# 8 month old eating habits changing & weight



## King1122 (Jun 30, 2014)

Havok turned 8 months old a week and a half ago. Last I weighed him was about 4 weeks ago and he was about 68lbs. He hasn't gained any weight or size really since he turned 7 months old. He might weigh 70 by now, but not much over if any. 

Within the past few weeks his eating habits have changed. I should mention I free feed - he can eat how much he wants whenever he wants. He does not over eat and he has always been of a healthy/lean weight. Lately he has stopped eating much at all. Some days I don't see him eat anything and he doesn't seem interested in eating. Is this a common change among his age? He is becoming skinnier it appears. I'll attach a photo below. His dad was tall and very lean. He is otherwise healthy and normal.

Should I add something special to his food to entice him to eat or just keep an eye on him and let him decide what he wants. Any other thoughts or tips?


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

First of all I'd stop free feeding. 

A MAJOR cue when our dogs get sick, and one of the first questions the vet asks is 'how much did they last eat? When did they last eat? Is that normal?'.

When we free feed we immediately have removed a MAJOR clue that may help our vet diagnose an issue in a timely manner. Along with if surgery is needed and they did JUST eat, that's can be a huge issue in the surgery (or not if they did not eat).

When our dogs eat and how much, along with 'normal' for our dogs is an extremely EASY THING for us to monitor if we take the opportunity. 

Plus, it looks like your dog may be one of our GSD picky eaters and freefeeding is NOT a way to help them eat. I had a picky eater and I was paying attention and sticking to my guns about NOT pandering to her needs and giving in. Result was she lost about 5 pounds and could careless about her regular food. Because I knew exactly how much she was eating (zero  ) I changed the way I was feeding her because my goal is a healthy happy dog, not for me to show her the boss and let her continue to lose weight!

We have a great site on the forum because it turns out you (and I) were in good company with other people with these 'picky' eaters --->http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/feeding-our-puppy/162644-pup-doesnt-want-eat-picky-eater.html

THAT SAID......... continue to monitor and check with your vet to make sure this isn't a medical issue.


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## Debanneball (Aug 28, 2014)

Hello, my boy too is a picky eater. For example, its after 2:00 pm, he has been up since 5:00 am, just got 3/4 of his breakfast in him.. Someone in here told me he won't starve himself, so I guess he just wasn't hungry. I tried toppings of all kinds, no way. Don't know why I worried, @ 6 months he was 65+lbs. I put the food down, wait, 5-10 minutes, not taking it, up it goes.. Try again a couple of hours later..repeat process. Your boy sounds like a healthy weight, but please stop the free feeding! Maggie raised valid points. Enjoy!


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