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Exasperation!!! 1 Attachment(s) I seriously need to puppy vent. Sorry this is so long. Three days after switching Sam to the Simply Nourish food, he's stopped eating it. I was mixing a teaspoon of the canned chicken and rice puppy formula with 1/4 cup kibble in the morning. He ate about 1/2 or less of that. I've been leaving dry kibble down while I'm working. If he eats 2 or three kibble, I'd be surprised. In the evening, I've been wetting it with warm water, and then he'll eat it if I hand feed him. Maybe a tablespoon total. This morning, he wouldn't touch the wet/dry mix. He wouldn't eat the moistened. I even broke down and mixed a tablespoon of Cesar in it, which he usually loves. He ate maybe a half teaspoon. He's been drinking plenty of water, playing, peeing, and pooping. His gums are pink, coat is shiny. His eyes do seem really runny, like the top of his muzzle is soaking wet between his nose and eyes (see pic). This is the second food change in 2 weeks. I don't have the time, energy, or inclination to continue playing food roullette with him! Sorry, I just don't. Not to mention the cost of the food and multiple trips to the store. I've been doing quite a bit of reading on other sites like PetMD that advocate 'tough love' feeding, or not offering him anything other than what I want him to eat. I am concerned about hypo, so I've given him Nutri Cal. He was eating dry food just fine before I brought him home. I think I spoiled him by home cooking and feeding him soft food. I just don't know what to do! I don't want to keep taking food back to PetSmart. I don't even know how many times they'll let me do that. Grooming is another issue altogether. His coat is soooo thick! I try to brush/comb every day. But he fights me so bad when I try to do anything but his back. He clamps his jaws down on the comb or brush, wiggles and tries to push them away, nips at my hands. I stop when he starts vocally complaining. I've tried distracting him with treats, etc. It's just not working, and he's getting horrible knots on his sides. He pees on his belly hair, and it's a mess. If he won't let me clean or comb, he's sure not going to let me use clippers to trim the hair! So far the only grooming I can do is cutting his nails. He's a champ at that. I've just GOT to get him on the same page, or it's going to keep getting worse! I feel like I've done everything wrong with this puppy since I started looking back in September. What's supposed to be a happy time has turned into anything but. I love my boy, but I'm so stressed all the time, I don't feel like I'm getting to enjoy the puppy time. All I do is worry about him. I get no help or understanding at home. Hubby says "he's just a dog; he'll be fine" and blows off my concerns. He fusses about accidents or whining or pretty much anything else. *sigh* Help! |
WOW. You seem to be going through a lot. OK BREATH. Let me try and address each of your issues. When and where did you get your pup and how old is he now? With the food... did you gradually change his diet? To have changed is food twice in 2 weeks seems pretty quick. Grooming... When you begin it will probably be difficult to do so. The goal initially should be to build the pups tolerance. So, I wouldn't necessarily try and do a full groom all at once, but several sessions throughout the day until you can. I would also use praise and treats even if its only a short time while he is being cooperative. Being able to cut the nails is a big thing because many DO NOT take to that so easily. I would relax a bit (I know it's tuff) because after all it is a puppy stage. One of the hardest stages until they get old. Your pup can pick up on your emotions. So try and stay calm and fake it until you make it. I hope I have helped at least a little. Hang in there and maybe you need to revisit the basics, it's not too late. There is hope, so don't give up. Also, his coat may continue to change so his thick coat may turn silky or become manageable in time. Are you sure he is not sick with an eye infection or something? Since he is tearing so much. |
He's 13 weeks 5 days old; I brought him home 2 weeks ago today. I got him from a breeder about 4 hours from me. She's not a byb or miller, but I've learned that she's not the best choice I could have made. I've had him checked out by the vet, so no, no eye infection. It doesn't smell or anything. I clean his face with warm water and a washcloth every day. The pic is from this morning, before I brushed. I did rush a bit with the food transition, just because he's pretty much refused anything dry I've tried to give him. I was looking forward to a whole day at home to play and work with him today. So far he has refused to eat anything, played for a couple of hours, and has been laying in his bed for the last 2 hours or so. He stayed at my mom's for a few hours yesterday so I could run some errands. I'm hoping he's just tired from being out of his element. |
Ruby too was such a turd when it came time for grooming. No matter what I tried and how slowly I went she would not let me groom her whole body when her puppy coat started changing. She started matting in spots and I knew that wasn't good for her so I ended up bringing her to the groomer...with her puppy coat more off then on she wasn't matting as easy so I could really take it slow...like 15 seconds or less on a leg area here and there through out the day for many days. She now let's me groom anywhere on her body! |
