Hi all, Hoping you can help me! I have a 10 month old chocolate lab called Opi, the last few days, he seems to have gone off his kibble. I don’t think it’s illness related as other than not really wanting to eat his food, he is full of beans, and will eat anything else I give him no problem, but breakfast and tea kibble, he takes a few nibbles and then wanders off! It’s completely threw me off as I’m used to him wolfing it down in about 3 mins whereas now it seems to be taking him 3-4 hours. Is there anything I can do to get him to eat it again, or is he just angling for tastier food, in which case do I need to attempt to not give in and just wait it out?
If you are confident that he is otherwise well, and he isn't thin, then I would suspect that he is not hungry enough. I would put his breakfast down, if it is not eaten in a couple of minutes, take it up and offer it again at tea time. If he doesn't eat it, take it up and offer it the next morning etc. I'd be cutting his portion size down as well.
We’ve just gone through this with our 9 month old lab. He used to wolf it so quickly we got a slow feeder from 4 months. 2 weeks ago he’d either sniff it and walk away or have a quarter than walk away. Still VERY interested in treats and no lack of energy. We’ve started introducing a new kibble ( currently mixing 1/3 new to 2/3 old) and he’s back to loving it. I think he’s just lost interest and needed something new. looking back it did also tie in with his worm and tick treatment which was different to previous ones because of his weight so maybe that put him off a little. If you know he’s fit and well either try scatter feeding/puzzle feeders or a new blend to make it a bit more fun and interesting! Hope he gets his appetite back soon
