Mini dachshund not eating in the mornings

[LittleLongDog]

My dog isn’t bothered with eating unless: a) it’s the evening b) he’s around another dog that’s also eating (a bit of a problem as we just have the one).

He’s a skinny wee thing and I’m worried he’s not having enough in the day. Would he be ok eating his entire allowance in one evening meal (it seems like such a mountain all at once) or should I be trying harder to entice him into breakfast?

[adaline]

We only feed one meal a day for the same reasons - doesn't seem to have caused any problems!

[BiteyShark]

Have you tried a small lunch and then the rest at dinner?

However, lots of dogs are fine on one meal a day.

[LittleLongDog]

Yes, I’ve tried offering him a meal at other times of the day. But he’s only bothered by the evening.

The issue with waiting until evening is that he sometimes (rarely but it has happened) vomits up a tiny bit of bile. Which I’m assuming is reflux from an empty stomach as it doesn’t happen when he eats in the morning.

[BiteyShark]

My dog really isn't keen on breakfast but as he goes to daycare I don't like to send him on an empty stomach as he runs about all day.

What we do to encourage him to eat a bit in the morning is to top his wet food with a bit of cooked chicken. A lot of the time he just picks the chicken out but at least it means he eats something.

[LittleLongDog]

I didn’t want to resort to having to serve him chicken or an egg every day... but maybe I will!

[adaline]

We tried ours on two meals a day for months and we wasted so much food. He now wolfs his meals down!

[BiteyShark]

I don't split the meals equally. I only give a very small amount of wet topped with chicken in the morning. He then gets most of it at dinner. Although he doesn't have the bile issue that yours does he does suffer from a stomach condition which is another reason I like him to eat a bit in the morning.

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

Mine isn't much of a morning eater (or a morning anything really). I put his morning food down and leave him to eat as and when he wants (I make sure it's dry food if the weather is warm).

To be honest, so long as the dog isn't losing weight, I'm inclined to think that letting the dog choose to only eat if it feels hungry might not be such a bad thing. Who am I to dictate exactly when the dog eats?

[Boristhecats]

Have u tried using a lick mat or a rolling kong to make his food more interesting ?

[LittleLongDog]

Yes to both a licky mat and Kong. He really enjoys both but he’s not interested in them at breakfast time.

BiteyShark’s suggestion worked today: a little bit of cheese seemed to remind him he was hungry and he suddenly ate the whole meal. But this was at about 1pm. Tomorrow I’ll try just giving him a little bit of breakfast with a topper of something nice (like chicken).