Why do small dogs stop eating quickly?

Small dogs often stop eating when stomach space runs out, not when every nutritional need has been fully covered. Because their stomach capacity is limited, what fits into each bite matters more.

Why is my small dog a picky eater?

What looks like picky eating is often decision-making behaviour. Small dogs rely heavily on smell, texture, and early bite feedback before they commit to a meal.

Why does my dog pause while eating?

Pauses during eating are normal. Dogs often stop briefly to assess smell, taste, texture, and how the food feels before continuing.

Why does my dog walk away and come back to the bowl?

Some dogs evaluate meals in stages rather than finishing everything at once. Returning to the bowl is often part of how they decide, not a sign that something is wrong.

Do small dogs eat differently from large dogs?

Yes, in practice. Small dogs often eat more cautiously and stop earlier because they have less margin in each meal.

Does a pause during eating mean my dog dislikes the food?

Not necessarily. A pause is often evaluation, not rejection. What matters is the full pattern: whether the dog returns, finishes, and stays comfortable afterwards.

Why does switching food upset my small dog's stomach?

Food changes can alter your dog's tolerance, stool quality, and comfort. In small dogs, these changes often show up quickly because each meal carries less margin for error.

Does my small dog digest food faster than a large dog?

There is not a single digestion speed for dogs. Your dog's digestion depends on the meal, its structure, and how it is processed. Small dogs have smaller gastric capacity, but that does not make faster digestion a safe general rule.

Why do digestive issues show up so quickly in my small dog?

Your dog eats less at once, so excess bulk, poor digestibility, or imbalance can become visible sooner — often in stool quality, appetite, or comfort. The issue is usually tolerance and meal design, not a simple fast or slow digestion story.

Does my dog always need a slow transition to new food?

Slow transitions are often used to reduce disruption, but your dog's tolerance depends on them and the food. Meal design, density, structure, and digestibility matter — not just the number of days in a chart.

What causes loose stools when I switch my dog's food?

Loose stools can happen when the new meal places too much load on your dog's system — through excess bulk, difficult-to-digest ingredients, or fibres that their gut does not tolerate well.

What can I do to help my dog tolerate a new food better?

Stable structure, controlled density, gentle fermentable support, and highly digestible ingredients all help reduce disruption for your dog. The goal is not to force digestion, but to support it.

What does healthy digestion look like in my small dog?

Healthy digestion in your dog usually looks like consistent appetite, firm stool quality, low bloating, and calm behaviour after meals.

Why does meal design matter so much for my dog?

How your dog's meal is built — including its density, particle structure, fibre behaviour, and digestibility — can significantly affect how it moves through their stomach and how well it is tolerated.

Most advice about dogs isn't wrong. It's just not built for small dogs.

