Cockapoo puppy - not eating enough - I think
Discussion
Hello all, wonder if I could pose a question to those of you more experienced with dogs. We have a 24 week old cockapoo. When we first got him he was on a kibble diet and following various different bits of advice, at about 14 weeks we moved him over to the natures menu raw puppy nugget food. At first all was fine he ate everything he was given, but then he started turning his nose up and would just ignore his bowl of food. If we hand fed him he would eat it but left to his own devices he wouldn't. We tried some different varieties and at first he would eat them all, but within a couple of days he would start turning his nose up again. There are no varieties left for his age group so darting to scratch out heads as to what we do.
In himself he is fine, full of energy, playful etc. He will eat treats, although he is not a greedy dog and seems to be willing to take it or leave it - I sometimes take him out with a friends cocker spaniel and he will be glued to my side waiting for a treat when practicing recall, our dog just isn't bothered.
So my question is, does anyone think this is a problem or just leave him and as a dog, he will eat when hungry. We have been to vets who said he is growing well and I could be down to teething, but he hasn't got any milk teeth left and is still behaiving he same way. To put some measurement on it, he is 24 weeks old, weighs about 9kg and we are 'supposed' to feed him around 36 raw nuggets a day, split over 3 meals. Some days (but rarely now) he eats the lot. Other days he will refuse breakfast and lunch and eat (with persuasion) half of his dinner. Some days absolutely nothing. He has as mentioned always eaten treats so don't think he is sick. Stools are fine and no funny noises coming from stomach. When we eat he is always hanging around hoping he gets something, which he never does. He does however love cheese and whenever my wife goes to the fridge (she picks at cheese all day long!) he sits their begging for some. She says she doesn't indulge him but the behaviour suggests otherwise!!
Anyway any input or experiences anyone has had would be much appreciated - is their another more likeable raw food people have used or could anyone make any suggestion as to what to try. When he was a puppy he was ok on Kibble, would always eat some but wouldn't always finish the food, if that helps.
Thanks in advance
In himself he is fine, full of energy, playful etc. He will eat treats, although he is not a greedy dog and seems to be willing to take it or leave it - I sometimes take him out with a friends cocker spaniel and he will be glued to my side waiting for a treat when practicing recall, our dog just isn't bothered.
So my question is, does anyone think this is a problem or just leave him and as a dog, he will eat when hungry. We have been to vets who said he is growing well and I could be down to teething, but he hasn't got any milk teeth left and is still behaiving he same way. To put some measurement on it, he is 24 weeks old, weighs about 9kg and we are 'supposed' to feed him around 36 raw nuggets a day, split over 3 meals. Some days (but rarely now) he eats the lot. Other days he will refuse breakfast and lunch and eat (with persuasion) half of his dinner. Some days absolutely nothing. He has as mentioned always eaten treats so don't think he is sick. Stools are fine and no funny noises coming from stomach. When we eat he is always hanging around hoping he gets something, which he never does. He does however love cheese and whenever my wife goes to the fridge (she picks at cheese all day long!) he sits their begging for some. She says she doesn't indulge him but the behaviour suggests otherwise!!
Anyway any input or experiences anyone has had would be much appreciated - is their another more likeable raw food people have used or could anyone make any suggestion as to what to try. When he was a puppy he was ok on Kibble, would always eat some but wouldn't always finish the food, if that helps.
Thanks in advance
Our dog goes off his food every now and again, sometimes for a couple of days. Seems to coincide with the warmer weather.
Different dogs, exercise regime, etc require different quantities. If he's fit and healthy I wouldn't worry too much. Better to have a dog like this than one that gobbles everything in sight and ends up overweight.
Different dogs, exercise regime, etc require different quantities. If he's fit and healthy I wouldn't worry too much. Better to have a dog like this than one that gobbles everything in sight and ends up overweight.
Don't worry, he is doing fine. He is playful, lively, gaining weight and vet says he looks healthy. All good.
Some dogs can self regulate. My friends collie was exactly the same, worried my friend sick at the time. Collie Buddy is now almost 16yrs old and still eats in the same fashion!!
As long as he has good eating days it is ok for him to have 'poor' ones as long as growth, weight, activity are good.
Don't be tempted to hand feed and don't be tempted to fill him up on treats. Take any uneaten food away after 10 mins and try again later. Try and offer a few more cubes at time of day he is inclined to eat more. Is he on puppy balanced raw food?
Some dogs can self regulate. My friends collie was exactly the same, worried my friend sick at the time. Collie Buddy is now almost 16yrs old and still eats in the same fashion!!
As long as he has good eating days it is ok for him to have 'poor' ones as long as growth, weight, activity are good.
Don't be tempted to hand feed and don't be tempted to fill him up on treats. Take any uneaten food away after 10 mins and try again later. Try and offer a few more cubes at time of day he is inclined to eat more. Is he on puppy balanced raw food?
