Puppy not eating very much. I could use some advice

[Yvonne, Riley, Murphy and Luca]

I brought Riley home on Sunday and he is really not eating much at his 3 meals. I read the side of the bag and it says he should be eating 2 and half cups of food a day. I spread that out over 3 meals and put water in the bowl to soften the food but still he only eats a tiny amount. He does drink all the water out of the bowl so I figure he was getting a lot of the nutrition from that.

Is this normal when you bring a puppy home?

[Renee]

When we brought Taffy home she didn't eat that much either. By the third day she was eating great, so maybe you will see a change in her today. We didn't soften the food and she liked it that way. Good Luck

[Margot]

Riley, you are very cute! Yes, I agree this is normal.... Jennings picked at food for WEEKS. When they are hungry, they'll let you know. Is it the same food he was eating at the breeder? Something I still do now (and Jennings is 10 months) when he isn't into his food for a while is hide a little treat at the bottom of the bowl, while saying "good food" the whole time he eats. As long as Riley is drinking water, I think you're good! Woof.....

[Yvonne, Riley, Murphy and Luca]

Yes, same food she was feeding him. At lunch today he really ate a lot of what I gave him.

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

Abby was a fussy eater too - and I do what they say you shouldn't do. I leave her food out all day and let her graze. I have started making her homemade food as well, and she gets that at supper time just so I know she has a full tummy for her last meal of the day. That, she gobbles up and leaves NONE behind. You could also buy some chicken broth - unsalted - and pour some of that over the kibble to coax him to eat more. I figured she would sleep better through the night if she had a full tummy. I never added water to the kibble tho. She is 4 1/2 months old now and she eats all of her 3 cups of kibble and she gets another cup of homemade food. (and she is by no means heavy - I wish I could get her to eat more, she is growing so fast that it's hard putting meat on her bones - I just figure that she will eventually fill out) There are homemade recipes in the "Food Group" group if you want to take a look. I make it once every couple of weeks and freeze it in baggies. It's a lot cheaper than buying a quality canned food. I tried many different brands of food also - luckily Atlas Pet Supply lets you exchange bags of dog food if your dog doesn't like a particular brand. I wasn't stuck with lots of different bags of food. It's all trial and error.....

[2hl9mp3c2fuam]

I would say it is normal for now. Any drastic change to a puppy/dog can change their eating habits.

[Yvonne, Riley, Murphy and Luca]

That is what I was thinking too, but I just thought I would ask. He did eat his lunch better, and he is starting to explore his surroundings more today too.

[Yvonne, Riley, Murphy and Luca]

I agree the 3 times a day feedings are hard with work. I am about to feed him dinner and hopefully he eats as much as he did at lunch. We played alot outside in the snow today and in the house so he should be hungry.

[Ginny Nightingale]

My experience is that the amount on the bag is much more than any of my dogs ever ate--I'm sure he is fine. You may want to do something I heard a vet suggest on a radio talk show today. She said to put down the food and give them 2 minutes to eat it then remove it. That way, they will learn to eat at once and not pick at it over a period of time. Of course, maybe your dog doesn't do that...I just thought i'd mention it.

[Mommy2Max]

I did this with Max.

Max is a picky eater and has never eaten more than two meals a day. I found this thread because he has suddenly become interested in eating once a day! He is 18 weeks old and I think too young for once a day feeding. Anyway...I digress....

He was free fed with his Mother so when I took him home, he had to get used to eating twice a day. He felt no urgency in eating since there always was food out for him. I witheld food one day from two feedings to one feeding. That is all it took. He understood the food would go down and then bye-bye so, he better eat when he got the chance. That solved that problem.

Now, I have the new problem of him not interested in breakfast.

~Danielle

[Deena Womack]

I think the new enviroment and the surroundings may have thrown him off. I am no expert at this but I think once he gets more comfortable he will figure it out and will eat on a schedule.

We also only feed Cali twice a day as many have already said due to work schedules and it works out fine. And she knows when she is supposed to eat, she doesn't let us forget.