Mostadviceaboutdogsisn'twrong.
It'sjustnotbuiltforsmalldogs.
You've followed the feeding guides. You've tried the foods. Something still doesn't quite land. The category builds for dogs in general. Not yours.
Something for digestion.
Something for coat.
Something for energy.
A list of fixes. Not a system.
It assumes one thing.
If it's in the food, it works.
But food only works if your dog —
Eats it.
Absorbs it.
Uses it.
Three steps. All three have to land.
Most nutrition is lost in the gap between them.
Small dogs have less room for error.
They eat less.
They burn faster.
They feel everything sooner.
—
Smaller bodies. Tighter margins. Less buffer.
Digestion isn't what you see.
Not the empty bowl. Not the clean plate.
The invisible part — what the body actually uses.
Ingested
Absorbed
Used
What matters isn't what goes in.
It's what makes it through.
Hydration isn't moisture.
It's how the body regulates itself — every hour, all day.
Through food, water, movement, temperature.
Food plays a part. It doesn't carry the whole thing.
Calories in ≠ Calories used.
What's on the pack isn't what the body extracts.
Small dogs burn faster. There's less room for error.
On the Label
unabsorbed
In the Dog
Unabsorbed calories still count on the label.
They don't count for the dog.
Most picky eating is learned.
Not personality. Not breed.
A pattern built between the bowl
and the hand that fills it.
The food is rarely the problem. The pattern around it is.
A pattern. Not a phase.
Thecoatisasignal.
Dullness, dryness, shedding — surface symptoms. What you see outside is what the inside is doing.
Treat the coat, treat the surface.
Treat the cause, the coat follows.
Five systems. One mistake.
They all look different. The mistake is the same —
treat the symptom, miss the cause.
Different problems. Same shape.
Treat everything the same way, you miss the system.
Add something. Expect a result.
Add something else. Expect another result.
The loop repeats. The cause stays hidden.
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
What's missing isn't ingredients.
It's a model of how the body actually works.
Read the dog. Not the chart.
Charts describe dogs in general.
Your dog isn't in general.
READ THE DOG.
Watch what she eats.
Watch what she leaves.
Watch how her coat carries.
Watch how her energy holds.
NOT THE CHART.
4kg20g.281.2
5kg22g.311.3
6kg25g.341.4
7kg28g.371.5
8kg31g401.6
9kg34g431.7
10kg37g.461.8
11kg40g.491.9
This is the evidence.
Everything else is a proxy.
Your dog isn't separate systems.
Gut affects coat.
Hydration affects energy.
Energy affects behaviour.
Behaviour affects eating.
Eating affects gut.
Treat any one in isolation — incomplete answer.
Everything works together. Or nothing quite does.
What matters most.
What your dog eats
×
What gets delivered
Intake is half the equation.
Delivery is the other half.
The answer is what the body actually receives.
It's the only number that counts.
Most food is enough.
×Enough
Meets a standard.
Passes a minimum.
Fits no dog in particular.
✓Right
Fits the dog in front of you.
Delivers what it claims.
Works with the system, not around it.
The distance between enough and right isn't dramatic.
It's just consistent. Every day. For years.
When food fits the system —
Digestion works quietly.
The coat carries the signal.
Energy holds a steady line.
Eats
Absorbs
Uses
Everything downstream settles.
One formula. Built around how small dogs actually work.
Not a list of fixes. Not a shelf of add-ons.
A system built for the body using it.
When the food fits, you stop guessing.
Everything else follows.
Mostadviceaboutdogsisn'twrong.
It'sjustnotbuiltforsmalldogs.
You've followed the feeding guides. You've tried the foods. Something still doesn't quite land. The category builds for dogs in general. Not yours.
Something for digestion.
Something for coat.
Something for energy.
A list of fixes. Not a system.
It assumes one thing.
If it's in the food, it works.
But food only works if your dog —
Eats it.
Absorbs it.
Uses it.
Three steps. All three have to land.
Most nutrition is lost in the gap between them.
Small dogs have less room for error.
They eat less.
They burn faster.
They feel everything sooner.
—
Smaller bodies. Tighter margins. Less buffer.
Digestion isn't what you see.
Not the empty bowl. Not the clean plate.
The invisible part — what the body actually uses.
Ingested
Absorbed
Used
What matters isn't what goes in.
It's what makes it through.
Hydration isn't moisture.
It's how the body regulates itself — every hour, all day.
Through food, water, movement, temperature.
Food plays a part. It doesn't carry the whole thing.
Calories in ≠ Calories used.
What's on the pack isn't what the body extracts.
Small dogs burn faster. There's less room for error.
On the Label
unabsorbed
In the Dog
