Hi guys, So Daisy's been with us for 5 days now. She's settling in well, right now she's on a break from her cone (I watch her to make sure she doesn't lick or bite at her spay incision). She hasn't been eating all that well, though. We were told that for a 61 pound dog (can't believe she's 61 pounds! Where's all that weight!? My previous dog was 78 pounds, and he was much bigger. You could tell he was that large) she needs approx 2.5 cups of dry dog food per feeding. The first couple of nights we tried to feed her Taste of the Wild, some leftover food from when we had Suka, but she didn't want any. So then we bought Acana (for puppies, because she's between 6-1 year old the shelter said) a few days ago, but she isn't eating that either. The weird thing is, she'll eat any of those foods if I hand feed her, but not out of her bowl. She'll also eat treats and basically anything out of her Kong (I need to buy a new one, she's sort of tearing apart our red one), but she won't eat out of her bowl. Any suggestions? I want to stick to a high quality food (partially because she has dandruff and I read it can help), but I don't want to create a picky eater by switching foods all the time. She's also not free-fed (we take the bowl away after 15 minutes and it stays away until the next feeding) For my previous dog, he was the same way. A picky eater. We ended up mixing up dry food with some cheap wet beneful stuff, but that was less than ideal and we really don't want to go through that again. So what do I do? Any tips? (I thought labs would eat anything! haha)
I thought you said Daisy was 2 years old? How long was she in the shelter and what was she fed there? It's advised to NOT change a new puppy's food from what the breeder fed right away. Maybe Daisy should settle in a bit more before changing her food from what the shelter fed. I don't know the calorie content of the food you tried but if you are feeding twice a day that comes to 5 cups a day of food. I never fed that much to even my growing puppy. Maybe Daisy just does not need as much food as you are giving her. If she is not losing weight that may well be the case. 2.5 cups all at once is a lot, even if she does need that much it might be worth a try to feed smaller amounts but more often. Did the shelter feed her that much food?
I'm with snowshoe and would be feeding Daisy the same brand she was on at the shelter and 5 cups of kibble a day sounds an awful lot, although I work in grams per day. She has also been through quite a bit recently - spay operation, new home so may be feeling a little out of sorts. As long as she's not losing weight I wouldn't worry but I wouldn't be hand feeding her. Food in a kong is fine but I would also encourage eating from a bowl which I'm sure she must have been doing in the shelter. We have had instances where a dog has eaten simply because of something to do with the bowl the food was offered in so you could perhaps try another bowl as well.
Thanks guys! No, they said Daisy was 1 year old, but looking at her sheet in detail I saw that she's a 'young adult' (between 6 months to 1 year). At the shelter they fed her Royal Canin, but they didn't say what flavour/formula. They said she ate 'reasonably well', but I don't want to feed her that food. Do you think I should get a bag of Royal Canin, and then slowly switch her over to Acana? If I do that, won't I turn her into a picky eater, since this would be the 3rd type of food we try with her? The Acana bag says she needs 2 2/3 cups of food, and I think that's per feeding? Or would that be the total daily amount? The bag doesn't say. She was in the adoption room for 2 weeks (she had to wait 1.5 weeks in there for her spay appointment), and I guess she was in the 'stray' area longer for behavioural testing. So maybe a month in the shelter? I have a spare bowl I can try.
Hi @SolitaryHowl , I would go for the Royal Canin, probably just the Maxi Adult version, for a couple of months just to help her settle. You can then start to introduce the new food over the course of a week or so and I know of no reason why it should make her picky. I've just had a quick look at the Acana website and it would seem, from the variety that I looked at (Wild Prairie), that the feeding is 2 2/3 cups per day, not per meal
Quantities on packets are just a rough guide - most dogs (especially Labradors) eat less. So don't worry if she's not eating what the packet suggests Go by her weight and fat coverage instead to check that's she's eating enough. You can try putting a bit of warm water on her food to see if that makes it more enticing.
Henry is like this! He's so fussy we mixed natures menu food with his puppy food and he loved it now he's abit funny about it so he's back to dry kibble !
Thanks guys! I finally figured out how to get her to eat. I have to put some water on her kibble, then put it in the microwave for 10 or so seconds (until its warm). Then she scoffs it down. Now I think I need to buy one of those bowls that makes her eat slower, heh
