# What happened to my food crazy puppy?



## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Looks like Gustave is not crazy for food anymore. He still eats everything I give him, but doesn't come running when it's mealtime and doesn't just shove it down like he used to. 

Could this just be him growing up? Does this mean it's a sign to start feeding him twice a day instead of three times? He's 5.8lbs and 8mo old. 

I am wondering if he's just bored with his food. I bought some other flavors of Fromm to see if that will make a difference. 


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

Dewey will start out slow, and then when the Yorkies are done, and wander over to his bowl, he speeds up eating!! He's afraid they'll get his food! (They would too, if I'd allow it!) Dewey's been eating twice a day instead of three for a couple of months. He weighs 5 pounds 10 oz. I do give veggies in between meals.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

I also feed different flavors of Fromm I switch them ever so often. I also put a few pieces of Fresh Pet or Natural Balance(turkey in a roll) on top of his kibble. He eats that first and then finishes the kibble. Sort of like an appetizer! Of all of his food, he is a veggie NUT. Especially green beans! He took Hardy down over one little bean, and Hardy could take them or leave them.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

He gets 2 slices of apple, carrot sticks and kibble in the afternoon. Maybe I'll phase out the kibble. 

I'm poaching chicken for him right now. Thinking of saving the water for mixing in Honest Kitchen. Anyone know how many days it will stay good if I put it in the fridge?

Sorry I'm sounding like such an idiot, I don't have any experience cooking at all. 


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Furbabies mom said:


> I also feed different flavors of Fromm I switch them ever so often. I also put a few pieces of Fresh Pet or Natural Balance(turkey in a roll) on top of his kibble. He eats that first and then finishes the kibble. Sort of like an appetizer! Of all of his food, he is a veggie NUT. Especially green beans! He took Hardy down over one little bean, and Hardy could take them or leave them.


LOL. That's so cute. Maybe I'll ask my husband to pretend like he's interested in Gustave's food. (Only half kidding)


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

eiksaa said:


> He gets 2 slices of apple, carrot sticks and kibble in the afternoon. Maybe I'll phase out the kibble.
> 
> I'm poaching chicken for him right now. Thinking of saving the water for mixing in Honest Kitchen. Anyone know how many days it will stay good if I put it in the fridge?
> 
> ...


You can freeze the broth from the chicken also.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Furbabies mom said:


> You can freeze the broth from the chicken also.


Thanks, Deb. Didn't even think about freezing it. 


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## babycake7 (Jan 30, 2012)

Hmmmm...I don't have an answer for you but it is nice that Gustave has a mommy that worries about him.  Bella has always had a very practical attitude about food,even as a puppy. She is neither interested or disinterested. Its there. She eats what is put in front of her. It serves its purpose. I guess that is why she maintains such a svelte figure. LOL. I could learn a thing or two from her.


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## IvysMom (Dec 24, 2012)

eiksaa said:


> Thanks, Deb. Didn't even think about freezing it.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


 
You can freeze the broth in an ice cube tray then just pop out a broth cube to use as needed. Keeps the quantity fresher that way and an ice cube size is just about perfect for one meal. Just remember to take out a cube an hour or so before meal time so it can defrost in their bowl. Makes a great summertime (outside) chew treat too.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

IvysMom said:


> You can freeze the broth in an ice cube tray then just pop out a broth cube to use as needed. Keeps the quantity fresher that way and an ice cube size is just about perfect for one meal. Just remember to take out a cube an hour or so before meal time so it can defrost in their bowl. Makes a great summertime (outside) chew treat too.


That's a great idea. Thanks!!

I think it's boredom. I cooked (ha! Just poached) chicken and he went crazy for it. 


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

babycake7 said:


> Hmmmm...I don't have an answer for you but it is nice that Gustave has a mommy that worries about him.  Bella has always had a very practical attitude about food,even as a puppy. She is neither interested or disinterested. Its there. She eats what is put in front of her. It serves its purpose. I guess that is why she maintains such a svelte figure. LOL. I could learn a thing or two from her.


Aww, thanks. 

So hard to not panic about the slightest thing. I have been bugging my husband all day with, "Is he acting normal?" questions. 

And I could definitely learn a thing or two from Bella too. 


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

3 Days in the frige for THK  I saw it on one of their videos the owner does.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

shellbeme said:


> 3 Days in the frige for THK  I saw it on one of their videos the owner does.


Oh, so the broth is OK for 3 days in the fridge? That's good to know. I put about 2 cups in the fridge and froze the rest. 


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## hoaloha (Jan 27, 2012)

I think Gustave can safely be fed two meals per day at his age and weight. It does like he is just getting bored. Obi is like Bella, isn't food crazy-- often will even leave food on the bowl and just snack on it through the day. I switch out the "toppers" every few days as well as rotate food flavors every few weeks to help with the food boredom. Obi was over THK pretty quickly but he really liked the Sojo's sample I gave him. I just try to imagine how we'd feel eating the same thing day after day!


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I would think 3 days is fine, though, :blush: I would probably only save it for two, but that's just me.


