# lost appetite :(



## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

So you picked a food and now he won't eat... typical! 

At this age it may be about the end of a growth spurt. If you are still feeding 3 times a day, drop the lunch meal. Try giving 1 cup in the morning, 1 cup at dinner. Put the food down for about 10 minutes then pick up what is left over. Do the same at dinner. If your pup is hungry, he will eat  

Remember you changed foods several times and this can result in picky eating habits. He needs to re-learn to eat what you put down. My kids could live on pizza & ice cream but letting the child (in your case puppy) call the shots is never a good idea.

I wouldn't soak the food, at this age the dry kibble is helping to keep his teeth clean. I add some water just to slow down the eating process and it's supposed to help with the taste but it's never mushy. 

If he doesn't eat after a couple of days I would have the vet check him out just to be sure all is ok.


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## ksmith08 (Feb 14, 2018)

puddles everywhere said:


> So you picked a food and now he won't eat... typical!
> 
> At this age it may be about the end of a growth spurt. If you are still feeding 3 times a day, drop the lunch meal. Try giving 1 cup in the morning, 1 cup at dinner. Put the food down for about 10 minutes then pick up what is left over. Do the same at dinner. If your pup is hungry, he will eat
> 
> ...


I never change his food. I don't like to change their food. all the while he was eating Wellness kibbles only.

Do you think he looks skinny?


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

ksmith08 said:


> I never change his food. I don't like to change their food. all the while he was eating Wellness kibbles only.
> 
> Do you think he looks skinny?


Didn't you recently post that you switched from one Wellness kibble to a grain free one? Did you keep him on it or switch it back? He may have decided he doesn't like whatever he's getting now if its a chance. 

How much do you feed him, and how much other food does he get (training treats, human food etc). Also, how come you soak his kibble? You probably don't need to do that, eating dry kibble is good for the teeth. 

Also, judging by the picture, is there another dog in the home? My friend has a Ridgeback who won't eat his food 
if another dog sticks his nose in it, and won't drink after other dogs either (he's a little diva). 

Sometimes dogs do this, especially if they are getting yummy treats and/or human food. Occasionally its a health issue. Sometimes they just do it because they are being picky. Their appetites can do wacky things before and after growth spurts. 

If you're concerned, you can take him to the vet to get checked out. He doesn't look too skinny to me, he looks like a thin GR who is all legs--they often look awkward at that age, just like teenagers. 

If he's otherwise healthy and the vet isn't concerned, I wouldn't worry about it. He will eat when he gets hungry. Its OK for him to miss a couple meals. I would put his food down, dry and unadulterated, and pick up whatever he doesn't eat after 20-30 minutes. Then either try again in a few hours, or just wait until his next regularly scheduled mealtime. You may want to hold off any additional training treats or human food for a while, until he's back to eating like normal. These things usually work themselves out pretty quickly.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

I guess my memory is failing, sure thought you posted about switching foods.

I think he looks great! He's a beautiful pup. Piper is right about the 2nd dog invading his space. My girl is now 2 and if anyone gets near the bowl when she eats she walks away. This can also have the opposite response and can create arguments so it's always best to provide private time when feeding.

Lots of people feed in their crates or separate them in different rooms or one inside and one out. My chihuahua eats slow so he goes into a crate to eat but the two goldens eat at about the same speed so I put them down and stood between the bowls until each learned to eat from their own bowls. 

Meal time is a great time to ask for sits, downs, spins and work on hand signals. Just take the kibble right out of the bowl and when they have done a few things, put the rest down as a sort of "jack pot" reward.


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## ksmith08 (Feb 14, 2018)

Piper_the_goldenpuppy said:


> Didn't you recently post that you switched from one Wellness kibble to a grain free one? Did you keep him on it or switch it back? He may have decided he doesn't like whatever he's getting now if its a chance.
> 
> How much do you feed him, and how much other food does he get (training treats, human food etc). Also, how come you soak his kibble? You probably don't need to do that, eating dry kibble is good for the teeth.
> 
> ...



Thank you, appreciate your reply.

I wanted to switch his food from complete health to grain free but you guys advised against that so i took your advice because obviously you guys have more experience than me. So i never change his food. until now he is having his same old complete health kibbles. 

I feed him 3 times a day. 1 cup x 3 times. I don't give him any human food other than few baby carrots once in a while. He gets very small treats when i bring him out for a walk. I'm not giving any training treats (next week im gonna sign up for a training class =) 

> Also, how come you soak his kibble? You probably don't need to do that, eating dry kibble is good for the teeth. 

yes, but i thought he is getting his adult tooth and it's painful thats why wanted to make it easy for him :/

> Also, judging by the picture, is there another dog in the home? My friend has a Ridgeback who won't eat his food 
if another dog sticks his nose in it, and won't drink after other dogs either (he's a little diva). 

yup i have a 4yr old toy poodle. he gets his own 1st choice kibbles (used to feed them separately) its just when they roam around freely i let them drink water together. 

I guess i'll just monitor for another 2-3 days and then visit my vet.


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## ksmith08 (Feb 14, 2018)

puddles everywhere said:


> I guess my memory is failing, sure thought you posted about switching foods.
> 
> I think he looks great! He's a beautiful pup. Piper is right about the 2nd dog invading his space. My girl is now 2 and if anyone gets near the bowl when she eats she walks away. This can also have the opposite response and can create arguments so it's always best to provide private time when feeding.
> 
> ...


> I think he looks great! He's a beautiful pup.

Thank you 

I wanted to change his food but never. coz i also read grain free is not that good. and you're correct, thats how he learned his first command - "sit"


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