my puppy refuse to eat...im scare for him because he hasnt gain any weight! - YorkieTalk.com Forums

paulat23 · 10-12-2013, 03:27 PM

Hello everyone. Im new to this page and i subscribed since i read a lot interesting info about yorkies. I got a 8 week old yorkie 2 weeks ago. Im thought he was going to be a good companion but it actually has been a headache, dont get me wrong i love my puppy but he doesnt want to eat at all. He hasnt gained any weight aince i bought him, hes only 1lb and 3 oz. Hes now 10 weeks and Ive been keeping him on pedialyte and nutrical. I tried dry food, soft food but nothing works. I have to force feed him and he hatea it, every time that he sees me with a syringe he runs away and he refuses to eat by on his own. Im really frustated cause i feel like im doing something wrong but im doing my best to keep this puppy safe. Ive taken him to the vet too many times, they have done all the exams about parasites and hes fine, he just doesnt wanna eat, they prescribed nutrical cause his sugar went very low on one occasion. I dont know what to do, please help me!!!!!!!!!

Rhetts_mama · 10-12-2013, 04:25 PM

Keep trying! At that age, all of my dogs preferred canned food like Wellness. There is a puppy mousse made by Royal Canin that many like.

Home Royal Canin USA / Products / Products / Dog Products / Size Health Nutrition / Starter Mousse - Royal Canin

I also had to hand feed the wet food for awhile to get them interested. It took them awhile to be interested in food from a bowl.

Small bits of shredded chicken may interest him.

Watch out with the nutrical. If you aren't following it up with a protein it can actually make the dog hypoglycemic.

dawn27 · 10-12-2013, 04:40 PM

I am so sorry you baby wont eat. I cant imagine your worry !

Did your vet say that he could be younger than what his is ?
Does he have all of his teeth ?

I think if you got a tasty meal ready for him he would be ok eating it on his own and you wont have to force feed him. You may need to dab I little in his mouth so he get a taste of it and feed for the texture of it. I would suggest trying a Puppy Gruel to get him interested in eating. Puppy Gruel is normally fed to you pups as they are being weaned from their mothers. Its something that you start off as a shake like consistency and once mastered it is slowly thicken it up to a malt like consistency. Than you can introduce softened kibble and than finally dry kibble.

Use 2 parts can puppy food mixed with 1 part can milk (carnation evaporated) mix well breaking up all of the chucks. If it needs to be thinner add more milk. You can even try adding in some Beef flavored stage 2 or 3 baby food. You can also soak the dry kibble in a mixture of can milk and water to see if that gets his appetite going.

cherry14 · 10-13-2013, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhetts_mama

Keep trying! At that age, all of my dogs preferred canned food like Wellness. There is a puppy mousse made by Royal Canin that many like.

Home Royal Canin USA / Products / Products / Dog Products / Size Health Nutrition / Starter Mousse - Royal Canin

I also had to hand feed the wet food for awhile to get them interested. It took them awhile to be interested in food from a bowl.

Small bits of shredded chicken may interest him.

Watch out with the nutrical. If you aren't following it up with a protein it can actually make the dog hypoglycemic.

It took Cherry a while before she'd eat on her own. I would put the wet food in my hands/on my fingers and let her lick it off. You can also put little bits of wet food on the tip of your finger and put it on the roof of her mouth. I had to encourage Cherry to eat constantly.

Did the vet say anything about his weight/not eating?

Yorkiemom1 · 10-13-2013, 06:55 AM

What did the breeder have this baby on when you brought him home? A lot of unnecessary stress is cr4eated for both the baby and the new owner, when the new owner brings the baby home and first rattle out of the box, you try to change his diet. This is NOT the time to try to change his eating program! If your vet has checked the baby over and there is no physical reason why the baby is not eating, he is just stressed out and confused. Start from square one. What did the breeder have him on? Go back to that. Get some Gerber baby food....chicken.....and let him lick that off your finger. You may need to syringe feed him that for a few days until you get him used to the taste of it. You may have to hand feed for a period of time, letting baby lick that off your fingers. Where did you get this baby? THAT probably has everything to do with the issues you are haveing now. Unless you bought from a reputable breeder, this puppy was more than likely pulled straight from momma and there was no effort put into weaning properly.....this is yet another reason NOT to purchase a Yorkie puppy before age 12 weeks. After this baby is eating the baby food, you can start adding Royal Canin canned puppy food, again you will probably have to let baby lick it off your finger. This is all work the breeder usually does so new owners are not faced with the dangers of a puppy that will not eat....you bought your baby with none of this having been taken care of, so now YOU must assume this responsibility and do whatever is necessary to get this baby to eat! When baby is about 12 weeks old, you can go from the baby food mixed in with the Royal Canin canned puppy food, to start mixing in some of the Royal Canin puppy starter kibble, softened with a little warm water, and some of the canned puppy food/Gerber baby food (chicken) mixed in with it....you will eventually be able to back off of the canned puppy food until you have the baby eating the Royal Canin puppy starter kibble. Stick with that kibble until the baby is a year old! When the baby is a year old, you can move on to the next step in Royal Canin dog food....or you can get all involved with that "Dog Food Dance", which I pwesaonally find so unnecessary if your baby is tolerating the TC formula, there is NO reason to be switching and swap[ping and driving yourself and the puppy crazy with the battery of all the dog food changes. Good luck with this challenge.....you are going to either syringe feed or let the baby lick baby food from your fingers, advance to the RC canned puppy food (either the mousse or the puppy food whichever he will eat) mixed with the Gerber baby food, then advance to the RC puppy starter kibble.....a lot of work that the breeder should have not saddled you with.....but you bought your baby right in the middle of weaning from momma to kibble, 8 - 12 weeks.....