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## hoaloha (Jan 27, 2012)

eiksaa said:


> LOL. That's so cute. Maybe I'll ask my husband to pretend like he's interested in Gustave's food. (Only half kidding)
> 
> 
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LoL! My husband has done this before- he will pretend to eat from obi's bowl and then Obi will come over to eat thinking its something delicious.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

hoaloha said:


> I think Gustave can safely be fed two meals per day at his age and weight. It does like he is just getting bored. Obi is like Bella, isn't food crazy-- often will even leave food on the bowl and just snack on it through the day. I switch out the "toppers" every few days as well as rotate food flavors every few weeks to help with the food boredom. Obi was over THK pretty quickly but he really liked the Sojo's sample I gave him. I just try to imagine how we'd feel eating the same thing day after day!


Jeez, little critters are so hard to please! I just tried a new flavor of Fromm and he gobbled it up. I talked to him and told him he's not allowed to be that picky, don't think he agreed. 

I will switch out his foods more often. Will try Sojo too, and THK + chicken broth. I also didn't give him any lunch today and he just now started whining for food (he usually does it at noon). I guess no more three meals for him. My baby's all grown up. :smcry:


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

shellbeme said:


> I would think 3 days is fine, though, :blush: I would probably only save it for two, but that's just me.


I wish I was food educated enough to just smell it and know when it had gone bad. Since I am not, I should probably do 2 days too.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

MiMi would eat ME if I stayed still long enough. But, I really think that a single fluff can be much less food motivated than one who has competition. All the same, it seems like it is time to go down to two meals a day.

Personally, I am totally opposed to begging a dog to eat. I know others have dogs who won't eat, but all my personal experience has been that only over fed dogs refuse to eat if it isn't particularly yummy. That is just my personal experience, but then having more than one dog creates an atmosphere of competition. 

Others here have had much different experiences, but in my experience a dog who didn't gobble up his/her food was an overfed dog. You should review all the different advise you get and calculate what really applies to you and Gustave.

And then you can attend my class on tuning into your God-given sense of smell...JK

I would love to do that though really. Human beings are totally sight motivated, next sound, but are really reluctant to tune into smell..it might be unpleasant? I really would like to have a seminar where I could pursuade people to tune in, and turn on their precious sense of smell.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Sylie said:


> MiMi would eat ME if I stayed still long enough. But, I really think that a single fluff can be much less food motivated than one who has competition. All the same, it seems like it is time to go down to two meals a day.
> 
> Personally, I am totally opposed to begging a dog to eat. I know others have dogs who won't eat, but all my personal experience has been that only over fed dogs refuse to eat if it isn't particularly yummy. That is just my personal experience, but then having more than one dog creates an atmosphere of competition.
> 
> ...


Sylvia, I would totally attend your seminar. I have a pretty strong sense of smell. The problem is, it's not very precise. I am not a big meat eater myself, so I generally don't like the smell of meat. I don't know the difference between just meat smell and bad meat smell. So, where do I sign up?

The problem with not (force) feeding him is this time when he went in for his teeth extraction, I asked the doctor if he was oveerweight (or if he felt plump), mostly because the quantity I feed him is just guesswork. He said if anything Gustave might be too skinny and told me where he should have more fat (on his side, the ribs area). Definitely not underweight enough to be alarming, but more on that side of the spectrum. That's why I worry about him not eating.

However, I do see how those are different things. Dogs must know to balance their intake overall. If he doesn't want to eat at a particular mealtime he must know to compensate later when he does get food. It's just hard to not worry, but I am trying.


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## AshleyAndSophiePup (Aug 24, 2012)

Sophie is an odd one, if I'm using her food as a training treat, she thinks it's the greatest food ever, but she doesn't actually have a full meal, she's been a little off since the infection, but she'll eat about half of her meal about 5 minutes after I set it down, then snacks on the rest until the next meal time.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

eiksaa said:


> Sylvia, I would totally attend your seminar. I have a pretty strong sense of smell. The problem is, it's not very precise. I am not a big meat eater myself, so I generally don't like the smell of meat. I don't know the difference between just meat smell and bad meat smell. So, where do I sign up?
> 
> The problem with not (force) feeding him is this time when he went in for his teeth extraction, I asked the doctor if he was oveerweight (or if he felt plump), mostly because the quantity I feed him is just guesswork. He said if anything Gustave might be too skinny and told me where he should have more fat (on his side, the ribs area). Definitely not underweight enough to be alarming, but more on that side of the spectrum. That's why I worry about him not eating.
> 
> However, I do see how those are different things. Dogs must know to balance their intake overall. If he doesn't want to eat at a particular mealtime he must know to compensate later when he does get food. It's just hard to not worry, but I am trying.


Oh I wish I could actually have a seminar on how to smell. As one who is tuned in for the sake of cooking, I can actually smell whether something has enough salt or not. Basically, it comes down to experiencing your sense of smell equally to you other senses. You may see something ugly. You may hear something ugly, but you never run away from those as quickly as you run away from the slightest unpleasant smell. But if you are unafraid you can smell an infection, a yeast overgrowth, anything that might be making your little one less than his happy healthy self....if there for you to smell. Likewise, your fluffs can smell any illness that may be headed your way. It is only a matter of tuning in without prejudice. Listen to your inner voice.


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