Is she being picky?

[Renee Hacker]

OK, I'll admit it, when I saw some of you post about your picky Doodles I though to myself "that will never be us...Lily devours her food".  And she did.  Until recently.  She's been on Blue Buffalo puppy chicken & rice for months and months.  One day she suddenly wasn't interested in her food anymore.  Nothing had changed at all.  She wasn't sick.  No meds.  She eventually got around to eating, but wasn't not at all excited.  This is a dog who used to come running the minute she heard the dog food container open.  I was planning to move her to Fromm eventually so we'd have more protein options down the road so I thought "ok, she's bored I'll switch her now".  Did the 1 week switch over.  Adding the Fromm to the BB made her eat again (not with excitement, but at least right when I put the bowl down) so I thought the switch would do the trick.  Now that we are on Fromm (chicken ala veg) 100% she's ignoring her food again.  She didn't finish her breakfast today and I eventually picked it up and threw it away after lunchtime.  So is she just being picky?  Do I ride it out?  Any suggestions to get her more interested in eating again?  She's not underweight..she's 62 lbs.  I've been feeding her 3 cups a day, broken into a morning and an evening meal.  This is completely foreign to me because she was SO into her food before that she's almost like a different dog.  She's otherwise acting completely normal.

[Sally Lehman]

I am no expert at all, but you might want to try a teaspoon of nonfat plain yogurt. Not only do most dogs like the taste, but it is also good for their digestion.it has the healthy bacteria in it which is really good for their system. My dog loves it!also, if you are just giving her dry kibble, she might like a little bit of wet food mixed in. That is what we give our dog.

[Joan Bollaert]

Is she teething?  Maybe her guns hurt?.   

[Renee Hacker]

Hmm...I don't think she's teething, but I can check that easy enough.  I have done the yogurt and she does like it.  I don't mind doing that on a continuing basis if I have to.  I'd rather not go down the canned food route if I don't have to.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's doubtful that Lily is teething at 9 months of age. Most likely, her growth has slowed down and her appetite along with it, which is perfectly normal. Check the feeding guidelines on the Fromm food to be sure you aren't overfeeding, although it doesn't sound like you are. By 9 months of age, most doodles are close to finished with skeletal growth.

If her energy levels are the same, and there are no symptoms of illness (nausea, vomiting, stool issues, etc) I wouldn't worry or try to get her to eat more. It's normal for them to go through phases like this. 

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Our Gracie Doodle was a chow hound the first year or so and after that she would nibble her breakfast through out the day finishing it around 4:00 and then would slowly eat her dinner around 7:00.  She never has been a fast eater nor motivated to eat except when she was a puppy.  She just is not food motivated.  My DH started switching around her food which would get her interested for a few days and then back to the same old care less behavior.  When we started adding frozen cut green beans warmed in the microwave to her food she came alive and now loves her food again.  Some dogs are very food motivated and others are not.  They WILL eat if they are hungry!!!  Try adding a 1/2 cup of frozen cut green beans to her kibble.  She will either love it or hate it.  

[Janice Jones]

Just love the frozen microwaveable veggies, especially the green beans! I buy them when they are on "special" and my dog loves them with his meal or even as a treat.........not me, I would rather chocolate for my treat :-)

[Renee Hacker]

Yes, the vet doesn't expect her to grow much more. The Fromm website recommends 3-1/4 to 4-1/4 cups per day for a dog Lilys size. So I'm already feeding on the low end. She is still FULL of energy and shows no sign of being sick so I guess maybe her appetite is just slowing down. We don't give her many treats during the day so I don't think she's filling up on that kind of stuff. She ate almost all her dinner tonight (no surprise since she didn't finish her breakfast). I added some yogurt and then she ate the rest. I guess we'll just stick with what we're doing as it sounds like its nothing to be worried about.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned was interested in food as a puppy then as uninterested as possible while still healthy. We never even measured how much we fed him because he never ate it all. He skipped meals etc.  We switched food this past fall because one of our other dogs was ill and we wanted to feed him the very best food we could.  Suddenly Ned's interest in food came alive.  He began to love his food and we had to measure his portions.  After months of this, he settled into waiting a bit and then eating the entire meal (Ned has always liked to eat when alone).  We periodically switch back to our old food and Ned still eats.  It is like his food interest switch was on as a pup then off until he was 5 1/2 and then on again.  Go figure....