dawn27 · 10-13-2013, 07:11 AM

Any news on this pup today ?

Britster · 10-13-2013, 08:19 AM

I also think you may be associating eating with negative things, like trying to force a syringe down him. I know you're worried, and he is very young, so it IS very important for a pup to eat, however your stress may be leaking onto him. If you take a more laid back approach, maybe leave some canned food out on a plate, and some dry food out all the time, he will eat when he wants. Try not to stand over and watch though. My dads dog is very much like that -- she is a terrible eater, and is almost 7yrs old. When she was a pup, she was very tiny and 7 weeks old, so we were almost TOO overly concerned with her eating. We tried to "force feed" her and I think it ruined her, and made her associate food with a "bad thing".

mimimomo · 10-13-2013, 09:33 AM

I always sit down on the floor when my guys are eating, I make sure they finish their meal. Stay calm, sit comfortably next to him & offer him his food, either on your finger or spoon. When he takes a lick, praise him 'good boy'.
Goat's milk is very good for young pups, it is tolerated & easily digested by dogs & cats, not like cow's milk. You can get it @ Trader Joe's here. You can soak just enough in his kibble & let it get soft & give it to him.

paulat23 · 10-14-2013, 07:09 AM

Well thank u all for the good advices, they really helped. Im going to try to gerber baby food, that sounds like a good alternative. Britser i think thats what happening with my puppy, i think hes starting to hate food because all the forcing i do to make him eat. 2 days ago i left home for like 4 hrs and when i came back the bowl was almost empty, this was the first time he has done this i was so excited he ate for first time on his own but yesterday nada, he refused to eat =( so at least i know he would eat its just something triggering me not to. I think the change of him has affected him a lot, i take him to my friends house cause theres another dog over there so he wont feel lonely, i just hope he get used to his new home soon, im starting a new job tomorrow and im scare to leave by himself for so many hours but i have no choice and hope for the best, thank u all for ur quick responses, i really really appreciate it!!!

dawn27 · 10-14-2013, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulat23

Well thank u all for the good advices, they really helped. Im going to try to gerber baby food, that sounds like a good alternative. Britser i think thats what happening with my puppy, i think hes starting to hate food because all the forcing i do to make him eat. 2 days ago i left home for like 4 hrs and when i came back the bowl was almost empty, this was the first time he has done this i was so excited he ate for first time on his own but yesterday nada, he refused to eat =( so at least i know he would eat its just something triggering me not to. I think the change of him has affected him a lot, i take him to my friends house cause theres another dog over there so he wont feel lonely, i just hope he get used to his new home soon, im starting a new job tomorrow and im scare to leave by himself for so many hours but i have no choice and hope for the best, thank u all for ur quick responses, i really really appreciate it!!!

Any progress is good progress. Please keep us posted !

Britster · 10-14-2013, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulat23

Well thank u all for the good advices, they really helped. Im going to try to gerber baby food, that sounds like a good alternative. Britser i think thats what happening with my puppy, i think hes starting to hate food because all the forcing i do to make him eat. 2 days ago i left home for like 4 hrs and when i came back the bowl was almost empty, this was the first time he has done this i was so excited he ate for first time on his own but yesterday nada, he refused to eat =( so at least i know he would eat its just something triggering me not to. I think the change of him has affected him a lot, i take him to my friends house cause theres another dog over there so he wont feel lonely, i just hope he get used to his new home soon, im starting a new job tomorrow and im scare to leave by himself for so many hours but i have no choice and hope for the best, thank u all for ur quick responses, i really really appreciate it!!!

