7month old puppy wont eat
 

my puppy princeton is 7months old now, weighs 4.5pounds and he still doesnt eat on his own. I syringe fed him for 6 months because i kept saying when he gets older he'll eat but now he is 7months old and he wont eat any dog food! He wants the food off my plate but he wont eat his food. I am consistently changing his dry food and wet food but all I do is throw it out and refill it. I feed him merrick dry and wet food because I heard bad news about Eukanuba(sp?) so i switched to the Merrick dry and he did eat it for the first few days but now he wont touch it. If i don't syringe or hand feed him then he wont eat and im afraid he'll get Hypoglycemia. Everyone tells me that i need to be tough and he'll eat on his own but ive tried that and he wont eat for the whole day then i see him bein lethargic and dull so i panic. PLEASE HELP ME.. i dont know what to do.:(

I would leave his food down and he will eat when he's hungry. He is capable of eating on his own. Sorry you're having problems.

what if he doesn't eat on his own for over 24 hours? what am i supposed to do?

Leave the food down, if you want, count out the pieces and then in the morning, count them again. Most all dogs will eat when hungry, make sure you don't give him any of your food. There are at least 2 reasons for this. one is if he eats people food, he won't want his food, and 2 it can cause pancreatitis. if this keeps up, get ahold of your vet

I would try grinding some kibble up in a blender or food processor, then mixing it in with cottage cheese, or some boiled shredded chicken. For a puppy his age and size I would be very hesitant to use the 'he'll eat when he's hungry enough' method - JMO. Will he eat canned food? Or how about pre-made raw, like Nature's Variety or Primal? The main diet does not have to consist of just dry kibble, especially if he won't eat it. It sounds like you're making good choices for him - just need to find something he likes.

ive tried so many different types of food.. i have a 40$ box of the honest kitchen that he wont eat.. i chose to stick with the merrick wet & dry because thats the only one that he actually ate for a few days. I thought i was onto something with the Merrick but he stopped eating it after a few days and im back to square one. I want to try the Nature's Variety but its my last option. I do make him boiled chicken and chopped meat and veggies but he only picks. He never really chows down and I thinnk he should be growing more and weighing more. Im worried that he doesnt have enough nutrients to grow & mature. After about 8 hours of not eating his stomach is empty and his ribs stick out so i syringe him

Chloe picks at food like that too. Their stomachs are so tiny, that they don't really chow down like bigger dogs do. A few bites here and there and they are happy. He is probably used to you feeding him through the syringe, that he doesn't know that the food is there for him to fill up on. Try to keep from syringe feeding him. I know that is hard to say, but he is going to be easier to break now. He will go to the food when he gets hungry. Something you might want to try is hand him a few pieces at a time or have him eat from a plate. Some yorkies are picky and just don't like bowls...I have one of those!! Help him realize that his food is coming from the bowl or plate and not the syringe, and he'll start going to it as he gets hungry. I hope he starts eating on his own soon!

If your offering him your food, steak or chicken he probally wont eat his kibble, did you try putting parmisian cheese on it, or cottage cheese, I had to do all these little tricks.... I also warmed low fat organic chicken broth and added it to her food. she eats now!! Im sure she would prefer my food but she cant have it ;)

Almost all puppies/dogs eat when they're hungry. My little one was 1 1/2 lbs at 5 1/2 mos her tummy would growl and when she wouldn't eat I would get really nervous, I tried everything, even soft food, well, I found out real quick, when she was hungry, she would go out there and eat her food, it was down 24/7. She is now 11 1/2 mos and 2 3/4 lbs and she still doesn't eat much, but, she eats when she's hungry

I agree 100% with you!

I think we communicated several months ago and compared our two babies and how neither would eat...Well, not to alarm you but Lola was scheduled to be spayed not long after my posts to you and I insisted that the vet BAT (Bile Acid Test) her prior to surgery because she was so tiny. She was 3 lbs and 13 months old. She had ALWAYS been a picky eater and I assumed I would just deal with it. She had no symptoms or signs of a liver shunt other than she would not eat and as she got older she would nap a little more each day. Anyway, her Bile Acids came back super high and we had her liver shunt repaired March 6 at University of TN. She now eats her food and tries to eat all of her brother's food! We just had her BAT retested today and are waiting for the results tomorrow, hopefull that was the only shunt and she will be perfectly fine from this point on (fingers crossed). Has your baby been BAT? (my vet charges $88.00) If not, you may want to consider it - it saved Lola's life and she is like a new puppy now - full of energy and mischief once again! Good Luck - I know what you are going through. Sending hugs your way!

