new here..some ideas for a 9 month old who is a major finicky eater

nancy361

 TOTW says about 1 3/4 cups to 2 1/2 cups per day for his weight between 20-30lbs and his age 8-12 month

A dog will eat if it's hungry, if it's not sick.  So, in a few meals of refusal, either he's not hungry, or he's sick, I'd think.

 Thats what the bag states for my dog weight and age, but thats just a guideline...1 cup 2x a day he seems to eat it. i gave him 1 cup last nite and he ate it all.....hopefully he starts to eat in the morning too and so has 2 cups a day ...i bought the LAMB , sierra mnts... seems to like that when he does eat. i bought another bag and grabbed the wrong one, it was the roasted FOWL. he didnt like that.. couldnt take it back was opened.. ill give it to somebody....has good decent ingredients in it...

I just took him for a 30 minute walk and he got sick a cpl times  just that yellow bile stuff....its like geez dog i wish you would put something in your stomach....hopefully at dinner he eats

 rwbeagles, i did try that too....had 2 cups in the bowl and left it... he would nibble here and there and maybe eat more at nite....for a few days there he ate kibbles everynite...then he stopped and didnt bother...

as for the other dogs, thats what the foster mom told me...she has 4 other dogs and in her house you ate when she fed you and if not, oh well.. im sure the other dogs ate his if he didnt....he isnt an aggressive dog. very loving and all that, to everyone and everything....when we 1st got him he was stand offish when i fed him.. he would stand away from the bowl and lean into it, like he was waiting for something to jump in and take what was his... but he is better now...i feed cat and him at same time in different places... cat doesnt bother him , he is the one that plays with the cat and barks at him ...lolol.ill see how this way goes... hopefully he learns to eat when its put down and knows this is what and when he gets it

 I'm in  Bucks County (off the Newtown exit of 95). 

I have free fed before, and actually, that was the only picky dog we ever had.  She'd wait until 11 or so at night before she would eat, if she would eat for the day. I see no problem with doing it though if it works in your home.

I'd give him the other bag of food if you bought it and can't return it. Just put that food in his bowl, and if he's hungry, he'll eat it. If you are worried about whether he is getting enough to eat, I think you have Pet Valu http://us.petvalu.com/ , near you. I know the two near me have scales in the store. I make use of their scales when I do a food change, although my guy is small, and I pick him up a lot. I can usually tell if he's gained or lost more than a few ounces because he feels heavier or lighter.  Anyway, even if the scale in the store isn't  calibrated correctly, you can still use it. You can just figure it out based on whether he is gaining, losing, or staying steady on that particular scale. You could ask your vet to do the same. Your vet probably would also let you come in and check his weight, and shouldn't charge if it's really concerning. I just use Pet Valu because it's closer to my house. Maybe 1 cup is enough for him, and he's only eating what he needs. But this way, you can be certain of it.

Jewlieee

The chart on the bag of food that figures it out for you is always always always too high. You need to do the calculations yourself then use an exact measuring cup.

I never have used the feeding charts on the bags.  They've always been too high for any of the dogs I've owned.  If I fed those amounts my dogs would be obese in no time.  Good reminder about the measuring cup.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-feeding-tips/dog-food-calculator/

here ya go!

Actually, I have no idea how accurate this is. This calculator puts Luke at more kcals per day than does the one on the Nature's Variety site, so I don't know how much I trust it. This one says 452 for him at 14.5 lbs. Nature's Variety calculates for him 3/4 daily of Instinct Chicken, which is 490 kcals/cup, so it says he should get 367.5. Calling him very active brings him to 551.25 based on Nature's Variety's suggestion. For 5-15 lbs on the bag, it says 1/2 - 1 1/8 cups daily. I actually started him based on the 3/4 the website suggested, and he was feeling a bit lighter, so I bumped to slightly less than a cup. I'd use it as a rough guideline, feed it for a bit, then determine if that is the right amount for my own dog.

 I saw someone gave you a link to posting photos.  Hope we see some soon!  I haven't seen that link.  I have a free account on photobucket, upload my photos there and then post the IMG code (the bottom one) into a post here.