Unabsorbed calories still count on the label.
They don't count for the dog.
Most picky eating is learned.
Not personality. Not breed.
A pattern built between the bowl
and the hand that fills it.
The food is rarely the problem. The pattern around it is.
A pattern. Not a phase.
Thecoatisasignal.
Dullness, dryness, shedding — surface symptoms. What you see outside is what the inside is doing.
Treat the coat, treat the surface.
Treat the cause, the coat follows.
Five systems. One mistake.
They all look different. The mistake is the same —
treat the symptom, miss the cause.
Different problems. Same shape.
Treat everything the same way, you miss the system.
Add something. Expect a result.
Add something else. Expect another result.
The loop repeats. The cause stays hidden.
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
What's missing isn't ingredients.
It's a model of how the body actually works.
Read the dog. Not the chart.
Charts describe dogs in general.
Your dog isn't in general.
READ THE DOG.
Watch what she eats.
Watch what she leaves.
Watch how her coat carries.
Watch how her energy holds.
NOT THE CHART.
4kg20g.281.2
5kg22g.311.3
6kg25g.341.4
7kg28g.371.5
8kg31g401.6
9kg34g431.7
10kg37g.461.8
11kg40g.491.9
This is the evidence.
Everything else is a proxy.
Your dog isn't separate systems.
Gut affects coat.
Hydration affects energy.
Energy affects behaviour.
Behaviour affects eating.
Eating affects gut.
Treat any one in isolation — incomplete answer.
Everything works together. Or nothing quite does.
What matters most.
What your dog eats
×
What gets delivered
Intake is half the equation.
Delivery is the other half.
The answer is what the body actually receives.
It's the only number that counts.
Most food is enough.
×Enough
Meets a standard.
Passes a minimum.
Fits no dog in particular.
✓Right
Fits the dog in front of you.
Delivers what it claims.
Works with the system, not around it.
The distance between enough and right isn't dramatic.
It's just consistent. Every day. For years.
When food fits the system —
Digestion works quietly.
The coat carries the signal.
Energy holds a steady line.
Eats
Absorbs
Uses
Everything downstream settles.
One formula. Built around how small dogs actually work.
Not a list of fixes. Not a shelf of add-ons.
A system built for the body using it.
When the food fits, you stop guessing.
Everything else follows.
Mostadviceaboutdogsisn'twrong.
It'sjustnotbuiltforsmalldogs.
You've followed the feeding guides. You've tried the foods. Something still doesn't quite land. The category builds for dogs in general. Not yours.
Something for digestion.
Something for coat.
Something for energy.
A list of fixes. Not a system.
It assumes one thing.
If it's in the food, it works.
But food only works if your dog —
Eats it.
Absorbs it.
Uses it.
Three steps. All three have to land.
Most nutrition is lost in the gap between them.
Small dogs have less room for error.
They eat less.
They burn faster.
They feel everything sooner.
—
Smaller bodies. Tighter margins. Less buffer.
Digestion isn't what you see.
Not the empty bowl. Not the clean plate.
The invisible part — what the body actually uses.
Ingested
Absorbed
Used
What matters isn't what goes in.
It's what makes it through.
Hydration isn't moisture.
It's how the body regulates itself — every hour, all day.
Through food, water, movement, temperature.
Food plays a part. It doesn't carry the whole thing.
Calories in ≠ Calories used.
What's on the pack isn't what the body extracts.
Small dogs burn faster. There's less room for error.
On the Label
unabsorbed
In the Dog
Unabsorbed calories still count on the label.
They don't count for the dog.
Most picky eating is learned.
Not personality. Not breed.
A pattern built between the bowl
and the hand that fills it.
The food is rarely the problem. The pattern around it is.
A pattern. Not a phase.
Thecoatisasignal.
Dullness, dryness, shedding — surface symptoms. What you see outside is what the inside is doing.
Treat the coat, treat the surface.
Treat the cause, the coat follows.
Five systems. One mistake.
They all look different. The mistake is the same —
treat the symptom, miss the cause.
Different problems. Same shape.
Treat everything the same way, you miss the system.
Add something. Expect a result.
Add something else. Expect another result.
The loop repeats. The cause stays hidden.
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
What's missing isn't ingredients.
It's a model of how the body actually works.
Read the dog. Not the chart.
Charts describe dogs in general.
Your dog isn't in general.
READ THE DOG.
Watch what she eats.
Watch what she leaves.
Watch how her coat carries.
Watch how her energy holds.
NOT THE CHART.
4kg20g.281.2
5kg22g.311.3
6kg25g.341.4
7kg28g.371.5
8kg31g401.6
9kg34g431.7
10kg37g.461.8
