New puppy won't eat...
 

I just got my new puppy 2 days ago and he was eating a little but today he won't eat anything. Has this happened to anyone else? Any advice for me? He's also not drinking much water. :(

It happens often. It happened when I got Cookie. He ate like 1 tsp the first day and didnt go near hisfood after that. I gave him the same food they had been feeding him too. After taking him to the vet , he told me that I would have to forcefeed him with a syringe. So I would add enough water to the food to suck up with a syringe. I would feed him about 6 times a day since syringe feeding takes up a lot of time and it's messy. I had to feed him with a syringe for over 1 month! I was going crazy and I thought he would never eat on his own. Finally almost two months after we had him I caught him walking over to his little bowl and eat on his own! I swear I wanted to cry .
I also would make sure Igave him nutrical at least 2 times a day and give water with a syringe also. But not much water.

Genie
www.littlemimi.org

Does the kids plays a lot with him ?

Sometimes puppies don't eat because they are tired .

One piece at a time
 

I've had to use baby food before. Like Gerber, beef or chicken. They really like it you just spoon feed it. Ive also had to feed it to them out of the palm of my hand as if they were treats, for some reason it's more appealing to my guys that way.

Thanks! I'm going to try handfeeding him now. I had no idea this was common! The kids do play with him but I limit their time and explain that he's still a baby. He's actually sleeping again now. :)

We brought Kodah home at 10 weeks & she was just under one pound. Her breeder sent me with some of her dry food, but she would have nothing to do with it. Her breeder had also been giving her baby food (chicken/gravy) & I just made sure that she was getting that & her nutrical. I left some of her dry food out mixed with Royal Canin (the food that I wanted to switch her to) & she began picking out the Royal Canin slowly but surely. I swear the first several days, I thought she is hardly eating!!! But she acted fine, played fine & slept fine. I boiled some chicken as recommended but she didn't like that much either. We have now had her four weeks, and she is a good little eater. I still make sure I give her nutrical two times a day as she is still tiny! I just think the first week is a BIG adjustment for these little guys!

Hello and Welcome
 

Hi, our puppies are the same age. Tucker is 16 weeks.

I can tell you what works for us. I am no expert, just worked for us. I got Tucker at 10 weeks. He was a very tiny. To get him to eat, I would hand fed him. I would put the kibble in my hand and he ate it up. Don't know if this the "acceptable" thing to do. I just wanted him to eat and it worked. Make sure you are feeding him the same food he is used to and fixed the same way. Did they grind it up any, or moisten it? Gradually once he got in the hang of eating Tucker ate on his own. I guess I did spoil him though because he still likes for me to handle his dry food before he will eat it. No big deal, but I have to kind of make sure I kind of touch it well and then he will eat it on his own. He also prefers to eat straight off a small plate then a bowl. I leave it out all day, but I still have to encourage him to eat his meals. I touch it lay it on the plate and he will eat it.

As for potty training, even after 6 weeks we are still learning. Tucker is on a regular schedule and he is doing well though. AM, He wakes up and he goes straight outside and does his business. I then feed him his AM feeding. He then goes in his crate for about an hour. I then take him back outside and he does his business. He then plays. When he takes a AM nap, I take him out when he wakes up. At noon, he eats his lunch. Back in his crate(he Loves his crate) for about an hour. Then I let him outside and does his business. Throughout the afternoon he gets let out every so often. He still doesn't "tell" me when he needs to go. Around 6pm he eats, back he his crate for an hour or so and then let out and he does his business. I have always given a tiny Nutri cal before bedtime. He loves that stuff so kind of a bedtime treat to him. I don't know if it is still necessary, kind of a habit. But he is still only 2 lb 8 oz and it makes me feel like his sugar level stays ok during the night.

I hope this helps. I am NO expert but this is just what we do. Since he is not eating, PLEASE take your little one for a vet check if you haven't already. I would worry about his sugar level. They will check him out and make sure everything is OK. I got my Nutri Cal from my vet. It is good to use when they don't eat well. They can explain how to use it.

And one more thing, someone mentioned kids playing with them. Even after 6 weeks, I still don't let my kids get carried away with the play thing. Actually Tucker does not like to be carried around too much. I think they like having down time and nap time. My tucker is asleep now, in my lap, and he has only been awake 2 hours. Make sure his bed or crate is easy for him to get to. Tucker goes and get in is crate when he wants to be left along. It is "his" space.

Good Luck with your new puppy. You are going to have a blast! He reminds me of Tucker.
Tucker's Mom :animal-sm

I handfed Brutus some egg white which he loved and some chicken. I'm feeding him the same food the breeder fed him but she used a little homemade chicken broth to mix the food. I was using warm water so maybe he wants the chicken broth. I don't know but I'm going to buy some no salt broth and see if it makes a difference. Thanks for all the great advice!

ps...I have my vet visit this Friday.

I am glad to hear Brutus is eating. Mine did the same thing when he was little and I gave him Chicken baby food sticks cut up and that did the trick. The transition period can be a little tricky sometimes but when they geet past it they eat well again.

Glad to hear you got Brutus to eat something!!!

:thumbup: Glad to hear he is eating!! :thumbup: