strange eating habbits..

[JessicaK]

i was just wondering if anyone had any ideas of my dogs strange eating habbits. he gets breakfast, lunch, dinner, at the same time everyday, however he will never eat unless he sees me eat something, and then after im done eating he eats, No matter how late, i myself eat, or how early. I tried numerous attempts to get him to eat directly when i put then food down by changing his food, keeping it down for 20 min, picking it up and feeding him again the next feeding time. Im worried bc sometimes i eat on the run or busy at work, etc and he went for days w/o eating untill i actually sat down to eat, then ofcourse after i finish he eats.. i asked my vet and he said hell grown out of it.. i just think its strange. thanks in advance

[ABK]

Sounds like he is just following his alpha. In their natural state, canines do not eat until after the alpha pair have eaten. Once the aplhas are done, it is then the rest of the pack will eat.

JMHO ...

[jadedpitgirl]

Jessica, how old is your dog? It's possible that feeding him 3 times a day is way too much. He might not be hungry. Also, he is not going to starve to death. He will eventually eat. Don't give into him, make him eat on your terms. Pick it up after twenty mins. And offer it to him in the evening. If he doesn't eat within twenty mins, pick it up until the next morning. He will soon learn to eat when it is given to him. Also, make sure you are not eating when you give him his food.

[JessicaK]

He just turned 10 months, and gets 1 cup a day3x i think i am going to try the 20min thing again, especially with him not getting as much exercise lately i think he can afford to miss a meal or so.

[lipshipsattitude]

I agree, two times a day is pleanty, three and he could be getting blaot. Are you feeding him off of the servings on the bag? Also if you are feeding him a low grade quality food that sweels in his tummy you may be overfeedinghim.....put a couple kibbles in a glass of water and leave for a hour or two and see how much it swells up......if it swells a lot that is a sure sign its crappy food.

As for the alpha thing that could very well be the case as well and he should grow out of that

[JessicaK]

oh no he only gets the best, its called fromm and the best besdies innova i can get around here but i do not want to find him innova yet bc he is still young

[ABK]

I think cutting his food back may help as well. 3x a day is way too much. I don't know about other folks, but my 10 m/o dogs get fed 1x p/d.

[JessicaK]

hes also a big guy, 60lbs, im going to take away lunch and see what happens from there, thank you for everyones help

[PirbulBongo]

This happens to me too.

My dog stands with us while we eat, he wont eat his food till we are done and after he sees there is no food for him (sometimes we give him some rests) he starts eating his food.

He knows our lunch&dinner schedule and wont eat untill that time passes.

I always thought he does this because he likes more our food, and when there is none THEN is when he eats lol

I know its our fault because my mother or brothers (or me) always give him some rests.

We just fill with food once a day and then he eats when he wants. I've tried recenltly changing this bad habit but we couldnt, my dog lost weight and i didnt want my 9 years old APBT losing more weight.

[JessicaK]

@ first thats what i thought bc when he was little my boyfriend use to give him some meat if thats what we had for dinner, but that was months & months ago, and this still has been going on, maybe i am feeding him too much so im just going to cut down his feed intake