Still not eating well after being fed a bland diet

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

I'm sorry to sound like a broken record but we are still having trouble with yeti not eating. We fully switched over to wellness puppy a couple of days ago. I thought this would be the answer to our prayers. Unfortunately it hasn't been. He sniffs his bowl grabs a mouth full and drops most of it on the floor. Sniffs around the floor, maybe picks up the peices he dropped then lays down. Gets back up eventually and then the process repeats. If I let it go on like this, it could take him 30 + minutes to eat which I know that's a no no. We have been trying the "tough love" technique since Saturday or Sunday with no change (giving him 10 minutes to eat then taking it away).
He gets a 1 1/4 cup of wellness puppy morning and evening. He eats anywhere from 3/4-1 cup in the morning. I give the left overs to him on top of his usual dinner. He eats even less of that because of the additional from breakfast.
He is very happy and seemingly healthy. Drinks a a lot and has so much energy. I'm just worried that at 5 months old, he isn't getting enough calories for the day.
I didn't realize you weren't supposed to give him treats throughout the day. (This completely makes sense but I totally spaced it) we are in the middle of training so his not eating right puts a damper on that.

Starting tomorrow we will stop giving him treats during the day until he eats all of his food. Should this process be taking this long? Am I over reacting? Is it possible that his teeth are bothering him. We have found 3 and think he's swolled a couple more within the last week.

I'm at my wits end. If anyone has a success story please please share! I need hope ☺️

[Susan and Bentley]

I would not worry at all, which I know is hard NOT to do.  Bentley never ate and I used to worry also.  I stopped taking the bowl away and just let him eat when he wanted to.  He would graze and at 3+ years still does.  He is supposed to get 1/2 cup of food 2x a day and he usually eats less than 1/2 1x a day.  He also never eats in the morning, only late afternoon and evening.  He is not only healthy, he could probably lose a lb or 2.  He was very picky with food.  I've always used Earthborn Holistic and tried different flavors and finally settled on lamb, which he seems to like a little better than the other flavors we used.  It's also better on his belly because it has less protein than some of the other flavors.  It's hard not to worry but if Yeti is happy and healthy then he'll eat when he's hungry, he will not starve himself.  Good luck!!!

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

If he is happy, healthy, growing and energetic, I wouldn't worry that he isn't getting enough calories. I would keep up with the "tough love" of limiting the amount of time he gets to eat, and back off on the treats. Or, use the kibble for treats. We have done that with Winnie in the past.

Human toddlers go through the same stages- sometimes they barely eat anything and still they manage to grow and flourish! :-)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Which Wellness puppy formula are you using? I like Core way better than Complete Health, and they don;t need to eat as much. 

When you pick up the leftover food from breakfast, it needs to either go back in the food container or be tossed out. And don't add extra to the dinner meal. 

Teething could certainly be playing a role.

I agree with the others. I know it's hard, but if he's energetic and happy, he's eating enough. Try not to worry and keep on with what you're doing.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you all for the replys! It's concerning to me because he was eating SO WELL before he got sick. I know he's being a picky dood now however, it has gotten very hot here in WI and I know people say their doodles are less hungry in the heat. He is also teething. So there are a couple of new factors that he wasn't experiencing before he got sick.
Thank you al so so much for your kind words and encouragement. We will stick to the tough love! We so badly don't want him to be a grazer but I know that can be a poodle thing.
Karen -- we are feeding him the complete health puppy. I didn't realize there was a core puppy. They did not have it at the store so I'm looking for it on chewy right now. Probably a dumb question but will I need to wein him onto the core puppy or no because it's still wellness brand.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's really not about the brand, it's about the micronutrient profile and the ingredients. Remind me what he was eating before the Wellness? 

I think he'll be more excited about the Core too, it's grain free.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

I see! He was on purina pro plan recommended by the breeder and vet! We started transitioning him to wellness complete health puppy last week and he has been on that completely since I do believe Sunday.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Try transitioning him to Core, but if he seems to be trying to pick out only the Core, go ahead and cold turkey him. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Wonderful! I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed he takes to it well. If he is still being picky and doesn't eat it all in the allotted time, can we use left over food for training purposes? We're working heavily with him on come and I would like to keep up with his training even if he isn't eating right.

Also just out of curiosity, do you know what air dried means? I saw it online when I was searching for core puppy. Obviously I'm not going to get it, just curious as to what it was.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's a method of preparing the food that avoids the use of extremely high temperatures to preserve more of the nutrients. 

http://brands.wellnesspetfood.com/core/air-dried

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Ah I see! Very interesting :)

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

I picked up a bag of wellness core puppy this afternoon!
This morning he got his usual 1 & 1/4 cup of wellness complete health and only ate about 1/2. Mixed in 1/4th cup of core to his dinner and he ate it all in under 10 minutes! Not getting too excited yet but I'm very happy and thankful for your suggestion!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's a good start. :)