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Meal times turn weird My 6 month old loves to eat. For the past few days though when it comes meal time he does his normal happy excited dance as alway and you put his food down and he takes a piece and plays with it. After about 5 minutes he ends up eating. Usually you put his bowl down he eats immediately and doesn't play with his food. He gets 3 meals a day, AM is 1/4 cup, lunch is half of that and then dinner is 1/4 cup. The times are usually 7am, 12-1pm and 4-5pm. Should I try cutting out the lunch feeding and see if he gets back to eating immedately and not playing with it first? |
Have your been training him a lot recently and giving him treats for performing? It doesn't sound as if he is that hungry. Is he plump? He could be getting enough food that the frequency of the meals is a bit much. I would try cutting out the mid-day meal or just give a teaspoonful of kibble or something to see if that is it? My Tibbe usually just eats around 8 - 8:30 a.m. and again at 5 - 6:00 p.m. I do leave a tiny bit of food down on demand and he rarely ever eats that except occasionally very late at night. He gets 1/4 cup in the morning and 1/4 at night and some kibble treats during the day during obedience, etc. You might try timing his food access. Put it down for 10 minutes and then take it up until the next mealtime to see if he will get the message that mealtime is for eating. Unless he is a very tiny puppy with hypoglycemic issues, it shouldn't hurt him to miss a meal or two for a day or two just to see if this will get him back on track. But more than likely, he's just not hungry enough at mealtime with those 3 feedings. |
At 6 months old, I wouldn't cut his food back. Usually around 1 year, or 8 months of age at the earliest, vets suggest decreasing food and going to a 2 meal schedule (although my guys have stayed on a 3 meal plan. It works best for them). I wouldn't worry about him not eating right away. Max had to be handfed his entire first year, and now he is chow hound. Teddy sometimes takes a kibble or two and waits a bit, and sometimes he eats everything right away. |
He's not plump I don't think, he is 5 lbs. he's probably closer to 7 months now. We have been doing some training lately but not with a lot of treats, he did have his kong today filled with a little peanut butter and froze and one treat bone cut into pieces for training. I am going to try and cut out his lunch and see if it changes anything. Normally he sits right down to eat and has it gone in 5 minutes flat. I'm also going to cut out the treats as well just to see and if I give him any treats just give them in the evening. |
It does sound like he's just not that hungry. Cutting down on his treats or continuing to feed them but waiting longer to offer him his next meal might do it. |
I would cut the treats first/more because they are not nutritionally vital for a maturing pup. |
Or use kibble for treats as I do. That way he still gets his nutrition and yet gets to still work for treats. We do so much obedience and things like that, he has to have "paychecks" but at least they are part of his normal diet. |
I just have a hard time seeing the treats being the issue all on its own. The most he gets in a day training is 4 pieces of dehydrated liver each piece being o bigger then the size of kibble. But we will see what happens I guess, we won't know unless we try. Thanks so much for all the help. I will keep you's updated. |
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Thanks giving it a try today. |
Well I think dogs go through different phases myself. My 1 year old use to just wolf down her food in 1 minute. She gets 1/4 morning 1/4 evening mixed with a little wet food from wellness and water (she doesnt like to drink water out of the bowl??) anyway, about three weeks ago she started this ritual at every meal of nosing around and trying to bury it..she pushes the bowl around and sniffs around it and even tries to pull her bed over it (hard to do when your standing on it little einstein lol) so this goes on for about 3-5 minutes and then she walks off comes back a few times then "WOLFS" it right down...it may be just a new phase.... |
Ya your right it could be a phase. He played with a few pieces this morning for 2 minutes and the ate it all. |
So after skipping lunch all together I just gave Carter his dinner. He grabbed a piece through it in the air went and ate it and then went to his bowl to gobble up all his dinner. :) |
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