9 month old not eating his food

Question
Hi Labman,

My 9 month old Lab has stopped eating his pet food.

We feed him thrice in a day. Since few weeks, I have started giving him chicken soup, boneless chicken mixed with chapatis(it is a pancake made out of whole wheat flour) in the afternoon and continued with his chow in the morning and evenings.

Though he gobbles up his chicken meal but since few days have shown extreme dislike for his chow, so much so that he doesn't have it for hours after given and I have to mix some soup in it and then he reluctantly eats it.

We haven't changed his dog food since the start and we have tried giving him soaked, dry, with little water, but to not much difference.

I am quite alarmed. His daily activity has also not changed.  Should we try and change the brand of dog food? Please advice as to what can we do now.

Thanks for your time.

-Chetan

Answer
If the dog never did eat very well, and has seen the vet since the problem existed, you may be over feeding it. A vet check still won't hurt. Many dogs will wolf down more than is good for them and look for more. Others refuse to eat more than than they need. Evaluate the dog as illustrated in this link, http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx You may want the vet to confirm your judgment. Adjust the dogs food and exercise as needed to reach its ideal body condition. Some German Shepherds and other breeds may refuse to eat enough to completely hid their ribs. As long as you are feeding a concentrated, meat based chow, the best thing is to accept it.

The worst thing you can do is to bribe a dog with rich foods into eating more than it needs. Instead, Put down the dish with what the dog should eat, and give it 15 minutes to eat. Then take it up. Do not give it anything to eat until its next scheduled meal. In a few days, it should be eating what it needs. Continue to check its ribs and adjust the food as needed. This is not easy. I had a Shepherd go 3 days on a few nibbles. I was a wreck, but she was fine. It is almost unknown for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs. Unfortunately, in too many cases, it is less than the package says, and less than the owner thinks the dog should have. Many dogs are quite good at holding out for tastier chow. Like kids, sometimes it calls for tough love.

You really do need to get him back on a dog chow.  He should have most of his growth by now.  I find I have to cut my puppies back at about that age or they become over weight.  Your dog may just be cutting back himself.  Their could be something wrong with the batch food you are feeding now.  It could be old and stale, or a new bag from a bad batch.  Try buying a small package from a different lot and see how he takes to it.