eating?

[Dana]

Our 6 month of old puppy doesn't seem to eat very much.  We used to feed him 3 times a day.. He was not eating his lunch but would eat his breakfast and dinner.  We decided that maybe we should just feed him 2 times.  Now it seems as though he barely eats that.  We only leave his food down for 20-30 minutes and take away.  Is this normal for him to not be eating much?  People says he on the thin side.. but he gets a run or walk everyday.  He poops regularly and has great energy! Answers?!

[Riley girl]

My apologies! I didn't mean to insinuate that she should switch because her puppy may be bored with his food. I thought that since she mentioned that he hasn't been a great eater that he may not like the food. Which is why I asked if he's been on the same food the whole time, maybe a switch caused the change?

If she thinks he likes the food then I agree with the other posters =)

I could tell when Riley didn't care for her food. She wouldn't come running at meal times- just kind of wander into the kitchen, sniff, eat a couple of bites, then walk away. She now runs into the kitchen and scoots her bowl across the room to where the food container is kept!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The problem is, what happens when she decides she doesn't "like" this food? We see it all the time in TFG. The dog loses interest in the current food so the owner starts giving her something else. And that continues until the dog has learned that if she holds out long enough, she might get something "better". We have members who have switched foods a dozen times before the dog reaches her 1st birthday, always looking for that magic food that will keep the dog interested; each new food holds the dog's interest for a while...until it doesn't. 

Dogs don't know that there are all kinds of other foods out there until you show them, lol. If they are hungry, they eat what's in front of them because that's all they know. It's one thing to switch foods because the current food is low quality, but if you are feeding a high quality food, I would not worry about whether or not the dog "likes" it. 

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

R

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My favorite discussion on picky eaters and wanting your dog to "like" his food, from The Food Group:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/an-ode-...

[Riley girl]

Well that was an extreme example!

I heed your warning and promise to never let Riley get that picky =)

I am confident that I have found a food that Riley likes, that also agrees with her digestive system, so I wouldn't switch just because she turns her nose up at it one day (barring any recalls or health concerns)

It was important to me to find a food that Riley actually liked that also met her dietary needs. This is something that she will be eating twice a day for many, many years! Maybe that is considered my applying human emotions to an animal that would eat poop if I let her. But to me she is worth the trouble, and emotion =p

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned, like many other dogs, is not a big eater.  He may skip one or two meals.  He rarely eats when the food is put down, often doesn't eat in the twenty minutes people suggest you leave the food down for, so we used to leave his food down until he did want it (like alone and in the middle of the night).  We have three dogs who usually don't bother each other's food, but since we changed to Orijen  (feeding less per meal), I sometimes find one of the other dogs sneaking in to eat Ned's.  So, Ned's food gets picked up if we aren't monitoring.  We don't double the serving at the next meal to 'make up for what he missed.'  Guess what?  Ned is not underweight and has gained a pound depending upon which scale we use! We are careful to monitor our dogs' weight and use that, as well as their poop and behavior, as a guide to their meal portion.  If they miss a meal, I just chalk it up to good weight control, and wish I did this for my missed meals, but for me, I just chalk it up to getting more dessert!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

My Oliver is not a big eater in the summer time.  I feed my doodles at 6 am and at 6 pm, when its really hot Ollie for the most part only eats one meal a day.  He is 3 yrs old, 10 lbs under weight and healthy as can be.  I spoke to his vet about it and she said he is just fine and not to worry.