. Other than this eating issue, he truly seems happy-go-lucky and well adjusted at this point. I know "if he's hungry, he will eat," but I am anxious because he does seem a little underweight to me. We are seeing the vet for his wellness check up tomorrow. Any ideas or suggestions?

[Sandy]

My dog did the same thing. Very very fussy eater. We tried a lot of different additions to his food, and eventually ended up switching. He gobbled up his new stuff wonderfully, and we've never had to add anything to it. He was a very skinny puppy, and now he looks healthy.

[Sine]

What food did you end up switching to?

[Sandy]

I switched to Nutram. It's made here in Ontario, with all natural products. Toby's tummy is very happy. :)

[sbis0oszc95r]

Our puppy did the same thing for the first few weeks. The Vet told us that he just needed to adjust to his new family. Add some shredded cheddar cheese to the kibble to make it smell good. That seemed to work for us.

Good luck!

[Sine]

Whew! That makes me feel so much better that other pups go through similar eating habits. Our vet said he is fine and just to watch him and pretty much what everyone here has stated. His breeder also said to just be patient and that pups do not starve themselves. He definitely seems more "poodlely" than "retriever" in so many ways! We will just try not to obsess over this!

[Tamara & Giada]

Ours was the same way and I too was affraid for her. She was under weight, so our vet suggested wet food 3x a day and leave a cup or so of dry out all day. Most of the time she never would finish the wet even, so when she had gained enough we just kept w/ the dry. She still is not a big eater, I wouldn't call it pick because she just will not finish anything unless she is truely hungry.

Leaving the food out for us has been working, now eventually she will eat usually between 7-9 @ night:) I think this is the poodle in them:)

GL:)

[Ali]

Hey no worries! Lola was extremely skinny when I first got her. It just takes a while for them to build a good layer of healthy fat around their bodies. When I first brought Lola home for about a month, she did not eat much, this is pretty normal. They are still small so they don't have the biggest appetite. I would just sit down with her while she ate and pushed her food around with my finger a little to get her interested. This helped a little, and eventually I stopped doing this. I also used her regular food as her training treats instead of giving her something else. This got her more interested in her food. Anything can be a treat, it just depends how excited you are about it.

[Sine]

By the way, Joey's eating a little better now and we just use his kibble during training sessions or to reinforce good behavior which he gobbles right up.