Hi everyone. I regularly read the posts (especially in this forum) and have a question:

My puppy is now 40 lbs at 4 1/2 months. He's a German Shepherd/Pit Bull mix (Thanks Jenni :-)). He's doing wonderfully on a raw diet: (RMB's and homemade patties of beef, venison, rabbit, lamb, etc.)

He was eating like CRAZY, 3 meals per day. He has slowed down dramatically and doesn't really want breakfast or lunch but eats a ton at dinner. Everything else is normal. No we haven't changed anything in his diet.

My questions is, is 5 months a "typical" time to switch to just 1 or 2 meals per day and just calculate the amount to that singl meal?

His poop is great. No stomach issues, no fevers, no lethargy, nothing. He just isn't interested in the 3 meals anymore. Before asking our vet I wanted to post this here and see if I'm jumping the gun. He was doing 3 meals of about 16 ounces per meal. The thought of lowering the overall amount and going to just 1 meal a day is somewhat shocking after seeing him SCARF it down the last few months.

Is that "normal"?

Thanks!

hmm, i dont know if its normal but most of my dogs wont eat in the morning; even the most desired scraps. they will guard them , sit on them until afternoon but arent hungry.
some of them will eat anything (including licking lotion of peoples arms or trying to scarf a box full of Miracle Grow) and everything at anytime.

Marc, The general recommendation for raw feeding and puppies is depending on their body weight - 5-10% of their total body weight, judged by their body condition (thin or chubby)

What is the body condition of your pup? Is he really round/chubby or can you see some rib and his tuck up(waist) ?

If he is acting out of the norm, is lethargic, etc then I would be concerned or if he starts to lose body condition. Is he teething? Sometimes when teething a pup isn't as interested in its food.

Edited. Thanks Mitch hahah major reading issues. I'm going to go sit in the corner now

Edited by Jennifer Marshal (02/19/2008 05:54 PM)
Edit reason: thanks Mitch

Where are you getting 6 lbs from? I thought he said three meals of 16 oz.

 Quote: mary roach

hmm, i dont know if its normal but most of my dogs wont eat in the morning; even the most desired scraps. they will guard them , sit on them until afternoon but arent hungry.

Oscar says, "that is DEFINITELY not normal - if they're not going to eat breakfast, can I have theirs??!!"

Seriously though, some dogs are really wonderful at self regulating. If they don't feel like eating, they just wait until they're hungry. To the OP, your pup might be a LITTLE young for the "average" switch from 3 meals a day to 2 or even one... but if he's not hungry, you can't make him eat. You could try not offering him food until mid-day, making it a smallish meal/snack, then saving the big meal for dinner.

I'd be concerned if he stopped wanting to eat all together, or was obviously not himself in some other way (lethargic, loosing weight, etc.) but he sounds like he's perfectly healthy and just ready for a more simplified feeding schedule. I'm no expert, but I'm sure there will be more good advice from others...

~Natalya

 Quote: natalya zahn

You could try not offering him food until mid-day, making it a smallish meal/snack, then saving the big meal for dinner.

This is what I do with Ember. Her snack today for the first time was two small whole mackerel.......hahahahahah she held one in her mouth and just stared around the room from her crate like the proudest little Mali ever.
She started eating about half of her midday meal the other day, so I am weaning her off of them. She does seem to eat with more gusto at supper, but still won't eat all of a midday meal anymore.
Plus, with all the "rewards" she gets throughout the day, she probably does not need a lunch anymore.

Interestingly, my 5 1/2 month old went through a phase when he was about 4 1/2 months old where he would be more picky about his food. But he eats kibble (Wellness). He would sometimes skip breakfast but mainly lunch, or just eat a mouthful or two. I would just remove the food after 15-25 minutes and give his normal meal next time. I assumed it was because his mouth was sore (teething) so I soaked his kibbles in water (yeah, my dogs are spoiled). But I didn't really know.

When he hit about 5 months, he was starving again. He still eats a light lunch, but there is no more hesitation. I'm weaning him off his lunch slowly.

Maybe it's the age?

The pups I have kept from my last litter just turned 5 months yesterday and today I moved them from 3 raw meals a day to 2 raw meals a day. My main reason for this is I need them to be a little hungrier for treats as we are starting some obedience work. They were happy eating 3 meals a day(3lbs raw total), but at 65-70lbs they will be fine with 2 meals a day (2.5 lbs total). I generally tell the people I place my puppies with that 6 months is a good time to switch to 2 meals a day. I continue to feed 2 meals to my adult dogs, but they occasionally skip a meal here and there.

I switched Quincy to two meals at three months. Kind of young but it was an effort to get him to eat the third meal.

I also feed raw and keep my dogs on 2 meals through out their lives. The larger one is in the afternoon and then a small one around 6.