Problems Eating

[Tammygrrl]

Hi everyone. Gracie is almost 12 weeks and still not eating well. The breeder said she was eating dry kibble. She won't touch it. I have tried putting it in the kong, and she does eat a little, but she swallows it whole and then ends up throwing it back up. So, we switched to canned food until her teeth are a little bigger. She doesn't 'eat it well at all. She won't eat out of any type of dish. I have tried stainless steel, plastic, glass, paper, and even a spoon. She will eat it out of my hand. She will also eat it if I drop it by small amounts on the floor. My family says she is a dog and will eat when she's hungry enough. They think I should leave the food out and wait for her to give in. I'm concerned though about all of the hypoglycemia that I have read about. I don't want her going long without eating. So, I had feed her, which isn't going to work forever. Any suggestions? I would also like to get her on the kibble for her dental health, but I don't want her throwing it all up either. UGH!

[Lovetodream88]

Because she is a puppy who could experience hypoglycemia just letting her not eat is not an option. How big are the pieces of dry food? Have you tried adding water to the kibble to soften it? Have you tried mixing the wet food with the dry food? Dry food doesn't help there teeth the only thing that really helps there teeth is to brush which I would also start young even if all she has is puppy teeth so she can get used to it. The best tooth paste in my opinion is CET toothpaste.

[Tammygrrl]

I do brush her teeth already, and she also chews on her toothbrush when I groom her lol. I have mixed the kibble with water as well as chicken broth. No luck. I have also tried two different brands of kibble, both puppy formula with small pieces. I guess if it doesn't hurt her I don't mind keeping her on canned, at least she is a little order. I just wish she would eat on her own.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Tammygrrl

I do brush her teeth already, and she also chews on her toothbrush when I groom her lol. I have mixed the kibble with water as well as chicken broth. No luck. I have also tried two different brands of kibble, both puppy formula with small pieces. I guess if it doesn't hurt her I don't mind keeping her on canned, at least she is a little order. I just wish she would eat on her own.

You might could try putting her kibble in a zip lock bag and braking it up very very small and then put it on maybe a paper plate or napkin and see if she will eat it like that.

[Tammygrrl]

That's a great idea....I will try that today

[cummins]

That was what I did when Dolly was baby it worked great for me. Good luck

[avemike]

Originally Posted by Tammygrrl

Hi everyone. Gracie is almost 12 weeks and still not eating well. The breeder said she was eating dry kibble. She won't touch it. I have tried putting it in the kong, and she does eat a little, but she swallows it whole and then ends up throwing it back up. So, we switched to canned food until her teeth are a little bigger. She doesn't 'eat it well at all. She won't eat out of any type of dish. I have tried stainless steel, plastic, glass, paper, and even a spoon. She will eat it out of my hand. She will also eat it if I drop it by small amounts on the floor. My family says she is a dog and will eat when she's hungry enough. They think I should leave the food out and wait for her to give in. I'm concerned though about all of the hypoglycemia that I have read about. I don't want her going long without eating. So, I had feed her, which isn't going to work forever. Any suggestions? I would also like to get her on the kibble for her dental health, but I don't want her throwing it all up either. UGH!

Hi Tammy.. I had a similar problem with Hollee. She was 8wks when I got her & developed hypoglycemia by the next day. So just to get her to eat we started crushing her biscuits & mixing them with a/d soft diet from the vet. I put a little filtered water in for moisture as she wasn't drinking a lot. She sometimes would eat sometimes not and always just a tiny amount. Later we progressed to giving her crushed kibble with baby purity food mixed in. Usually chicken & veggies. Or I cooked chicken & rice (then there was never a problem to get her to eat) she slowly started to come right. She was fed like this four times a day and sometimes five if she looked hungry. When I introduced her to whole kibble (Royal Cannin Yorkshire Kibble) she wouldn't touch Hill's of which I have an abundant supply.. I also tried different dishes. The one that worked the best was just a plastic lid off some tupperware. That was wonderful. I would also start her by making it a game and rolling some at her which she would go running to catch and eat. Now she has kibble in the morning and lunch and a cooked meal for dinner. I think its all about experimenting to see what they will eat & off what. And she now eats off a saucer. If mine didn't eat for any space of time I pureed it and syringed it as she was prone to sugar drops so I had no choice. I hope she come right soon..and I'm sure she will

[Tammygrrl]

She seems to be doing better now. I have tried several different kinds of food. I have about 4 bags of good stuff that she won't touch...but she eats the science diet from the vet. She actually likes it! I don't. I'm giving it to her for the time being just to get her to eat, and then in a week or so I'll most likely try to slowly introduce the better foods in with it until she is off the science diet. Other than that and gerber meat sticks, that's about all she will touch.