r/puppy101 • u/le-secret-account • 1d ago
Misc Help Questions on my first ever puppy
Hey reddit,
Recently I failed to foster a 4 months puppy which is now a new member of our family... She currently is 1 year old and about 8kg, she will not become any bigger.
This is my first puppy/dog ever so I'm learning as I go, but some things don't make sense to me:
She does not eat that much. According to the dog food bag, I should give her almost 2 cups of dog food a day but I find that she eats maybe half of that, maybe not even half. I do not know what to do because when she was younger I had to stop her from rushing to the food plate, but now she doesn't eat anymore. I tried 4 different dog food brands, during the months (I was not switching them up every day) but nothing seems to work. I remember from one day to the next she got 'scared' of the eating bowl and I had to put her food on a plate, but still she doesn't eat that much.
When we go out she is constantly sniffing for goose poop and takes a bite at every one she finds. I keep telling her no nad drop it, which sometimes she does and then I tell her how of a good girl she is, but this doesn't seem to stop her from eating goose poop.
She is the goodest girl and to be fair, the goose poop issue doesnt worry me too much because I can control it to an extend, but the eating part does bother me a little bit.
Editing to add a pic of the boss of the house: https://imgur.com/UBbCOCK
She is by no means super skinny, she does it, but maybe half of what she should eat.
Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!
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u/Top-Order-2878 1d ago
The number on the bag are usually way out of whack. They want you to use as much as possible so they make more money.
You can adjust based on your dog.
If she is a stable healthy weight, not over weight you can free feed her and just let her eat what she wants. Just add food to the bowl so it never goes empty.
If she is over weight, you need to cut back on food. If she is eating 1 cup a day the give her slightly less than that util she drops to her target weight. By slightly less I mean a tablespoon less not 1/4 cup. You may have to adjust once in a while based on her weight. Ask your vet how she looks weight wise every time you go to the vet.
The goose poop thing is pretty normal. Dogs are just a bit different.
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u/le-secret-account 1d ago
I see, thanks!!
I was a bit worried because she eats quite a bit less than the numbers on the bag, but what you're saying makes sense.
Would eating too much goose poop be bad for her? I don't let her eat it but sometimes I can't stop her ...
I appreciate it
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u/Top-Order-2878 1d ago
Don't let her eat goose poop. Lots of bad stuff can be in goose poop. For some reason dogs just like it.my Aussie mix loves horse poop and would sneak a bite in if I didn't watch her like a hawk
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u/Least-Frosting-6035 1d ago
You can always ask your vet. I don’t know what type of food it is, but I feed my 33 pound dog 1 & 3/4 cup / day. Was doing 2 cups before as the bag recommended but he was not as interested in eating. And he’s a beagle. They loooove to eat.
He also loves to eat rabbit poop. It’s annoying, but I don’t think he will ever stop if he can get away with it haha
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