Not eating all of food concern.

[Allhana]

About two months ago, we were no longer able to get the food we had been getting, and switched Link to Nutro Ultra (http://www.ultraholistic.com/puppy-kibble.html). We still had a bit of the old food left (gaa.. can't remember what it was now), so we started mixing in the new right away. After a few days, Link stopped eating all of his food. It took a few half eaten meals for me to realize that he was eating all the new food and leaving the old! He really enjoyed the Nutro Ultra.

In the last week or so, he is back to not eating all of his food again. He will be 10 months old on the 6th, and the instructions indicate to deed between 1.75 cups and 2 cups a day. We are feeding him 2 cups a day split between breakfast and dinner. At least one feeding a day he does not eat all of his food, and sometimes even both meals.

I am a bit concerned about this development. I had heard Corgi's were notorious over eaters, and the one time the cat bowl got knocked over and in his reach, he ended up eating himself bloated. So, it worries me that he is not eating all of his meals.

There are no signs that he is sick, though. He isn't losing weight, isn't lethargic, enjoys his play time and walks, and nothing has changed about bathroom time.

I am wondering if anyone has any insight or advise for me? I am not sure if I should be worried or if I am just being a little worry wart.

[Penutsma]

I had a corgi named Delilah that would rather be with her people or play than eat. She was perfectly healthy. Not ALL corgis are overeaters. I would fill her bowl once a day and between her and the chihuahua it would be gone at the end of the day. Never had to fight with her about eating too much. I would just fill the bowls in the am. They usually finished everything I put out around 9pm.

[palmettostar]

Bella turned 1 in July and is not an overeater either. I feed her Wellness Brand Whitefish & Sweet Potato and give her 1 1/2 cup a day because she doesn't eat more than that. She would rather play or follow us around the house than eat her food. When she gets hungry, she'll go to her bowl and eat, and we leave it out at all times because she doesn't stand there and continually eat.

I have tried giving her more when she does eat all the food in her bowl and she usually doesn't touch anymore than a 1.5 cup of food, maybe a few nibs here and there. We've even tried to do what you do by splitting up the meals and giving her 1 cup at breakfast or when we wake and then another cup around dinner, but she usually doesnt even eat the 1 cup from breakfast so we cut it down to 1.5 cups.

She's very lean and very active too but she is also smaller for the breed only weighing about 15 pounds or so.

[Merlincorgi]

If she is healthy in other ways and not showing signs of tummy upset then I wouldn't worry about it much. In fact, I would count my blessings... you have a rare corgi that will actually monitor it's own food intake! My Gator was like this, had he been an only dog I could have just left food down for him all day and he would have only have eaten what he needed.

Also, 2 cups food a day is "probably" too much.. what the bags say often is, especially for corgis who were designed to be "easy keepers" (ie-not need much food to maintain their weight). Checkers gets between 1/2 and 1 cup a day and my dalmatian is presently eating between 2-3 cups.

[funnyfarm]

You also may want to take into consideration the source of protein and other "fillers" as compared to your old food. He may be satisfied and not need to consume more feed to meet his nutritional needs.
The other thing is his level of exercise, if he is not burning a lot of calories, he may not feel the need to "bulk up".
Or may just may not like it yet...there is always that too lol! Not many corgis are picky, but perhaps you have an anomaly - haha!
In the end if all is normal, I would not worry too much...my theory has always been, a hungry dog WILL eat...eventually.
Best of luck.

[PollyGirl]

Also, 2 cups food a day is "probably" too much..

That's the same thing I thought when I read this post. Polly eats about 1 3/4 cups a day, divided.

[LoveMySadie]

Sadie is also not a food-driven corgi, the more unusual form of the breed as I understand. :WINK:

She gets 1/2 to 3/4 cup of kibble mixed with water twice a day. She eats it all, but she doesn't beg for more or lunge at her bowl when I put it down. So Link may be getting a little bit more than he needs or wants. You might try reducing it for a day or two and see how he reacts.

