9 month old golden retriever and food...

[busymum01]

Hi all, just looking for some advice. My 9 month old Golden over the past week or so is starting to not eat his dry food meals. He's still his happy self and doesn't show any signs of being sick just... not interested in his biscuits. He'll have a sniff, maybe a bite, and walk away. Last night no dinner (7PM) and no initial interest in breakfast (7AM).

 

I'm not keen on changing his food (Royal Canin Maxi Junior) as our breeder said this is the best food for him for at least the first year, but maybe he's bored with it?

 

He could also be holding out on me - if it goes uneaten, the next meal time I'll stir a teaspoon of natural yoghurt or grate some zucchini through it to sway him to eat it. Could he be THAT SMART so young?

 

He's fed 450g of dry food a day, split into two meals and a Pedigree Dentastick in between. He's walked for 45 - 50 minutes a day and has three energetic children to follow around so is using plenty of energy during the day.  Can anyone please advise how to get his appetite back!? Thank you!

Edited August 13, 2017 by busymum01

[KobiD]

Does he get any other variation or treats? Sounds like a pretty bland diet and after 9 months I'd be bored of eating the same things too.

 

Also don't discount health issues. Is the puppy still having bowel movements? Drinking water and weeing?

 

Depending where you live, it's also the start of tick season. Our 8 year old son (human child) had one latch onto him yesterday. Timely reminder to get and stay active in checking the dog! Have a read on the matter. Going off the food can often be an early sign, particularly if the animal hasn't been a fussy eater in the past. 

[Rebanne]

sounds like you have a good relationship with your breeder so give them a call and see what they say. There's no reason he couldn't have a bit of yoghurt with his meals. Plus he is maturing, maybe he doesn't need as much food, though 450 grams is not a large amount. Personally I'd ditch the dentastick and give him a raw chicken or turkey piece 3 or 4 times a week for his teeth.

[Bushriver]

If you think he is well otherwise, I'd vary his diet a bit. If he likes something mixed in his dry, there's no harm in doing so. He could be trying it on just to get a more interesting meal, but I believe a varied diet is beneficial. Change things up a bit. No harm done in my opinion. 

[busymum01]

Hmmm all good points. Bowel movements and weeing all good, drinking also. He does get a few pieces of raw veggies throughout the day, but not so much that I'd imagine it would kerb his appetite. The 450g of kibble is in line with the Royal Canin recommendation on the bag, so that's up to scratch. Will shoot his breeder a quick message and see what she suggests, thanks all!

[persephone]

Maybe stir a raw egg into the dry ? Or 2 sardines mushed up with it ?  

have you checked his teeth/mouth ? is he eating his treats OK ? Do you see him chewing ok ? 

if he is depositing  good poo ..and enough - is there the possibility he is getting food elsewhere? Kids/neighbours/open bag of something he can reach ...  ?  

 

Edited August 14, 2017 by persephone

[jemappelle]

Is his weight good?  And is he desexed (needs fewer calories if he is)?  It may be that he doesn't need that much any more or he may only need one meal a day with a snack at the other time.

[Dogsfevr]

I have to agree the quantity is very small for an active large breed pup fact my gundogs would be skin and bone on that amount ,package guidelines mean nothing ,feed according to the dog .

The snacks through the day do build up .

I do feed RC  and mine never enjoyed the junior but I don't feed just dry .

talk to your breeder 

[busymum01]

Thanks all, I've spoken to our breeder and she's given me some ideas to try in varying his diet. He's not yet desexed and weighs in at a huge 35kg. I'm puzzled because he eats the things he WANTS to eat just fine. Just not his dry biscuit all of a sudden.

[KobiD]

I think you just need to mix it up a bit and make it interesting by the sounds of it then!

 

In comparison, our puppy is 9-10months old and we feed dry twice a day (less in the morning, bigger meal at night). It's rarely just dry biscuits though. At minimum it has some warm water on it, but usually a whole lot more.

 

We sometimes throw a frozen chicken neck on top. Sometimes we have left over meat or stock/broth from when the family cooks up a couple kgs of chicken stock. Raw offcuts from any meat we prepare for dinner (chicken, lamb, beef, etc) but try to minimise the fatty content. Once to twice a week she gets a nice big meaty frozen cut of beef neck to eat. Any vegetable scraps (bar onion) from dinner prep get saved and added. Rice and pasta the same. Failing that a raw egg mixed through is a really quick and easy add in flavour and nutrients.

 

We also have a toddler in the family so half eaten snacks (yoghurt, bananas, watermelon, apple, etc) also gets added and either used as training treats or on the meal.

 

And, we've also changed flavour of the dry food 3 times between 8 weeks to where she is now.. Often 2 bags open together, either blended a bit or mixed up a bit (training and meals).

 

Kong get's stuffed with all of the above in any given combination.

 

However, our dog is far from fussy and will eat anything without too much of a 2nd thought.. so while not a straight comparison, the point is that you have loads of flexibility in how to spice up a meal and make it more exciting and enticing.

[Dogsfevr]

4 hours ago, busymum01 said:

Thanks all, I've spoken to our breeder and she's given me some ideas to try in varying his diet. He's not yet desexed and weighs in at a huge 35kg. I'm puzzled because he eats the things he WANTS to eat just fine. Just not his dry biscuit all of a sudden.

This can happen & find it can be a thing with RC dry BUT your dog is getting additional food so its dry is not the be all end all ,he has options that are more enjoyable

[Scrappi&Monty]

I think he might just be bored with that, it's sort of like eating cereal every meal for us. 

We used to feed kibble for breakfast and wet food for dinner, but that was back when we had no idea and used to buy supermarket junk.... 

