5 months and hardly eating :(

[Karen Glassman]

Maggie's always been a grazer, never really going after a bowl of food. She's been eating Fromm Gold Puppy kibble from the beginning, but she's eating less and less and I'm starting to get worried. Lately she's barely been touching it. She has no other symptoms and seems as happy as can be. We don't feed her table scraps, but she does get treats now and then throughout the day.
Can any of you suggest a new food or something to add to her kibble?
Thanks,
Worried Mom

[Karen Glassman]

LOL, I'm not ready to go down that route ;) as much as I'd like to.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Karen, how much are you feeding her and how often? If you are free-feeding, stop. And please read the discussion Cindy linked, it's full of great advice and it's pretty funny as well. 

[Karen Glassman]

Well, I started with 1 cup, that was eons ago. I ocassionally add to it when it's getting low and yes I do wash the dish every few days. As I'm writing this I'm realizing that it's really hard to tell how much she's actually eating. However, I'm pretty sure she's not eating more than 1 cup a day and the package recommends 2 3/8 cup per day for a 5 mo. old weighing 26 lbs!
I did read the discussion =) and I can definitely relate. I haven't really added toppers until today. I'm just really worried because she's not eating. I know, I know... don't worry. But, she's my one and only little Maggie Mae. Darn it, I meant to pick up some plain yogurt to see if that would help and I forgot.
Sheesh, it's hard being the mom.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wouldn't leave food sitting in the dish more than one day. (Another reason not to free-feed, lots of waste.) And the dishes need to be washed every day. There are creatures similar to dust mites called storage mites or cereal mites, that live in dry foods, and they are very allergenic. If you're going to free feed, you really still have to measure out the day's or meal's worth each time and throw away whatever is left sitting at the end of the day. Many dogs find fresh food more appealing, too. But the point of it being hard to tell how much she's eating is a good one. You really do need to keep tabs on her intake. 

[Karen Glassman]

Roger that. Gonna wash her dishes every day now.
Found a good article on storage mites @ https://www.heska.com/Documents/Allergy/Controlling-Storage-Mite-Ex...
Eeek! Another thing to worry about :o

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

I put very little in Enzo's bowl. The bowl may get refilled , handfuls at a time, sometimes 3 times a day, sometimes only twice a day.This way I know how much she is consuming, the bowl gets washed with hot soapy water( we use a stainless steel bowl) and there is no waste.

[Karen Glassman]

Good idea. I don't like throwing it away, it's kinda spendy.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's the thing. As mentioned in the Ode to Sojo's discussion, no matter what you feed her, or what kind of toppings and extras you add, eventually she is going to become disinterested and you are back at square one, looking for more ways to entice her to eat and worrying that she's not getting enough. A normal healthy dog will not starve herself. If the vet thinks she's a good weight, and she has normal puppy energy, she's eating enough.So you have a couple of choices. You can continue with what you're doing, worrying and trying everything under the sun to tempt her to eat, or you can stop the free-feeding, stop the worrying, stop the tempting, and start feeding her just her food at regular scheduled mealtimes. I promise that if you stay with it, it won't take long before she realizes she has to eat when food is available. OR you can keep doing what you're doing and stop worrying, lol. 

Please do read that link. 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Karen ~ just saw this discussion.  You mentioned Maggie is 5 mos old and 26 lbs.  I have two medium ALDs and I was just looking back at Charlie's weight at 5 mos and he was about the same weight as Maggie.  Has your vet said she is too thin?  Sometimes I think we worry too much about whether they are eating or not.  If they are hungry they will eat.  Charlie eats his breakfast and dinner regularly.  Beau on the other hand does not like to eat breakfast and he will only eat about 10 pieces of kibble and then come back t the bowl about 3:30 and finish his breakfast.  Then about 6:30 when we are all eating dinner, he will eat his complete dinner.  In other words, he is eating his daily amount of food in a 3 hours span! Mine are no longer puppies though.  Unless Maggie is underweight, I probably would not worry about it.  Good luck.  

[Karen Glassman]

Linda, that's reassuring to know. Thank you! I just looked at some of your pictures and Maggie looks quite a bit like Charlie did when he was younger =) and Beau is a beauty!
Maggie's gained weight each time we take her to the vet and they aren't concerned. I'm just a worrier.
I'm going to start keeping better track of how much she's really eating and we'll see how it goes.
Thanks.