Puppies Not Eating Food?

[cazzaritch]

My 2 labrador puppies used to go crazy at meal times. Now I am putting the bowls on the floor and they just look at it as if they don't know what to do? Eventually after a bit of sniffing, the finally tuck in.

Does ths mean they don't like the food, or are they just 'trying it on for something better'? They are on advance large breed growth. Should I change them to something else? They also get chicken wings and the odd pig's ear.

[sandgrubber]

What are you feeding them? (Not that there are many things Labbies don't like). I think all my Labbies were gutzers every day of their lives . . . apart from bitches in whelp.

I wouldn't worry about it if they still have good energy level, normal poohs, and aren't puking. . . . unless you think there's a chance that the food has gone off or came from a bad batch.

[cazzaritch]

What are you feeding them? (Not that there are many things Labbies don't like). I think all my Labbies were gutzers every day of their lives . . . apart from bitches in whelp.

I wouldn't worry about it if they still have good energy level, normal poohs, and aren't puking. . . . unless you think there's a chance that the food has gone off or came from a bad batch.

They are on advance large breed growth. We are about half way through a bag and they have only been doing this for about 2 days, before that it was head in bowl, food gone.

We use the kibble for traning treats and they eat that fine. It just seems to be meal time they act a bit odd? Could it also be that they have just woken up? They get morning feed at about 6.10am

[The Spotted Devil]

I feed my pup (now 8 months) a similar diet - he loves it! But, I did find when he was very young he would lose interest in his food quite regularly - sometimes he just needed a good half hour to wake up (loves his sleep ), at times other things were more interesting and sometimes I put it down to teething. I put any left over kibble in his puppy Kong and put it to bed with him in his crate - it worked very well, helping him to relax and to not fret. It amazed me how such a fast growing pup thrived on seemingly so little food! Unless you suspect something more serious, I'd be sticking to the current diet. They'll come round....they are Labs after all!

ETA: Now my pup loves his kibble so much, it goes in a treat ball to slow him down.

Edited July 10, 2007 by The Spotted Devil

[cazzaritch]

I feed my pup (now 8 months) a similar diet - he loves it! But, I did find when he was very young he would lose interest in his food quite regularly - sometimes he just needed a good half hour to wake up (loves his sleep ), at times other things were more interesting and sometimes I put it down to teething. I put any left over kibble in his puppy Kong and put it to bed with him in his crate - it worked very well, helping him to relax and to not fret. It amazed me how such a fast growing pup thrived on seemingly so little food! Unless you suspect something more serious, I'd be sticking to the current diet. They'll come round....they are Labs after all!

ETA: Now my pup loves his kibble so much, it goes in a treat ball to slow him down.

Maybe it is the sleep thing. Tonight they were asleep before evening meal, and it took about 3 minutes for them to start to eat.

I am currently feeding a small breakfast at about 6.10, then we take a small walk. They get their buster cube given to them (which is full of more kibble) as the kids leave for school to keep them occupied as they are outside all day. They then get a chicken wing when the kids get home from school and then their tea at about 6pm, then another small walk.

Do you think I should walk before feed in the morning, to wake them up a bit? I did try it once and they didn't want to go and wined the whole way!!

Yes, I am paranoid!!!

[hastey]

Funny you should mention this cause my Lab is going through this at the moment - but after awhile his hunger gets the better of him. I do find that he likes variety and gets bored with the same type of mince - I try and change his pet mince on a weekly basis.

Also I find taking them for a walk before feeding time builds up an appetite.

[poodlefan]

How old are the pups?

How often are you feeding them?

Good old Labradors.. one of few breeds who'd think kibble was a training treat. ;) A friend of mine trains her Lab using carrot - he'll work for anything.

Edited July 11, 2007 by poodlefan

[Poodle wrangler]

As long as they're still eating and look a healthy weight, I wouldn't worry at all. They eat more enthusiastically during growth spurts, I guess.

I think it's normal for dogs to eat kibble as food of last resort .

[cazzaritch]

Guys,

Thanks so much for all of your advice, as normal, it is brilliant and has stopped me panicking!! !!

