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my puppy seems to have lost interest in her food!

Posted : 10/13/2009 9:23:16 PM

Hi!

I have a 10 month old female Boston Terrier named Lemon. She is on Pro Plan SELECTS Turkey & Barley puppy formula, and up until a few days ago she would HOOVER her meals in 20 seconds flat. I know she isn't feeling sick because she is acting totally normal, and wants to eat anything else, especially my parents' German shepherd's food. On Saturday she had her first taste of turkey deli meat because I used it as a reward to cut her nails (she has a foot thing), could that be a reason for her losing interest in her dry food? We were visiting my parents for Thanksgiving this weekend (Canada) so I thought she was just over excited by the other dogs and people, and wasn't interested in eating. We came home this afternoon and she still wouldn't eat her kibble, so I added about a tablespoon of Spanish rice to 1/2 cup of her food because I was worried about how long she had gone without eating a proper meal, and she ate it all right away I don't want to always plump up her food so I'm not sure what to do. I thought about starting to switch her to the adult formula, but it might taste too similar and maybe she still won't eat that. Should I switch brands? She loved the food up until Friday! If I switch brands should I stick to puppy until she is 12 months old or move her to adult now? Which brands are recommended? I heard Canidae is good. I would like to avoid wet food, and stick in the same price range. It is $16.99 (CDN) for a 2.7kg bag.

Thanks for any input!

Danielle

jennie_c_d

Posted : 10/13/2009 9:39:46 PM

Tough love time. As long as she is healthy, and the food is good, I'd let her be hungry for a day or two. I offer the food, for 15 minutes, at meal times. I pick up what isn't eaten, and don't offer treats throughout the day.

janetmichel3009

Posted : 10/14/2009 5:23:23 AM

I'm a tough love kinda girl too.

But do make sure you dog's teeth are ok. That might have something to do with it....

That said, some dogs just refuse a meal occationally... Nothing much you can do about it..

Cita

Posted : 10/14/2009 9:38:35 AM

janetmichel3009
I'm a tough love kinda girl too.

But do make sure you dog's teeth are ok. That might have something to do with it....

That said, some dogs just refuse a meal occationally... Nothing much you can do about it..

Ditto!

It's highly possible she just isn't that hungry. You know how sometimes you don't feel like having a "full" dinner, but would rather just have a cup of soup or a salad instead? But of course, if someone put a big piece of chocolate cake down in front of you, it would be hard to resist and you'd probably clean your plate :)

My dog can be a picky eater, so I tend to "rotate" his food by buying switching brands or flavors each time I get a new bag of food. I know he appreciates it, because he usually picks out the "new" kibble when I mix it 50/50 and spits the "old" kibble out on the floor. Such a spoiled bugger! Anyway, if you think she may be getting bored with her food, you can always try getting a different brand or flavor of puppy food. Like switching from chicken to lamb and rice, or something like that.

In the meantime, don't worry too much or succumb to the temptation to fill her bowl with goodies to make her eat (that will just encourage her to be picky). If she misses more than the occasional meal, I'd say a vet checkup is in order. Otherwise, if she doesn't eat, just take her food away and feed her again at the next mealtime.

jettababy

Posted : 10/14/2009 10:13:05 AM

I'm the type of person that likes to switch brands, because I know my dog likes variety. Hey, I don't eat the same food for years, and in the wild animals have a varied diet (many vets and animal nutritionists say this is healthier). I would pick 2-3 brands (or flavors of the same brand) that you know she likes and switch after each bag. That way she won't tire of the flavor.

brookcove

Posted : 10/19/2009 1:08:29 PM

Small breeds have done most of their growing by nine months, so you may have hit that age practically overnight (it does happen). Just try cutting back your usual food about half for a few days and as folks have said, "tough love" her begging for treats. A varied diet is fine and desireable, but it should be up to you. You can add little goodies once you've figured out what her normal "adult" intake should be. I'd also wait to switch up food until then too. There are definitely lots of great foods that will give you the same bang for buck as the Purina, and possibly better results.

huskymom

Posted : 10/19/2009 2:12:16 PM

What Becca said.

My big boy Crusher, at about 16 months went literally from 8 cups of food a day to 3 overnight. OK, it may have been over a week, but basically his body just said, "Yup, all done growing, need less food." I'm glad I had these people, or like you, I may have worried.

A healthy dog won't starve itself to death. You might want to switch to an adult formula, but don't try tempting Lemon too much. The last thing you want to do, if there is a problem, is make her food to desirable to resist. If it lasts more that a few days, I'd go to the vet.

lemonwedge

Posted : 10/28/2009 12:50:12 PM

I ended up just leaving her food out like usual, I didn't take it away or anything, just to see if it continued and two days later she was back to normal, hoovering it immediately. I'm guessing there was just too much thanksgiving excitement and she didn't want to give up play time for eating time. hah anyway, everything's normal again.

thanks!

shamrockmommy

Posted : 10/28/2009 1:38:16 PM

Great news!