GSP pup eating question

[recon033]

I have a 19 week old GSP. Since day one he never gets excited about eating. The vet says hes healthy, and he does eat. I have the same feeding schedule, 7am and 7pm. When I put the food down in the morning sometimes he wont pay attention to it until noon. Same with at night. Sometimes he takes a couple bites and leaves it for a couple of hours. Sometimes heck skip a meal all together other times heck eat as soon as I put it out. However he is still putting on weight and growing, very playful and doesnt seem to be sick at all. Its been going on since 7 weeks. I am feeding Iams smart puppy as that is what my breeder fed so I stuck with it. Should I switch foods? Or is he just eating what he needs. I am feeding according to the back of the bag as well. Hes up to three cups total for the day. Is this something to be worried about, or is he just eating what he needs? Does he not like the food? He eats treats anytime you give them to him also and will eat other dogs food anytime its out unless you stop him.

[Will]

If he's healthy, looks good, and activity level is normal then I say you're ok....nothing to worry about. This may change as he matures and his activity level increases...thus demand increases. I'd say you're lucky to not have a "scarfer". If he's skipping meals totally, you might want to consider reducing amount fed by a half cup or so to see if that changes anything.

[Sharon]

He's growing , putting on weight so must be getting enough food.

You could try feeding once a day at his age. ( Do you give 1/2 the daily allowance in the morning and 1/2 at night?)

I have an old dog who is blind and deaf. People often don't realize that they also lose their sense of smell.

I mix in a tablespoon of wet dog food with water + the kibble and he eats great. Not a habit you probably want to start.

Don't get into the "change the dog food " thinking. You're feeding a quality food so leave it at that. Are you feeding smart puppy large breed? The small breed only goes to 20 pounds. The large goes to 100 pounds. If you are feeding the large breed it would be easy to over feed. If the dog's stool isn't firm you are overfeeding.

http://www.iams.com/dog-food/Iams-ProAc ... pid=104159

[bossman]

I'd leave the food down for 20 min. If he hasn't eaten it all in 20 min, I'd pick it up. He may pay more attention to it after you pick it up a couple of times. Just my opinion.

[recon033]

I am feeding the large breed and he does get 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 at night. his stools are also good and regular.

[sully511]

I also pick up the food after 15-20 minutes and if they don't eat it, they don't get that meal. I offer the food again at the next meal time. I prefer a dog that eats right away because then I absolutely know there is something wrong if they don't eat.

[Will]

Picking up the food is a good idea too especially if ever plan on travelling with the dog. It'll help him learn that he eats, potties, etc etc on your schedule, not his.

[Green]

If he's healthy, looks good, and activity level is normal then I say you're ok....nothing to worry about. This may change as he matures and his activity level increases...thus demand increases. I'd say you're lucky to not have a "scarfer". If he's skipping meals totally, you might want to consider reducing amount fed by a half cup or so to see if that changes anything.

This!

[KATroutman]

I will put another vote in with the fellas who say put it down for a 15-20 minutes and pick it up. I've read that you should only feed the remainder at the next feeding, but I say dump the remainder and then feed a normal feeding.

I have an older dog that is the worse eater known to man. Terrible I tell you! The puppy, he's a good eater. He's not a scarfer, but he doesn't waste any time.