Not Eating Some Days

[GABBA]

I have a 5 month old (mastiff) who seems to have off-days when it comes to eating. I have recently started trying Royal Canin (used to use Eukanuba), but today for example, he hasnt seemed to really have had an appetite. He has done this before a few times. I dont want to say that he doesnt like the food because last night he ate a heap of it.

Is it normal for dogs/pups to have off-days in terms of eating?

[persephone]

Today he may have a bit of a tummy upset..usually when changing food ,it is done over a few days to let the tummy get used to different ingredients, etc.

perhaps he is still full if he ate lots?

if he has 'off days' check his teeth/gums. At 5 mths he may well be losing/getting teeth, and be more sore some days.....

[Starkehre]

Hi Gabba, like pers says, but I will also add, there is a good chance that your puppy is full. Depending on how much you are expecting him to eat.

Royal Canin, like all the good quality premium foods, use a ridiculously high quantity feeding guide on the pack that I have yet to see a dog eat and not become obese very quickly. So if by chance you are using the guide on the pack, you are most likely over feeding your dog once every few days and it takes him several days to fully process all that food and get hungry again. This is a very common issue with people new to feeding premium foods The dog can get backed up with it also, so be careful.

Also note, that the guides on the pack are if the dog is getting absolutely nothing else to eat, at all. So if pup is getting raw meat, bones, training treats and anything else, you need to take all that into account as part of his daily food in take when calculating what he is eating during that day.

It can be easy to forget how many treats etc we feed during the entire day.

From my experience, dogs do well on anything from 1/4 to 3/4 of what these packs recommend, depending on the individual dog and circumstance. I never even look at these guides anymore. I look at the dog.

Good luck with him, he is at a beautiful age.

[DoodleBliss]

Hey GABBA, my 4mth+ pup seems to had gone through the same thing. Like urs, it just happened out of the blue

I agree w dyzney & persephone on the pup being still full. That was what I reckon so I let Ozzie sort of fast for the day, getting some kibbles and treat here and there but no full meal. The next day I reduced his full meal portion (Eukanuba) by half and added something 'special' that he always like - a little boil rice, just to whet his appetite. Subsequent meals were on reduced portion and every now n then I'll add a little 'extra' such as boil rice, wet food or even just some water along with his kibbles and it has been working wonders.

I noticed too my little one drinks a lot of of water... that could have partly suppressed his appetite too.

[WreckitWhippet]

He's now at the age where he's teething, they have sore gums, get a bit depressed and can go off their food.

Cut his meals in half, feed him and give him 20 minutes and if it's not gone, put it away until the next meal time. No treats, no bones, no snacks, until he learns to eat the meals you put down for him.

Quite frankly, you are obsessed with everything that goes in the dogs mouth and worry too much about it. The pup will not starve itself, it won't stop growing or become deformed because it misses a meal here and there.

You are providing quality foods

Relax a bit. Meal times should be the happy time for you and the pup/dog. It's the time that you reward them for being a mate and they get something from you, the master.

[Danois]

As SBT123 said - stop worrying!

Having a giant breed puppy you are far better off having a dog who does not hoover their food as excess weight on joints is not good.

My dog frequently fasted himself as a puppy and still does it now - if he's hungry he will eat, if he's not then he won't.

Dyzney - I have fed the RC per the feeding guide plus some and still had a lean dog

[Clastic]

My little fella is 4 months old and doesn't have any interest in his food, but will eat it because well.. he's hungry at the time.

Very rarely finishes all his breakfast and dinner depends on the amount of energy he used during the day. He is quite a lean BC, but is also going through his lanky stage at the moment.. but have asked the vet and they are happy with his weight.

So I wouldn't be too worried with your little guy, I'd only be getting worried if he doesn't eat anything at all for a whole day (including treats etc)

[GABBA]

Thanks for the replies. It has been just short of a week on the RC and he seems to be doing alright. I have noticed that his adult teeth are comming in and that may very well be the reason that he has not been as keen (I have noticed he has been trying to swallow his chicken necks whole rather than crunching them up, which may very well proove that it is a result of his teeth - of course I have been breaking the bones up to compensate for this).

On a side note, the reason I have been so concerned regarding his eating is because I don't want him to be undernourished and therefore not grow into his full size (wether this is a real risk I'm not sure).

As for the Royal Canin itself, I think he's enjoying it much more than the Eukanuba. Just by touching it, it feels much oiler than the Eukanuba, not to mention smelling a lot "meatier"

[dandybrush]

yes when my pup was teething i was struggling to get him to eat, once i realised he was actually teething i started to soak his biscuits in water before feeding so they were soggy, once i started doing that he had all his dinner no problem

[sas]

Pups can be a pain in the bum with their food, growth spurts and teething can affect how much they eat and what they want to eat.

Don't worry too much at the moment, all sounds pretty normal. If you do get a bit anxious about it just buzz your Vet