This morning we walked before breakfast and they went for the food straight away. Then this evening (before walkies) they just stared at it again??? But they will sit, drop, offer paw etc etc for kibble at all times!! Yes, it's definitely just me being paranoid - thanks again for helping me to calm down.

Poodlefan, they are 14 weeks old tomorrow and get 2 bowl meals per day, plus chicken wings and their buster cube to supplement them and keep them occupied while we are all out.

[poodlefan]

Guys,

Thanks so much for all of your advice, as normal, it is brilliant and has stopped me panicking!! !!

This morning we walked before breakfast and they went for the food straight away. Then this evening (before walkies) they just stared at it again??? But they will sit, drop, offer paw etc etc for kibble at all times!! Yes, it's definitely just me being paranoid - thanks again for helping me to calm down.

Poodlefan, they are 14 weeks old tomorrow and get 2 bowl meals per day, plus chicken wings and their buster cube to supplement them and keep them occupied while we are all out.

Well the number of meals sounds right..... I wonder if scaling back a little on quantity and (if you are willing) increasing variety might be the trick..

[cazzaritch]

Guys,

Thanks so much for all of your advice, as normal, it is brilliant and has stopped me panicking!! !!

This morning we walked before breakfast and they went for the food straight away. Then this evening (before walkies) they just stared at it again??? But they will sit, drop, offer paw etc etc for kibble at all times!! Yes, it's definitely just me being paranoid - thanks again for helping me to calm down.

Poodlefan, they are 14 weeks old tomorrow and get 2 bowl meals per day, plus chicken wings and their buster cube to supplement them and keep them occupied while we are all out.

Well the number of meals sounds right..... I wonder if scaling back a little on quantity and (if you are willing) increasing variety might be the trick..

They also get the odd pig's ear and they are on Advance large breed growth.

What else would you suggest? I am willing to try most things that aren't too time consuming. I don't think they are being over fed as they dont look over weight, they have a nice defined waist.

[poodlefan]

Perhaps try a few different brands of good kibble? I don't feed it but changing brands once you finish a bag isn't a bad idea.. it avoids nutritional imbalances that might occur by feeding only one brand.

I defer to the experienced kibble feeders on this one.

[sarahjane]

I wouldn't worry too much - you've received great advice already. Our Shar-Pei used to get 'bored' of her food from time to time, and wouldn't eat it if she didn't want to . But eventually hunger got the better of her - we tried to spice it up as much as possible! Sometimes they're just not hungry!

On the other hnd, my parents dog will eat pretty much anything he can sink his teeth into, so it really just depends on the dog. It's when they don't eat for a few days that you should begin to wonder why...

Guys,

Thanks so much for all of your advice, as normal, it is brilliant and has stopped me panicking!! !!

This morning we walked before breakfast and they went for the food straight away. Then this evening (before walkies) they just stared at it again??? But they will sit, drop, offer paw etc etc for kibble at all times!! Yes, it's definitely just me being paranoid - thanks again for helping me to calm down.

Poodlefan, they are 14 weeks old tomorrow and get 2 bowl meals per day, plus chicken wings and their buster cube to supplement them and keep them occupied while we are all out.

Well the number of meals sounds right..... I wonder if scaling back a little on quantity and (if you are willing) increasing variety might be the trick..

They also get the odd pig's ear and they are on Advance large breed growth.

What else would you suggest? I am willing to try most things that aren't too time consuming. I don't think they are being over fed as they dont look over weight, they have a nice defined waist.

[The Spotted Devil]

Good old Labradors.. one of few breeds who'd think kibble was a training treat. :D A friend of mine trains her Lab using carrot - he'll work for anything.

My Dal thinks kibble is a training treat too! I tried a tiny piece of cheese as an 'extra special' treat and he played with it for about 10 minutes, by which time he'd forgotten what he'd done to deserve it

[sandgrubber]

An elderly Irish lady once told me that people used to ask her mother "How do you feed all those [13] children?"

She said her mother always said: "Figure out what they don't like and feed them lots of it".

If it had been Labrador puppies, I would have been ok with this advice, apart from the 'lots of it' part.

If they're bored, find a few small treats to spice things up for them. Carrots are great. Liver snacks are ok, too, if you want to pay $30+/kg for dogfood. As for the main staple . . . if they're eating it, but not gobbling it down, that's good enough. Just not too many snacks, and no fatty foods as snacks.

