Hunger Strikes?

[jaxx]

Hey guys! I can’t believe it but Jax is already 10 months old, he weighed in yesterday at 85 pounds. Honestly, he looks so long and lanky I didn’t even think he was 85 pounds! He is pretty tall, so I’m assuming the weight is mostly in height. I don’t believe he has even started filling out yet. He is still very narrow in the front.

Sooo question, about a week or so ago Jax went on a breakfast hunger strike. He refused to eat until night time. Now every day, he will only eat at night. I don’t stress it, and pick up his breakfast after 10 mins and he waits until night. He seems fine and doesn't look for his food. Although he will throw up bile in the AM if he doesn't eat anything, so that has been a challenge.

Could the warmer weather have something to do with him not wanting to eat in the morning? Should I stop trying to feed him in the AM and only at night?
I’ve also heard intact males get this way with food. Is that accurate? I don’t plan on neutering him until he is 2, but just curious if this has anything to do with him being intact.
We live on a dead end and only have 1 male dog In the area, so no female dogs in heat near me. I know sometimes that could be a cause.

Also, does 85 pounds sound right for an almost 11 month old? I try and weigh him every month and he probably only gains 1-2 pounds per month (if that). I’m assuming he is done growing in height and will start growing out instead of up lol.

Here are some recent pics of Jax

 

[LifeofRubie]

It's so frustrating when they don't eat during their regular feeding time!

My female Dobe is not a breakfast eater. She usually starts nibbling on it around noon (after 1st nap ), and sometimes doesn't finish the last bite until 5 minutes before dinner time which she always eats in-full as soon as it's put down. And sometimes, seemingly totally out of the blue, she will gobble up breakfast as soon as I put it down and act like she hasn't eaten for days

Whereas my Lab would eat himself to death if given the chance, she seems to be good at self regulating. It's recently gotten VERY hot here, as well, and there have been a couple of days where all of her breakfast is still in her bowl come dinner time so we add a shake of more kibble plus their nightly raw patty and she will then eat it all. I also noticed that when we brought out Lab home as a puppy, My Dobe was 2 at the time, she actually started eating more food more regularly. It's like she needed the extra calories to keep up with a puppy

And I think you're right; sounds like your boy may have had his upward growth spurt so will now, probably somewhat frustratingly slowly, start filling out. Perhaps he's also good at self regulating and just doesn't 'need' all that food. At some point, you can start cutting back their daily allowance as their growth slows down. As long as he's still got his energy, attitude, not losing weight, and going potty ok, I wouldn't stress about it too, too much. If something changes with him, might be worth a vet check.

We are lucky in that we are able to leave her food bowl down for her to eat when she wants because my chow hound of a Lab recognizes that's Rubies Food and won't dare touch it (save a few pieces that 'somehow' fell out of her bowl and onto the floor; then it's fair game).

Going just by weight alone is usually not enough so thank you for the pictures! I would say he's definitely in that lanky phase but looks really good for a growing pup!

 

[Ravenbird]

He looks like he's at a good weight and looks great, not too slim at all. Keep him on the slim side all his life, these dogs aren't meant to carry extra weight! Yes, usually around a year they begin to fill out instead of up.

 

[Macha]

I totally agree with Ravenbird.Jax is almost same age with my dobbie.Everything seems Normal.As you seen,my avatar pic was a month ago.its adviced to filling out term must be slowly for skeleton health.overweight is a critical issue specially for dobs everytime.so,ribs must been able to counted by eyes at least as a practical indicator.wish a healthy life to Jax.

 

[Doberman Gang]

A little hard to tell in these photos, 85 is pretty big for that age unless he is unusually tall. I don’t see much tuck in these photos so might be able to loose 5 lbs but he doesn’t look overweight. I like my dogs to be defined so try to keep them as fit as possible for work.

 

[Doberman Gang]

Sorry was side tracked. As for the not eating in the morning, you are doing the right thing. Put the food down for 10-15 minutes if he doesn’t eat pick it up until dinner. No treats in be tween unless it is for training.