Well that's good progress!

For what it's worth, none of our dogs have ever eaten when we're not home. Like if we leave food in a bowl out, it goes untouched. Once we're home, chilling watching TV or whatever, they will go eat lol.

Pati500 · 10-14-2013, 05:44 PM

Cinnamon barely ate the first month. I started cooking chicken, vegetable, and oatmeal. He finally started to eat a bit more but no big deal. Two days ago someone gave me a small sample of "Natural Balance" in a beef sausage. He really liked this but it's not meant as a diet. Today I found "Royal Canin" canned puppy food. I mixed a little of the sausage crumbled up, the Royal Canine Yorkshire #29, and the canned puppy food. WOW!!! He ate the entire bowl and wanted more. I am thrilled.

Maybe you can give this a try. Good luck.

10-12-2013, 03:27 PM	#1
paulat23 YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: houston, tx Posts: 2	my puppy refuse to eat...im scare for him because he hasnt gain any weight! Hello everyone. Im new to this page and i subscribed since i read a lot interesting info about yorkies. I got a 8 week old yorkie 2 weeks ago. Im thought he was going to be a good companion but it actually has been a headache, dont get me wrong i love my puppy but he doesnt want to eat at all. He hasnt gained any weight aince i bought him, hes only 1lb and 3 oz. Hes now 10 weeks and Ive been keeping him on pedialyte and nutrical. I tried dry food, soft food but nothing works. I have to force feed him and he hatea it, every time that he sees me with a syringe he runs away and he refuses to eat by on his own. Im really frustated cause i feel like im doing something wrong but im doing my best to keep this puppy safe. Ive taken him to the vet too many times, they have done all the exams about parasites and hes fine, he just doesnt wanna eat, they prescribed nutrical cause his sugar went very low on one occasion. I dont know what to do, please help me!!!!!!!!!

10-12-2013, 04:40 PM	#3
dawn27 2+2=4 X the Love ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Bean Town Ohio Posts: 9,456 Blog Entries: 1	I am so sorry you baby wont eat. I cant imagine your worry ! Did your vet say that he could be younger than what his is ? Does he have all of his teeth ? I think if you got a tasty meal ready for him he would be ok eating it on his own and you wont have to force feed him. You may need to dab I little in his mouth so he get a taste of it and feed for the texture of it. I would suggest trying a Puppy Gruel to get him interested in eating. Puppy Gruel is normally fed to you pups as they are being weaned from their mothers. Its something that you start off as a shake like consistency and once mastered it is slowly thicken it up to a malt like consistency. Than you can introduce softened kibble and than finally dry kibble. Use 2 parts can puppy food mixed with 1 part can milk (carnation evaporated) mix well breaking up all of the chucks. If it needs to be thinner add more milk. You can even try adding in some Beef flavored stage 2 or 3 baby food. You can also soak the dry kibble in a mixture of can milk and water to see if that gets his appetite going. __________________ Mommy to: Quincy, & Ruby Bella / Miah & Brandi Gone but Never Forgotten Visit: Bella Dawns for all of your Custom Pet Wear needs. Last edited by dawn27; 10-12-2013 at 04:41 PM.

10-13-2013, 07:11 AM	#6
dawn27 2+2=4 X the Love ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Bean Town Ohio Posts: 9,456 Blog Entries: 1	Any news on this pup today ? __________________ Mommy to: Quincy, & Ruby Bella / Miah & Brandi Gone but Never Forgotten Visit: Bella Dawns for all of your Custom Pet Wear needs.

10-13-2013, 08:19 AM	#7
Britster Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 17,814	I also think you may be associating eating with negative things, like trying to force a syringe down him. I know you're worried, and he is very young, so it IS very important for a pup to eat, however your stress may be leaking onto him. If you take a more laid back approach, maybe leave some canned food out on a plate, and some dry food out all the time, he will eat when he wants. Try not to stand over and watch though. My dads dog is very much like that -- she is a terrible eater, and is almost 7yrs old. When she was a pup, she was very tiny and 7 weeks old, so we were almost TOO overly concerned with her eating. We tried to "force feed" her and I think it ruined her, and made her associate food with a "bad thing". __________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier

10-13-2013, 09:33 AM	#8
mimimomo Don't Litter Spay&Neuter Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal Posts: 9,874	I always sit down on the floor when my guys are eating, I make sure they finish their meal. Stay calm, sit comfortably next to him & offer him his food, either on your finger or spoon. When he takes a lick, praise him 'good boy'. Goat's milk is very good for young pups, it is tolerated & easily digested by dogs & cats, not like cow's milk. You can get it @ Trader Joe's here. You can soak just enough in his kibble & let it get soft & give it to him. __________________ Jenny Mimi Momo Princess Turbo Madan Pin Brush: www.toplinepet.com

