poor appetite

[sabies]

Their ingredients look good too. Sadie is eating innova right now (which I know you can't get evelyn1157) and the 1st 2 ingredients are chicken and chicken meal so it sounds like a lot of meat which Sadie should love but I don't see her doing flips for it.

Evelyn 1157 - are you still concerned about how much your dog is eating? I think as long as you feed her what you consider the best brand nutritionally that's all you can do. She may know better than the recommended amount on the bag how much she wants - unless her weight is dangerously low or there are other signs of health issues.

[evelyn1157]

well, she's certainly not eating enough. she's thin but her hair tends to make her look fatter.and i don't think she's underweight yet. she'll be 9 months old this coming february and she's about 5 kg that's about 13.4 pounds.does that seem ok? oh , and i have finally settled for 'back to basics'

[sabies]

I looked up this info on Shih Tzus:

Size-Ideally, height at withers is 9 to 10 1/2 inches; but, not less than 8 inches nor more than 11 inches. Ideally, weight of mature dogs, 9 to 16 pounds.

So if she's around that height her weight is fine, on the high end even.

I'd only be concerned if her weight dropped and she was lethargic. Not all dogs eat everything in sight as I learned with my current dog. Some days she will skip meals or hardly eat, don't know why. For 9 years her weight has been steady - 35 - 38 lbs - it's as though she knows exactly how much her body needs to maintain that weight. I know a lot of people who would love to have that ability and discipline! (Of course Sadie doesn't do it for her figure.) Her teeth are good, coat is shiny- never had a health problem. Picky eating could be a good thing.