Getting Pup to Eat

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sammy
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Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:22 am

Getting Pup to Eat

Post by sammy »

Sorry, I meant to include this in my last post "Where To Begin??!"

My 8 wk. old yorkie-maltese seems "lazy" when it comes to eating. We usually put food in his kennel and let him eat in there, however he will not eat when in his kennel. He will nibble if we leave him in there long enough, but he seems to only want to eat if he is outside the kennel and if I am there with him and "reminding" him to eat his food. He did a strange thing this AM where he would go towards the food bowl (as if to eat) but then backs away and he repeated this several time but did not eat.

We are currently feeding him what was giving to us when he got him which is Eukanuba puppy food mixed with some soft food. Any advice?
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Nettle
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Post by Nettle »

This isn't normal and I think a vet check would be appropriate.
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sammy
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Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:22 am

Post by sammy »

Oh no. :( I will take him to the Vet. Thank you!
mselisabs
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Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 11:06 pm
Location: Charlotte, NC

Post by mselisabs »

There are a huge variety of reasons a dog won't eat. Some are just plain picky - like only eating out of certain bowls, not liking the smell of certain foods. I've seen a lot of different "tricks" to get a dog to eat - chicken broth, meat gravy, yogurt, the smellier the better. They can also feel uncomfortable where they are eating - in a crate they might be afraid they'll be locked in and left, in a corner they can't see what's going on, or they get jumpy if their bowl is in high-traffic areas.

That said, it could also be a medical issue. If they are have a URI it could be compromising their smell. They could also be generally ill - lots of dogs give this away by not eating. So if you go through bringing your dog to the vet and they don't find anything - you'll just have to start experimenting.
sammy
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Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:22 am

Post by sammy »

Thanks for the response!
MaiasMom
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Location: Everett, Washington

Post by MaiasMom »

At first thought, food means he is going back into a place where he has to spend long hours alone. Try feeding it somewhere else that does not mean being crated. He/she has figured out that if he goes in there, someone is going to shut the door.

If nothing else seems amiss with his health, this could be as simple as changing feeding location. But do see a vet, it's time anyway. Well puppy check ups are a good thing.
The best days are spent with my dogs.
sammy
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Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:22 am

Post by sammy »

Thank you! He did go to the Vet and is in good health, so I think he is just being fussy. I will try changing the feeding location and see how it goes.
maximoo
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Location: South Florida

Post by maximoo »

What are you feeding her? She might not like that particular brand of food. Simple things like putting tiny bits of cheese or egg in it may help or some leftover gravy from any meat you cook. How much does she weigh & how much do you feed her? tell us more.
MaiasMom
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Location: Everett, Washington

Post by MaiasMom »

A healthy animal should not strave itself just like a human child. Some dogs just require less food especially if they are not active all day. My 3 only eat at night even though I leave a bowl of food down all day. Some breeds will eat until they burst. My posse nibbles a bit during the day, not much and eat the majority of their food at night. I do give them each a "breakfast" cookie in the morning but that is more that I taught them to want it. MY BAD, and they seem to be able to count how many cookies they should get. I like to break them in half, Maia being spayed tends to keep the weight on more than the boys so I don't want to over feed her. When we are at the Lake House and they are outside all day running round they tend to eat more, but they self restrict in the morning and eat at night. My rule of thumb for them and myself is feed an amount equal to the size of their stomach's keeping in mind most dry food will expand in the belly. Then if they want more I give them more depending on the level of activity. I never ever feed them before going to the off leash park since in larger dogs the belly can bloat and flip.
The best days are spent with my dogs.
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Mattie
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Re: Getting Pup to Eat

Post by Mattie »

sammy wrote: My 8 wk. old yorkie-maltese seems "lazy" when it comes to eating. We usually put food in his kennel and let him eat in there,

You have a pup that is going to be a very small dog even when fully grown, how much are you expecting him to eat?
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/PIXIE.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/th_PIXIE.jpg[/img][/url]
emmabeth
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Post by emmabeth »

A pup the size of yours ought to be being fed four or even five times a day - probably no more than a tablespoonful at a time (that would be generous i think but i am used to much MUCH larger dogs!).

If you are offering more than this, and now that pup no longer has littermates to compete with.. it is easy for the pup to get into the habit of not eating up when food is put down but leaving it for later. This is worsened if you leave food down all day.

If you compound this issue with associating food with crate and thus being left for hours on end.... you get a confused pup who isnt eating properly.

You need to be there to take your puppy out every hour.

You need to be there to feed your puppy 4 times a day.

How you go about acheiving this doesnt really matter, but it must happen.. either you are there or someone you pay is there, or you pay someone to have your pup during the day - you are setting yourselves and your pup up for a good 10+ years of misery if you dont!

I have said this before but it bears repeating - having a dog is NOT a right. If your lifestyle does not allow for it, and you cannot make sacrifices and compromises so that it DOES ... you should not have a dog.

(And yes.. i made sacrifices - we live on an extremely low income so that I can stay at home so that we can have five dogs. We dont take holidays we dont have a nice car (we have a VAN), we dont do things in the evenings... )
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