But quality wet food would be good as a topper on the kibble sometimes, we don't buy it much anymore because it's a little expensive with 2 dogs.

We buy fresh meat instead and portion it out to be balanced. Or Big Dog Raw. And they get a high quality kibble at breakfast.

 

Some toppers you could try:

- a tsp of coconut oil (GREAT for their health, and my dog loves the taste.)

- A sardine or two (or a little bit of tinned tuna in water)

-  Natural yoghurt 

-  Fruit/Veg & leftovers (banana, pumpkin, carrot peels, strawberry tops, apple (seeds are poison) etc) 

- An egg (shells and all if he'll eat them, it's more balanced that way)

- Tinned food (Holistic Select, Black Hawk, Nutro etc are all pretty good) 

- Frozen premade raw food (BARF) e.g. Big Dog brand

-  K9 Naturals 

 

Remember not "too much of a good thing" (don't give yoghurt every day, or don't give egg every day)  

[ish]

I'm going to disagree with those saying that the diet is boring - my dogs and puppies have eaten only Royal Canin dry food for the bulk of their meals for their entire lives without ever being bored of it. I do mix it up on occasion but would never chose a time that a pup was being fussy to do so, creates a bigger problem of a dog who knows if he refuses food he gets something else. Good luck

[busymum01]

On 15/08/2017 at 8:21 PM, ish said:

I'm going to disagree with those saying that the diet is boring - my dogs and puppies have eaten only Royal Canin dry food for the bulk of their meals for their entire lives without ever being bored of it. I do mix it up on occasion but would never chose a time that a pup was being fussy to do so, creates a bigger problem of a dog who knows if he refuses food he gets something else. Good luck

Ish that's my concern too, am I making a rod for my own back?!

[KobiD]

I wouldn't over think it.

 

If you put the dinner out for 15 minutes and the dog doesn't eat. Take it away and it misses out. It'll be hungry for the next meal. 

If you want to offer something else at the next meal I doubt the dog has intellect to say I refused the last one, therefore I get this one. More likely it's just hungry and it has some food with a little more appeal. Double win.

If your puppy refused the dry biscuits and then after it turned up it's nose you immediately gave it something better it may make the connection. I don't think anyone here is saying give the dog a choice. Simply consider adding a bit more variety under the same feeding schedule. 

[DogsAndTheMob]

Individual dogs vary in their food requirements. One of my border collies eats more than my German shepherd and stays lean, while the other border collie eats as little as I fed my miniature poodle and still weighs too much. I have also found that youngsters' appetites fluctuate, so I don't fuss too much if they maintain a healthy weight, which I judge by running my hands over them, not by the scales. However, I watch for other changes that might signal problems - bladder and bowel changes, elevated temperature (I can usually feel this by touching their ears), pale gums, lameness, lack of energy, general discomfort/restlessness etc.

 

Occasionally, a sudden change in appetite does indicate something not quite right. Will he let you look in his mouth to check for broken teeth, abscesses or anything else that might make eating uncomfortable? Could he have swallowed a foreign object (e.g. a toy)?

 

It may be worthwhile to buy and open a fresh bag of food. Recently all four of my dogs turned up their noses at their usual dog food (not Royal Canin) but regained their appetites when I opened a fresh bag. It seemed as if there was something "off" about that particular batch of food. 

 

 

[sandgrubber]

On 8/15/2017 at 1:48 PM, busymum01 said:

Thanks all, I've spoken to our breeder and she's given me some ideas to try in varying his diet. He's not yet desexed and weighs in at a huge 35kg. I'm puzzled because he eats the things he WANTS to eat just fine. Just not his dry biscuit all of a sudden.

If he's weighing in at 35 kg, maybe his body is telling him to eat less.  The amounts recommended on the bag are often on the high side. My adult Labs eat less than 450g dry food a day...they get some veggies, occasional eggs, a pinch of fish meal, and opportunities to 'lick the bowl' when I'm cooking.  But the dry is by far the mainstay of their diets.  If you do supplement, feed less dry food.  You don't want to end up with a 45 kg dog.

I agree with ish, 'boring' is a non issue.  If a dog likes it's food it is happy to eat it every day.  Variety is a human concept.  On the other hand, 'treat' is a concept many dogs appreciate from the bottom of their hearts.

Edited August 16, 2017 by sandgrubber
Spelling error

[ish]

Was his breeder concerned about his weight? I have German Shepherds which are similarly sized and to me that's either a very big pup or he's a bit heavy. If he is heavy, he may be refusing his meals because he doesn't need it. 

 

This article is very useful - the growth chart is German Shepherd specific but still might be helpful - average for a 9 month old male GSD is 31kg 

http://www.gsdcv.org.au/sites/default/files/file/Nutrition in Dogs.pdf

 

 

[busymum01]

On 17/08/2017 at 1:29 PM, ish said:

Was his breeder concerned about his weight? I have German Shepherds which are similarly sized and to me that's either a very big pup or he's a bit heavy. If he is heavy, he may be refusing his meals because he doesn't need it. 

 

This article is very useful - the growth chart is German Shepherd specific but still might be helpful - average for a 9 month old male GSD is 31kg 

http://www.gsdcv.org.au/sites/default/files/file/Nutrition in Dogs.pdf

 

 

No, the breeder wasn't concerned (Dad is s heavyweight which might tip the scales). There's no denying he's a very big pup and above the breed 'average'. However, the average being exactly that, you need weights to fall either side to create the magic number so I'm not particularly concerned about his weight myself. I'm in contact with a few owners of his litter mates and they are all similarly sized within the kilo. 

[Iscariot]

We had the same issue with our 11 month old Golden. Once we upped his exercise and reduced his snacks (not reduced not stopped completely) he started eating his kibble again.