GSD not hungry during the morning - Page 1

My female 2 year old German Shepherd was never a foodie, which I think is a usual description in most GSDs.
But she was manageable in terms of feeding. At least she ate within 20 minutes though not immediately upon setting the food down.

She's perky and noisy and full of personality still.
But recently, she either ate just half her morning ration of didn't eat in the moring at all. She often skips it, and only eats her evening meal.
By then she eats quick from probably being hungry all day.

Is there a way to make sure she eats in the morning as well?
I don't want answers like it's okay if she skips a meal a day. I think this is just plain senseless since she needs a set number of Calories to maintain herself at her current weight of 28kg. Eating half of that won't maintain her.

Besides it's like throwing away half the food I buy every month.

Note that I feed at around 6:30/7:00 am and again at 4:30/5:00pm. I do NOT leave her food all day and have a 20 minute rule wherein anything left is chucked out. I've done this for more than a year now. I know this is supposed to get her in a regimen of not being picky but again, since she's no foodie, recently she is more than okay to at times let the 20 minutes pass and just not eat in the mornings. I do not think she fears the food being taken away.

Why do you need her to eat twice a day? Dogs are "made" to eat big portions at once, and when she is making it clear she isn't hungry in the morning. Why not just feed her once a day?

FOr one she's not able to stuff herself in one sitting with 3 cups.
Second and most important, GSD's are prone to bloat. A lot of breeds are. And it's better to feed twice than once to minimize the chances of bloat.

The "natural way" of a wolf is to eat once a day, I agree. BUT with man genetically breeding dogs into specific standards, not all wolf-like "natural" ways can be done by modern dogs. The same way bulldogs cannot give birth unassisted with a C-Section.

Just split her Evening meal into 2, 1 and a half cups in the morning and 1 and a half cups in the evening, obviously she is getting enough food just from her evening meal. OR she would be eating her full morning food,

Hello ladystark,  From when my Shepherds are young and having meals three times a day, the meal they themselves become uninterested in is the morning feed (funny how this never varies, always the morning feed) - therefore I feed a lunchtime meal and an evening meal.

Obviously it may not be possible with your personal circumstances, but could you try feeding your 4.30/5.00 p.m. meal earlier perhaps 1.30/2.00 p.m.  Then an evening meal reasonably later.  (Having an evening meal is nice too, because most activity will have finished, and they can settle later on for the night with a lovely satisfied tum.

(Just one other thought, does she enjoy the food?  You could consider adding a small portion of minced raw tripe into the food.  Most dogs cannot resist it.  You can usually buy large frozen bags of minced tripe quite reasonably priced, and thaw a daily quantity as needed.  Plus it can help weight control - so you would not over-do it).


Hope this helps,
Kind Regards,
Vixen

I would cut the amount back just a little;  feed l/2 ration in AM and l/2 ration in PM.  OR, feed kibble PM and some sort of special food like a chicken wing or 2 in AM and kibble PM??  She probably needs more meat, less kibble.  Food for thought,  good luck  Nan

What are you feeding her? When I used to feed my dogs kibble they had fairly poor appetites, but since I've switched to raw they are great eaters. I'm not saying raw is the answer to everything, but it sure made a difference in my dogs on many levels.

Another thought is some dogs get bored with their food. I'm not saying to baby your dog, but I think it's unrealistic to expect our dogs to love the same boring kibble day after day, year after year. Out in a natural habitat carnivores and omnivores eat a variety of proteins. Maybe you can add some tripe as Vixen suggested or possibly small amounts chicken, pork, turkey or beef (not at the same time- rotate) with the kibble, just for added flavor. Even with our foster dog that gets kibble I add a little canned food. I rotate with Wellness turkey, lamb, chicken, beef and salmon. For your dog, tripe would be my choice if you can stomach it :) It is really good for them!  Just some thoughts.... 

Why are you feeding an adult dog twice a day? All of ours are fed once a day starting at about 6-7 months. Occasionally I will add a second feeding if a dog is going through a phase where they need some extra calories (growth spurt, working a lot more than usual), but once a day is the norm for all of ours.

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies. I do feed twice a day and it's really my preferred way of feeding them to discourage gastric torsion.
I feed Petcurean's Go Natural dog food. I do NOT like adding trimmings because I do not want to condone any sort of pickiness. I've tried this years ago and she eventually went through attemps of picking the trimmings and leaving the kibble, so it backfired on me anyway.

I want her to learn that I am in control, hence she is offered food according to my time. And she eats whatever I present to her, which is a good quality 5 star kibble. I want her to learn to eat it on it's own, without any trimmings or attempts of bribery. Feeding her should not be a game for attention such as her attempting to eat only the treats and trimmings, leaving the necessary kibble alone. 

So hoping for a solution that does not include feeding her just once a day to prevent bloat, as well as not adding sidings/bribery/tripe/liver/gravies/meat drippings. She has to learn not to be picky.

But she isn't food motivated so hunger isn't pushing her to quit being fussy.

Have you had her checked out by a vet to make sure there is nothing going on health wise? if she is healthy and you don't want to consider making some dietary or scheduling changes then all I can say is good luck!