Eating habits

[yatta5000]

Hello, my chow has been eating strangely. Normally he eating every kibble in the bowl. I feed him twice a day, 1.5 cup per meal. He will be 1 year old this month (if that helps). However, lately he has barely eats, and if he does he eats only a little and then he may eat it waaaaaaaaaaay later in the day. For example, today before I went to work I gave him his food at 7am, he may have nibbled at it a few times, I'm not sure, but when I came back at 5ish it was still there and he just ate it at 6:30ish pm.

Does anyone else's chowchow do this?

[chowpups]

Nikki use to be fed when hubby got up for work about 6:30 am but wouldn't eat it till I came down around 7-7:30 am and then only half she would eat,then out for her walk and play in the yard, then she would finish it at 9:30 pm and go for her last walk at 11:30 pm We use to think she didn't like to eat unless she knew we were home to let her out! But she was never a gobbler, ( nothing like our golden retrievers its gone in seconds even with the special bowls to slow her down) She really knew the difference between weekends and week days too! Chows are just that smart she figured us out before we figured her out!!

[Cocoa]

With Cocoa it depends on the season. I put her food down as soon as I get up in the morning but she never eats it until after we go for our morning walk and sometimes not until after I leave for work. In the summer when it is hot out. she quite often leaves it until dinner time and just has the one meal. And like Nikki she definitely knows the difference between weekdays and weekends and her eating habits are different on the weekends too. My previous chows were grazers so I just left food out all day and they ate a few kibbles here and there throughout the day. Always got enough to eat (and not too much).

[kitten1426]

We went to feeding our Dogs Ome time a day around 6 at night we used to feed twice a day once in the morning and once a nite..they stopped eating in the morning so we went to nite time the same quanity tho that would be for morning feeding and nite so Kodi gets about 5-6 cups a day...it works great for our 4 dogs...

[yatta5000]

I thank you guys very much for sharing with me. I've talked to my breeder and they said pretty much the same thing. It was just a sudden change that I wasn't sure.

[Victory]

It is completely normal for a chow to eat only what they want, when they want. I have a pair of chows who tend to be thin, so sometimes I will add something to their food which will make them eat it all up, but I do this rarely and only with really good things, like home made broth, their Solid Gold Seameal powder and flax see oil, (yep they really like these two things) a bit of plain yogurt, or good cheese. I only use a little of any of this, just enough to coat all the kibble, or with the cheese enough that they have to eat the kibble to get the cheese.

I give mine about 1.5 cups in the morning and 2 cups at night, they normally will finish it all even with out any treats being added, in 24 hours. Just remember no healthy dog will starve themselves to death, and at about a year, their eating habits change because all that super fast growing period is over. For most males from age 1-3 they do grow but very slowly. Proper exercise is more key during this period so muscle develops well and bone mass is gained. Most females will continute to grow from age 1-2, to 2.5 years a little faster than the males, but for the same reasons, muscle development and bone mass which is why they really shouldn't be bred until 18 months or 2 years.

[kitten1426]

Wow...really up to 3 yrs...Kodi isnt even 2 yet and he is over 80 lbs,.,..He is very tall too...He eats once day...he gets 5-6 cups of food...sometimes more..and believe me he isnt FAT at all...you can feel his ribs easy....lol...

[Sirchow]

I am always a bit mystified by conversations about cups....do you all have cups the same size or what?

Initially I go by the amount on the bag though chows seldom eat the full amount. I think they are meant for rather more active dogs than mine. Having weighed it once to be sure I wasn't feeding twice as much as I should I just give them what they need to stay the weight I want them to be and if they dont finish they get it back next time but I do mix a spoonful damp food and some warm water in to make it a bit more intersting.

[kitten1426]

No we use a measuring cup to check...it 5-6 cups a day our female chow she gets a good 4-5 a day...there are some days he/she will leave a little but most of the time its gone....lol

[Me & Tess]

Lilly is about 40 lbs. She gets 4 oz to 6 oz of Blue Buffalo kibble plus a biscuit early in the morning. 1 & 3/4 to 2 cups of kibble around 2:30 p.m., plus a heaping tablespoon of Brown Cow yogurt, either mixed in or as desert. A cup is based on 8 ounces. I also give her a soft boiled egg once a week. Sometimes I slip in a couple of spoonfuls of wild salmon or organic chicken.

[Rio]

I too do not use cups as a measurement, he has around 230 grams of dry food per day and he has started having rice krispies with skimmed milk for breakfast. His dry is split into 2 meals per day and he eats all of it most days. He has just turned one and weighs around the 28kg mark.