I have a 13 week old Alaskan Husky/Golden Retriever puppy and every time we put her food bowl down all she does is sniff it, eat a few pieces and then walk away or drink water.

Here's the long story (sorry for the long read):
Up until around the 8 week mark, her appetite was really good. She would finish her food within 10 minutes and would even want more. At the time she ate Nutro Natural Choice because that's what she was being fed before. We made sure she wasn't being overfed and would often add water to the kibble because she seemed to like that.

The first time she began to refuse to eat was during a visit to one of her litter mates. I thought nothing of it since she could have just been over excited and would rather play than eat. However, from then on, she would just sniff at her food, eat a small amount, and either walk away or get a drink of water. We were concerned so in order to get her to eat, we added stuff like carrots, rice, small pieces of her treat, etc. which seemed to work for a while until she became really picky and eventually started eating only the added stuff rather than the kibble. Realizing that we may have unintentionally taught her to wait for other good things to be added, we decided to stop giving her the extra stuff.

We thought maybe she just didn’t like the Nutro anymore and decided to test this out by buying a different kind of dog food. During the transition period, she would eat mostly the Kirkland brand that we had bought and leave a little bit of the Nutro behind until eventually she would pick at the Kirkland only so we decided to just stop feeding her Nutro. Her body surprisingly took it well and would only occasionally have soft stool which was expected.

After a while, the process would repeat itself again. First she would sniff at the Kirkland food and then walk away. Because we were concerned she wasn’t getting her daily nutritional requirements we would entice her to eat by: wetting her food with warm water, hand feeding her or putting the food on the ground, etc. This would somewhat work but not all the time. Rarely does she finish the entire bowl (a little less than 1 1/4 cup of food) and would often eat only 1/2 a cup to 3/4 of a cup per feeding and I often have to struggle to get her to finish the rest.

During her second vet visit, the vet didn’t see anything wrong with her. Although I didn’t really bring it up to his attention because I figured it was just a phase she was going through and her weight seemed fine (21.5 lbs at 11 weeks). The advice people give me is that we should put the bowl down and let her eat her food and whatever is leftover will be taken up after 15-20 minutes. The only problem is that as soon as we put the bowl down and walk away, she will follow us and completely forget about the meal.

My suspicion is that my dog is just picky about her food and gets distracted easily. Does anyone have any tips I can use to maybe discourage her bad habits? Would feeding her in her crate help? Also, should I start feeding her twice a day instead of 3 times a day? Should I just let her follow me when I leave and if she doesn't eat she'll basically have to go hungry?

If you read through all of that, I can't thank you enough. I appreciate any and all comments or suggestions. Again, sorry for the long read.

Cliffs:
- puppy once had a healthy appetite seems to have lost it after visiting litter mate
- tried changing dog food and wetting food but only worked for a while
- tried adding treats to food but the puppy seems to have become a picky eater
- vet didn’t really find anything wrong with her during second visit
- puppy no longer likes eating alone and even when I’m around is always looking to do something else other than eating

The 15 minutes bit is in the sticky starting at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post254171 I think that is what you need to try for a while. I mention suffering more when my dog didn't eat for 3 days than she did. You can cut back to 2 meals a day now too.

Adding the rich food was a mistake. Pick one brand of chow and stick with it. Stay in touch with your vet. You should still have some shots to go. It is possible she may eat so little her ribs show slightly. That is fine, common with young Shepherds. What happened with the litter mate? Did it tell her, ''Quit eating like a Golden, we're Shepherds?''?

Oops! I was too hasty this morning and forgot it was a Husky. I have less experience with them, and I am not sure they are typically as light eater as the shepherds. The refusal to eat enough to keep the ribs hidden can happen in any breed, I even had a Lab that was that way.

