# Not eating in the morning



## Lozza (Jun 3, 2011)

Hopefully, someone might be able to provide me with some advice. It's a bit confusing, so apologies in advance. 

Boston is currently fed twice a day on Barking Heads puppy food (I've got 1.5 big bags left, so after that I will move him onto adult food). Two weeks ago, he started refusing to eat it (or only ate a little), so I started combining it with Natural Instinct to try to see if he was more interested (coz we had some left in the freezer from when he was very little - he hadn't eaten it coz we had all the issues with his diet when he went onto a sensitivity controlled diet). So he's been munching this down happily, until the last 4-5 days. Now he's decided he doesn't want to eat in the morning and just ignores any food put down. He still gulps it down in the evening tho.

I'm a bit confused and not sure what to do. So some questions for the gang...

Should I still put some food out for him in the morning? I don't want to keep putting out NI if he just ignores it (throwing away good money!).

Maybe I should just put down the BH and he can nibble on it whenever he likes? Normally I don't like to do this (he gets food at meal times and other than treats, that is it).

Any thoughts? Sorry for the rambling 

PS. His weight is fine at the moment. He's not skinny, but not chubby. Nice thin layer of fat over his ribs (can still feel them).


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## Lozza (Jun 3, 2011)

Oh and he seems to be very good at controlling what he eats in terms of volume. For example, if I give him a pigs ear and he isn't hungry, he just won't eat it and saves it for later.


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## Dextersmum (Feb 9, 2012)

He sounds just like Dexter. He's not interested in food in the morning anymore but he used to happily eat it. I'm not worried as he's very healthy and happy and is full of beans,and eats his evening meals with no problems. I can't advise on the food though,sorry


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## susanb (Jan 19, 2012)

I was just going to say that Gisgo is the same. Some mornings he just ignores breakfast and some days he eats it. On the days that he does not eat breakfast, I take it up and then increase the amount I give him at tea time (so he gets a full day's worth of kibble at the tea time meal instead of it being split between two meals). This works for him and on the days of no breakfast he is no different in himself during the day (i.e. not moping about hungry). I do use Barking Heads kibble, though, so it is no waste to just take up the kibble and feed again at tea time if it has not been touched. If I were you, I'd be tempted to do that instead of wasting the NI.


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## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

Exactly the same things has happened too - same timing - and BH also. It has happened since we had our 'summer' a couple of weeks ago. However, he will happily have a raw chicken wing or some tinned mackerel instead. The other thing that works for me if he doesn't eat much of the BH is to put the rest in a kong and then he eats it - particularly the large wobbly kong that they have to knock over to get the food out.


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

I too am in a similar boat. I've posted on here many times that Millie is not a great eater. Never has been. Long story short, we've got it down to a fine art - for now.

I put down BH in the morning in a separate bowl. Next to it I give a SMALL portion of NI and the flavour is important - Millie wont touch Chicken or Turkey. Beef, Beef Tripe, Chicken & Lamb are OK. The rest she wont eat  Expensive trail and error.

However, back to morning feed. Millie seems to eat her NI much better when its a small portion. If its too big it seems to put her off. I leave her NI down for about 30 mins maybe an hour if I'm distracted doing something else. If she doesn't eat it, then I wrap it up and put it back in the fridge. Most days, she will eat her NI and a little BH, which I know is not the idea way to feed them, what with different digestion rates etc, but it works for Millie.

During the day if she's hungry she can nibble on the kibble 

At evening meal, she gets a small portion again of NI with BH again in a separate bowl. If all the BH has gone I don't refill it until the morning feed.

I've just come back from a few days away with Janet's (Founder1) dog Lolly and I know Millie always improves on eating after having been with Lolly. Give it a few weeks and she'll be back to being picky. But at least with BH down all the time I know she will eat if she's hungry. Millie is not a hoover and eat for the sake of it.

I think you have to do what works for you and your Poo.


