# Not very excited for meals



## giandaliajr (Nov 24, 2012)

We are feeding our 10 week old Taste of the Wild puppy formula. We are doing three meals a day, a cup each meal mixed with a little warm water to soften it up.

He usually only eats a couple bites at lunch and the majority of his breakfast and dinner, he still leaves maybe 10 pieces of kibble though. 

I'm not sure if this is normal or if we should switch foods to see if he would enjoy something else more. He is gaining weight and definitely healthy. It's more his enthusiasm that is concerning. A lot of the training material I have been reading says that meals should be used kind of as a reward and part of training. Like doing training to make him work for his meals and such.

Any tips? Or just let it be since he is eating a good amount?


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

And, What the problem is???

Boy will eat when he's hungry. 
Please remember, these are dogs, not human kids  

As long as he is healthy, he will eat. If he did not eat at all, that would be worrisome. 
A different problem is if he chews on the wrong stuff. Needs 100% supervision. 

10 weeks old :-*... Take pictures, lots, he will grow up soooo fast..
.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

3 cups per day sounds like an awful lot of food for a 10 week old puppy. Puppy food or not. Astro is 80lbs, 2 years old and only eats 3 cups of dry per day. Zsa Zsa is 48lbs and eats 2 cups per day. Maybe it's just TOTW, but it sounds like lots of food for a little tummy to get through. Is he fat??   Post some piccies please, please, please.... I love fat happy puppy pics!!


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## giandaliajr (Nov 24, 2012)

The bag says 2.25 - 3.5 cups per day for his age and weight. He isnt fat but I still attached a picture. He's a good little boy 90% of the time, but those **** shark attacks are incredibly frustrating


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## giandaliajr (Nov 24, 2012)

im not quite sure why the picture uploaded sideways, its upright in the original file.


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## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

He is a beautiful boy!

3 cups a day sound a bit much to me as well. Max is 52 lb and eats about 2.5 cups/day, Skyy - 42 lb eats 2 cups/day.

When Max was a puppy, his shark attacks were so bad, I have considered buying socks for every house guest (!) to replace what Max had destroyed. 

It will get better


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## giandaliajr (Nov 24, 2012)

yeah, i dont think he has ever actually eating all 3 cups though. I think we will start cutting his lunch down to 1/2 cup since he barely eats it anyways and stay with TOTW. 

Thanks for the feedback!


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## sitka (Oct 22, 2012)

our pup went through the same thing. we feed her about 1/2 C 3x a day. Sometimes she just gets too distracted to eat. If she only has a little left I'll use it as her 'treat" during training & it's crazy how she will be so excited for it after it just sat there in her bowl & wouldn't eat it! We've also put it in small piles on the floor for her to find & she'll usually eat it up.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Puppy food bags indicate a large span of feeding (such as the 2.25-3.5 cups/day) guidelines because for some dogs 2.25 cups is the right amount for a pup that may not be having a growth spurt, 3.5 cups may be the needed amount for a pup that is in a growth spurt and for some they may need amounts in between. Basically those feedings on the bag are suggestions and shouldn't be considered fact as our vet consistently points out to us. By following the bag suggestions you can overfeed your dogs. Your pup will eat what they need to sustain themselves as most dogs (Vs in particular) are very good at regulating their food intake to maintain themselves depending on their activity level and needs (ie: during a growth spurt).

If you see that your pup is losing weight (actually losing weight, not getting skinny due to a boost in growth) then I would be concerned, but it sounds like your pup is doing pretty good. You could offer a spoonful of wet food mixed in to help get them be interested in the food if you would like. I also want to be sure that you're feeding TOTW puppy and not the TOTW all life stages as this impacts the amount of food that you'll feed your pup.


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## giandaliajr (Nov 24, 2012)

Lots of great info, thanks. Yeah it is the puppy formula. Here is another picture of him I took this afternoon


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

He's a gorgeous looking boy. I think you're very lucky!!   As the others have suggested, back it off a touch and see what result you get. If I fed mine according to the packet Zsa Zsa would have to roll out the door and Astro woulld be over 100lbs.......


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Monitor his condition carefully and often. When she was a puppy, Savannah constantly ate at the upper end of the recommendations and burned it all off before the next meal.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

I think it's so hard to know how much to feed them! Our Miles is a finicky eater, has never finished a bowl of food all at once, and we supplement his food with veggies, meats, and eggs to help stimulate him to eat. He is pretty thin right now, we see all his ribs and 4+ of his vertebrae right now, along with his hip bones. We have been trying to get him to eat 4 cups a day to put some weight on. Hope it's ok to do that.... recommended for his age and weight is 3 cups right now TOTW.


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## Must dash (Nov 15, 2012)

Our pup is very food driven. Over the last few days I have been clicker training and so using her kibble and treats as rewards more than usual. This evening I tried to use rewards on her evening walk, but she refused them. I was very shocked as it's usually like feeding a piranha.  I've learned today to accept that she will eat what she wants and to trust she knows best. She turned down goodies for goodness sake! Unheard of. lol!! 

As hard as it is maybe, trust your dog to know how much he wants and as others say, use your eyes to keep a check on his weight. I truly believe it's a bit like children. They have great levels of self preservation and will have what they need.


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