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Its been a whole year since Ruby was that age but if I remember right....she was still doing a lot of sleeping at that age. Is his sleeping way more then it used to be? Plus if you are out of the house a lot during the day he probably uses that time to sleep so he would still be in that routine of sleeping even if you are at home. I hope someone on here has better advice then I have to give! Good luck!! |
Not sure if this is much of a consolation but a lot of these puos seem very difficult to feed. I remember when I first brought Wallee home at 12 weeks and him being a real challenge to feed. We would have to sit in the kitchen and laterally scramble his kibbke one at a time to get him to eat. We would do that 3 or 4 times a day. I then decided to get a treat ball and put his kibble in that..Bingo! He now still at almost 10 months will ONLY eat his kibble from there which really isn't a problem as I just keep it out where we are and he will roll it around when he is playing. I also broke down and started feeding him some canned Blue Buffalo late afternoon as we feed our cats canned food at that time. I warm it up in the microwave a little as my vet said it brings out the aroma better. He gobbles that down and looks for more. I don't let him have any more but it seems once he has eaten that he shows more interest in his kibble tge rest of the night. As for the brushing, he still gives me the same grief with trying to comb or brush so I just do a little at a time. I have a groomer come in once a month and do the trimming around his privates and make sure we have no oroblem mats. I use the tiny rounded scissors to remove any mats as well even if I have to have Dh hold him.Hang in and maybe try the treat ball. |
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The treat ball sounds like a great idea. I would try that. Other than that it seems like your puppy is just being a puppy. Hang in there. |
He has a puppy Kong, but pretty much ignores it. I've tried a drop of peanut butter, Cheerios, and kibble. No dice. Can it be as simple as he's being stubborn and playing me? I finally broke down and gave him two small spoonfuls of cottage cheese after he hadn't eaten for 16 hours. He gobbled down about 95% of it. Now he's running around and getting into everything that isn't nailed down. I do wonder too if it could be that his gums are bothering him from teething. I gave him a crunchy treat for peeing on the pad. He usually inhales those. It's laying on the floor next to my foot. It still doesn't explain why he wouldn't eat the canned food, though. grrrrr... Anybody got a chill pill, lol? |
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As to grooming, you might be getting a bit ahead of yourself. Puppies don't really require much grooming. Just concentrate on getting him used to being handled, his ears touched, his paws (which sounds already great as you said you can clip his nails no problem), his belly & but. You don't need to do it for a long time, just 20-30 seconds, a few times throughout the day so he gets used to it. This is important not only for grooming, but for future vet visits. ZoE's vet loves a dog that has been well handled as it's much easier for him to do a thorough examination. Are you training him at all right now? Sit, stay, down, etc? Does he eat then? When I think back to when ZoE was young, it seemed like she consumed alot of her calories during training sessions. |
Could the dog food pieces be to big? Have you tried maybe putting them in a ziplock bag then hitting it with a meat tenderizer? Callie my 5 year old yorkie is pretty food picky and I hand feed her twice a day or she just doesn't eat enough. She is way to stubborn for the tough love thing. |
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Grooming - I don't have any problem handling him or touching ears, feet, etc. Unless it involves a comb, brush or the bathtub. I haven't started any training besides pee pad yet other than teaching him his name and come. I didn't want to try too much at once. Like I said in my first post, I feel like I've screwed up from the beginning and I'm constantly doing the wrong thing and don't know how to make it right.:confused: |
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It sounds like you know what to do. You've just got to be consistent in everything you do so you get a good routine established. How big of a pup is he? How many times a day are you feeding him. |
He was 2.25 lbs at the vet visit. I've been feeding him 1/4 cup moistened dry + a tablespoon of canned in the morning, leaving dry out all day, and some type of extra at night, no more than a teaspoon. Today all he has eaten is about 2 teaspoons of cottage cheese, and has left the dry in his bowl untouched. He wouldn't even eat the canned this morning. He's peed several times and had 2 good poops. I guess after 2 weeks I expected him to be at least moving toward a routine. |
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No, the only toppers I've used are warm water or canned food. |
Since the cottage cheese is a hit maybe you can improvise some ways to prepare it. Maybe crush the kibble and mix it with some cottage cheese? The kibble with one of the toppers I listed may work too kinda entice them to eat something they dont want to initially. |
