[zcRiley]

I’ve had my pups since they were 6 wks old to now, 2 yrs old. As babies, they drank milk & ate round the clock, then 4 times a day, then 3 times a day when they were 1. Small amounts that equal to their correct daily portion for weight/activity level. 9am, 3pm, 8pm.

Now they’re not wanting to eat breakfast. Indifference at lunch, then starving by dinner. I do not overfeed and I subtracted the few treats I give. So do I take the same daily amount and cut it down to 2 times a day? They’re still growing and I’m hoping they haven’t become unrealistic picky eaters (they have variety & exciting toppers, trust me). My husband and I don’t even eat that well.

Has anyone gone thru this? Suggestions? FYI: their blood panel, T4, urinalysis & IDEXX fecal all came back perfect & healthy, this morning. 🙂

[Jane E]

I have experienced this many times but it typically happens much earlier…definitely before a year. To me it is a signal that they want less (amounts and frequency). I feed all dogs every 12 hours,or as close to that as my schedule will allow. I do not dress up or top the food with anything…I just give what I want them to have and I put it down and set the timer for 10 minutes and then I pick it up. It does;’t matter if it’s finished or not. I think this creates good eaters…when the bowl is in front of you EAT. If it is unfinished I will not offer anything again until the next meal. Your dogs are healthy so they will be fine and the lesson is typically learned pretty quickly

[Jane E]

The next time you do any thyroid testing please consider doing a full panel. The T4 is not a diagnostic test,it’s a waste of money. Both Antech and Idexx do this and I have never been able to figure out why. A dog can have a T4 within normal range and still be hypothyroid.

[Alice B]

How much food do you feed each time? 1 cup, 2 cups, etc.? and do you keep a bowl of water always available? I haven’t had a puppy in several years and previously we feed 3 times a day 1 cup serving each time up to 4 months, then switched to 2 cups and if they ate it all fine, if not this was fine too. The puppy I am getting is a large breed and I want to feed a good 4 star or above grain free food. Any suggestions?

[zcRiley]

Thanks Jane, I’ll do a full panel thyroid testing. I didn’t ask for the T4, they just did it due to my concern for loss of appetite. I was wondering what about all the other T’s, LOL.

Alice, yes, I always have 2 huge GLASS bowls of fresh cold water available. One inside, one outside, raised off the floor. Changed every morning and filled as necessary. I stay away from the filtering water bowls with pump, breeding ground for unseen mold/bacteria. For food, I was doing one even cup per meal 3x per day. I tried to switch to 2x per day with 1.5 cups per meal. It was too much in one sitting, they wouldn’t finish it. I tried much less, they ended up starving at weird times & losing weight. Which is why I started this topic. AS FOR A GREAT DOG FOOD (other than the popular Orijen) that I found with only 3 proteins AND without grains, gluten, potato, egg, chicken, guar gum, carrageenan is ZIGNATURE ZSSENTIALS. It fixed a loose stool problem they eventually had after 2 yrs of Orijen. It’s 5 star but the brand is listed under 4 stars, I think. Hope you try it out!

[Jane E]

Zignature is a great food. I also like Nutrisca for it’s simplicity

[zcRiley]

I’m going to try out a small bag of Dogswell Nutrisca Grain-Free Lamb & Chickpea Recipe for the next rotation, looks easy on the tummy! As long as their stools are formed…..

[zcRiley]

Just a heads up on Nutrisca, a recent recall on the chicken formula:

February 11, 2015 – Tuffy’s Pet Foods, Inc. of Perham, Minnesota, is voluntarily recalling specific lots of Nutrisca Chicken and Chick Pea Recipe Dry Dog Food because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

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