Distracted eating

[alschwahn]

Aspen has a cue for eating kibbles so he sits down and waits till I say "OK!". Normally he would dive straight into eating. He used to eat really quickly. I have noticed over the last 2 months that A: he has slowed down his eating a lot and B: he trots around and gets easily distracted and even after I say "OK!" he continues to stare at me, if I walk away after cueing he will watch me walk into the other room, etc. He just doesn't seem to be that interested in starting his meal. He does finish it after he focuses, so there is no issue of him having no appetite. Is this just a sign that he is maturing or what? I guess I just worry because he used to be such a fast, focused eater. Now he just seems to take his time...which I guess I shouldn't be complaining about...it's just a little odd for him!

 

[Lab_adore]

It does sound a bit strange @alschwahn as labs are normally so food obsessed. Maxx too will wait until we give the command to eat but the whole time he is drooling and quivering with anticipation and then pounces as soon as we say 'eat'. But I guess not all dogs are the same and let's see if others have experienced the same as you

 

[snowbunny]

Last night I listened to a podcast where a loss of appetite/ interest in food was discussed. In both the cases mentioned, it was down to inflammation. Of course, there are a million and one other things it could be, but it might be worth a vet trip to rule that out.

 

[Emily]

It's happened with Ella before and it turned out that she'd become confused (or we'd unknowingly altered) her "have it" cue. The poor thing wasn't 100% sure that we'd released her to eat.

 

[Shaz82]

Maisy stopped gobbling down her food at about 7 months old and became really picky. In her case, she only eats when she is hungry, not typical I know but she really isn't that bothered sometimes. I can put down a meal and if it isn't super exciting she will just leave it until she is hungrier.
I have done a lot of worrying but now I would not be concerned unless she lost her appetite completely or had toilet problems.

 

[HAH]

Kipper's sometimes less excited about his frozen kongs, but I think that's boredom + level of difficulty. Last night for example after training he wasn't that fussed about his frozen kong, but we'd had an hour of training with a variety of treats being gobbled down so I think he was fairly full.

@alschwahn is it the same kibble you've always given him? Could it be that he's become a bit bored of it? Or the manufacturers may have changed the formulation, I guess even small tweaks can make a big difference (just thinking of Creme Eggs being changed here in the UK, uproar from devotees!). Would it be worth trying his reaction to a different kibble?

 

[snowbunny]

Along @HAH's lines, sometimes a bag just seems to be a bit "off" and buying a new bag is all that's needed for them to gobble it up again. So maybe try a new small bag of the regular food and see if that makes any difference?

 

[Jen]

I guess it depends on the dog.

This would be an emergency vet visit for me personally as if he showed a lack of interest in food I would think he was on his death bed.

 

[Ashley]

It's happened with Ella before and it turned out that she'd become confused (or we'd unknowingly altered) her "have it" cue. The poor thing wasn't 100% sure that we'd released her to eat.

Yes, exact same at our house. I think we changed the tone of our OK or something, because she would sit forever and we sometimes have to say ok 3-4 times. This lasted for a good year.

However, we changed her kibble last month and I have been adding kefir, and she seems much more eager for it, and we're back to 1, sometimes 2 OKs...

 

[Boogie]

Along @HAH's lines, sometimes a bag just seems to be a bit "off" and buying a new bag is all that's needed for them to gobble it up again. So maybe try a new small bag of the regular food and see if that makes any difference?

Yes, that’s what I’d do first.

I’d also ask if maybe he’s not needing as much food as he did?

I had a very ‘choosy’ dog once, he’d soon go off his food and want tastier/different meals. Spencer shows choosy tendencies with his treats!

It could also be a tooth problem/tummy problem. Always worth popping to the vets to check.
.

 

[edzbird]

I guess it depends on the dog.

This would be an emergency vet visit for me personally as if he showed a lack of interest in food I would think he was on his death bed.

Same here. Ours love their food and if they showed disinterest there would definitely be something wrong.

 

[Leanne]

I rarely get a chance to finish the ok! I do the O and then it’s gone

 

[alschwahn]

Thanks for everyone replies! He ate quickly this morning, I just had to say “Ok” a couple times before he began. He keeps looking back at me each time like he’s not sure if it’s ok to eat. He still begs like mad. I’m not super concerned because he has not shown any lethargy, discomfort, or any other odd behavior. I will just mention it at our next vet appointment.

 

[edzbird]

Maybe something has changed in the environment. A new bowl, a new mat for it to sit on, a different location (even slightly!)....just something a teeny bit different that has added a confusion so that Aspen no longer understands his "OK" cue.

 

[alschwahn]

I think it was the flavor. The bag might have been a changed formula and he didn't like the new taste. We switched him to a lamb kibble and he's much more enthusiastic about eating. Thanks, everyone for the suggestions!