Not eating in the morning. Help!

I feed Romeo at 7:30 am and 6:00 pm...depending on what he is eating between 4-6 oz of food each meal...when he does not want to eat in the morning, I don't fuss about it like before; I feed him in the afternoon however I do not double his portion, he eats just fine the next morning.  What I have learned, is that dogs will not starve themselves, when Romeo is hungry, I don't even have to call him, the moment he smells the meat he is there by my feet, wagging tail, tongue hanging out, eyes wide open, I put down his bowl and he dives in. 
 
So try not to worry about it too much, remember he won't starve himself.
 
Good luck!

Thanks.  How long should I bother to keep putting food down in morning and him not eating it before I just don't bother at all putting any food down in the morning and just giving him his daily portion in the afternoon?  If i'm going 2 weeks of him not eating in the morning and only eating 1/2 his daily intake in the afternoon won't this be a problem?

As has already been mentioned, many dogs do quite well on one feeding per day.  You really don't need to be too worried about bloat on a small dog (typically active, medium to large, barrel chested dogs are prime candidates...).

If you have a 100% refusal rate in the morning for a week, I would say just skip it altogether.  You can toss a few veggies in the crate with your pup to tide him over until dinner, and just feed when you get home.  I wouldn't necessarily double his portions at dinner either. Go to 85% of his full feeding, and he may be good (monitor his weight and energy levels).  Better to be a little lean, than a little rotund.

When Romeo only has  his afternoon meal, I never have a problem with him eating the next morning.  I put his food down every morning and if he does not eat it after 15 mins, I pick it up, put it in the refrigerator (he is raw fed) and give it to him in the afternoon, I also don't give him any snacks during the day or he will not eat in the afternoon either.  

Romeo, is the first dog  I am totally responsible for, and oh boy! I was bad at first worrying from the size and color and consistency of his poop and how many times and how much he pooped to if he scratched his ears twice was it going to fall off? I have gotten better though.  He is healthy,  his coat is shinny and soft, his eyes bright, he does not have a dogie smell (even after playing all day and not having had a bath for two weeks) his teeth are white, his ears and skin are a healthy pale pink no odor, his poop is small, and firm, not hard not soft, there are days when it will be soft,  I know he ate too much the day before or had too many treats, if it is black he ate beef or lamb...brown..chicken....almost yellowish white...he had bones...this is how bad I obsessed about it.  I know what color my dog's poop is going to be based on what he has had to eat!!! When you look down on him, you can see a nice waist, there are times though when he has stayed with my parents, that it has become almost non-existent...hehehe they are bad about treats, if Romeo sneezes out comes a treat.

I am sorry, I can go on all day about him.  I guess what I am trying to say is that what matters is whether he is healthy not only physically but emotionally as well.  I would only worry if he does not want to eat completely and for several days.  As far as feeding him once or twice only half a portion or not, I would pay attention to him, does he look satisfied with just half? or does he still look hungry? if so give him more.  It takes time, to really know your dog's eating habit or any of their other habits.  I have had Romeo for 2 yrs now, I still pay attention to him, and I am still learning,  but if he scratches his ear twice, I know now is not going to fall off...hehehehehe.

Good luck!!! 

Olinda - seeing what you just wrote made me feel so much better - I am not alone!!!

For the past couple of weeks, Winston has not been eating his breakfast either.  I'm not feeding him anything different, but he just won't eat in the morning.  I only worried about this when he goes to day camp, but he does finish all his dinner in the evening after day camp and seems to be fine, so I'm not going to worry about it too much for now.  I don't want to give him treats in the morning just because he's not eating, but it's so hard not to when I have to leave for the day.  I left his food in the bowl this morning, I am curious to see how much he will eat during the day, if any.  I've learned that a little tough love is ok....

I'm going to see how he does over the next week in his morning eating habits.  If he doesn't touch his food in the morning during this time, that'll be it no more morning feedings. I'll just feed him once a day in the afternoon.  Thanks for everyones help and advice.

Sometimes JJ eats in the morning and sometimes she only eats at night.
JJ is the type of dog that eats once a day.
If she's not eating the food in the morning, I'll save it for dinner.
And give her a little something else through out the day.
Apple sauce, yogurt, fruits, vegetables, small pieces of meat and etc.

Why won't you try canned? Just curious....

I feed JJ 1/2 homecooked and 1/2 can  []
No matter how tasty the meal is, she only eats it once a day.
But she would eat a little apple sauce, yogurt and etc through out the day.
So that will give her a little boost when she's not eating as much.
 
 
 

Why won't you try canned? Just curious....

Me too []

I'm also curious about not wanting to feed any canned. Canned food is actually very healthy because it's closer to "actual" meat, not dried out and processed. The belief that dry food cleans teeth is also a total myth unless it's a specific dental formula.

Reason I don't want to feed him canned food is I believe he's getting all he needs with his kibble.  Don't want to start feeding him half kibble , half canned or kibble in the morning, canned at night.  Simpler to just feed him kibble. Plus I don't want him to end up being a picky eater where all he'll want to eat is canned.  With the Canidae and the treats we give him he's getting all he needs.

I understand your concern, but even my super picky pup ate his dry dinner after getting a breakfast of canned for the first time.  It is also really good because it adds more moisture to their diet...more moisture=more digestion=less waste.  I would at least add H20 to the kibble if you don't want to feed canned

ORIGINAL: papillon806

I understand your concern, but even my super picky pup ate his dry dinner after getting a breakfast of canned for the first time.  It is also really good because it adds more moisture to their diet...more moisture=more digestion=less waste.  I would at least add H20 to the kibble if you don't want to feed canned

 
I second adding water to the kibble.  I add warm water to the kibble, as much water to come up level with the kibble but not over.  This helps keep them hydrated and regulate urinary output too.  Plus they love it, like gravy

I tried this for Tyler when he had the tooth pulled.  Yes, it made the food softer and easier for him to eat, but it did NOT make gravy.  On the plus side, I do know that Innova doesn't swell up in water.