She won't eat ALL her food!!!!
She does not eat all at once. She's a "picker"--eats some, leaves and goes back for a few more bites. I leave it down about 20 minutes. And she rarely eats it all. She is almost 8 months old and about 60 pounds. Should I be concerned? In the morning, can I "save" her food and give it to her at night? I have been throwing it away and BOY!!! I am wasting alot of food!!! Any help...very welcomed and appreciated!!!!! Thanks ALL!!!!! |
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| Maybe she doesn't like the texture of the dry, have you tried soaking it? |
tried soaking...switching....heating....everything.....  |
| Why are you concerned?
She is eating the amount that she wants, not the amount that you have predetermined she needs. If she is a healthy weight I would not try to get her to eat more. Rather than worry a about "saving it" I would put less in her dish, if she gobbles that and wants more give it to her. Very few dogs eat the exact same amount every day. They eat according to what they need. |
How much are you feeding her? Whatever it is, feed her a quarter cup less so there's less to throw out  With a picky eater, I'd suggest not leaving her food down, but you're already not doing that, so she's just not that hungry. Young dogs will go through periods like that, though I've never seen it in a bitch before as all of mine inherited the pig gene.
Bigger question is how does she feel? If she's in good weight, then why worry? Kristine |
I would just give her the dry kibble. She will eat when she is hungry. My yorkie is a terror. She sometimes sniffs it and walk away after half an hour it gets picked up and doesnt go down again until the next meal. Then it gets eaten and I get a lot of glares and "mum is starving me" looks. Just move it and give he it at next meal. Hang on I will send Summer round she has not been known to refuse anything yet...  |
| If she's not underweight, she's probably just getting more food than she needs... she's content with what she's eaten. I wouldn't try to encourage her to eat more if she's at a healthy weight. You want a controlled weight gain and growth rate in growing puppies... it may also help to prevent hip problems.
Quote: In the morning, can I "save" her food and give it to her at night? I have been throwing it away and BOY!!!
If one of ours doesn't finish a meal (rarely... we've got the pig gene here too), we throw it out and start fresh with the next meal. I agree... simply feed a little less until you get to just the right amount. If she's much more active one day, boost that meal a bit. Keep tabs on her weight to be sure she's staying at a good weight for her. |
| I throw it out since Miss Picky won't eat it the second time. Actually around here I have two who don't care.......so I'll store the left overs in the frig and serve to either of the food hounds later in the day.
With one dog, feed less, serve more if necessary--one Tablespoon at a time. She may be a fussy eater forever. Paige was La Prima Donna when it came to food. She challenged me from the first day she arrived. As a result she was never overweight, she knew what she wanted and how much....I just had to figure it out. |
| Tasker's Mom:
Quote: Why are you concerned?
I guess I'm worried because I have read many threads about how much puppies eat (2-3 cups per meal) and since Heart is eating only about 3 cups per day---it concerned me that Heart should be eating more.... She is very happy, has alot of energy, is healthy I will, of course, begin to feed her less. I just wanted to check to make sure I was doing the right thing.... |
| My two don't eat all thier food either. They often leave as much as a half bowl, but sometimes as little as a few pieces of kibble. But I'm not all that worried; I think I'd worry MORE if they were wolfing down every morsel. Instead I like to think they are eating their fill and leaving the rest; a trait that is unusual in dogs, I understand. I mentioned it to the vet, and she was impressed that my two only eat thier fill and don't over eat.
I also try to take some other factors into account; on "puppy class" night, I'm sure they fill up on training treats; its why I give them meat to train with and not treats made with alot of junk. I know its going to substitute for a good portion of thier "dinner". Also I noticed that if I give them a Nylabone to have for the day, they eat substantially less. On the odd occassion, they will blow through thier whole bowl of food in record time. When they do this, I give them a little more and figure we are coming into a growth spurt. |
| When I feed canned, I feed it separate from the dry so if it doesn't all get eaten, I can easily save it for later. However, if you're using it to entice eating, that probably won't work. If you're trying to get her more interested, try putting a little parmesan cheese on top of the food. I think barney1 mentioned doing that for Barney and I tried it for Lucy (the most finicky dog in the world) and it helped increase her interest a lot. Lucy has severe cognitive dysfunction syndrome as well and has a hard time eating without wandering off but the strong smell of the parmesan seems to help draw her back. It's been a godsend lately for us! |
sheepieshake wrote: Tasker's Mom:
Quote: Why are you concerned? I guess I'm worried because I have read many threads about how much puppies eat (2-3 cups per meal) and since Heart is eating only about 3 cups per day---it concerned me that Heart should be eating more.... She is very happy, has alot of energy, is healthy I will, of course, begin to feed her less. I just wanted to check to make sure I was doing the right thing.... Okay; my two have NEVER eaten that much! They get a cup of dry at Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. That's three cups over the course of the whole day, each. The vet recommended to me recently to cut out the wet, as one is having some digestion issues. But she also told me that if you follow the guidelines on the food packaging, its TOO MUCH food; the pet food companies want you to over feed so that they can sell more. Why not ask your vet how much Heart should have? It might help you to feel better. |
ButtersStotch wrote: When I feed canned, I feed it separate from the dry so if it doesn't all get eaten, I can easily save it for later. However, if you're using it to entice eating, that probably won't work. If you're trying to get her more interested, try putting a little parmesan cheese on top of the food. I think barney1 mentioned doing that for Barney and I tried it for Lucy (the most finicky dog in the world) and it helped increase her interest a lot. Lucy has severe cognitive dysfunction syndrome as well and has a hard time eating without wandering off but the strong smell of the parmesan seems to help draw her back. It's been a godsend lately for us!