He could be teething?? Our little Chewy is almost 6 months old now and when he started teething, he would not eat the hard food. I usually would mix a little wet food with his puppy food and he would lick the wet food off of the dry food (little booger!!):animal36 All of my yorkies are such picky eaters?? I do sometime top their food with cottage cheese, boiled eggs or shredded chicken so that they will eat it. Our little Chewy has VERY thick hair and he also gets pee on his belly. I bought some puppy wipes at Petsmart and I clean his belly with those everynight. We also used my hubbies clippers to shave some the hair on his belly and this helped alot! Luckily hes a trooper about letting us do it. |
He is still very young at 13 weeks. Definitely could have sore gums and I think you may have spoiled him just a little with the home cooking. I would probably go back to whichever one of the kibbles he was eating best and maybe try adding it to the cottage cheese since he seems to like that. As far as the tears, he could have allergies and it could be to the newest food you just bought him and maybe that is why he stopped eating it abruptly. Other than that, I don't have anything. I am jealous that you can trim his nails without any hassles! Jack we had to buy a Pedi-Paws and he will, reluctantly, let me use that on him. Izzy...forget it - I still have to fight with her and grooming. I cannot do her nails so I will have to get the groomers or vet to do them (she goes in on Monday for a spaying so I will have the vet do them then) and as far as brushing, like the others said, take it slow. Just brush a little at a time. Izzy is 8 months old by the way and she is just now starting to settle down with the grooming with me giving her treats. Good luck. |
Lexi was a pretty picky eater when she was little. I must have tried twenty or more different kinds of food. What I finally found that works for her now is I use one ice cube size spoon of Weruva. (I open a can and use one helping for that day and freeze the rest in an ice cube tray) I heat it in the microwave until thawed. Then I add 1 1/2 Tbls of Natures Variety kibble. Then I add some powder stuff for her teeth, powder stuff for probiotics and fish oil drops. Then I sprinkle with a small amount of some crushed Stella and Chewies freeze dried raw. She gobbles it right up. At dinner I give her a product called Real Meat pet food. (I can get this at a local pet store, but most offer to order it for me if they don't carry it. It is kind of like a chewy kibble. I think it is good for her teeth too. It seems like a big deal, but it seems to work for her and I think it is healthy for her too. |
I just gave him some of the kibble with a tiny drizzle of Karo syrup. He licked some of the syrup off and left the rest. Time to unspoil him! I don't have time or desire to mix 8 different ingredients, toppers, foods, etc. just to get him to eat something. It's all I can do to feed my human family most of the time. Thanks for all the advice. I'll keep working with him until something clicks. I want him on a quality dry food with wet an occasional treat, not as a bribe to eat what he needs. I'll do what I have to do for him to be healthy and happy, but I won't be a food hostage. |
My boy is EXACTLY likes yours. I kid you not when I say - I have tried EVERYTHING. I would stare at him at meal time to see if he would give in to some new method I had discovered to make his food more appetizing. Then I'd spend an hour trying to convince him to eat it. I can not explain how happy I got when he would actually take a bite & swallow. Through a very long period of trial & error, I found 3 kinds of kibble that he'll eat more than 10 pcs of at a time. So at 10am, I leave him a tablespoon of either Acana Grasslands, Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural or Royal Canin. He has Primal Chicken or Weruva for dinner at 5. Lately, he's decided that he doesn't like breakfast. So I don't feed him breakfast anymore. Some days, he doesn't eat at all. But he's healthy. He isn't underweight. He has energy & he loves to play. I finally just figured that he just must not be food motivated. He is the craziest, most finicky eater I've ever known. Sometimes I feel like my life revolves around getting him to eat. Even though I'm a stay at home mom, I just can't commit anymore time to coaxing him to eat. I'm sorry I don't have any great advice for you. But just know you're not alone. It isn't YOU. |
