Hi we’re wondering if our 20 week old is getting enough food and if we’re doing things right Mr B has never been particularly motivated by food, unlike our previous two labs. He often needs coaxing to eat his 3 meals a day. He often eats about 2/3rd of his meal and then leaves it and will come back to it later He was 19 kg when we weighed him last week - he’s not a chunky lab nor does he look skinny. We have him on James Wellbeloved and mix in a bit of cooked chicken. Last week he was sick one day and we put him on chicken and rice for the day and he seemed to recover although he has seemed off his food for a few days since, so I got him some Autarky puppy to gradually add to his usual kibble in case he’s gone off the JWB. Our other two labs were both on Autarky and it agreed with them. He also gets treats of mini bone shaped biscuits to encourage his lead walking and training. Last night he started eating what was left from his evening feed at midnight before bed and I gave him a couple of extra handfuls - thinking feed him while he’s hungry. Are we doing things right or not?
Hi Caland. Forget they are a lab and should eat everything in sight for a minute. Pretend they are something else. My Boxer after being in chicken would turn his nose up at his normal food for a while. If he doesn't eat it take the food back up. Get him to work for it. Same with toys. Down all the time it's both boring and they don't need you. I would read up on hand feeding. I first started using it with a Rottie that resource guarded. I use it all the time now. Chris
I have an 11-week old that I have to coax to eat too, and even with hand feeding he only eats maybe 1/2 to 2/3 of his meal. He's now just over 20 pounds which is great, yay, because he was only 5 pounds at 6 weeks old when we got him. He's not fat, but not skinny either. He's active and happy. Yes, I'd love him to dive in and eat with gusto, but that's just not his way, at least not yet. If I add minced chicken, tinned tuna or tuna water, or even a bit of baby food that comes in jars like lamb, carrot, green bean puree, he'll eat maybe 1/2 of his meal on his own, otherwise I need to hand feed him. Switching kibble isn't an option right now, we live on a Caribbean island and don't have the wide variety like they do in USA. So far the best we've found that is consistantly available is Diamond Lively and Loving (it's similar to kirkland puppy). My next step is maybe to freeze his kibble in ziploc bags, enough for a day or two per bag, because it may be going bad quickly just being stored in it's bag.