Wow, so sorry to hear this. Am glad she's doing fine now. She's had 2 full blood panels done, and everything was fine. She actually does eat now and is always on the go. She has gaine a little over a pound since I got her back in November, she will be one next month. The breeder doesn't breed for tinies, but, sometimes just gets one. This little girl has quite the "attitude problem" too, and doesn't listen at all, yet all 4 of the other ones(inside ones) do. Even the new one that is 4 1/2 mos old comes when she's called. Tootsie looks at you then runs the other way. LOL

prince already had full blood test and BAT and everything came out normal. Tonight i put some chicken with carrots on top of the crushed dry food like you suggested and he didnt touch it but after reading the post i added parmesian cheese and he did eat a few pieces of meat. I guess you guys are right about him eating when hes hungry and how small their stomachs are. I am just very nervous about the hypoglycemia because we had a bad incident when he was a baby and he had to be hospitalized(thats when all the blood work was done) so I am always on edge and those memories haunt me. (He just went for more food!! haha =) anyway i think the parmesian might do the trick ;) is parmesian ok for them to eat everyday??

Myself, I wouldn't get him used to parmesan cheese everyday. Count out the food and leave it down, if he starts acting hypoglycemic give him some karo syrup. Like I said, Toots was 1 1/2 lbs. just think of how I worried when she didn't eat, the thing was, she did eat when she was hungry. Usually about 10-20 kibbles and she was full. I just remembered, they make this stuff for dogs to put over their food(you sprinkle it), they sell it at petsmart, I just can't remember what it's called. Maybe someone else will know what i'm talking about. You can put a couple frozen peas, or a couple pieces of apple, green beans, or something like that in with his food

cash is over 7lbs and i swear he doesnt eat for days and then chows. i gave him pieces of sugary cereal every morning just to keep his sugar up and let him free feed when ever he wanted.

I give my babies coated cereal for treats sometimes cherrios or capt. crunch they really like it but they don't get it everyday



Betty & Micah my love:aimeeyork

yea prince likes cherrios and fruit loops i also give them sometimes just to keep the sugar up but OMG cashsmommy he doesnt eat for days at a time? i would be worried sick lol these little guys sure do keeps us on our toes, dont they? well he really likes the paremsian but hes just licking his food and dragging pieces around my living room. He seems fine tho, he seems happier then usual. I tried many different types of food.. i wonder if i should try the Natures Variety? but i dont want to mix him up again, id rather stick out with this food and see what happens

I'm so glad to hear that he had all of his bloodwork checked and that it came back fine. I guess you really are just dealing with a super finicky baby! I homecook for my other baby that is not on special diet - boiled chicken, rice and greenbeans...but it sounds like you've tried that, too. Boy, I don't know what I'd try next - I know how frustrating and worrisome it can be!

Hi, Just thought I'd add another opinion...
What do you put in the syringe when you feed him with it? I would try first putting the syringe food in a bowl or plate, and let him lick some off your finger (maybe 4-5 times) to get him started. Be down on the floor with him when you do this, and have the bowl under his chin. As he licks the food off your finger, praise him (oh what a good boy! works for my dog... he's 12 years old and if I don't tell him he's good, he won't eat???)
At the same time, lead him to lick out of the bowl on his own. Keep praising him. If he starts eating on his own, don't move away from him till he's done. More praise. As this becomes habit you can gradually move yourself away. Then you can start adding food to the syringe mix, very gradually, till you have changed the consistency to a more appropriate one for a dog his age. (Also, make sure he doesn't have any dental problems...)

You can also add about a teaspoon of yogurt, or feed this separately... this is very important as it will restore good flora in his gut and help with digestion. Do this for 4-5 days in a row ... or you can use a probiotic you can buy in the petstore.

Cottage cheese would be a better choice if you feel the need to add cheese.

Also I would not free feed him at this time. Have a set mealtime and allow 20 minutes or so for him to eat. Do not feed him table scraps if you want him to eat dog food.

i put his merrick wet food and water into the blender then use it for his syringe. I dont think he would lick it off my fingers but i will def try that.. He doesnt like cottage cheese either, already tried. I am doing homecooking now but I dont think he's getting a balanced diet this way. This morning i tried grilled chicken with pineapple and yogurt still hasnt touched it yet:( so you think i should only leave it down for 20mins then take it away and try again at lunch time?

Hi, my name is Tiffany and I'm a rep from Nature's Variety. I'm sorry you're having trouble getting your puppy to eat! Sometimes dogs do not responded well to switching foods frequently; it is best to gradually start feeding them a new food by increasing the proportion of new food by a little bit each day while decreasing the proportion of the previous food over the course of a week or two. I hope you find one that works! If you'd still like to try Nature's Variety, I can send you a coupon to buy one bag and get another for free. Just send me an email to tiffanys@jdpr.com if you're interested!

Good luck!

my yorkie
 

my yorkie just turned 7 months on june 24 and he only will eat his food once a day but he drink alot of water before he would eat twice a day should i be worried?

My dogs all eat Nature's Variety Prairie chicken and brown rice formula dry food and they love it. I feel it's a good food and even our 5 month old pup is doing well on it. The buy one get one free deal is a good way to get started.

The leaving the food down and the dog will eat rule certainly does not always apply. With a 4 pound dog not eating for more than 24 hours and then the owner noticing lethargy, this system is not going to work. Karo syrup is fine but that can't be a constant thing because it really should be balanced with protein.

I have no idea what I'd do in your case, but if my 4 pound dog was lethargic, I would absolutely not let him/her decide when to finally eat.