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If he is eating less than when you first got him I would be a little concerned about Giardia or some other intestinal parasite. Has he had a fecal exam? Garida and other parasite symptoms are not always continuous. They can seem fine for a while and then develop problems. If he has had a very complete exam of his feces then it is possible he is still getting his baby teeth in and his mouth is sore. Some small breed pups don't get their teeth in as quickly as a larger dog. I had a terrible problem getting my Gracie to eat when she was a puppy. Feeding home made food or additives does help but usually has to be continued for several weeks until the puppy is very well established at eating and is feeling comfortable in his new environment. Be patient you are just in the beginning stages. You have a long way to go yet. He really is tearing a lot. Did the vet see that and suggest anything? Sometimes constant tearing will cause a thing called red yeast to form on the fur. It will cause a build up of gunk and nasty stuff on the face. They do sell premoistened wipes to clean the eye area with that will help control the problem. With that much dampness you might want to dry his face a few times with a paper towel. Maybe you could try playing with your puppy for a while and getting him really tired before trying to groom him. Then just gently run the comb through him. You can't accomplish a lot in one grooming session when they are that young so try to do a little at a time a couple of times a day. When they are already tired and asleep you can usually work a little more easily with a pup. Just be patient. Terriers are feisty little critters. They are not the easiest puppies to train and they don't respond well to a lot of traditional training methods. You have to try to out think them and that is not an easy task! |
He's had a full fecal and a complete blood test. I requested the blood test and the fecal because one of his littermates had a bout with coccidia. Everything came back clean. Sam is not the first Yorkie I've been around. My mom has had them all my life. He is just the first one that is 100% my responsibility, and the first male since I was a preschooler. I can honestly say I have never seen a puppy so resistant. |
With the grooming, I just made Joey sit there and take it. He still doesnt "love" it, but he will let me do what needs to be done. I start with his back, and then do his legs and finally flip him over so I can get his chest and belly while he lays on my bed. Then I say "ok" and he rolls over so I can get his back one more time then we play and go to bed. That is our nightly routine, and its something that we have worked on for months. It took me a good month to get him to liking his back and legs, then I added his belly, which I usually would just ambush him at random times before. For the food, talk to the breeder, figure out what she was feeding and get that food. I kept Joey on the royal canin yorkshire puppy until he was 10 months then swapped him over to the adult formula, but he also eats blue buffalo from the lab's bowl. One day I will get around to switching him to her food so they can just share a bag, but for now he gets his own and she gets her own :) Good luck, it does get easier. Just dont let the cute face be the boss :) |
Bossy Brat Behavior. I am not making fun of you or suggesting in any way what is happening is not a real problem, or that it is not making you miserable and worried. You have good deal of doggy experience, so believe me when I say, this to shall pass, right now he is showing bossy, brat behavior. First of all don't let a puppy tell you what they will and will not do. You are the parent he is the baby. He doesn't know what is best for him. Of course he wants your attention constantly, wants the food he wants (like a human child wants cola soda, sugary cereal, and salty french fries) He has to learn to follow your leadership and accept what you provide. You know you must be the PLP (parent/ protector, leader,and provider. Just like his doggy mom everything is yours and you will teach his what he can and can not do. He must allow grooming. It is alright to start out with a brush and wide tooth comb. You can snip out the fuzzy puppy coat mats for not. It might look funny but think of it of his training coat. if he nips correct instantly with verbal correction, a hiss, atttattt , or firm no will work. You can gently two finger tap the side of his neck (like a doggy mom would correct with what we call a mouth squeeze, she does not use her teeth to bite her baby. Mommy dog warns with a growl first then a tap on the neck with her nose and/or mouth. This is important Groom every day for 5 mins minium. Start and end on a happy note. Simply pet with your hand, comb with your fingers at first, move on to the brush and wide tooth comb. Even if his nails don't need done be sure to feel his feet, butt area, ears and teeth. Always end grooming with a happy praise and tiny treat reserved only for grooming rewards. Refresh your skills by reading basic puppy training methods and Nothing in Life is Free training guide. You will have a beautifully trained adult dog before long and you will pass along comforting word to the new puppy owner ! |
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Sounds like you got Stella's brother lol she actually ended up with like a diaper rash on her belly from laying her fluffy belly on the ground to tinkle :p I wish I could offer advice but I just shaved her entire tummy. |
Everyone had offered great advice and I will just add that Georgie was the same way. From his first day home he had boiled chicken and he is 7 1/2 and still gets boiled chicken once a day. The good thing is...he eats his kibble and since he he is so small we boil 5 tenders and it last him the week! I don't think you have to add several different toppers to his food it's just finding what he likes. Georgie likes plain Greek yogurt so we add that and a little chicken with 1 meal and he's good to go:) It will all work I am sure of it!:) |
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