Wow; thats a great idea! I might try the parmesan. I have a freeze dried chicken liver treat that my girls love, but when we finish the bag there's always a ton of "crumbs" at the bootom. I have been saving and sprinkling those on the food to entice them to eat as well. |
sheepieshake wrote: Tasker's Mom:
Quote: Why are you concerned? I guess I'm worried because I have read many threads about how much puppies eat (2-3 cups per meal) and since Heart is eating only about 3 cups per day---it concerned me that Heart should be eating more.. My youngest eat 1.5 cups x 2 a day. They may have eaten 2 x 2cups for a time when they were younger,, and I may play with that a little based on what kind of shape they're in etc, but I can't imagine feeding a girlie girl like Heart 3 x 2 cups a day. Especially since you're feeding quality kibble as I recall. Smart girl not to stuff herself. Mine will happily eat themselves into a stupor
Kristine |
| Thanks for the advice...especially ButtersStotch... I will try BOTH methods separation and the parm cheese..
When I said I have to throw most of it away...I mean MOST...so although I put 1 1/2 cups in and the canned..she may eat a cup at the most. I know she is still growing and needs the "fuel" so as a worrywart, I am concerned she is not getting enuff....
Pearl has always been my finicky one...she never ate all her food...UNTIL Heart came..now she wolfs it down in 5 minutes!!! Maybe I need to get another puppy so HEART will do the same....(NOT!) |
| If she's not too fat and not too skinny, I wouldn't worry... you need to evaluate each dog individually. Each has different calorie requirements based on level of activity, current health and metabolism.
Quote: But she also told me that if you follow the guidelines on the food packaging, its TOO MUCH food
I've found it's always been more than what mine should have. It's a starting point for a new dog owner but it MUST be adjusted as you go in order for the dog to reach an optimal weight. |
| Maisey is around 65 lbs and a year old last week.
She eats dry kibble. 1 1/2 cups - 2 cups (depending on what we do that day) twice a day. That's what it says on the bag to feed her. 6 cups of dog food a day  seems like an awful lot. 
In my completely un-expert opinion...lol |
| i think she is fine, really!!!
panda gets a total of 3 cups a day too...i was overfeeding her in the beginning too...thinking htat she needed 4 cups a day.. i cut it down by 1/4 cup each meal until, i had it figured out what she would eat and what was healthy..... it turned out that she is a light morning eater...1 cup am...and 2 cups pm....when she is hungrier |
| Abi has been doing the same as your Heart. She is a month younger but weighs 10 lbs less. I worry all the time. I have tried everything that I can think of and nothing has worked. I am going to try the parmesan tonight and reduce the kibble (Nutro Ulta Puppy + 1 T cottage cheese) to 1 1/2 C x 2 day. Thank you all for this thread. |
| GOSH!!! I LOVE Abi's Ribbons..she looks soooo sweet!!!!!!
I am so glad that what Heart is doing is pretty normal and I am just being obsessive/compulsive with her------Sometimes, I just don't know how she can gain weight or grow with what she eats....so little....but the fact is she IS getting bigger....is gaining weight........and again...very happy, curious and naughty...typical OES puppy!!!!! ((:lol:)) |
| Yep, I feed Barney parmesan cheese on top of his dinner if he gets in a phase of not eating enough (not that missing a few meals would be bad for him!). But every once in a while he'll go for a while with barely touching his food but if I sprinkle a tiny bit of parm on top he'll gobble the whole thing up.
And now that he's on antibiotics, I just put them in with his kibble and sprinkle a little parm on top and he gobbles them right up too. |
| Val, quit worrying!! SHE IS dong fine. They go thru these spurts and all is well. Her sister does the same thing too.
ali (where it was 83 today!!) |
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