Re: [pyrnet] Appetite

[Mary Delmage <mary@ericnagler.com>]

Hi Kirsten,

My Pyrs (three, mum, dad and pup - the one with possible OCD) are not big 
eaters.  They are finicky about their food, throw it around before they eat 
it, leave it for hours and nibble a bit here and there.  They don't even 
display the 'normal'  food aggression that most dogs do when being fed near 
each other but roam from dish to dish and let each other butt in.

I've been doing obedience training with Bear the pup, and had a difficulty 
as he just wasn't food motivated.  All the lab pups were going crazy to get 
a whiff of their handlers snacks but Bear couldn't have cared 
less.  However, his naturally placid nature  and eagerness to please meant 
that he was streets ahead of them all when it came to behaving anyway!

My approach is that if my dog's food behaviour is consistent and he seems 
happy and healthy, don't worry.

Mary

At 06:54 AM 16/11/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi everyone,
>I'll ask the Stockguard list too.... here is my big question....
>Noah is an outdoor boy, 8 months old. Very happy, active pup. I have 
>noticed he doesn't have much of an appetite (kind of comparing with my 
>mastiff, here)
>Noah is NOT interested in eating in the morning. A couple little bites and 
>he's off. In the evening, too, he is very distracted about his food and 
>often leaves it, comes back for a nibble, etc. He doesn't ever seem as 
>hungry as I might imagine a growing Pyr might be. He looks good, though, 
>slender, not skinny.
>Normal?
>Kirsten