pup's eating habits

[vandeman17]

I have a black lab pup that is almost 8 months old. For the past month or so, she doesn't seem to have the desire to chow down on her food like she used to. For the first few months I had her, she was a chow hound and would eat her food so fast that I was surprised she didn't choke. Now when I put her food down, she looks at it for a minute then slowly starts eating it and it takes her alot longer to finish. Any ideas as to why? 

[BIGINNER]

HOW MUCH TIMES A DAY DO YOU FEED HER?  MAYBE HOLD BACK THE FOOD A LITTLE? 

[vandeman17]

HOW MUCH TIMES A DAY DO YOU FEED HER?  MAYBE HOLD BACK THE FOOD A LITTLE? 

I feed her twice per day, as I always have. I don't know if it is the food that she doesn't like or what but I know she is hungry because if you do anything that even resembles something like you are going to give her a treat she immediately sits and watches your hand.

[BIGINNER]

DOES SHE EVENTUALLY FINISH HER FOOD? IF NOT, THEN  IS SHE SICK BY ANY CHANCE?    SOME DOGS ARE JUST SLOWER EATERS THAN OTHERS,  IF SHE STILL FINISHED HER FOOD,  SHE SHOULD BE FINE AS LONG AS SHE'S EATING ENOUGH. MAYBE ITS THE WEATHER?    DOES SHE STAY OUTSIDE? 

[vandeman17]

DOES SHE EVENTUALLY FINISH HER FOOD? IF NOT, THEN  IS SHE SICK BY ANY CHANCE?    SOME DOGS ARE JUST SLOWER EATERS THAN OTHERS,  IF SHE STILL FINISHED HER FOOD,  SHE SHOULD BE FINE AS LONG AS SHE'S EATING ENOUGH. MAYBE ITS THE WEATHER?    DOES SHE STAY OUTSIDE? 

Yep, she ends up finishing her food after a few minutes. If she was a slow eater from the time I got her then I wouldn't think twice about it but she used to inhale her food but now its a much slower process. Yes, she is outside most of the day but does lay on a pillow inside the back door at night and sleeps inside in a crate.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Have you changed food on her?  Maybe she doesn't like it or it is giving her an upset stomach after eating. 

[Stilly bay]

take the dog to the vet pronto. if one of my labs started acting that way around food it would scare the hell outta me

[Michelle_Nelson]

Other things to think about and ask yourself.

Is she pooping regular?  Is she lathargic like she doesn't have as much energy?  Does she show a lack of interest in other things?

[bigdave]

is it teething pain?.....I can't remember when they loose their puppy teeth.

[vandeman17]

We changed food on her a few months ago and she did fine with it for a while. It is the food that my uncle gives all his dogs when they are at his kennel. She is still hyper as all heck and acts like a normal puppy for everything but when its time to eat. We thought at first that she might be backed up or have an upset stomach but she still craps like a horse many times a day so we don't know what is going on. As far as teething pain, we thought the same thing but she still chews on her toys, sticks etc all the time with no discomfort.

[Schmalzfam]

Look inside her mouth for any sores or abscessed teeth. She may just be calming down and not feeling she has to scarf it before anyone else. A change in eating habits usually points to a problem could be as simple as a sore in her mouth or an upset belly. Has she been wormed recently? What are you feeding her? How many times a day? 

[vandeman17]

Look inside her mouth for any sores or abscessed teeth. She may just be calming down and not feeling she has to scarf it before anyone else. A change in eating habits usually points to a problem could be as simple as a sore in her mouth or an upset belly. Has she been wormed recently? What are you feeding her? How many times a day? 

She was just at the vet a couple weeks ago and had her worming done and all that good stuff. We are feeding her the high end eukanuba (sp) dog food twice a day.

[Michelle_Nelson]

I would call your vet and ask him/her what they think.

[BuckeyeMan]

Calling the vet is not a bad idea, but I noticed that my girl would be the complete chow hound at first.  Over time, she just slowed down.  I think that it had to do more with the fact that she didn't have to fight anyone for the food any longer.  There's times that she doesn't even finish the food and comes back later to do so.  If she's eating consistently, she might just be maturing a bit.

[vandeman17]

Calling the vet is not a bad idea, but I noticed that my girl would be the complete chow hound at first.  Over time, she just slowed down.  I think that it had to do more with the fact that she didn't have to fight anyone for the food any longer.  There's times that she doesn't even finish the food and comes back later to do so.  If she's eating consistently, she might just be maturing a bit.

I am hoping that is the case because it would be nice to have her slowly eat her food. I pay darn good money for that stuff and I want her to enjoy and actually taste it. 

[Special T]

Buckeyeman i think is on to the issue.. My Chessie was the runt and still has food agression issues, but he is not the race eater he once was... I just give him a full bowl, and after he ate too much a few times and i left him alone he realized that there will alwasy be food... After I had my neighbors watch him with thier 2 labs he was a speed eater again for a while, but slowed back down... 

[vandeman17]

Buckeyeman i think is on to the issue.. My Chessie was the runt and still has food agression issues, but he is not the race eater he once was... I just give him a full bowl, and after he ate too much a few times and i left him alone he realized that there will alwasy be food... After I had my neighbors watch him with thier 2 labs he was a speed eater again for a while, but slowed back down... 

I hope so because she still finishes her food but it is just alot slower. Sometimes it takes a minute or two for her to even start eating it. I would be worried if she was losing energy or seemed different but she is still the fun loving, energetic pup that she has always been.

[steen]

Hopefully she is slowing down her growth and doesn't feel the need to inhale her food.  If everything else is good I would consider it a good thing.  Maybe she won't be the dog that swallows anything.  Labs are known for that.  Did you see the one on TV that ate $400.00 worth of money.  They took it to the vet and had him vomit it all out.  All the money was accounted for and washed for use again.

[vandeman17]

I didn't see it but that is pretty crazy. She likes to do the normal puppy things and chew on stuff but she doesn't really eat it. She does like to eat the elk crap in our yard but what puppy wouldn't? 

[mjbskwim]

I have a black lab pup that is almost 8 months old. For the past month or so, she doesn't seem to have the desire to chow down on her food like she used to. For the first few months I had her, she was a chow hound and would eat her food so fast that I was surprised she didn't choke. Now when I put her food down, she looks at it for a minute then slowly starts eating it and it takes her alot longer to finish. Any ideas as to why? 

They are just like kids.If they're growing they'll eat everything in site.If not,may not eat much.
I never worried until they stopped drinking water.Then you know there's a problem.