10-12-2013, 04:25 PM	#2
Rhetts_mama Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 5,959 Blog Entries: 1	Keep trying! At that age, all of my dogs preferred canned food like Wellness. There is a puppy mousse made by Royal Canin that many like. Home Royal Canin USA / Products / Products / Dog Products / Size Health Nutrition / Starter Mousse - Royal Canin I also had to hand feed the wet food for awhile to get them interested. It took them awhile to be interested in food from a bowl. Small bits of shredded chicken may interest him. Watch out with the nutrical. If you aren't following it up with a protein it can actually make the dog hypoglycemic. __________________ Don't get your knickers in a knot. Nothing is solved and it just makes you walk funny.

10-13-2013, 06:55 AM	#5
Yorkiemom1 Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas Posts: 9,462	What did the breeder have this baby on when you brought him home? A lot of unnecessary stress is cr4eated for both the baby and the new owner, when the new owner brings the baby home and first rattle out of the box, you try to change his diet. This is NOT the time to try to change his eating program! If your vet has checked the baby over and there is no physical reason why the baby is not eating, he is just stressed out and confused. Start from square one. What did the breeder have him on? Go back to that. Get some Gerber baby food....chicken.....and let him lick that off your finger. You may need to syringe feed him that for a few days until you get him used to the taste of it. You may have to hand feed for a period of time, letting baby lick that off your fingers. Where did you get this baby? THAT probably has everything to do with the issues you are haveing now. Unless you bought from a reputable breeder, this puppy was more than likely pulled straight from momma and there was no effort put into weaning properly.....this is yet another reason NOT to purchase a Yorkie puppy before age 12 weeks. After this baby is eating the baby food, you can start adding Royal Canin canned puppy food, again you will probably have to let baby lick it off your finger. This is all work the breeder usually does so new owners are not faced with the dangers of a puppy that will not eat....you bought your baby with none of this having been taken care of, so now YOU must assume this responsibility and do whatever is necessary to get this baby to eat! When baby is about 12 weeks old, you can go from the baby food mixed in with the Royal Canin canned puppy food, to start mixing in some of the Royal Canin puppy starter kibble, softened with a little warm water, and some of the canned puppy food/Gerber baby food (chicken) mixed in with it....you will eventually be able to back off of the canned puppy food until you have the baby eating the Royal Canin puppy starter kibble. Stick with that kibble until the baby is a year old! When the baby is a year old, you can move on to the next step in Royal Canin dog food....or you can get all involved with that "Dog Food Dance", which I pwesaonally find so unnecessary if your baby is tolerating the TC formula, there is NO reason to be switching and swap[ping and driving yourself and the puppy crazy with the battery of all the dog food changes. Good luck with this challenge.....you are going to either syringe feed or let the baby lick baby food from your fingers, advance to the RC canned puppy food (either the mousse or the puppy food whichever he will eat) mixed with the Gerber baby food, then advance to the RC puppy starter kibble.....a lot of work that the breeder should have not saddled you with.....but you bought your baby right in the middle of weaning from momma to kibble, 8 - 12 weeks.....

10-14-2013, 07:09 AM	#9
paulat23 YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: houston, tx Posts: 2	Well thank u all for the good advices, they really helped. Im going to try to gerber baby food, that sounds like a good alternative. Britser i think thats what happening with my puppy, i think hes starting to hate food because all the forcing i do to make him eat. 2 days ago i left home for like 4 hrs and when i came back the bowl was almost empty, this was the first time he has done this i was so excited he ate for first time on his own but yesterday nada, he refused to eat =( so at least i know he would eat its just something triggering me not to. I think the change of him has affected him a lot, i take him to my friends house cause theres another dog over there so he wont feel lonely, i just hope he get used to his new home soon, im starting a new job tomorrow and im scare to leave by himself for so many hours but i have no choice and hope for the best, thank u all for ur quick responses, i really really appreciate it!!!

10-14-2013, 05:44 PM	#12
Pati500 YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Nesconset, NY, USA Posts: 1	picky puppy Cinnamon barely ate the first month. I started cooking chicken, vegetable, and oatmeal. He finally started to eat a bit more but no big deal. Two days ago someone gave me a small sample of "Natural Balance" in a beef sausage. He really liked this but it's not meant as a diet. Today I found "Royal Canin" canned puppy food. I mixed a little of the sausage crumbled up, the Royal Canine Yorkshire #29, and the canned puppy food. WOW!!! He ate the entire bowl and wanted more. I am thrilled. Maybe you can give this a try. Good luck.