Hi everyone,

I've been following LB forums for a while, but I finally signed up because I couldn't find the answer to my question anywhere.

I have a 9.5 week old GSD that I am concerned is not eating enough. She eats maybe 1 cup to 1.5 cups of kibble a day. I know most on this forum are proponents for raw feeding, but for me (as a student with limited funding) this isn't a viable option right now. The breeder had her on Kirkland large puppy (which i wanted her off of) and the vet said I should slowly wean her off onto a better (but not too great) of a food Natural Balance LID (lamb & rice). I want to eventually feed Taste of the Wild, but the vet thought going from Kirkland to TOTW would be too much of a good thing.

So my puppy is looking thin (no ribs showing but can see definition between ribs & loin). She's on a schedule (feeding 3X a day) but usually eats about 1 cup at feeding time #1, turns her nose up at feeding time #2, and picks at feeding time #3. I tried wetting food, feeding solely Kirkland, trying my parents' older dog's food mixed in (Nutro natural or something like that), and she turns her nose up still.

So i guess I'm wondering if this is normal behavior? This is my first GSD, so I'm a bit concerned. Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks,
-Megan

No healthy dog will starve itself to death. Not to mention it's better for a puppy to be a nice moderate weight than pudgy, easier on their growing body. She will eat what she feels she needs to eat.

If you want to feed the puppy TOTW, I would have just switched from the Kirkland to the TOTW. Or you could have gone with the Kirkland grain free food, which is similar to TOTW but at a much better price. I'm not a fan of puppy food, regardless of the brand, I think it's more of a marketing thing than anything else, but that said I use Kirkland with some of my dogs and have on and off for years, and am happy with the results.

I would STOP immediately adding things to the puppies food to try to get her eating more. All you are going to do is turn her into a picky eater, and she'll have you trained real soon that all her meals must have "extras" in them before she is going to eat. Put down the food, give her 10-15 minutes to eat, then pick it up and she can have it again at her next feeding time.

I think you may be expecting adult muscle tone on a little pup... my own pup, about the same age, doesn't have much muscle yet. Of course not, she still sleeps most of the day. We offer kibble 3x a day, let her eat what she wants, watch that she's still gaining weight & seems happy.

When she stands, she doesn't look like much yet, 'cause of that lack of adult muscle... she looks like a pot bellied pup. Yes, she's been wormed, vetted to w/in an inch of her life.

As your pup is more able to run w/out doing face plants over big bumps, the muscle tone will improve.

Ok having a thin puppy isn't bad then, good to hear. However it's been a week and a half and she hasn't increased in her intake. I know she's still very young, but shouldn't growing puppies want to eat more as the days and weeks pass?

The reason I'm leaning toward TOTW is because I've heard it's better to have more than one protein source. It looks like Kirkland only has one protein, which is why I wanted to make the switch.

I suppose I was expecting a "lab" way of eating, diving in and scarfing up every morsel haha.

Thanks for your help, it's been a while since I've had a puppy :P

Is she growing?

About different protein sources.

If I were to feed kibble, I would have 3-4 different formulas/brands/proteins/kinds/types/bags/cans to feed through.

Variety is important to me regardless of raw, home cooked, or kibble/canned.

Don't take that as permission to chunk every food known to man at your puppy. Just don't get stuck on one brand or bag or formula. Switch it up to cover your bases.

You'll have to make the call on what speed your puppy tolerates food change. Some don't tolerate it well, and need slow and gradual changes, and some can go with something different one day to the next. Use your head.:smile:

Pups food intake goes in fits & starts. We've had ours 2 1/2 weeks & it's increased 1/2 c. But for the moment, she seems to be leveling off a bit. But her activity is good, her attitude is good & it's not that she's thin, it's just that pups are proportioned differently from adults. They don't have much muscle yet, so you won't see strong loins or svelt bellies. At this age, they're still more like sausages.

Do you have her weights from when you first brought her home & today?

I don't consciously strive for variety, it just happens. Sometimes we feed a bag of lamb-based formula, sometimes the chicken based will be on sale, we throw in left overs from time to time, raw egg, the pup steals some of the adult dog's food while I'm filling the bowls. But ours are companion animals, not competition.

But sometimes too much variety can be as big a problem as none... they get to expecting it, & become easily bored w/the same thing day after day. In vet practice, we see this sort of syndrome more w/the little dogs, but I'm sure there's a big dog out there somewhere who is holding her owner up for some tasty tidbit.

 Quote: Jane Jasper

But sometimes too much variety can be as big a problem as none... they get to expecting it, & become easily bored w/the same thing day after day. In vet practice, we see this sort of syndrome more w/the little dogs, but I'm sure there's a big dog out there somewhere who is holding her owner up for some tasty tidbit.

Well, yeah! If I had a taste of real food, I wouldn't want to go back to eating the same ol' kibble day in and day out!

 Quote: Michael_Wise

Is she growing?

Aren't all 9 week old puppies growing? I'm sort of confused by this question haha.

Would it be better to switch between flavors within the brand or to an entirely new brand when introducing variety? I may be overanalyzing this a little bit haha.

Yes she was 9lbs and now she's 10.5lbs. Her activity, attitude, and health all seems good.

 Quote: Megan McBratney

 Quote: Michael_Wise

Is she growing?

Aren't all 9 week old puppies growing?

9 week old puppies that aren't getting enough food aren't growing.