Why does he do this? (food - lack of interest)

[Rachel and Ollie]

So, Ollie has never really cared about food. He loves his treats, but doesn't care about meal times...he will go a few days without eating much and then clean his bowl for a day or two. Once in a while he will  forget to eat or just not realize he's hungry (I'm not really sure) and throw up because of an empty stomach. 

Why does he do this? Is this normal? 

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

My Ollie went thru a period last summer where he could care less about food.  I was throwing away so much food, it seemed once the weather turned cold his appetite came back and he was fine.  He was 1 yr old last year and will be 2 on Saturday, I don't know whether his age had anything to do with it but this summer his appetite is normal.  Maybe your Ollie does not like his food?  I put different toppers on both my doodles food, it is just a couple of table spoonfull of either warmed liver, chicken, salmon, I mix it into their kibble and they inhale it :)

[Rachel and Ollie]

I bet the heat has something to do with it. It's a bajillion degrees in Texas and I'm not too hungry either. I thought it might be that he didn't like it, so I just recently switched (last week) and he was so excited and loved it...for like 3 days lol He does like green beans, and I think I may try some other fresh toppers. 

[Becka]

Sadie is not that interested in her food either. She is supposed to eat three and a half cups but many days it's closer to three and some days even less. The vet says she's the perfect weight, she has tons of energy, she loves treats--so I'm not worried about it at all. To me this is much better than if she inhaled her food as soon as I put it down and begged for more. If Ollie is healthy I don't think you need to worry.

[Rachel and Ollie]

Ya, he seems totally fine. I just think it so odd that he will forget that he is hungry. weird pup.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

That really never happens with Guinness, but Murph goes through phases where he's less interested in eating.  He always eats part of his meal, but doesn't always finish it.  He's actually been like this the last few days which I'm thinking is because he's getting less exercise with the heat.

[Rachel and Ollie]

The heat could totally be a part of it, that and my week has been the busiest of my career, so I come home exhausted and he is not getting the exercise he needs...it's really hard to walk in 100 degree weather. I just can't handle the heat. 

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Cubbie used to be like that.  Our trainer suggested doing some obedience training with him before setting his bowl down so he was working for his food.  That helped a bit.  We also put his food in a treat ball from time to time.  When he wouldn't eat his breakfast, I used to give him a small treat and then he would trot right to his bowl and eat his food.  I only did this because I didn't want to come home from work to a bile stain on my carpet.  The thing that has helped most though, is having Ollie around.  Cubbie now goes right to his bowl pretty much every time.  Ollie will eat anything at any time so I'm not sure if Cubbie is just following his example or if he is worried that Ollie might try to eat his food, but either way he now eats without any trouble.

[Rachel and Ollie]

It's funny, I think Ollie is like this too. I know when he has visited Knox, he eats like a horse!

[Leslie J]

Cocoa is the same way.  She just isn't into dog food.  She'll skip meals, too- but she has a very sensitive stomach and if she doesn't eat regularly she throws up when she finally does.  Now I mix a little of something yummy in with her kibble twice a day and it seems that once she eats the yummy stuff it inspires her to eat more.  I also have her sit and wait while I put the food out to remind her that it's mealtime. She still isn't a big eater but she has learned to eat at least twice a day (I leave kibble out for her to nosh whenever she wants).

[Robyn, Greg and Snickers]

Snicks was like this when he was a puppy. Vet suggested we stir in a little bit of canned food we do this and THEN sprinkle it with Carnivore Crunch which is little balls of freeze dried meat. He has never had a problem since. Also he only gets 15 Min to eat if it is not finished we pick the bowl up put the remaining kibble (because he always eats the good stuff first) in a ziplock and serve it wih his dinner. 

[Rachel and Ollie]

Ollie has always had a sensitive tummy too. I switched to grain free wondering if maybe that would help, but nope he still ignores the food (on some days). Mixing in things seems to help him too. 

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I have a cat that does this, and the other 2 cats will eat her food if i dont watch them and take it away. She will often eat a mouthful, walk away, then maybe come back for another mouthful. I think she would keep going back throughout the day and graze if she could but she cant because of the other 2 cats, and the fact that its raw meat. She does the same with canned and kibble.  I have tried switching food, giving her a variety but non of it makes any difference. She is much worse in the summer... but although she seems to weigh nothing (compared to her overweight 15lb litter mate and my loooong 15lb siamese) her weight must be ok because I cannot feel her ribs. As long as she looks ok I try not to worry. And if she starts to get a bit chunky in winter, i let her because i know she will need to burn the fat in summer when she doesnt eat. this winter she didnt gain weight though