[veggienut]

Originally Posted by Teresiana

I saw my vet today & one of the things we spoke about is my crazy finicky puppy Yoshi. I've tried EVERYTHING short of back handsprings in a pink tutu to get my Yoshi to eat. Yes, I waited 20 minutes & took the food away...yes, I tried ricotta/yogurt/chicken/cheese/dehydrated liver/shredded carrots/etc mixed with kibble...no, I do not give him any people food & his only treats are cheerios & pieces of green beans...yes, I did raw...I did dehydrated raw, moistened & straight out of the bag...I tried Sojos, Grandma Lucy's, FreshPet...Orijen, Fromm, TOW, even Royal Canin. I've homecooked & hand fed. I've tried treat dispensers & scattered bits of kibble all over the house. He even sniffs & walks away from Weruva 3x a day...whether it be on a plate, in a bowl, on the kitchen floor, in his crate, under the dining room table, wherever. We even walk or exercise prior to meal time. You name it, I did it.

Vet says...
Put down the same food at the same time 3x a day. Check.
Take it away after 20 minutes. Check.
Give NutriCal only he seems tired/lethargic & make sure he's drinking.
Let him go 3 DAYS with no food. Then call him.

My Yoshi is 6.3 pounds. I told him that I wasn't comfortable letting him go for 3 whole days & that I was going to ask "my friends" before doing it. So far, the longest I've gone is 1 1/2 days. However, I have been giving him about an inch of NutriCal if he goes longer than 6 hours without eating. Vet says no NutriCal unless he seems lethargic & give him 3 days.

Btw, my vet sees mostly small/toy breeds. So he isn't unfamiliar with the breed.

Does this seem reasonable? Should I at least put out a saucer of some chicken broth if he doesn't eat? Or am I just an overprotective Mommy?

I can relate to what your saying and have done the same things you did. It is tough to do "tough love" and if he doesn't eat maybe he's not hungry like we are at times, as I was told recently. Only in the last month plus my Yorkie had to see the Vet due to bloody stools he had from Acana that I switched him to since he wasn't eating. The Vet wanted him to eat "no treats" and that has been difficult since that is how we play ball as well as agility that we've been doing for 4 years now. The first week was extremely difficult since he would not for no reason play ball without a treat and marshmallows wasn't something he would eat either as recommended by the Vet. So for the last month plus, he's been eating and wanting to eat and can't wait to eat, but it took about a week for him to get this way also. I could go on and no, but just hang in there and know that there is another person out there who has the same issues like you.