Edited by bexVN on Tuesday 5th July 18:48
Yes he is on Natures Menu Puppy Nuggets which I understand to be a balanced complete meal. One other thing we have noticed, but I forgot to mention was that if we take the nuggets off the plate and put them on the floor, he eats them...leave them on the plate and he'll ignore them...very odd
peekay74 said:
Yes he is on Natures Menu Puppy Nuggets which I understand to be a balanced complete meal. One other thing we have noticed, but I forgot to mention was that if we take the nuggets off the plate and put them on the floor, he eats them...leave them on the plate and he'll ignore them...very odd
Slightly odd but not unheard of 
Try feeding him some cooked chicken or scrambled egg if he is not eating. As said before only leave the food availanle to him for 10 minutes at a time. If he has all day access he will just graze rather than eating his meal like you want.
Try more exercise as well to make him hungry
Buy a new dog bowl to put the food in. Sometimes the solution can ne that simple.
Try a diffrent brand of food. I had a lab that for no apparent reason would go off a brand (not flavour) of food. Change over to a new brand and she would eat fine again
Try more exercise as well to make him hungry
Buy a new dog bowl to put the food in. Sometimes the solution can ne that simple.
Try a diffrent brand of food. I had a lab that for no apparent reason would go off a brand (not flavour) of food. Change over to a new brand and she would eat fine again
Our Cockapoo has done this sort of thing pretty consistently throughout his life (He was two years old yesterday) - It was worrying for a long time but we've come to terms with the fact that he will simply eat when he's hungry and when he's not he will not. He goes through periods of guzzling both his meals down every day, and then he'll have periods where he'll only eat one meal, and sometimes he'll reluctantly have a few mouthfuls and leave the rest (then lay with his muzzle on the floor and look very sorry for himself indeed) - We feed him a kibble from a local manufacturer with some Lily's kitchen Fish pie mixed in to make it more interesting for him. We have tried a few different foods including the raw stuff over long periods of time and this seems so far to be his meal of preference (Well aside from a big lump of extra mature cheddar and a side of those sticky weeds of course).
He's in great shape and has plenty of energy too.
Interesting your observation that he'll eat food from the floor but not from his bowl - With our little man he will never ever drink inside from his bowl, it has to be outside from the bowl in the garden but preferably from a puddle, pond, lake or river when out on a walk - This can be really frustrating as sometimes on a hot day when he looks to be very keen indeed for a drink he just will not have one until we go for a walk.
Here he is the pesky little blighter...
He's in great shape and has plenty of energy too.
Interesting your observation that he'll eat food from the floor but not from his bowl - With our little man he will never ever drink inside from his bowl, it has to be outside from the bowl in the garden but preferably from a puddle, pond, lake or river when out on a walk - This can be really frustrating as sometimes on a hot day when he looks to be very keen indeed for a drink he just will not have one until we go for a walk.
Here he is the pesky little blighter...
Edited by milfordkong on Wednesday 6th July 16:34
milfordkong said:
Our Cockapoo has done this sort of thing pretty consistently throughout his life (He was two years old yesterday) - It was worrying for a long time but we've come to terms with the fact that he will simply eat when he's hungry and when he's not he will not. He goes through periods of guzzling both his meals down every day, and then he'll have periods where he'll only eat one meal, and sometimes he'll reluctantly have a few mouthfuls and leave the rest (then lay with his muzzle on the floor and look very sorry for himself indeed) - We feed him a kibble from a local manufacturer with some Lily's kitchen Fish pie mixed in to make it more interesting for him. We have tried a few different foods including the raw stuff over long periods of time and this seems so far to be his meal of preference (Well aside from a big lump of extra mature cheddar and a side of those sticky weeds of course).
He's in great shape and has plenty of energy too.
Interesting your observation that he'll eat food from the floor but not from his bowl - With our little man he will never ever drink inside from his bowl, it has to be outside from the bowl in the garden but preferably from a puddle, pond, lake or river when out on a walk - This can be really frustrating as sometimes on a hot day when he looks to be very keen indeed for a drink he just will not have one until we go for a walk.
Here he is the pesky little blighter...
Seems we have a fussy bugger too - wouldn't eat anything all day but devoured the left over steak the kids didn't eat. I am going to go out today and buy a selection of food to see if I can find something that grabs his interest. Here he is ....He's in great shape and has plenty of energy too.
Interesting your observation that he'll eat food from the floor but not from his bowl - With our little man he will never ever drink inside from his bowl, it has to be outside from the bowl in the garden but preferably from a puddle, pond, lake or river when out on a walk - This can be really frustrating as sometimes on a hot day when he looks to be very keen indeed for a drink he just will not have one until we go for a walk.
Here he is the pesky little blighter...
Edited by milfordkong on Wednesday 6th July 16:34
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