i brought riley home when he was 8 weeks and he was a tough one lol. i had to feed him nutrical the first couple days because he wouldnt eat. then i fed him chicken baby food mixed with a couple drops of karo syrup through a syringe. then i had to mix the chicken baby food with a spoonful of wet innova puppy food THEN i had to mix all of that with a small amount of orijen puppy kibble until he ate the kibble by itself.. the process took 3 weeks.
madison on the other hand i got at 11 weeks. she had nutrical the first day she was here and the second she started chowing down on the kibble. she's silly though she takes one piece and runs away from the bowl to eat it then goes back for more. i think she realized food was there when she saw riley eating so then she went to eat and has been doing so ever since. it seems like she eats more than riley does but then i realize she takes one piece of kibble at a time
i also free feed because my babies are little and i feel like they should eat when they want but usually its in the morning, afternoon & nightime that i see them go to their bowl.