Puppy Barely Eating

[Minoli]

Leo is now 13.5 weeks old, and has had quite a decrease in appetite lately.

The breeder was feeding him Eukanaba LBP, which we continued to feed for 1-2 weeks. We gradually mixed in Blue Buffalo, until he was fully acclimated to that. He still was not eating as much as we feel he should be.

We have since introduced him to Orijen for Puppies (not LBP, but calcium and phosphorous levels are the same), and have been gradually decreasing the Blue Buffalo.

Our feeding regimen consists of 3 meals throughout the day, around 6:30 am, 12-1 pm, and 6-7 pm. He receives roughly 1.5-2 cups of food per meal, and often times barely eats 1 cup. He's looking a little thin, but remaining very active and has consistent, solid stools.

Lately we've been adding bananas, sweet potatoes, plain yogurt, cooked ground beef, hard boiled egg, peanut butter, cottage cheese and green beans, amongst other food items we have researched that are healthy for growing pups.

Does this sound like a normal food intake? Is this common in young GSDs?

[BowWowMeow]

What does it say on the bag for his current size? I think 4.5 to 6 cups of Orijen would be way too much for a little puppy.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Make sure you look at this --> Pup doesn't want to eat (picky eater?)

And then look at your puppy. Is he bony or look healthy for a puppy? Use the amount on the bag as merely a guideline (they are trying to sell food ) . Look at your puppy to see if he's actually getting enough calories. I'm thinking my pup was probably eating around 4 cups at that age, but I may be wrong....

[Draugr]

Your pup's apperance and behavior is way more of a better indicator.

Eukanaba has a lot of calorie-sparse fillers. They have to eat a LOT of it to get their needed calories. It's not a terribly high-quality kibble. You're switching to one of the best - your pup won't need to eat as much of it to get his required calories and nutrients.

That would be my initial suspicion as to why his intake has dropped.

[Minoli]

It says 2.75-3.5 cups of food for his size and age. That's pretty much what he's been eating since he's been transitioned to Orijen.

He looks healthy overall, just a little thinner near his back legs.

Thank you all for the input, I'll continue feeding him the amount listed on the chart of the bag. I plan on switching to Orijen Adult Regional Red or 6 Fish once this bag is done.

[PaddyD]

Why are you switching? He's still a puppy. I would stick with whatever he will eat and stop changing foods.

[ChancetheGSD]

I agree with PaddyD. :/ You're just going to create a picky eater if you're switching up the food every week.

[Minoli]

I made the first switch to Blue Buffalo because I had already purchased it for Leo before we got him. I read good things about Orijen, and decided I wanted to switch him to that food in the long run after the Blue Buffalo.

His stools have been good, and I've done the transitioning gradually. He was consistently eating Blue Buffalo for a month before transitioning to Orijen.

I did this to offer him one of the best possible foods I could, without going raw. How long would you feed your GSD the same food before transitioning to a new food/flavor?

I was planning on transitioning him off of Orijen Puppy to Regional Red or 6 Fish permanently when this bag is out, which probably wouldn't be for at least 6 weeks.

I appreciate all input.

[ChancetheGSD]

For a puppy, I like to keep them on the same food for a couple months. Establish good eating habits and keep things fairly regular in case any allergy issues pop up. When they're older, then I'll rotate foods as often as every 1-2 bags.

I'd keep him on the Orijen Puppy for now if that's the brand you want to stick with so long as he is doing good on it. But try not to read too much into everything on the internet. Take it with a grain of salt, Orijen is indeed a great food and if your dog does well on it, awesome!! But it's not the best out there if the dog is having explosive diarrhea or not growing properly on it. Just throwing that out there since Orijen DOES tend to be fairly rich for some dogs. (And I've seen more than one in denial owner refuse to switch the foods because "Orijen is the best")

On another note, my girls appetite goes up and down depending on if she's going through a growth spurt or not. Sometimes she'll inhale her food and other times she eats like a bird. The appetite decrease could be that he's not growing as fast right now. I'd bet money in the next couple weeks he's going to look like he grew over night, look skinny as a rail and eat like a pig when he hits another growth spurt. LOL!

[jwemt81]

Originally Posted by PaddyD

Why are you switching? He's still a puppy. I would stick with whatever he will eat and stop changing foods.

I fully agree with this 200%. He is very young and you really need to keep feeding him the Eukanuba that his breeder was feeding him at least for a few weeks while he adjusts to his new environment. That is what he is used to. A new home, new water source, new people, new smells, and overall totally new surroundings puts a lot of stress on a puppy as it is. The last thing they need is a completely different food that they're not used to. Keep him on the food he was originally on and then if you decide you want to switch to something else several weeks later, then do it very slowly over time by mixing in the new food with the old to allow him to adjust to it. Also, if you keep changing foods, you will most likely end up with a picky eater, which you definitely don't want. If he does well on the Eukanuba and doesn't have any problems at all on it, I would probably just stick with that until you have an actual reason to change to something different. I personally go by the "if it's not broken, don't fix it" method. If he seems to like the food, has a healthy weight, healthy and shiny coat, and a good energy level, that means he is doing well on the food. A good weight for a dog is being able to feel the ribs with light, gentle palpation, but not being able to see them.