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## Lozza (Jun 3, 2011)

Thanks everyone! I was a bit worried it was only us (but if there is something I've learnt from this website is that it's always happening to someone else too!).

I think I will put down some BH in the morning, so he has the option to eat if he wants. If he doesn't have it in 30mins, then I'll take it away and use for his evening meal of BH and NI.

Thanks again everyone! As Gemma said, he's happy and full of beans like normal, so nothing to stress about. Whew!


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## mrsmac (May 10, 2011)

Maisie is the same. She can take or leave her breakfast. If she doesn't eat it I put some in her kong and then hide a little pile under her teddy. Some days she eats it ,some days she doesn't but she is happy enough not lost weight so I guess she knows when she's hungry or not!!


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## loobylou (Nov 20, 2011)

charlie is exactly the same. He started stopping eating breakfast in the morning at about 4 and a half months. He will sometimes look for food but its normally a good couple of hours before he eats. He is full of beans so I havent worried too much as he normally makes it for it later in the day.


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## zed (Jan 20, 2012)

Jarvis is four and a half months and he too is starting to be not interested in his breakfast... Some days he eats it straight away, others he eats an hour later. I don't worry as he still eats 3 times a day, sometimes if he's busy he will skip lunch but he always eats his tea. X


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## zed (Jan 20, 2012)

He's on BH by the way 


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## theaccessman (Mar 12, 2012)

Lucia is two and half years old and we have had her now for 4 months. She has never been a real foodie like the other non-Cockapoo dogs we have owned. We feed Lucia once in the morning and again in the evening. She will eat both meals everyday sometimes for 2-3 days in a row and then for some unknown reason will just stop eating breakfast but will eat her evening meal that night. Often she will refuse breakfast for a few days in a row but again will eat her evening meal. Very healthy and a perfect weight to height according to the Veterinarian. Just another Cockapoo trait it would appear

Could someone please explain NI and BH


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

theaccessman said:


> Lucia is two and half years old and we have had her now for 4 months. She has never been a real foodie like the other non-Cockapoo dogs we have owned. We feed Lucia once in the morning and again in the evening. She will eat both meals everyday sometimes for 2-3 days in a row and then for some unknown reason will just stop eating breakfast but will eat her evening meal that night. Often she will refuse breakfast for a few days in a row but again will eat her evening meal. Very healthy and a perfect weight to height according to the Veterinarian. Just another Cockapoo trait it would appear
> 
> Could someone please explain NI and BH


Sorry, talking in abbreviations, NI stands for Natural Instinct which is a raw diet with everything already worked out, ie veg, oil and of course meat.

http://www.naturalinstinct.com/

BH is Barking Heads, a dried kibble food that is rated very highly

http://www.barkingheads.co.uk/


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## emmelg (Mar 4, 2012)

Bailey has all of a sudden stopped eating his food, he'll eat his treats and his bones but as soon as I put down his food he'll have a sniff then walk away 

He's always been a great eater, I couldn't put his bowl down quick enough, I'm just abit baffled, we mixed his food with meat paste for his tea time meal tonight and he ate it but I don't want to have to do this for every meal.

The two days prior to him not eating I gave him some corned beef and chicken and veg as a meal do you think hes just wanting to have fresh meat etc now ...have I made him fussy...


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## Pollypiglet (Oct 22, 2011)

Hattie is often not keen on breakfast eats half of it but still asks for it so portions getting smaller!


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## KateC (Jun 24, 2012)

My guy doesn't eat his breakfast in the Summer months. However, I find that he drinks more water in the morning than in the evening during these same months. His weight stays even and he has the energy he requires to play at his regular level. 

Yet, when we visited friends which live in a much cooler climate a few weeks ago he began eating in the morning again. Perhaps, not eating in the morning relates to the temperature in which they sleep in the evening and the required water intake. 

Though not a canine, I also find my appetite wanes as temperatures increase; could this be an appropriate correlative?


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