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3 months, decreased appetite

1K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  SummerGSDLover 
#1 ·
He use to be real good about eating but lately he hasn't been eating much. He probably eats 2 to 2.5 cups for the entire day. He also looks like he's getting skinny.. His ribs are showing a little. I've been leaving food in and out of his crate for him but he doesn't eat a lot. He's not sick, pretty active as usual.. he likes his pup food, so I don't know what the deal is. What can I do?

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#2 ·
Maybe take him to the vet to get a weight check and an exam. If vet ok's him, try mixing his food with gravy, cottage cheese, or plain yogurt. I think 2.5-3 cups is average for his age but if you are uncomfortable with how skinny he is, definitely get him checked out. Ribs should not be prominent but you should be able to feel them. Can you post a picture from the top view of him (back) so we can see how skinny he is?

*-*Summer*-*
 
#5 ·
He's been cleared of parasites? Teething begins around this age, so he may be feeling some pain when he eats. Hopefully the food you are feeding is of good quality/nutrition. Is he getting high value treats?
 
#6 · (Edited)
he's on canidae chicken meal n rice and we've ran out of treats.. but when we did treat him, he was getting blue buffalo chicken flavored treats and i occasionally give him a finger scoop of natural peanut butter as a treat.

he got his second dewormer dosage on monday, so i'm assuming he's worm free so long as he's had his med. his tummy shrank a bunch from when he was a few weeks younger.

anyway, here's some pictures i JUST took. he ate about 2 cups this morning (and he's still kinda eating randomly), so i'm happy. >< but still, he looks skinny to me.. and i leave food out for him 3x a day. i'll keep monitoring his eating. and i apologize ahead of time for the 'bad quality' pictures. he was moving around A LOT and this is the best i could get without a good camera, lol.







He was 15.4 pounds at the vet on march 8th.. and he's 13 weeks as of monday.
 
#7 ·
He doesn't look thin really, just gangly puppy! I'd not free feed him. If he doesn't eat in a 10 minute time frame, pick up the food and save it for a later meal. The worming med may play into his appetite right now too.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Okay, I'm not too worried now. He doesn't free range eat, I only put food in his bowl 3 times a day and he usually eats everything.. but I'll start timing and putting left overs up for later. Thanks! :D His parents were both lean too, but I'm not sure what's too skinny for a pup with lean parents.. I was only concerned a bit because his ribs do show (you can tell in the 2nd photo) and I've been reading I should only be able to feel them, not see them. ><
 
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