Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Hi, everyone. I am new to this group; I have an 8 month old australian labradoodle. Ever since I dropped him from 3 meals to 2 he won't eat all his meal. He will eat it if I put the rest of it in his kong! What is this about? Thanks!
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Hmmm....this is a new one for me. Usually, it's the opposite. A dog is getting three feedings a day and isn't finishing the food or is not showing interest in meals, which is a sign to cut the number of feedings to two...more food fewer times a day, with a longer period in between so that the dog has a chance to feel hungry.
Perhaps your doodle doesn't like to (or can't) eat a large amount at one time, and prefers to "graze", eating smaller amounts more often. Some people free feed for this reason. The kong part is puzzling, though.
What food is he eating, and how much are you giving him? Some puppy foods require you to cut back on the amount as the pup gets older.
Maybe some other group members have experienced this with their dogs and will chime in here.
Our Fudge was never a big eater and prefers to graze. I leave their food out most of the day and Vern may eat a little in the afternoon, but they both seem to prefer to eat around dinnertime. Do you put something else in the Kong along with the Kibble? My feeling has always been that they will eat when they are hungry and as long as their weight is good and they are healthy, I would not worry about it. Good luck!!
Thanks! He is a good weight. No, I dont put anything else in the kong with the food but maybe he associates the kong with his treats that I sometimes stuff in it. Its funny really; whatever he doesnt eat from his bowl I just put in his kong for him to eat. Sometimes he eats it right up and sometimes he saves it for a little later. I think it is his way of telling me he really prefers 3 meals! I only became concerned with this when I noticed bad behavior towards dinner time. (I assumed he was very hungry as he didnt eat all his breakfast) His behavior would improve after I fed him. Is this a concern or am I letting him call the shots!
Riley who is now nine months has been on two meals per day since he was seven months old and like your doodle wouldn't complete his meals. I got a bit worried and started adding toppers, cooked minced beef or a tablespoon of yoghurt. It was a phase that lasted over a month and I just stopped worrying as he was perfectly healthy. I think there is a slowing down of growth at some point. In the last two weeks Riley has taken to finishing every last bit in his bowl and now I don't even add the toppers at every meal though I do spoil him often with the cooked minced beef because I think he deserves lots of spoiling! I am very careful with treats and he only gets antlers or dried turkey hearts (yuk, but safe) or a piece of apple or carrot.
I can share the approach that I use, and it works really well for both of my dogs. I know that there may be others who will not agree with this, but for me it has been very successful in lots of ways. I consider food to be an ultimate form of reward and affection. So, my guys "earn" every meal. Most times that just means that they have to remain in a down/stay outside the kitchen while I prepare their food. They can watch, but they can't break the stay. When the food is ready, I call them, they sit and wait for a minute and then I put the food down. If they don't eat it then, I take the dish away and they have to wait until their next meal...no treats in between. It's their choice...but they know it's now or not for several more hours. With this approach my guys eagerly eat their meals....they're excited because they've had to wait and "do something" to get it. Once in a while, Guinness will decide not to eat, and he waits till the next meal, but that's very rare. Murph eats every drop in his dish.
Ladies, what is the recommended age to switch the puppy from 3 to 2 meals? I read different things on the food bags and the breeder told me to free feed her. The ziwipeak bag says 3 meals up to 1 year, so I am still at 3, but I am wondering sometimes as Zoe does not finish some of her meals or skips one. If I leave the food she does not eat, she will eventually finish it by the end of the day :) But at daycare/boarding I need to tell them to feed her a given number of meals per day (if she does not eat they put it in a ziplock, they can't leave it for her to eat it later as we do home) and I have been telling then 3, I am wondering if that is not too much...
At some point, usually by 6 months of age, earlier for smaller dogs and later for dogs who are going to be large, the puppy begins to leave food in his bowl or not be interested in eating at the midday meal, and that's usually one sign that he's ready to be switched to two meals. They are usually switched to 2 meals well before one year. But there wouldn't be any way to see that with free-feeding. I'm curious as to why your breeder recommends that; the only reason I can think of is if there are too many dogs to feed them allat regular two or three times a day intervals, so the food bowls are just filled and left out.
How old is Zoe?
Karen, thank you - Zoe is 10 months old now. You are right about the free feeding at the breeder - she told me labradoodles will not eat more than they need... she recommended me free feeding Zoe from the beginning. You may recall Zoe is very food picky, but the breeder did not know if her dogs are picky or not because they always had free access to food. I am guessing none of them ever got fat by eating more than the others :) with one dog it's easy to see if she skips meals or does not eat much...
I have to laugh at the statement " labradoodles will not eat more than they need " ! Um, anybody ever see a Labrador who would pass up food? All dogs are different, and there are many many labradoodles who will eat until they explode if given the chance.
Free-feeding can actually lead to a picky eater, because if food is always available, it becomes uninteresting. One way to get a picky eater to start eating is to pick up the food bowls after 20 minutes, and they soon learn that if they skip a meal, they will not have access to food for many hours, so they start eating when they have the chance.
I'd stop the free-feeding; start with three meals a day until she's used to having regular mealtimes and then cut to two. At ten months, she's old enough. I think you'll see an improvement in her eating.
I have some questions that kind of go with this thread. Charlie is not that interested in food either. I hope it is OK if I piggy back the questions here.
I'm feeding Charlie (4mo old) Orijen Puppy 2x per day. The vet said to drop her to two meals since she was not finishing any of the 3 meals. I am following Karen's advice about taking the food away after 20 minutes. Today she actually finished all her food at dinner. I think she finally realized it would not be around later. :) I read somewhere that when you finish a 30 pound bag are you supposed to switch to a different flavor, something about different types of protein or vitamins or something - I can't remember. Is this true? If you are switching flavors within the same brand do you have to switch slowly or since it is the same company / protein content can you just switch. Orijen only has one puppy formula - the others say 'All life stages'. Do you think it is better to keep them on puppy food, how long do they stay on it?
Sorry for so many questions!
Keep her on the puppy food. Rotating formulas with each bag is a good practice, but that's for later, after she's on adult food, or in cases where a puppy is on an ALS formula, at about the point where her skeletal growth is complete, which for standards is 9-12 months old and 6-8 months for smaller dogs. As you mentioned, Orijen has only one puppy formula, so stay with that until you switch to the adult formula, and then you can rotate formulas. At that point, the dog's digestive system is usually mature and healthy enough to handle changes in proteins without a gradual transition.
The reason for rotating proteins is that it supposedly helps prevent a dog from developing food allergies down the line. It's a newer philosophy, so who really knows if it's true, but variety is important in a dog's diet, just as it in ours.
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