Why does my dog refuse morning and afternoon meals, but eats at night?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Tony is adorable! Sometimes dogs want to eat once daily. Try to stop feeding him breakfast and feed his total daily amount at dinner. Growing up we only fed our Lab once daily at night. If you give him a lot of treats cut back by 50% so he eats his meals. I hope this helps and I wish you and Tony the best!

It could be that Bruno is still full from dinner the night before, leading him to not want to eat all of his breakfast. It could also be that you are giving him too much food in the morning and night, causing him to eat less in the morning. Given that he is eating consistently, seems normal, has energy, and poops normally, I would not be too concerned about this. Try giving him a bit less in the morning to see if he eats it all. I hope this helps!

Great questions! Take a look at the bag of food that you are giving Roxy and determine how much she should be eating given her age and current body weight. Using that volume, divide it into 2 meals for the morning and 6pm "first dinner". Save whatever she doesn't finish in the morning and offer it at her 9pm "second dinner". Try not to leave out too many biscuits during the day, even if she isn't eating them currently. As she gets older, biscuit and table scrap ingestion can be some of the leading causes of obesity. Some dogs prefer not eating much in the morning - this is still normal. :-)

Some dogs have their own schedule in terms of eating. We have dogs that graze throughout the day small amounts, dogs that will eat any food in front of them immediately to the point of making themselves sick, and other dogs like yours that may just eat at certain times. As long as your vet thinks your dog's weight is appropriate/ their growth is acceptable and Norik is not having diarrhea or vomiting then I wouldn't be concerned. I would recommend if Norik hasn't been to the vet recently for his vet to examine him and be sure he is of an appropriate weight.

This could just be a normal maturing change for him. Some dogs (mine included) are really excited about food as puppies and as they age and become closer to adulthood they start to realize they don’t have to eat all the time. You may try to increase the size of his evening meal to ensure he is getting proper number of calories. If he continues to not eat well, you may want to have your vet just do an exam on him to ensure nothing else is going on. i hope this helps

Some dogs are simply picky eaters and will only eat their dog food when they are really hungry. Often these dogs learn that if they wait to eat their food, something tastier will be offered. I would recommend visiting your vet first to make sure Marshall is in good health with no evidence of weight loss or gastrointestinal disease that could be affecting his appetite. If he is maintaining his weight, it's probably fine for him to eat when he's hungry and you don't have to worry about tempting him to eat or mixing his food with table scraps.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Abby. Is she maintaining a healthy body weight? If so and if she is acting like herself, then I would not be concerned about her food habits. It may just be her preference to eat at night. If she is consuming enough calories, then I do not have a concern. However, if she is continually dropping weight and shows signs of illness such as vomiting or diarrhea, then she needs to be seen by her veterinarian. Some dogs that go close to 24 hours between meals will vomit due to a build up of stomach acid. In these patients I encourage the owners to feed them more frequently. If this is not occurring with her, then you do not need to worry. I hope this information helps!