# He has no appetite with the food changeover!



## jay d (Nov 28, 2009)

I really am getting frustrated with the lack of appetite my puppy has. I sometimes have to hand feed him.Today I mixed it all up and he just sat looking at it! I am slowly changing to Orijen with some of the old food,and have always had to mix about 1/3 can food in,to interest him.I am wondering about trying a raw diet. Near me there is a breeder who has a raw food business,and I am tempted to try it.I just wonder if his appetite will improve . Has anyone been in this position and made the switchover,with success????


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## jay d (Nov 28, 2009)

jay d said:


> I really am getting frustrated with the lack of appetite my puppy has. I sometimes have to hand feed him.Today I mixed it all up and he just sat looking at it! I am slowly changing to Orijen with some of the old food,and have always had to mix about 1/3 can food in,to interest him.I am wondering about trying a raw diet. Near me there is a breeder who has a raw food business,and I am tempted to try it.I just wonder if his appetite will improve . Has anyone been in this position and made the switchover,with success????


I could really use a bit of advice on this if you have any thoughts...anyone.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

How old is your puppy? Is he healthy? How are his stools? Was he eating well on the old food? When was the last time he went to the vet for a check up?


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## jay d (Nov 28, 2009)

Elaine said:


> How old is your puppy? Is he healthy? How are his stools? Was he eating well on the old food? When was the last time he went to the vet for a check up?


He is 5.75 months,54lbs,he has always been a picky eater(have to add can food,heated up to every meal)sometimes I have to hand feed a few mouthfuls to get him going.You would think he would have more interest! He had his last checkup in Dec. The vet seemed very happy with his progress. his stools were nice and firm until this conversion to Orijen(still in progress) but not too bad..... He seems to be steadily growing ,but I want to feel confident in how he eats, and don't want to leave the dish of food out so he can (graze),I think that's wrong ,personally. What are your thoughts? Thanks Jay


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## jay d (Nov 28, 2009)

Also....I take him to the vet every weekend to check his weight


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Having a picky eater is such a pain in the rear. As it seems like he's a healthy little guy otherwise, I would put my foot down and quit adding anything to his food. Put it down for about ten minutes and then pick it up twice a day. No between meal snacks. That's it. He may go on a hunger strike for several days, but he will eat once he gets hungry enough.

You might want to try other foods to see if there's any that he likes better too. A lot of pet stores will hand out samples for you to try.

Another question might be: how is his weight? Some people will go to great lengths to get their dog to eat more than they want to as they like a fatter dog. Remember puppies should be lean machines and not plump. 

Some dogs will make you crazy with their meal time demands and, for some dogs, if you give in to them, you just make them more picky.


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## DianaB (Jan 3, 2007)

Siena has always been the exact same way. Hours to coax her to eat. For her, we started feeding 3 times a day... mostly didn't want to eat. Then went to twice a day, that worked better, but still not great. Finally, we decided to feed only once a day and that is working great. I wanted her hungry for din, so once a day is good. She never wanted to eat in the morning. Funny for us the turning point was adding pro biotics (pet dophilus) to her diet and when we found out she had severe HD we put her on a natural anti-inflammatory, and then she really started eating well (was she in pain??) Now, she eats everything in 5 minutes, no coaxing needed. 

Good luck, as Elaine said, it is a royal pain. I always have also had to add wet food. She wont' take the kibble on it's own.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

DianaB said:


> ... Finally, we decided to feed only once a day and that is working great. I wanted her hungry for din, so once a day is good. She never wanted to eat in the morning. Funny for us the turning point was adding pro biotics (pet dophilus) to her diet and when we found out she had severe HD we put her on a natural anti-inflammatory, and then she really started eating well (was she in pain??) Now, she eats everything in 5 minutes, no coaxing needed...


just wondering.. isn't eating all that food at once and that fast going to increase her risk for bloat?


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## DianaB (Jan 3, 2007)

sagelfn said:


> just wondering.. isn't eating all that food at once and that fast going to increase her risk for bloat?


Yes, it is a possibility. We take every other precaution we can. In the morning, she does get a small amount of food with her supplements/.medicine, so the stomach is also active in the am, just on a smaller level. I do think about that. Might go back one day to twice, but we don't want to change anything now because it is all working good!


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