# Intermittent fasting



## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

Yes intermittent fasting is a dieting hype, and my pup Fred is a fan apparently..

She is a fussy eater since day one, and I have read all the posts on this forum about fussy eaters. Spoiled as she is, she usually waits until the very last moment to see if I will sprinkle something tasty on top. She likes her kibble, we’ve swapped her to this brand after testing various options. If she isn’t fussy she’ll eat it easily.

But lately she is refusing to eat altogether in the morning. Doesn’t drink either. She eats a lot of grass in the morning and throws up after. It can take until the afternoon for her to eat her first bite, and sometimes even drink. Not even treats will get her appetite going. She is teething, but wet food and water shouldn’t be a problem with a healthy appetite. Nor should cheese. 

Today, we took her to the vet after she hadn’t been eating or drinking until evening. The vet checked her thoroughly and said she is healthy. She got a anti-nausea shot and we went home. “Puppy issues” the vet said.

Now I know ‘V’s can be fussy eaters. But how long can you wait it out? When does your fussy eater V breaks and starts eating? And have you ever had your V not drinking for almost the entire day?

She weighs 15 kg / 34 lbs and is 5,5 months old.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I've always had atleast one in the house, that only ate if really hungry. 
Otherwise could careless about dog food, even if you added good stuff to it. During the hot summer, they would really cut back on their food.
Let them run for a couple hours in the cold, and that same dog would clean her bowl quickly. 
As long as their weight looks good, and they look healthy. I've quit worrying about it. 
Shine is a only eat if she is hungry dog. Before her, it was Lucy.
The other dogs would look like a can of biscuits, if you let them eat as much as they wanted.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

My dog eats once a day and has done since she was also around 5.5 months. She was having some digestive issues and I switched her from kibble to a raw diet at that time. In retrospect, that was a bit early to switch to one meal a day, but I don't recall her having any problems with it. It's not uncommon for them to prefer eating once a day starting around 8 months to a year old, so considering her clean bill of health I wouldn't be concerned. 

You might try seeing if she'll eat a snack before she goes to bed at night, which I've heard can help with the nausea in the morning.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

mine eat their main meal in the evenings, although we only switched when they were over a year old.

for such a young pup i would try at least something like a kefir in the mornings. or dog safe bone broth. both have nutritional value and liquid as well. the evening kibble i would turn to a soup, so that she gets enough hydration. dehydration / unbalanced electrolytes can cause issues down the line even if they don`t show yet. throwing up regularly can cause electrolytes issues as well, just as ruin her teeth.


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## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

If I wait until evening, she won’t eat near her daily recommendation. That’s why for now, her being so young and growing so much, I add extra protein (chicken or fish). I heard about a raw egg mixed with her kibble, but Fred doesn’t eat that. She’s not too skinny tho, we’ll manage. But I wish she would love to eat 😉

Great idea of giving her some kefir in the morning, since that is what I eat, she’ll probably want it just because it’s what I’m having.

What about water intake? She does drink after playing or running. But she can go without drinking until afternoon if she’s not exercised heavily (we have a lazy V, so she doesn’t need as much exercise as other V’s in this forum).


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

If you are real concerned on water consumption in the morning. Some dogs like a little bit of coconut water.
I prefer mine drink regular water, but I've had some that are too busy in the field to want to drink. Coconut water was a little more enticing to them at first, while we worked on a drink command. 

It may sound funny to those that don't hunt, or are not in the field a lot.
High drive dogs need to have a command for stopping to cool off in water, or to stop and drink.
Some dogs will do it naturally when they need it, but others will just keep going until it's to late.


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## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

I’m gonna give the coconut water a try on days that we walk to my office (aprox 45 mins). See if I can get her to drink a bit before the walk.


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## Royal pup AZ (Aug 16, 2020)

We were having a similar issue with our now 6 month old puppy not eating easily. He wouldn't eat his food unless it was topped with something special, but he would get tired of the same "special" part so we were constantly trying new things.  (I think I'm less doting than other people on here) and at about 5 months I refused to continue, so he went back to plain, dry kibble. The first two days he only ate about 1/4 cup total (not much compared to usual 3-4 cups). Then about day 4 he finally cracked & started eating more normally. We did return to putting water on it, and actually switched to twice a day instead of three times. Seems to help him let his appetite build up a bit. Hope you find something that works.


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## CincyVizsla (Jan 9, 2014)

I have a 7 year old female who sometimes goes 24-36 hours without eating, but other times will eat twice in 8 hours. We always just leave her next meal out and she eats when she wants to. She is healthy and her weight is normal.


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## cynrunner (Feb 17, 2016)

We have a 4 1/2 yr. old V, Cashew. He has been a picky, eater since puppyhood. Drove us crazy, lol! Every time I took him to the vet, the vet said he looks great, & is healthy, Long story short, he will consistently eat this doggy meatloaf that I make, It on the internet, Ceasar's meatloaf, I switch the meat, veggies, & fruit. Since he decided he likes it most of the time, I noticed his coat has gotten thicker, & more fur on his underside, so I am happy. He still just looks at kibble, & says, "Naw"! LOL, very spoiled Vizsla, cannot live without him.


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## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

Update: we have also stopped adding toppings on her food. She gets Edgar & Cooper puppy kibble + extra salmon oil. We also went from feeding 3x a day to twice a day. After a few weeks of battling her intermittent fasting she now eats pretty consistent. And she is is lean but not as skinny as she was three months ago so I stopped worrying. We also found that pumpkin + kefir cures her diarrhea overnight. I love this forum, thank you!


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