Lost Interest In Breakfast Kibble

[christinepi]

Tracker gets 3 cups of kibble and 2/3 lb of raw food every day. We get him Taste of the Wild in 16 lb bags and always rotate flavors. He gets half of dry and half of wet 2 times a day. For a year now he's eaten the kibble just fine. Recently, however, when he's confronted with his breakfast, he'll eat the raw and leave the dry. He'll take a nibble here and there, and it'll be gone by ca 2-3pm. But he'll eat his dinner portion completely normally, dry and wet, in one sitting. So he's not missed out on any calories on any of these days, and in all other ways behaves normally. So I don't think there are any health concerns. But is it possible that he's just tired of this particular flavor?? Should I switch to another brand entirely, just to see?

[Guest happygrey]

Maybe he just prefers to graze for breakfast? Sounds like he probably prefers the raw (at least in the AM) but then his tummy growling gets the better of him.

 

If he's still eating all of his food day to day I wouldn't worry about it (unless you have an issue about leaving the food down for him all day -- another hound, or cat?).

[Guest KennelMom]

is the way he's currently eating posing some sort of problem?

[OwnedBySummer]

I myself don't like the food being down for any length of time, be it raw or kibble. When meals are served, meals are to be eaten. I hunted around until I found a kibble that she loves and so far, so good -- I don't have to resort to training her by removing the unfinished bowl of food after a reasonable amount of time and only giving it back for the next scheduled meal.

 

But if you don't mind the grazing habit... then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

What I would be concerned about, is that raw food is being picked out of the kibble. Leaving behind raw food juices and little bits which can spoil. That sounds worse to me than the grazing.

Edited May 10, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest KsFrets]

Lisa goes through this from time to time. We don't change food often, so they either have to be happy with what they get (and we can afford) or be hungry. She never skips more than one meal. And it's there for her the next meal. It only carrys on a few days till she's back to normal and chowing down. Beats me why she's not hungry sometimes. Our somewhat pudgey little mutt helps too... she can polish off her meal in a nanosecond, and then acts like a vulture...waiting for one of the Greys to leave some food unattended. They are on to her scavanger tactics... so they eat up!

[christinepi]

His grazing as such doesn't bother me--no other dogs. The raw food gets vacuumed until there's not a molecule left, so spoilage isn't an issue, either. I was just curious WHY he would do that and whether other dogs go through phases like that, and it appears that they do. The bag he's currently working on is almost empty, maybe 10 more days, then I'll buy a different and see whether that's what it was.

[OwnedBySummer]

Another thing I don't do is buy the big bag of kibble. We buy the 14 lb. size of her preferred brand. And we put it, bag and all, into the pet food vault. Unless you have multiple dogs, I find the big bag is just too big and no matter what you do, it really doesn't stay fresh until the end. I've had previous dogs, not just my greyhound, turn up their noses at what we call "end of bag". That might be part of the problem?

Edited May 10, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[christinepi]

Could be. It's just that he's never turned up his nose at the other ends. And what's also weird that he doesn't do this with his dinner kibble, which is the same. Maybe he's just less hungry in the morning these days. WHo knows the workings of a greyhound's mind... or tummy...

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Many, many dogs are less hungry in the morning. I'd say the majority I've had eat better with one large meal at night. Several of mine who inhale their dinners would not eat a morning meal.

[Hubcitypam]

Many, many dogs are less hungry in the morning. I'd say the majority I've had eat better with one large meal at night. Several of mine who inhale their dinners would not eat a morning meal.

Thank goodness due to my often night time work hours I have never had a dog that wouldn't sleep in until noon and/or wanted breakfast. Our "breakfast" is at noon and the bowls are not always cleaned at the moment. I like it like that.

[maryz]

Sherri is "picky" about breakfast sometimes too. Sometimes she gobbles it right up, sometimes she sniffs it and walks away, but comes back to it later and sometimes she will pick at it over a period of

two or so hours. Some days she never touches it. Dinner is the same food and she always eats that. I don't worry about it as her behavior and "output" hasn't changed. Maybe they're just not

morning eaters?

[Guest BillNY914]

Benny has gone through this "I don't want to eat in the morning" thing. I was stressing about it, however I came up with a simple solution. I put it in Kongs, stuff the holes with wet food, put them in the freezer and put them out when I leave for work. By the time I stop by for midday pee break, the food is 99% consumed... he's not a hooverer (?!?) and there's usually a trail of kibble around. On the weekend, sometimes he eats, sometimes he doesn't in the morning, but he ALWAYS eats his dinner. I was worried that he would be losing weight, but just the opposite... he gained from his last visit to the vet... and here I was worried! I also cut back on the treats too, I'd rather have him eat food than snacks.

[Guest Swifthounds]

What I would be concerned about, is that raw food is being picked out of the kibble. Leaving behind raw food juices and little bits which can spoil. That sounds worse to me than the grazing.

 

Nope.

 

To the OP, have you considered cutting out the kibble in the morning? Unless you're feeding a large greyhound, that's quite a bit if food.

 

Also, are you only giving the pre-fab raw in the morning? The raw and the kibble will digest differently. It's not necessarily dangerous for the dog, but not comfortable and most who feed raw avoid it.