feeding a pup

[franco]

Has anyone had experience feeding a very picky eater??? I mean... we've tried every puppy food out there and we still struggle. Our pup is 10 wks. What foods do you recommend? Any tricks to force feeding... I've been warned these pups need food at least 3 x per day in order to prevent hypoglycemia, etc. I would appreciate all the suggestions I can get. Other than that, my new yorkie, franco, is behaving wonderfully...

[bugaboosmom]

Try giving your puppy Nutristat or Nutrical it can help stimulate the appetite.
What was the breeder feeding the puppy?
I feed my puppies Wellness Puppy Formula canned and dry although the can food might be more appetizing.

[Patti]

Cali has been a very picky eater since I got her at 9 weeks old. She is now 8 months old. I started by feeding her cesars wet dog food, I know it's not a good food but it was the only thing she would eat and she had problems with hypoglycemia so I had to get her to eat. About 5-6 weeks ago she was very sick and was put on a hamburger or chicken and rice diet and would eat the meat and spit out the rice. She also has been throwing her food all over the floor since day one and eats it off the floor. About a week ago I stated to wean her off human food and have been mixing it with Merricks wet food. So far she has been eating the chicken and the Merricks every meal without dumpimg it all over the place. I hope to get her on Mericks 100% in the next month. It is so challenging to get these picky eaters to eat. I have spent many hours coaxing her to eat. Good luck and jsut keep trying different foods.

[Tiger's Mom]

If you know of a treat he loves, try to crumble that and add it to the food. If you are feeding him dry kibble, make sure you wet it a bit so the crumbled treat gets coated onto the dry food . . .if he has wet food, then just mix it in and see if it'll improve his appetite.

[Toybox Yorkies]

Okay - being a breeder I know this happens more then we like to hear.

It is very important to get the puppy eating. The best thing to try is a little Chicken Broth mixed with a very tiny amount of dry food, heat in the micro for 10 seconds. If he accepts this then increase his dry food a little at a time till your back up to 3 meals a day. In the beginning feed him as often as he wants to eat.

Also, it is very important to get him on a high grade multi vitamin. I insist that all my puppy buyers put the puppies on Nu-Vet Plus vitamins. It is actually written into my contract so I am sure they are getting all the vitamins, minerals etc. that they would never be able to consume in a day's worth of eating. Nu-Vet vitamins are Human Grade and if your interested you can call this number 1800-474-7044 and give them code 89203. That just tells them that I am the breeder that recommended the vitamins to you.

They come in tablets that are very easy to break into pieces and they also have a powder for the people that like to mix it into their food daily. A Yorkie under 5 lbs. gets 1/2 a tablet and over 5 lbs. gets one whole tablet. Since starting all my dogs on this 2 years ago I have had only regular check-ups at my vet (no emergency or sick visits).

Hope this helps. You need to get him to eat, even low grade food till you can change over to a better quality food. Again, the vitamins are crucial in this case.

[franco]

Thanks so much for your message. I will definetely look into ordering the Nu-Vet vitamins... Thankfully, Franco is now eating 3 times a day after lots of struggle. He enjoys his Eukanuba dry food a lot! . As far as vitamins we've been giving him Nutrical which he too seems to love. Thanks again!

PS You have lovely yorkies!

[franco]

Thanks to all for replying! Franco is eating like a champ thanks to all your advice! 3 times a day too!!!

[Toybox Yorkies]

Glad I could help. Definitely look into the vitamins - when you call they will answer any questions you may have and also ask them for their flyer on the product, with all the ingredients listed etc.

A good vitamin is always critical in keeping your pets healthy year round.
Helps the skin, coat, eyes, ears, teeth etc.

[romeos mommy]

i'm interested in the vitamins. what are the tablets like? are they pills or more like tiny pup peronis?

[Toybox Yorkies]

You can order either tablets or powder. The tablets are breakable and I give 1 tablet for any dog over 5 lbs. in my household and 1/2 tablet to Ruby who is only 3.6 lbs. My Champion male, Brew, is stubborn about eating the tablets so I give him one scoop of the same vitamins in the powdered form. With 6 Yorkies you can never get them all to eat at the same time either. I am very careful that they get the vitamins daily since some of them don't eat that great on a daily basis.

Again for anyone who wants to order the Nu-Vet it is 1.800.474.7044 and the code number is 89203. That tells the company that Toybox Yorkies recommended the vitamins to you. Remember these are human grade vitamins and neither you or your pet can get all the vitamins and nutrients out of your regular meals daily. We all need the boost of a good multi vitamin.