To Switch or not to Switch?!?!

[Jasper'sMomma]

Hopefully you guys can help us out

So, Jasper has been growing steadily (2 lbs a week), so I know that he is by no means malnourished or anything, but I am concerned about his eating habits...

We feed Jasper the NutroUltra Holistic Puppy food, no grains, by-product etc....Tuxedo eats the senior version of the same food...We really like it, and so does Tuxedo...

Jasper and Tux both are fed 2x a day- at 9am and at 8pm...

Here is my concern:

Tuxedo was free fed before the puppy and eats about 4 cups total a day, since Jasper has joined us, we stopped doing that to get us all on a routine. We split the portion in 2 and feed them both at the same time. Tux has adjusted pretty well although he is still takes his time to eat (maybe 20 minutes to eat about 1.5 to 2 cups at each meal- we give him 2 cups but he never eats it all) ...Jasper gets 1 1/4 cup at each meal...

Now, Jasper will will take a few bites then walk away...we have tried confining him in his play pen to eat, eating outside of his pen alone, and eating right next to Tux out of his pen, but he still doesn't eat all of his food, I am happy when he eats half...but what he does do is go sneak and eat Tuxedo's left overs and try to eat his food. Tux doesn't even try to eat Jasper's food!! And Tuxedo will let him ( I was really surprised that Tux doesn't mind sharing)

QUESTION: (I am finally to it, lol)

Do we try changing foods? Does it sound like he isn't eating because he doesn't like the food?

Or could he be mimicking Tux by eating 'nonchalantly' and being disinterested? But wanting what he knows isn't his?

Could it be because he is teething and the food is too hard? But then why would he still chew on his bones...
I just have a hard time believing he is getting enough food for a growing puppy, he only eats about 1 3/4 cups the whole day!

How do you tell if your dog doesn't like his food?

please help me decide what to do, I don't like thinking my baby is hungry all day

[lindamarie]

After just puppysitting again, that little puppy only wanted Bogart's food, and although Bogart would eat his own......he couldn't wait until little Joey left his so he could eat that too.
Granted, Joey is a small dog, a Silkie Terrier, and even at home when we go visit, there is always food in his bowl. Our friends say that that is just the way he eats! They never worry about him not eating!
Also, Bogart and Joey eat different foods, so they like the taste of each others.

We also separated and put Joey in his crate to eat. Sometimes he would, sometimes not.
Then, I started putting one dog outside and left one in to separate. Same thing! Bogart ate his and Joey just picked!

I seriously don't think it's a matter of their being a problem with anything but that Joey and Jasper want Tux's and Bogart's food! It's another ALPHA thingie.
Even though none of these 4 dogs are fighting for dominance, they still want what the other has.

We watched Joey for 5 days. I was really concerned that he hadn't eaten, so one time, I took him on the patio and gave him half of Bogart's food and half of his own and he gobbled it up!

Your concern, however, is that you can't do that with Tux and Jasper because you can't feed puppy and adult food. Each dog has to have the right formula for their stage in life.

I'm trying to recall how we handled the situation when we had a Springer Spaniel puppy (Casey) and an adult, FREE FED, Weimeraner/Lab (Toby). Toby could care less what Casey did and gave in to him every time. But, Casey was outright mean and wanted everything. Poor Toby! Being free fed, we had to change his life style and pick his food up. That was sad. I sooooo loved both dogs, but Toby had to have a little life style change for the pup.

Well......since I believe it's an Alpha thing, you're going to have to take charge and be an old MEANIE!
Find separate places to feed.......and if they don't eat after 10 minutes......pick it up and try again later.
Trainers all say that dogs won't starve and they will eat when ready. I had a hard time with that too.......but little Jasper won't starve and will eat after awhile. If you give in, you'll have a mess on your hands for quite some time.
Maybe eventually, you'll be able to just leave a bowl of the same formula for both dogs and they'll both be free feeders. But, for now, Jasper has to eat puppy food!

[Riverkatie]

Ruff is not a big eater either, and this morning didn't finish his kibble, and I found the cat eating it! We only have one dog.

Ruff is a very poodly labradoodle, and I think some labradoodles inherit the poodle fussy eating (Barney was a labrador through and through with his food!)

The vet says he is skinny, although it is hard to see as his coat is so fluffy, but as long as he is growing and putting on weight and is active (oh yes....he is active!) then not to worry.

[Jasper'sMomma]

ok, thank you lindamarie...I just need to let Jasper figure it out

and Riverkaite you are probably right about the poodle bit, I was raised with poodles and they ate when they wanted, but they were free fed...

Thank you for your input!

[Jasper'sMomma]

Well, I broke down and we got another bag of a different kind of the same brand of food...

we mixed the old and new together and he ate TWO CUPS for dinner!! The bowl was empty!! whoohoo!

I am so glad he ate all his food! I guess we will just keep mixing the two until he is ready for the adult food.

[lindamarie]

wooooohooooo!!!!!

[Riverkatie]

I am so glad it worked. Well done Jasper!