11kg40g.491.9
This is the evidence.
Everything else is a proxy.
Your dog isn't separate systems.
Gut affects coat.
Hydration affects energy.
Energy affects behaviour.
Behaviour affects eating.
Eating affects gut.
Treat any one in isolation — incomplete answer.
Everything works together. Or nothing quite does.
What matters most.
What your dog eats
×
What gets delivered
Intake is half the equation.
Delivery is the other half.
The answer is what the body actually receives.
It's the only number that counts.
Most food is enough.
×Enough
Meets a standard.
Passes a minimum.
Fits no dog in particular.
✓Right
Fits the dog in front of you.
Delivers what it claims.
Works with the system, not around it.
The distance between enough and right isn't dramatic.
It's just consistent. Every day. For years.
When food fits the system —
Digestion works quietly.
The coat carries the signal.
Energy holds a steady line.
Eats
Absorbs
Uses
Everything downstream settles.
One formula. Built around how small dogs actually work.
Not a list of fixes. Not a shelf of add-ons.
A system built for the body using it.
When the food fits, you stop guessing.
Everything else follows.
Mostadviceaboutdogsisn'twrong.
It'sjustnotbuiltforsmalldogs.
You've followed the feeding guides. You've tried the foods. Something still doesn't quite land. The category builds for dogs in general. Not yours.
Something for digestion.
Something for coat.
Something for energy.
A list of fixes. Not a system.
It assumes one thing.
If it's in the food, it works.
But food only works if your dog —
Eats it.
Absorbs it.
Uses it.
Three steps. All three have to land.
Most nutrition is lost in the gap between them.
Small dogs have less room for error.
They eat less.
They burn faster.
They feel everything sooner.
—
Smaller bodies. Tighter margins. Less buffer.
Digestion isn't what you see.
Not the empty bowl. Not the clean plate.
The invisible part — what the body actually uses.
Ingested
Absorbed
Used
What matters isn't what goes in.
It's what makes it through.
Hydration isn't moisture.
It's how the body regulates itself — every hour, all day.
Through food, water, movement, temperature.
Food plays a part. It doesn't carry the whole thing.
Calories in ≠ Calories used.
What's on the pack isn't what the body extracts.
Small dogs burn faster. There's less room for error.
On the Label
unabsorbed
In the Dog
Unabsorbed calories still count on the label.
They don't count for the dog.
Most picky eating is learned.
Not personality. Not breed.
A pattern built between the bowl
and the hand that fills it.
The food is rarely the problem. The pattern around it is.
A pattern. Not a phase.
Thecoatisasignal.
Dullness, dryness, shedding — surface symptoms. What you see outside is what the inside is doing.
Treat the coat, treat the surface.
Treat the cause, the coat follows.
Five systems. One mistake.
They all look different. The mistake is the same —
treat the symptom, miss the cause.
Different problems. Same shape.
Treat everything the same way, you miss the system.
Add something. Expect a result.
Add something else. Expect another result.
The loop repeats. The cause stays hidden.
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
• ADD A TOPPER
• ADD A SUPPLEMENT
• ADD A CHEW
• ADD A POWDER
What's missing isn't ingredients.
It's a model of how the body actually works.
Read the dog. Not the chart.
Charts describe dogs in general.
Your dog isn't in general.
READ THE DOG.
Watch what she eats.
Watch what she leaves.
Watch how her coat carries.
Watch how her energy holds.
NOT THE CHART.
4kg20g.281.2
5kg22g.311.3
6kg25g.341.4
7kg28g.371.5
8kg31g401.6
9kg34g431.7
10kg37g.461.8
11kg40g.491.9
This is the evidence.
Everything else is a proxy.
Your dog isn't separate systems.
Gut affects coat.
Hydration affects energy.
Energy affects behaviour.
Behaviour affects eating.
Eating affects gut.
Treat any one in isolation — incomplete answer.
Everything works together. Or nothing quite does.
What matters most.
What your dog eats
×
What gets delivered
Intake is half the equation.
Delivery is the other half.
The answer is what the body actually receives.
It's the only number that counts.
Most food is enough.
×Enough
Meets a standard.
Passes a minimum.
Fits no dog in particular.
✓Right
Fits the dog in front of you.
Delivers what it claims.
Works with the system, not around it.
The distance between enough and right isn't dramatic.
It's just consistent. Every day. For years.
When food fits the system —
Digestion works quietly.
The coat carries the signal.
Energy holds a steady line.
Eats
Absorbs
Uses
Everything downstream settles.
One formula. Built around how small dogs actually work.
Not a list of fixes. Not a shelf of add-ons.
A system built for the body using it.
When the food fits, you stop guessing.
Everything else follows.