Not so crazy about his food??!!

[buswell]

Hi, I have an 8 month old Mini Aussie. As soon as I brought him home (at 8 weeks old) I feed him a cup of blue seal puppy food morning and night. He ate quickly and almost expected more. As he got older I mixed adult food with it and he ate the same....quick to his food....food quickly gone:)) About a month ago he started acting like he wasnt hungry. Nothing physically wrong with him. I thought at first he got a sliver of stick in his throat...but that wasnt it. I was told to watch his snack intack. He now has very little snack thru out day (and that is just his dog treats) and we have been mixing purina one puppy food with his blue seal puppy food (in order to change him over to purina without a huge change) He seems to love the purina food much more....

Now to the ?? :)
I put his food down he does eat it, but almost as just passing by. He will go nibble on it now and then throughout day. I was told he shouldnt have food down all down. Give him alotted time to eat then pick food up. But he eats a little bit then comes back in a while thruout day. He seem otherwise completly healthy. And we are keeping the snacking down. (however I must mention in order for you to know the whole truth of it:)) we have fallen to giving him bits of table food now and then (now we dont) but I was told he was to smart and now expects that...) We never gave him a lot just a bit now and then......
what do you think? Is his way of eating his food normal and healthy? He must be hunrgy....we now give him very little dog treats...I would really appreciate any suggestions.....
thank you

[WagNBragShane]

Hello!

We've dealt with this issue on and off with our own girl, Dorrie. I would suggest any and all of these ideas:

1. First, it's not a bad idea to take your Aussie to the vet for a check-up. We want to make sure there's nothing medically wrong. One of the best ways our animal friends have to communicate with us is through their eating habits. A change in eating habits is often a sign of some other health problem.

2. Let's hope that your Aussie is healthy and comes back from the vet visit with a good report card. Then, we'll need to look at our feeding habits. A good place to start, as you've figured out, is reducing treats and table scraps. I know of a few trainers and owners who monitor their dogs daily calorie intake pretty closely. They continue to give treats but deduct the appropriate amount of dog food from the regular feeding.

3. If the dog is healthy, we might consider that the food is just not very interesting to your finicky eater. Try pouring a little warm water in the bowl with the dry food. This might make the food seem a bit more interesting than dry food. Sometimes we've even been known to use a small amount of olive oil drizzled over the food as a treat. (It's also good for their coats.) Don't overdo these garnishes. A teaspoon of olive oil once a week should be fine.

4. Also, we want to make sure that your dog doesn't get used to the idea of food always being available. So, if your dog doesn't eat all the food, scoop it back up or put the bowl away after an hour. Wait a few hours and put the food back, but only give the dog one hour to eat it. If he doesn't, then take it up and put it away again. This will do a couple of things. It does reinforce the genetic "eat or go hungry" instinct in the dog, but to my way of thinking it also trains the owner on something important, too. You may find that your dog has a preferred time of day to eat. Just because we eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at certain times of the day, does not mean that our doggy friends use the same clock. You may find your dog prefers breakfast closer to 10 a.m. than 6 a.m. (Sadly, our Dorrie prefers breakfast closer to 6 a.m.) and prefers dinner at 8 p.m. rather than 4. You'll get a better reaction to the food if you feed the dog when it's hungry rather than when you think it should be eating. Of course, you can probably train the dog to eat when you want, but I work from home and don't mind adapting the feeding schedule to fit Dorrie's needs. Your mileage may vary.

5. You may also have to eventually consider the fact that your dog doesn't like the new food. If all else fails, you can try gradually switching to some other food to see if that helps.

I'm not a professional trainer or a veterinarian, just a dog lover, too. I'd definitely recommend making sure your dog is healthy and then trying any advice he/she has to offer. Good luck with it and let us know if any progress is made.

Good luck!

Take care,

Shane, WagNBrag Community Moderator

[buswell]

Thank you I will try these things....he is going in for a vet check and neutering soon anyway...thanks again

[buswell]

I have been picking up his food as you suggested, after about an hour or so of his 'fly by eating' and when I put it down later he is there to eat it. He has been eating more regularly. I think he was getting into a bad eating habit of always knowing his food is there when ever he felt like it and knowing we had better food than the one laid out for him...:) We are more constistant with him only eating his food at certain times and I have seen improvements ....so thank you for your help:)
Pam

[WagNBragShane]

That's great news! I'm glad to hear it is working out for you.

Thanks for being a part of the WagNBrag community.

Take care,

Shane, WagNBrag Community Moderator