.....their eating habits slowed down? Jimmy turned 5 yo this month and he doesn't seem quite as interested in his food as he use to be. I'm trying to determine if he's bored with what I'm feeding him or if it's an age thing or id it's a winter time thing. Any input would be appreciated.

He use to eat at 6:30 a.m. (1.5 cup of dry food) and then again at 4 p.m (1.5 cups of dry food).He would be done within 5 minutes. He now leaves his 6:30 a.m. feeding until noon or later. It's just dry food so I'm not concerned it'll go bad. He is not acting any different as far as his behavior so I don't think he's becoming ill or anything. We now live somewhere that gets a "winter" climate. Could it be he is eating less due to the weather change? We are outside less now b/c it's just too cold. I'm still wondering though at what age did your labs eating habits slow down? TIA!:D

My dogs eating never slows down. Check the expiration date on the bag. Smell the food to be sure it is not rancid.

I feed food with water added (not soaked). Perhaps, if the food is okay, that would entice him.

Also, if feeding a high protein food it is recommended to add water to aid in digestion.

Thanks Patty. That was the first thing I did. Expiration date is good and food smells normal. I did a little experiment today and it seems to have inspired him to eat. I decreased the dry food to one cup and added a spoonful of canned food (which he never gets, had to go out and buy it) and a bit of warm water. He ate this at noon after having ignored his bowl since 6:30 a.m. and then again at 6 p.m. Both feedings today were gone within minutes and I picked the bowl up and washed it out immediately. Tomorrow I will do the same and see how it goes. I think he got bored with the same ol' dry food which is not like him at all. Thanks again. I'm still interested in hearing others stories. :D

I don't think Aster slowed down until she got cancer of the jaw at 14. I would check his ribs. Your dog definitely should be narrower at the waist than the hips and chest. You should be able to easily feel the ribs, but not see them. Each dog is different. Standard recommendations are a good place to start, but each dog must have its food and exercise adjusted to its individual needs. Here is a link to a good illustrated guide, http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx

If his body condition is OK, talk tothe vet. I tend to panic when a Lab doesn't eat.

Beware... once you start adding to kibble, your dog won't let you stop :D

Hunter, my oldest is almost 7 yrs. He hasn't slowed down at all. In fact, he still "bounces" when you say "who's hungry? do you want to eat?". Then off to the kitchen he runs.

I agree with the "beware". Some will get spoiled and not eat plain kibble again.

Do you feed the kibble dry usually? I always add a bit of water and swish it around quickly to make a bit of gravy. If you have not tried just adding water, see if it will work.

Kona is 9 months and I noticed a slow down about 3 weeks ago. He actually chews his food now:clap:

I'm so sick of that link. Good grief.

I agree with Patty. Some dogs never slow down. Our Golden was a Hoover his whole life. The only time he didn't eat well was when he was sick. Maybe call your vet just to make sure it's nothing serious.

Thanks everyone. Jimmy just had a check up and got a glowing review from the vet. He is at 90 pounds and holding. Some of you may remember he weighed in at 115 when we adopted him. I really think he is just bored with the kibble and with the decrease in activity due to the yucky weather. He ate great yesterday when I added a tablespoon of wet food and a tablespoon of warm water to both meals and he scarfed them down. Thanks again. :D

UPDATE:

After some serious consideration I have decided to go back to home cooking all of Jimmy's meals. He really seems to hate the kibble I put him on so I started cooking for him tonight. He is super happy and eating well. I use to home cook for him all the time after the food scare but when we moved this past summer it was easier to put him on Costco's kibble. His eating habits got weird right after I started feeding this last bag. I don't know why he didn't like it as he had eaten it with gusto before. I wonder if they changed something but the label looks the same to me. So we are back to home cooking and supplementing with Springtime Inc's products.