Won't eat need help!

    • Gold Top Dog

    Won't eat need help!

     So I've had Luger for 3 weeks now and still having trouble with getting him to eat. He was 10lbs when I brought him home and nice to look at. I took him to the vet because I was worried about him not eating and he's only 11lbs. Hipbones protruding and ribs easy to see.

    I tried Diamond Naturals large breed puppy formula for a week. He flat out wouldnt touch it. I switched to Holistic selects large breed puppy formula. He nibbles at it. I have added canned food to the dry with the same results of nibbling at it. I'm lucky if he eats one meal a day. I give him food 3 times a day but like I said lucky to get him to eat once. He gobbles up treats when doing a little training but when I try to give kibble in place of treats(just so I can get something good in him besides treats) he isnt fooled.

    The vet just told me to keep switching foods till I find one he likes. Money isn't a problem but I hate the thought of switching foods till I find one he likes because he is a growing pup and needs to eat to grow!!

    Thanks in advance for any advice.

    P.S. I would love to feed him raw but am worried about messing with him while he's still a pup. And he loves raw. I gave him a raw chicken leg and he loved it.

    • Gold Top Dog

    How do you feed? free or set times? Does he eat in a crate or is he free to wander and get distracted? Have you tried heating up the food? Or perhaps he is just used to competition and needs to think someone ELSE is going to eat it if he doesn't?

    eta: has he been wormed and checked over for parasites? Poops okay? Drinking water?

    • Gold Top Dog

     I feed in a crate. I feed him at 8 am. Get my stuff done I need to do. Pick his bowl up and take him outside. Play and go for a short walk. Put him back in his crate at 12 and give him food again. Pick his bowl up again after about 15 minutes and take him out to potty then he goes back in his crate for a nap. Then he comes out at 3 and we go out to play and a short walk. Might visit a neighbor if she's home and he plays with her Yorkie. We come home and I put him in his crate with food again while I get supper ready. After that he gets nothing until the next morning, besides the treats he gets for training. It's not a lot of treats either so I know that isnt filling him up.

    He did have 8 siblings to eat with but they were free fed. 

    Been wormed. Poops are ok on the days he will eat. Drinking water normally. Got energy. Just won't eat.

    I have tried heating up his food. I changed foods. I added canned food. I added water and made it mushy. I just dont know what he wants!

    • Gold Top Dog
    Try Taste of the wild. Lex really went after that food, he really likes fish based food. TOTW seemed very palatable. I would also try - Blue buffalo, the fish one.
    • Silver
    Have you tried real food. You could just add cooked meat to his food. Adding more meat to his diet wont hurt him and may encourage him to eat
    • Gold Top Dog

    Adding a caution to the above: 

    You need to research before cooking for any dog..but ESPECIALLY a puppy that will be a large breed. Be advised...do not attempt this without consulting someone very knowledgeable or growth/bone and joint issues could result.

    • Gold Top Dog
    rwbeagles

    Adding a caution to the above: 

    You need to research before cooking for any dog..but ESPECIALLY a puppy that will be a large breed. Be advised...do not attempt this without consulting someone very knowledgeable or growth/bone and joint issues could result.

    Seconded.

    What about a kong or food-dispensing toy? Maybe if he has to 'work' for it he'll eat it? Pirate would never eat kibble out of a bowl, but he'll eat it out of a kong.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I have come to really like the Honest Kitchen foods. They are real human grade foods, dehydrated. you just add water and can add a bit of other raw foods to it if you want.  The girls are doing very well.

    I was doing raw for a while but since we moved into this house with a freakishly small frige and freezer, we had to come to a compromise and do thk, which is turning out really, really well.

    Good luck with your little stinker :)

    • Gold Top Dog

    When we got Stewie he was being fed probably the worst food on the planet...just some garbage the people bought at the local grocery store (kroger generic brand!!!)...which I in no way would even consider feeding to a starvng dog! LOL.

    I was worried about switching Stewie to all meat diet...and to be honest he wasn't all that thrilled with the taste at first...so when all else fails...I go to my can of pumpkin! LOL.

    I buy pumpkin for my pooches like it is going out of style!  They love it with some rice in their kongs, and I used it to get Stewie to eat his kibble until he got used to it.  I use it sparingly...maybe a tablespoon per dog...but they just adore it!  It's like dog candy!

    • Puppy

    The only grain free that I can think of thats suitable for pups is Orijen, there are probably couple others, but its the only one I can think of now. Try going to speciality boutiques, they often have free sample bags of different brands to try, theres actually a feed store near me that has tons of free samples and I just picked up like 10 for my sisters new dog.

    • Gold Top Dog

     Just FYI, sometimes we create a problem by offering too many different foods.  Not saying your pup is one of those, but there are some dogs we actually train to be picky - they refuse a lot of food, waiting for you to offer something particularly tempting.

    If it continues, I would ask the vet to check kidney and liver function, just to be on the safe side.

    • Gold Top Dog

    spiritdogs
     Just FYI, sometimes we create a problem by offering too many different foods.  Not saying your pup is one of those, but there are some dogs we actually train to be picky - they refuse a lot of food, waiting for you to offer something particularly tempting.

     

    Agree with Anne. Even at this young age puppies learn pretty quick what kind of  behaviors make the owner freak. Puppys mind: "I don't really want this,so if I refuse to eat I'll possibly get something yummy."

    • Gold Top Dog

     I'm a mean Mommy. I do bloodwork on picky dogs, then I starve their behinds. I provide nutritious, palatable food, and if they don't want to eat it, that's their problem.

     

    Not a picky dog in the house.

    • Bronze

    My dog was a finicky puppy and is still as an adult. I have tried everything and the best food I found was called LIfe Abundance. I also from time to time put Dyne on her food to spice things up and it gives her some more calories since she tends to skip meals! 

    • Gold Top Dog
    I'm with Jennie on this one. If my dogs don't want to eat what I give them, they don't have to, but I'm not a short order cook. (kids are the same way) If they were to refuse a meal for more than a day or two, I would be heading to the vet for a rundown. That said, you'd be surprised at how many treats it takes to fill the caloric needs of a 12 pound puppy...or how little...I'd cut out the treats if the regular food was getting ignored. Especially if they aren't good wholesome treats.