Leslie

[Westwood]

As others said, 2 cups a day is probably too much food. Don't pay any attention to the instructions on the bag, they are notorious for feeding the dog WAY too much. My guys get 3/4 cup twice a day, mixed with some water, and I've been debating cutting Henry's to 1/2 cup since he was up .5 lb at the vet last time.

I'd try cutting his food amount down and see how it goes.

[Dillydoodle]

I was also going to say that 2 cups of food is a lot.. Dillon and Gus currently eat a total of one cup a day, divided evenly between two meals... in addition , they get about a total of 1/8 cup of canned food and a few tablespoons of yogurt and pumpkin a day as well, and a few treats. This seems to be the right amount for them to maintain a good weight ( as long as we are still walking 3 miles a day and playing ball at lunch time.)

When i first got gus , he was pretty sickly with a poorly functioning liver and his dermatomyositis break out in full swing. He needed the extra food to help rebuild his body... so he was eating 2 cups a day for him to be able to gain a few pounds and to help him while he was in recovery . Once he recovered , he started to put on a little weight, so i reduced his food intake slowly and weighed him weekly until i found the right amount of food to keep him at a good weight. I still weigh the boys every two weeks to make sure they are maintaining a good weight... and i adjust their food intake accordingly.

I think if Link is not eating all his food and he feels ok in all other aspects of his life, then i would just reduce how much food he is getting... and see how that works. he may really not be hungry. I never ever follow feeding instructions on the bag or can of dog or cat food... if i did, i would have two butterballs for dogs LOL! Same thing if i were to be free feeding them... they would eat until they popped!

[Allhana]

Thank you everyone for the wonderful advise! I want to do by right by Link because he is the bestest ever, but he is a little bit more complicated than cats!

@Freefarm: I am a bit dissapointed in myself because when I switched to the new food, I was in a rush and didn't pay atten as closely as I should have. Several weeks after we had switched him over completely, I was cleaning up his room. When I picked up the bag of old food, I compared it with the new. I could have kicked myself when I realized it was not as high quality as the old. My husband and I decided not to swtich him again since he will be going to adult food in December.

@palmettostar and Penutsma: I had kinda thought the same thing. Sometimes when we feed him, it seems that he eats quickly to run back to be with us. He will show up with this "Hey guys, whatcha doing?" look on his face.

We do try to get plenty of exercise in with him. We do at least one walk a day that is a little over a mile, and twice a day several times a week (when he can drag me from bed early enough to go!). He also loves chasing a laser, so there is 15-20 minutes of that when it gets dark, we play fetch several times a day, once or twice a day my husband plays hide n seek with him around the car (he watches under the car for which way my husband is coming, and as my husband gets close to coming around the car he runs the opposite way, then waits again).

He had his last vet visit in July. He weighed 26 lbs at the time, and the vet said that was a good weight fgor him. He currently weighs 27 lbs. So he is looking very handsome.

I will change out measuring cups for him tonight, and cut him back a little and see how he does over the next couple of days.

Thank you everyone! You are the best!

[mtoy]

My Link weighs maybe a pound more than yours, and gets 1 cup twice a day. His exercise is several walks a week (usually at least a mile) and a tennis ball session most days, sometimes 2x a day. But he also runs around the yard at squirrels A LOT. Oh, and this time of years he eats at the apple tree and garden buffet whenever he goes out.

[jeepgal]

I feed both of my dogs Nutro Ultra and they do great on it. I only give Trixie about 3/4 cup total a day and Murphey 1 cup total a day both split over 2 feedings. Nutro Ultra is a very good food with quality ingredients in it.

I thought the same as others when you said 2 cups a day, that it was too much. If you feed any high quality food, the dog will eat less because they are absorbing more of the food/nutrients into their system rather than expelling them out in the yard because there are no fillers in the food.

I wouldn't worry too much if he is still doing good otherwise.