Dogs love cat food because it is very high in protein.  It is also very bad for dogs, too much protein and it overworks the kidneys.  My dogs have no access to the cat food, and the cat litter boxes are out of dogs' reach as well.  Yes, dogs even love the "tootsie rolls" they find in the litter box, ick.  Keep the cat food and litter box out of reach of the dog.  I use baby gates for this purpose.

My cats are also on TOTW cat kibble, they love it and have no weight issues either.

Seems you have lots of good advice, just stick to one routine and hold out, Geno will catch on and eat when he needs it.

I think that you've also gotten some fantastic advice here! 

You said he likes to play and forage around the yard.  Maybe he'd also like to forage for his food?  I know one of the posters here, Leis I think, lets her dogs forage for their food in the backyard every day.  She just tosses it out there and they get to hunt for it and find it.  Maybe if you don't want to throw the food in the backyard you can either toss it in your living room on the floor.  Or, if he really likes to play, you could try putting it in one of those treat dispensing balls.  As he plays with the ball and pushes it around the living room it drops food.  Maybe he'd be more interested in eating it if he was able to "play" with it at the same time?

Just a suggestion.  My dogs inhale their food but they also REALLY love those dispensing treat balls.  They tear all around the house batting those things against walls and couches and doors to get the food to fall out.  It's a great way to get them fed (slowly) and also stimulate their minds and bodies just a little.

Good luck!

 Thanks everyone for all the feedback and suggestions.....I have been sticking to the 2x a day and picking up the food after about 15-20 min. just about a cup and a tiny bit of water mixed in, then i also warm it ever so slightly to unleash the food smells... dinnertime last nite i put it down and he ate it all.....he had nothing at all except from dinner the nite before.....this morning....had his bowl and said  you hungry ready to eat... did the same as i dad last nite and put it down and he came right over to it and ate it all........ YEA!!!!!!   then i petted him afterwards and said he was a good boy and and gave him a little biscuit treat ......sooo i can only hope he continues this, i know i will.............

as for the photos. i dont have any account for an online photo thing.. my pictures are all in my windows photo gallery.....

 FREEDOM, i have a gate too, and he doesnt go through it. cat box is out of his reach and so is food... he doesnt bother with it anyways.

I'm glad he's starting to eat his meals. :)   You can upload photos to Photobucket and then post them on this forum.  It's free. :)

 everytime i try to post a pic it says OOPS and error occurred

photobucket worked fine. i go to the bottom img copy it then go here to this post and click insert then paste it to where im supposed to and then i click and then post and whoops error

what am i not doing right?

When you mentioned the bile vomitting, she reminded me of my finicky eater, Oly. Sometimes she does many of the things yours does. I too do the "put down the meal, give her time and space and remove uneatten portion after 10-15 minutes" Then she doesn't get another chance until the evening. She frequently does not eat one of her meals per day and has always been like this. Problem is, her stomach gets very distressed and makes some crazy noises the longer she doesn't eat. This compounds the problem b/c once she starts throwing up bile/stomach is upset she really doesn't eat. My vet suggested gastrolieve (http://www.medi-vet.com/prod-Gastralieve_Digestive_Support_Supplement_For_Dogs,_60_Chewable_Tablets-3357.aspx) and it works well for her twice a day with or without the meal and she eats more regularly on it. Not staying this would help you, but it has helped us and our particular situation so I thought I'd throw it out there. :)

 In reading your comments as well, the amount needed to maintain weight really does depend on the individual dog/breed/metabolism. I have over 80 pound dogs that gain too much weight on 1.5 cups of Level III Native and a 35 lb. dog that eats. less than .4 cup twice a day. My 75 lb. lab eats 1.5 cups twice a day and my 55 lb. Alaskan Husky Oly eats 1 cup, sometimes twice a day, sometimes once a day.  

Good luck.

~Karen

 thanks Karen....that was the 1st time he threw up like that. but he ate his dinner, so i guess it wasnt anything to be worried about....sounds like you have some nice dogs there....My son, me too, always wanted to get a husky type dog. whether a malamute or siberian or timber....so beautiful... they just seem to need lots of things to keep them busy and high fences so they dont jump or dig their way out.....Plus the ones we looked at on petfinder , none liked cats....That was my whole issue, wanting a dog again, but finding one that likes cats...

anyways, he ate this morning, thats a 1st... so hopefully he continues this way.....thanks