8 Month Old OES Not Eating
My OES is 8 months old, and in the last week or two hasn't been eating like he has for the last 6 months I have had him. I have kept the food and water bowl in the same location as it has been since I got him, and will fill his food bowl up at the same time every day. Previously, he would devour the food in one sitting... now he will just slowly nibble at it, and hasn't been finishing it every day. I am slowly trying to get him off his puppy food by adding a different food (same brand, real meat instead of the filler he was previously on) and have been mixing it about 1 part new to 3 parts old food. Has anyone else ran into this before? Thanks. |
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| The growth rate of most OES (and dogs of similar size) was really rapid...and now is much slower. It took a lot of calories to fuel that growing body, and a lot less now. He also is likely getting molars in - it might just not feel that great in his mouth and gums either. If you can rule out illness as a cause, I would relax a bit and just keep observing his intake. Also - is he an "only" dog? Many dogs with no other canine housemates become nibblers or grazers. |
| My first thought was teeth.....his big boy teeth are still coming in and his gums hurt. And yes, their appetite drops off as they near their adult size. Cut back a bit on portions and if feeding x number times a day, drop one. Lucky you if he's an only and you can let him graze all day. Since you might be cutting back on amount, make sure you are feeding a high quality food. If he's on puppy food, might begin a very gradual change to adult......over a couple of months. |
| Hello,our previous sheepy was just like that. We tried various dried foods,that is when I found James Wellbeloved,he took to it and we never looked back. I did find he liked a small amount of warm water on it. Hope he starts eating again very soon-if not I would have a phone call to the vet for advise. I found with Sprocket he was eager to have "big Boys" food. He started eating our son's dog food if given half the chance-then had an upset tum as eaten to much. He may be bored with his food or just telling you that he doesn't need to eat so much now. How much (in weight ) does he eat daily? Sprocket has about 15 oz dried kibble.x |
| Hey Brian, these other know much more than me and listen to their advise, but I wanted to add my $.02. My first OES was 3/4 pig, and he ate everything, anytime, anywhere. My second ate only at assigned times, as established by her former people, even though I free fed, she got up and ate at 6:30. My current OES (Chloie) is the strangest eater I have ever seen. Again, I free feed and she has 2 types of kibble at different locations, plus before work I give her homade "wet" food, so she has choices (and always the last bite of my supper), available 24/7. She will go 3 days then eat like a herd of elephants, then gently pick for the next couple of days (and treats, but throw away food daily), then eat like a heard of elephants. What I am trying to say, watch (know you will throw out food), but barring sickness, your baby will tell you what is right for them ('cause they are all different). Good Luck |
| Thank you all for the feedback, it is much appreciated. As for all the replies; He is the only pet in the house currently. I am currently trying to move him from the puppy food to an adult food. He is eating roughly 5 cups a day of dry food. His las check up was perfect and no health issues were found. I will continue to watch over him and his food intake, but this has made me feel much better. He is still acting himself, a fun playful puppy, and I haven't seen anything that would point to any issues. Thanks again everyone! |
BryanD wrote: Thank you all for the feedback, it is much appreciated. As for all the replies; He is the only pet in the house currently. I am currently trying to move him from the puppy food to an adult food. He is eating roughly 5 cups a day of dry food. His las check up was perfect and no health issues were found. I will continue to watch over him and his food intake, but this has made me feel much better. He is still acting himself, a fun playful puppy, and I haven't seen anything that would point to any issues. Thanks again everyone! At 8 months, 5 cups is a LOT of food. I think he's just too full.  |
| We have two Sheepies; one is almost 5 years old and one is almost two. Both will go with skipping a meal several times a week. We've tried the 'leave the bowl down for 15 minutes and then pick-up' routine and that didn't seem to matter. When the next meal was served, they would eat as normal; not wolfing it down like they missed the last one. So we've gotten to where we leave the bowls down and let them graze. Normally, the food is gone by the next meal time however, sometimes it's not. On the days when they don't touch it, we add something irresistible to new, fresh kibble, like shredded cheddar or gravy from last night's dinner and WHAM! they're back on schedule... at least for that day. We did find that when Caitlyn was a puppy and on puppy food, she thought she should be eating what her big adopted sis was eating and would always try to sneak a mouthful when no one was looking. Then, after we switched her totally over to adult food, all of a sudden the novelty of getting sis's food was gone... I'm with Dawn on this one. 5 Cups for a puppy is a lot. Heck, that's a lot for me! Vance |
| I'll keep that in mind. The amount of food used is what was recommended... It's spaced out over 3 meals, and up until the last few weeks, Einstein would always be begging for more food after he ate all of his. Checked with the Vet, and he's not overweight or anything, so I will have to keep checking on the food amount. Thanks again! |
| More info - good thing! We started working Caitlyn down from three meals to two meals just before we took her from puppy to adult food. Look into doing this too. At 8 months, I gotta think Einstein could handle getting bumped back to two meals. I think we moved Caitlyn from three to two meals right around five months, maybe six. Vance |
| 5 cups a day is too much also has he been wormed and has he eaten any rubbish like stones and other things as pups do. They might be stuck in her stomach |
| I have an 8 month old oes as well and he doesn't devour his food like he use to, he walks away comes back and it takes him about 10 minutes sometimes he doesn't finish it anymore.. He also only eats 2 cups a day (one in the am the next in the pm) plus his clicker training treats etc.... I would have would have to agree that 5 cups is a lot of food... |
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