hi

I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice.  My 14 week labrador doesnt eat much at all.  She is very lively, inquisitive and healthy.  I give her 3 meals a day.  Sometimes she will eat two of them, sometimes she will eat one meal a day.  She loves eating her kibble out of the kong but I dont want to do this to get her to eat.  I know she likes what I feed her, and dont want to start chopping and changing her diet.  She saw the vet last week, shes put on weight, and the vet is happy with her.  He said it probably cos theres too much going on for her to be interested in food. Maybe hes right.  It this typical at this age?  Im not too worried but i am happy when shes finished a full meal.

Thanks

If she is putting on weight gradually, is healthy lively and happy I wouldn't worry ;)

As long as she hasn't got her ribs/hip bones prominently showing, I wouldn't worry one bit. What guidelines are gou going off for food quantities? Without exception, dog food companies overestimate the amount of food on the feeding guides and some dogs will eat as little as half what's recommended and be in perfect condition. Labs usually have the opposite problem as they normally love their food and a puppy on the lean side is going to be healthier long term than a fat one.

Try to feed her somewhere quiet if you think she's getting distracted and take up the food that she hasn't eaten in 5 minutes. Also if you stuff her kong, don't forget to take that food into account as a portion of her daily allowance.

Hiya thanks for that.  Yes I do take into account when filling her kong, its usually from the food shes left in the first place.  There are no bones showing, shes a picture of health really.  My Aunt has the sister to my puppy and she eats like a horse!  My children are at school for one of her meals and in bed for the last meal of the day - doesnt make a lot of difference.  i leave the food down for 10-15 mins.  My vet told me to feed her 3 times a day.  My aunts vet said four times......I think you just have to be lead by your dog to an extent.  I agree a leaner pup will be healthier in the long run and Im sure shes not starvin herself

I've got an 18 week old pup who isn't particularly fussed about having more than one meal a day either. He should be on 3 meals a day but breakfast tends to be completely ignored and lunch mainly picked over. His tea is thoroughly enjoyed, however. But he's absolutely bursting with energy, looks the picture of health and putting on weight regularly so although I wish he would conform to what he's supposed to have I've come to the conclusion that this is what suits his constitution. My previous dog who I inherited at the age of 6 was drastically overweight and it was a real struggle to get the weight off him so I'm not minded to stuff the pup full of food (he'd happily eat human biscuits, incidentally!!) for the sake of it.

thanks roz

My pup doesnt think much of her breakfast either.  I always thought that a lab pup would eat three meals a day, and like you, my pup is a picture of health as well.  Its just nice to know its normal and not something to worry about.  Give it a couple of months and Im sure those 2-3 meals will be gone in seconds!

put a little tinned tuna in with the kibble - she nearly jumped into bowl before i put it down!