Not interested in food

[Heather Martinez]

Sorry for the super long question! Teddy is an F1 male goldendoodle, almost 8 months old, and until recently has been eating Purina One large breed puppy food. He always snarfled down his food, he ate so fast that we fed him out of Kong balls for months to slow him down.

We switched him to a bowl around 5 months but he was still excited to eat and ate all the food immediately. Around 7 months, he stopped being excited about his food. A toy could easily distract him and he'd leave the rest for later.

After looking for advice here, I realized Purina One was not a good choice and switched him to Acana Wild Prarie brand. He loved it at first, ate it all up immediately. Then he stopped eating it right away. He gets 1.5 cups twice a day (7 am & 5 pm).

He does always finish the food by the next morning. However, he's going sometimes all day without eating and only finishing it in the evening, which worries me, as he plays very hard during his morning walk. Sometimes he'll eat half the food if I hand feed it to him. He's also lost interest in treats (venison & sweet potato "milk bones"). I used to give him banana and yogurt in Kongs but I've stopped that because I don't want him to fill up on it.

Teddy weighs 45 lbs now and his growth has slowed down (he's expected to get to 50 or 55 lbs). So my question is... is this normal? Should I change his feeding schedule? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Teddy has completed his skeletal growth recently, so it's natural for his metabolism to slow down a bit and for him to be less hungry.

The heat may also be affecting his appetite. It's been in the high 90s here this week, and JD has not been eating anything until dinnertime, either. He usually eats his breakfast the minute it hits the bowl.

I would leave his feeding schedule alone. As long as he seems alert and active, he's fine. make sure he always has fresh drinking water and don't worry. They do go through periodic changes in their eating habits.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Luca often eats erratically but usually finishes his food, if I protect it from Calla,  by morning. I don't worry about it. The heat certainly may have an effect too. Right now I have a half time job keeping water bowls filled : )

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

ditto to the other responses.  I would only question it if he was sluggish or was acting off.

[Heather Martinez]

Thanks for the advice, everyone :) I'll keep his schedule the same and try not to worry too much!

[Ozzy Bob and Leanna]

Our F1 "Mini" Goodledoodle is almost 8 months old too.  And weighs 42.8 lbs. (Kinda large for a mini,huh?)  For about a month now, he has slowed down on his eating.  Still eating good, but not as interested as he once was. As a pup he would eat so fast I worried about him getting choked!   I think this process of not being as interested is normal as they get older.  As long as he plays and acts like he feels good, I wouldn't worry about him.   Our doodle loves all kinds of fruit as snacks.  From apples, oranges, watermelon, and cantelope.  You might try giving him some fruit too.  Just love him and try not to worry.  He's just growing up!

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

I noticed Bexter isn't quite eating as much as he has been either.  The heat theory does make sense.  He seems more willing to eat when I put a little water in it.  I'm wondering if his teeth are hurting him.  Has Teddy lost all his baby teeth?  Could that be it?

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

When Luna was teething sometimes I put water in with her food, which made her more interested in it. She went almost a full day a couple times without eating much - but then she regained her appetite.

 

The vet cleared adding water to the food (she was underweight at 3 months) saying that adding water is a better alternative than mixing other things with her food. 

 

As long as your pup is acting normal (playing hard and napping hard!) then I'm sure everything is fine!

 

 

[Susan & Ginger]

Ginger, our 4 year old goldendoodle, did the same thing. I would buy a 17-20 pound bag of food for her, and by the time we got to the bottom of it, she would just stop eating it. I had to switch from one to another, always the same problem. Then I decided to try Blue Buffalo chicken and rice (large breed), and she LOVES that one! It was a little more expensive, but I noticed she eats less than a cup twice daily, so it lasts quite a long time for her. It has been a year now and she is still eating it without my having to add "special ingredients" to make it taste better.