Help! Charlie has stopped gobbling his food and now grazes.

[Samantha & Charlie]

I have no clue what has happened but in the last week, Charlie (6 months) now picks at his food. Before this issue, he was fed in the AM and PM and would gobble his kibble up. He is also on Acana Grasslands. I cannot change the food brand because I have finally found one that will not upset his tummy (he has been on Great Life and Fromm before Acana).

 

I don't know what to do. I don't know if I should pull the food if he doesn't eat it, keep it there all day, or add toppings. I want him to be on a feeding schedule, as it works better for my schedule and I can keep track of when he needs to go outside. I also am hesitant to add toppings because I don't want him to think he will always get that just because he isn't eating his food. However, if I have to do that in order to keep him on a scheduled feeding, then I may have to. I use to add water to his food but have since stopped since it will now just spoil the kibble, so now he is just eating it dry.

 

Suggestions? I am waiting on the vet to call me back about this but would like your thoughts.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's possible that Charlie's growth has slowed down and he simply isn't as hungry as he was before. If his energy levels are normal, and he isn't showing any signs of illness, I would start giving him 15-20 minutes to eat and then taking the food away until the next mealtime. I would definitely not leave it down for him to graze. If he doesn't eat his breakfast, he'll be very hungry by dinnertime and will probably gobble up his dinner. It shouldn't take more than a couple of days to get him back on schedule.

You might also consider trying one of the other Acana Regionals formulas.  Rotating the formulas from one bag to another often helps keep them interested in their food. The macronutrient percentages are similar from one formula to another within the Regionals line, so unless he has a sensitivity to a particular protein, he shouldn't have any digestive issues from one of the other formulas. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Luca used to graze and it was fine with me. But since Calla will eat his food he only has access to it when I am able to supervise. Now he often doesn't eat anything till dinner time. He likes to eat when I am home. Yesterday I was out for dinner, so even though his food was in his crate he didn't,t eat a morsel of it until about 10:30 PM. Sometimes he eats it all, sometimes he leaves a little. It,s fine with me.

[Joan Bollaert]

I guess I'm a believer of if the dog gets hungry enough , he'll eat.   If other foods upset his stomach, than just stick with what you've got.  I'd stick with your schedule and not mess with it if it's convenient for you.   Unless he's losing weight and is lethargic from not eating, I wouldn't go crazy trying all sorts of yummy things, cooking for him and changing foods.   I think if you start with the food toppings he'll expect that all the time and not eat just what's there in the first place. Like children if you serve them candy and ice cream for meals they will tend to ignore the food you want them to eat.  I'm no expert....just my opinion on food issues and dogs.

[Robin & Josie]

No expert here either, but Josie has never been one to gobble her food. When she was very young, I didn't leave her food out for grazing because, as you say, I needed to know when she had to go out.

Now, however, that she is older (7 months, although I believe I've been doing this for at least a month), I put the appropriate portion in her dish in the morning and just leave it out all day. She often will only eat one portion a day. On a particularly active day (like going to day care), I will put a topping on to entice her to eat a meal before she goes and she'll eat most of it, and she's usually pretty hungry when she gets back at the end of the day.

Otherwise, she eats a little at a time, all day long. She often, oddly, eats right before we go to bed. At this age, it doesn't seem to affect her potty needs. Even when she eats at bedtime, she's fine to wait until morning to poop.

The caveat here is that we only have one dog, so we don't have to worry about about anyone else coming by and usurping her kibble. She also NEVER inhales her food, so that is not an issue either. She's also very small (12 lbs.)

Bottom line is: if she's hungry, she eats. I wish I could eat the way she does :) She's active and growing appropriately. I wonder if it's just the individual dog? I also wonder if Charlie is done with his big growth spurt. Our vet told us that they slow down big time after the first 6 months. Lastly, our breeder told us that none of their dogs are big eaters - more grazers (after the initial puppy stage), so maybe it's hereditary?

Anyway, don't know if any of that was helpful - just sharing.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Joan, I agree completely. 

[Joan Bollaert]

Whew!   I feel honored and so smart now (LOL) because I know that you (Karen) know so much about this kind of thing.  Im relieved to know that my opinion/advice was valid as I did hesitate to say anything at all.  :)   

[Lynda Kamrath]

I'm afraid that many foods have been changed.  It is all about the money these days, you know.  My dog was sick last week from eating crap (literally) on the trail and did not want to eat.  He was drinking lots of water and perked up when he got to go for another walk, but again was eating crap on the trail.  On Saturday we took him to the vet and they wanted to run lots of blood work, but we just said to give us some meds to get him back to his normal self.   He was started on antibiotics (metronidazole), sucralfate as a slurry, and injected with a hydration pack.  In a day he was back to his normal self but we have to keep the meds up for a week.  Sunday, we again took him out but he stayed on leash all day and was not allowed to browse the trails.  These dogs!  First Harpo needs to be on leash so he doesn't get in the poison oak and now Groucho Too needs to be on leash so he doesn't eat things on the trail.  He also has a muzzle, but he really resists wearing that.  So muzzles, leashes, halters.  Gads, these dogs can't be dogs anymore.  Also, I buy meat at the supermarket to cook for my dogs although I am basically vegetarian.  Then you have to worry about if they are getting all the nutrition they need from meat.  What to do with these dogs? 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

The things we do for our dogs, Lynda!  I can't imagine cooking meat when you are a vegetarian.  It must be very yucky to you.