Please follow labman's advice. You are allowing your puppy to rule the roost. She probably was tuckered out from playing and your initial concern over her not eating transferred down to your dog. She realized she received even more of your attention AND lo and behold, some yummy goodies to eat as well! You need to retrain her to eat her kibble. Labman's post covers that. Please let us know how everything is going.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by labman

The 15 minutes bit is in the sticky starting at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post254171 I think that is what you need to try for a while. I mention suffering more when my dog didn't eat for 3 days than she did. You can go ahead and cut back to 2 meals a day now too.

Adding the rich food was a mistake. Pick one brand of chow and stick with it. Stay in touch with your vet. You should still have some shots to go. It is possible she may eat so little her ribs show slightly. That is fine, common with young Shepherds. What happened with the litter mate? Did it tell her, ''Quit eating like a Golden, we're Shepherds?''?

Oops! I was too hasty this morning and forgot it was a Husky. I have less experience with them, and I am not sure they are typically as light eater as the shepherds. The refusal to eat enough to keep the ribs hidden can happen in any breed, I even had a Lab that was that way.

---

Hi, thank you for the response. The way things are now, she eats an average of 2 1/2 cups per day but she should be eating 3-4 cups. The funny thing is that her litter mate had similar eating problems at around the 8 week mark but is now gobbling the Kirkland food brand. She would eat her 1 cup of food within 10 minutes just like what my dog used to do.

The only real time she really doesn't eat is lunch when she eats about half a bowl, which is why I raised the point of maybe she prefers eating 2 times a day. So when I put the bowl down, given the way she is, do you guys recommend I walk away and if she decides to skip that meal and follow I should just take the food up after 15 minutes? I am really concerned I am helping develop another sort of bad habit so I'm cautious in terms of new things I am trying. Also, would feeding her in her crate and then taking it up after 15 minutes also accomplish the same thing?

What do you base the 3-4 cups of chow on? Is she too thin by the system linked to in the sticky? Package recommendations are only starting points. If she will eat enough to keep her ribs from showing very much, let well enough.

I am not sure it will help, but there is nothing wrong with feeding her in her crate. I suggest it as a way to introduce a dog to a crate.

Xpress, as labman states, the recommended feeding on the package is a starting point. I have always found it to be too much food. 2 1/2 cups a day should be more than sufficient. The way to tell if your puppy is the correct weight is to look at the links labman provides in his sticky. If your puppy appears to be a normal weight, then leave it at 2 1/2 cups. If she appears a little underweight, up it to 3 cups. If she appears a little stocky, cut down to 2 cups a day.

Since she appears to be rejecting the meal in the middle of the day, do as labman originally suggested. Feed her half of her kibble allotment in the morning, the other half at night. It doesn't matter if you feed her in the crate or not. Do what makes you and your pup comfortable. If your puppy has been resistant to the crate training, feeding her in the crate would be a good idea. No matter where you feed her, if she doesn't eat, do pick up the dish after 15 minutes. Then, feed her at her next regular feeding time. She won't starve. She is letting you know what her proper feeding amount and schedule is. Just keep a close watch on her weight and compare it to the chart labman has in his link. As she ages, you may need to adjust the amount of food you are feeding her.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by labman

What do you base the 3-4 cups of chow on? Is she too thin by the system linked to in the sticky? Package recommendations are only starting points. If she will eat enough to keep her ribs from showing very much, let well enough.

I am not sure it will help, but there is nothing wrong with feeding her in her crate. I suggest it as a way to introduce a dog to a crate.

---

She's about ideal weight based on the system in the sticky. The 3-4 cups of chow is based on a combination of what the vet had said and what the back of the package states she should be eating.

During the first vet visit, they had recommended that pretty soon she would need to be feed 1 cup per feeding which we started when she was approximately 9 weeks old.

Yeah, 3 cups is about what most of my Lab would be getting at 3 months. On the other hand, the 6 year old I am keeping for a friend is gaining weight on 2 1/2 cups. I have him about where I think he should be, so I am cutting back a little. My one Lab needed 6 cups to keep his ribs out of sight.

If you read the beginning of the sticky, you will see I suggest switching to adult chow at 4 months. It slows growth giving more time to develop sturdy joints.