Eating but not much

When we brought our Rosie home at 8 weeks our breeder told us to feed her Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy food 3 x a day ( 3/4 to a cup at each feeding). We did this but she never ate the entire meal at each feeding so after a while we reduced it to 2/3 cup every meal. She still doesn't eat the entire meal. Rosie is now 13 weeks and still does not eat her entire meal. We do not eat when she eats so it's not as if she see's us eating and would rather have what we are having. I decided to try adding some plain non fat yogurt to her food since our previous Lab loved yogurt. She likes it but it still doesn't make her want to eat the entire meal. Then I bought Eukanuba moist puppy food and mixed that in with her dry. The first few times she gobbled it all up but now she is doing the same thing, just eating some of it. She's not starving because she is gaining weight, I just can't get her to eat an entire meal. Now if I hand feed her she will eat more but I don't want to do this her entire life.

What can I do to get her to eat her entire meal ? She'll get treats during the day when I am training her but then her next meal is reduced due to the treats. Is she just a picky eater or is there something going on behind the scenes so to speak ?

Some dogs just do not eat as much as others. I would give the 2/3 cup each meal, or even do 1 full cup only TWO times a day. That leaves enough room for training treats to make up the difference.

And pups should not be getting the extra calcium from yogurt. It could mess up their joints.

I didn't know that about the yogurt, thanks. At what age would you give some yogurt or should they not get it at all ?

I'll try doing 2 meals starting today and see what happens. I just find it a little weird since my previous Lab wanted to eat all the time LOL

Extra calcium is fine once they are done growing. 12 months or so. They do LOVE it so...

My first lab (Hudler) was a pain in the butt with eating. We ended up free feeding him and playing games to get him to eat....like throwing kibbles around the room and he'd run to eat them. When we got our 2nd a year later, she was a food gobbler, and Hudler had to go on 2 structured meals a day. He was always very picky, but they will never STARVE themselves, so even if they miss a meal or 2, they won't die and will finally realize it's important to eat when food is given.

the "prescribed" amount of food could easily be too much for her metabolism.

If she's gaining weight and looks/acts healthy, I wouldn't stress over it. If she seems to be going in the other direction, maybe a vet visit.....(of course, you're doing those anyway nowadays for scheduled shots).

All three of by lab pups were not voracious eaters. I would put food in their dish, they would eat some then move on to something else. Come back later, take a few nibbles, then on to something else.

I thought of it as a big plus! I would just fill the bowl and keep an eye on it. If it got low, fill it again, maybe every two or three days. I'd fill the water dish more often then the food dish! And yes, they did not drink it all, the dish is more of a toy to jump in rather than actually drink. I never worried about overeating. If we had a busy day, they would eat a bit more, a slack day, less.

Then, one day... They realize food is FOOD. You fill the dish, they stand there until it is empty. That is when I started worrying about how much I fed them. I would not worry about starving a lab pup. If there is food available, they will eat as needed. You will look back and appreciate these times.. sooner than you think. Before you know it, that food dish will become the most important thing in their world! You can feed them and when finished, they will stand there and l@@k at you... "That was it? I'm still hungry!"

Abby was a terrible eater as a young pup. She would chew EACH piece of kibble one at a time. She hardly ever finished a whole meal. Fast forward to age 2 and she cleans her dish in a nano second. Just keep putting her meal down, leave it there for 15-20 min, and take away until the next meal. She'll get the idea. As long as she's growing and playing don't worry.