She's Not Eating.... What can I do?

[jasonm]

Our little girl is now 13 weeks. She has tons of engery. Plays with the neighborhood kids like there's no tomorrow. Really active in the house and we play with her every chance we get since we work during the day she she's in her crate for about 7 hours during the day.

She get at least two walks during the day, one when I come home to let her out at lunch and one when we get home at night. She eats everything in sight outside. Grass, leaves, tries to eat rocks and cigarette buts. She's a vaccum cleaner.

But she doesn't eat her food. We are feeding her twice a day to fit into our schedule. Once at 6:30 or 7am and the next at 6:30 or 7pm. She leave at least half her breakfast in the bowl. I pick it up after 20min. Dinner she usually pounds it down. I'm not sure what to do. We feed her Purina One and I thinking about switching over to Canidae or Evo but I don't want to just becuse she isn't eating what I'm giving her. She is health and has good bowel movements.

I've searched the threads and read up on this. Just looking for some fresh ideas.

[abhims]

At that age I think you have to feed 3 times a day. That continues till about 8 months. After which you can switch to 2 times a day. I've read this in some rott. book. I guess your vet can confirm. The schedule has worked well for me. I've noticed the grass eating when they aren't well, mine was doing that when I switched food. He was vomiting when that happend too.

[brunie's mom]

She should be eating 3 times per day.
Purina One is junk food, I suggest you switch her to Canidae or Innova (EVO is best for adult dogs...not growing puppies)...also buy some canned food and add a tablespoon or two....it really helps to get dogs interested in their food.

You may be overfeeding her and she is not hungry? How much Purina One are you feeding?
If you switch to a better quality food, you will need to feed far less food.

Gina

[luvmybts]

3 times a day, 12 hours to go between meals is WAYYYYY too long for a pup. Especially since rotty's are known for getting bloat. Purina One is junk food. Start feeding candiae or innova as soon as possible but be sure to gradually mix it in with the purina so you dont have loose stools.

[SABELLESMOM]

Switching to Canidae or Innova is a great idea. There are less "fillers" like corn, wheat etc. And you will find smaller amounts will fill her, and she's not ready for 2 meals per day. She should be getting three at least. Her poor tummy isn't ready for bigger amounts.

I used to keep a sealed container of presoaked kibble in the fridge, for feedings. About 3x/week I'd add a dollop of yogurt to promote positive stomach flora. Or add a tablespoon of baby food/meat a few times a week.

If you leash her in the yard you can control what goes into her mouth out there. Grass and rocks are not good, but she's a puppy, she'doesn't know any better. Try playing a game, like "chase me!" (she chases you, not the other way around) Teach her name. Play fetch or find me. Have fun!

[LunaBell]

Here's how my feeding schedule for my almost 16 week old female pup, Luna. She eats Nutro Natural, Large Breed with the controlled growth formula. I really like the results I have seen in her development and she loves the food. She eats at 6:30am 1 1/4 cup, 12:30pm 1 1/4 cup, and 6:30pm 1 1/4 cup. She weighs a healthy 28 pounds. She eats all of her food in one sitting and seems rather content afterwards.

Before we had a solid feeding regiment she seemed uninterested in her food in the mornings. I now attribute this to lack of schedule and her environment around her while she ate. If she is the type of pup that gets easily distracted by the hustle of the morning you might want to try feeding her in a quieter place.

Luna has curbed chewing on strange things in the back yard, but it took a watchful eye on my part and much encouragement to knock the nasty habit.

[jasonm]

Thanks Luna...That's a good idea. I never thought of feeding her at lunch. I have enough time to do it so it makes sense. It's only my wife and I so when we feed her we try to make sure it's the only thing we are doing and only one of us are in the room. We were feeding her at 6am, 4pm, and 9pm but it wasn't working with our schedule. That's why we switched to twice a day. You might be right Brunie's Mom, she could have stopped because she was full. I guess I didn't put 2 and 2 togther!

I figured I'd get flamed on the Purina One but it's still a lot better than what a lot of people feed their dogs. The breeder I bought her from uses it because the other premium foods weren't available in her area. My vet likes it and uses it for his dog. I'm new to this board and I've read a lot about nutrition and will more than likely switch but junk food is Old Roy or Dads. Purina One and Purnia Pro Plan have half way decent ingredients. I wouldn't consider them junk foods.

That being said, I've fed her lunch today. 1cp of Purnia One (cause I just opend a 40lbs. bag) and two table spoons of Canidae canned puppy food. She wolfed it down. Will be feeding her dinner in about and hour. Hopefully it will go the same.

Thanks again for all the help and advise everyone.

[jasonm]

Thanks everyone. A few meals later and she is jumping to get her dish before we put it down. I mixed one heaping table spoon of Canidae canned with 1cp of Purina One and a little warm water and she loves it.

I'm going to switch over to Canidae dry once the Purina One is almost gone. Thanks again for all your input!