Winton does not like his dry food.

WinstonTheWeim

I have fed winston Proplan puppy his entire life, he is now just under 11 months and does not eat his food very often. I feed him raw meet once a day and typically an entirely raw meal once a week along with his other two meals of dry during the period of the day. He picks at his dry food but I now fill the bowl to the top in the morning and when i come home from work it looks like he has barely touched it. He might eat about 16 ounces of dry a day at most. He is thin as he gets about and hour of jocking/running/wrestling a day but he is at a point where he should start to fill out some and I worry that he may not be getting enough nutrients, due to his lack of consumption. Any ideas on what I should do to get him to eat more?

waitingonmyweim · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:59 am Post subject:

Hmm, maybe you could try getting him hungry before he eats - instead of having food out all day, only put food out at meal times. Give him 10 minutes maybe to eat and then take up the food. If he hasn't eaten it, chances are he'll be hungry at his next meal time.

Sounds to me like he's just being picky.

You could also add some yogourt to his kibble - Lincoln goes crazy if there's yogourt in his food!

Another idea, is that he might not be eating as much as normal due to the heat.

Welches · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:59 am Post subject:

Try changing his dry food. Mine used to be like that until I switched them to California Natural.

LunaBrown · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:02 am Post subject:

I agree with "meal times" - I feed breakfast at 6am, and supper at 6pm. Not that I've ever had the issue with Luna, but I have with the fosters - if they don't finish in 10 minutes time take up the food - no more until next meal time.

Additionaly you can switch his food - at 11 months he is well old enough to be eating regular dog food.

Good luck! Very Happy

kamfam · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:03 am Post subject:

I'd take him off the puppy food. He may not be very hungry, either, with the raw you're feeding him. I'd only leave the kibble down for 10-15 min then remove it. He'd get no more until his next scheduled feeding time.

Welches · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:05 am Post subject:

Yeah, we never fed puppy food either. They get breakfast in the morning, an afternoon snack from the pet sitter and then dinner.

WinstonTheWeim · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:18 am Post subject:

I was told that he should be kept on puppy food till he is 18 months by several vets as well as the breeder, not specifically for the protein content but more for the vitamins and minerals. Perhaps a new puppy food and specific meal times would be the solution as suggested.

LunaBrown · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:25 am Post subject:

Welches · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:29 am Post subject:

I agree. Don't buy more puppy food. It's a gimmick and keep in mind that vets don't get a lot of training on nutrition and different foods. They typically go with the food that "sponsors" their clinic or their training, which is more often than not, Purina. Sometimes breeders and rescues are also sponsored by Purina, too. You also have to be careful about feeding certain puppy foods to weim pups because you don't want them to grow too quickly - it's not good for their bones and joints. Which is why people stay away from Large Breed puppy formula especially. I have 2 weims and a yorkie and they've never been on puppy food. It won't hurt him, but there's no reason not to feed adult food. Compare the ingredients and you'll see.

rhdwa · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:35 am Post subject: Appetite

Udo is my third weim and the first one that is an eager eater. So much so I have had to buy a special bowl to slow him down. My first two, Heidi and Schatzie were at best indifferent eaters when they were puppies and pretty much remained that way until they were 2 years old.

With Heidi and Schatzie, I gave them cottage cheese and buttermilk mixed in with the puppy chow and half a can of high quality canned food. That seemed to tempt their majesties palates that they ate all that was put before them.

wildlifecr13 · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:27 pm Post subject:

You can also look at an all life stages food, like canidae.
My two graze, and with one at 9 mths and one at 4 yrs, I wanted something they could both eat.
They sort of have their meal times that they like to eat, but I dont force them. I do pay attention to when they are eating, and make them have a bit of quiet time after, in hopes that we dont run into a bloat issue.
I always worry that forcing your dog to eat everything in 10 minutes twice a day drives the tendency to scarf things down, not chew well, and eat too much at once. Im not saying Im right about this, its just a part of my personal opinion on why I let mine graze. I think they eat grab about 3 meals a day, sometimes more, sometimes less.

waitingonmyweim · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:32 pm Post subject:

My breeder has already sent out an email to all her puppy parents saying that we can start taking them off puppy food (pups are about 3.5 months old) due to the fact that puppy food generally has a higher protein content, which can cause the bones to grow faster than the muscles and tendons, sometimes causing the front legs to toe-out.

I've got quite a bit of puppy food left and Lincoln's front legs are looking good, so I'm just going to get through the bag and then switch.

Weimwayz · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:00 pm Post subject:

Be careful with switching to an adult food too early. Not all dogs should have this done. Yes I agree if there has been an issue in the line with other siblings that have "Toed-out" but this is not the best practice for all weims. We don't change ours until they are 8 months old. We have had no front leg issues so our dogs have all done well being on puppy food until they are 8 months. After that I find they can go to adult no problem. Working at a vet clinic we see so many different dogs that you really have to do recommendations per the individual dog! When in doubt always check with your breeder as they know their dog sthe best or ask your vet for a nurtitonal consultation