Is it normal for my puppy to not finish all its food in one sitting?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Arielle Reign. If she is not overweight and you are not having difficulties potty training her, then it should be fine to allow her to graze on her food throughout the day. Be sure to accurately measure how much you are offering her each day so you can monitor what she is consuming. Some dogs do prefer to be fed in this manner. I hope this information helps!

You should be glad Soska doesn't always finish her food. If she hasn't done much exercise she may not be as hungry. Dogs are better at regulating their intake to equal their calorie burning than humans. Most dogs who are allowed to free feed are normal weight because they don't over eat. As long as Soska is normal weight and feeling fine this is nothing to be overly concerned about. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Soska.

Yes, there are some dogs that are not food motivated. If Chloe skips meals, but is otherwise acting normally, and there is no vomiting or diarrhea, then I wouldn’t be too concerned. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Remember that all dogs are individuals just like humans. Some dogs have a fast metabolisms and others have slow metabolisms. If Chloe is maintaining her weight then that is the appropriate amount of food to feed her. The only other conditions that will cause pets to gain weight easily is endocrine diseases such as Cushing’s disease or hypothyroidism. You may consider having her tested for those diseases since they will slow down her metabolism and caused her to gain weight easily. Otherwise you should continue to feed her the same amount of dog food. If Chloe is acting like she is starving or always hungry, you may try switching her to a lower calorie food so that she can eat a greater amount. If her lifestyle does change and she becomes more active, she will likely need to increase the amount of food. I hope this helps.

This is completely normal. A lot of dogs like to pick their food up and put it on the floor then eat it. This is okay if this is how she wants to eat it. I think she is eating plenty. My rule of thumb is 1 cup per 20 pounds and you adjust depending on how skinny or fat they are. If she is at a healthy weight meaning she has a waist and you can’t easily see her ribs then I would just let her continue to eat 1 cup. As she gets larger she will probably increase the amount she eats on her own. I hope this helps!

The biggest problem we have with nutrition in dogs is obesity. And it can be hard to measure food on a dog that grazes, so to prevent problems in the future, I would continue to measure Elsie's food twice daily, so you can monitor how much she is eating. There are sometimes problems with having other dogs in the house when one dog is a grazer, but if Elsie is the only dog in the house, let her graze. I hope that helps! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

As long as she eats and is not losing weight, don't stress out over it. It is true that smaller breeds can be a bit more finicky. Switching foods would not be recommended as it can lead to gastrointestinal upset and reinforce her finicky nature. Instead, try mixing in a bit of warm water or a teaspoon of baby food to stimulate the appetite.