I encourage you to have some blood work done on your puppy.
We went through something similar when my Mom's toy poodle was a puppy. He was always thin, his fur was not the correct texture and did not look healthy, and he didn't have as much energy as a normal puppy. He seemed to wear out more quickly and need more naps. He often had a worried "I don't feel good" look on his face that would come and go.
We tried everything to get him to eat; we tried so many different foods. He would take a few bites, and then lose interest. If you tried to hand feed him he would keep looking away.
After doing blood work we discovered that the ammonia levels in his blood were abnormally high. This meant his liver wasn't functioning properly. A long story short--now he is on medication three times per day and a special diet and he is doing great!
I don't want your puppy wasting away and not growing to its full potential because it didn't receive treatment for liver shunt sooner rather than later. That's why it'd be good to have blood work done just to rule it out. The severity and symptoms of liver shunt vary. Apathy towards food, low weight, and low appetite are key signs though. The high ammonia blood levels makes them feel sick, and the digestion of food increases the ammonia so they feel more sick. The dog associates food with feeling nauseous so they dread eating, even though they need to eat to live.
I hope it turns out that your puppy is just a picky eater and does not have liver shunt. Both circumstances can be dealt with, but being a picky eater is definitely less serious. |