[cazzaritch]

An elderly Irish lady once told me that people used to ask her mother "How do you feed all those [13] children?"

She said her mother always said: "Figure out what they don't like and feed them lots of it".

If it had been Labrador puppies, I would have been ok with this advice, apart from the 'lots of it' part.

If they're bored, find a few small treats to spice things up for them. Carrots are great. Liver snacks are ok, too, if you want to pay $30+/kg for dogfood. As for the main staple . . . if they're eating it, but not gobbling it down, that's good enough. Just not too many snacks, and no fatty foods as snacks.

Thats too funny - sounds like our house when I was growing up.

I will try carrots, raw right? They have had the odd piece of cheese, mainly to help the working tablets go down. They also had some left over roast lamb once and I had to count my fingers after giving it to them!!!!!

How about trying some sardines, or mince chicken? If I up the meat content, should I give more vegetables?

[sandgrubber]

Yes, raw carrots. The BARF people say to put them through a feed processor and feed the mush that comes out, but I cut them coarsely. My eight Labbies go through a 20 kg bag (~$6) of horse-food carrots in about 2 weeks (I probably pinch 3 kg of for the people). I don't think they digest most of it, judging from the orange flecks in their poohs, but they enjoy eating them, and I think the roughage is probably healthy for the gut. The also love cabbage, broccoli stems, apples, cauliflower and almost anything else that falls on the floor when I'm cooking. I throw veggies all over the floor and the dogs have great fun chasing / catching them.

I use peanut butter or pet mince to get tablets down. Cheese is fine in small qualities, but I prefer to keep it for myself.

The staple for mine is chicken carcasses . . . trimmed of fat . . . hit with a meat cleaver first for the puppies. They also get some biscuit ~1/2 C each daily. I use Bonnie (I do use a higher grade for the younger pups). Needn't be super premium if it is just a side course to the main meal. I supplement with some nasty fish-derived stuff with lots of trace minerals, vitamins, Omega 3/6, etc. I can't honestly answer you about protein x vegetables x biscuit balances. I don't think the veggies provide much energy .

I don't pretend that's the best way to feed Labs. But mine are healthy enough, their coats are great, mostly I've gotten A-grade hips and elbows, and the girls mostly whelp large litters . . . so it couldn't be too bad.

[Janba]

You could also try soaking the kibble with a bit of warm water. They may have sore gums from starting to teeth.

[cazzaritch]

Yes, raw carrots. The BARF people say to put them through a feed processor and feed the mush that comes out, but I cut them coarsely. My eight Labbies go through a 20 kg bag (~$6) of horse-food carrots in about 2 weeks (I probably pinch 3 kg of for the people). I don't think they digest most of it, judging from the orange flecks in their poohs, but they enjoy eating them, and I think the roughage is probably healthy for the gut. The also love cabbage, broccoli stems, apples, cauliflower and almost anything else that falls on the floor when I'm cooking. I throw veggies all over the floor and the dogs have great fun chasing / catching them.

I use peanut butter or pet mince to get tablets down. Cheese is fine in small qualities, but I prefer to keep it for myself.

The staple for mine is chicken carcasses . . . trimmed of fat . . . hit with a meat cleaver first for the puppies. They also get some biscuit ~1/2 C each daily. I use Bonnie (I do use a higher grade for the younger pups). Needn't be super premium if it is just a side course to the main meal. I supplement with some nasty fish-derived stuff with lots of trace minerals, vitamins, Omega 3/6, etc. I can't honestly answer you about protein x vegetables x biscuit balances. I don't think the veggies provide much energy .

I don't pretend that's the best way to feed Labs. But mine are healthy enough, their coats are great, mostly I've gotten A-grade hips and elbows, and the girls mostly whelp large litters . . . so it couldn't be too bad.

I hadn't thought about giving them bit of veg - that will save me putting it in the bin, thanks for the tip. How about giving them carrots whole to chew?

[cazzaritch]

You could also try soaking the kibble with a bit of warm water. They may have sore gums from starting to teeth.

Thats a good idea, I will try that. Is it ok to give them gravy?