# 11 week old puppy wont eat



## ennairb (Feb 13, 2010)

I picked up my puppy (Alessandro) on 4-23-10. He turned 10 weeks old on the 24th. My concern over the weekend was that I could only get him to eat about 2 cups of food over the entire weekend. 

The following Monday I took him to the vet to have him checked over and talked to her about my concern and she said it could be just the transition to his new home and dealing with the change in food and anxiety from being away from the parents he had been kept with. 

After the weeks progression I am still only able to get him to eat maybe around a cup of food every two to three days. Ive now tried mixing the dry food with wet food from the vet to see if he would eat more, but there isn't a difference. 

Has anyone else had similar problems related to "anxiety" in a dog not eating very much? 

They told me he was a little underweight when I had him at the vet on the 23rd. Said he weighed in a 22.8lbs...they said they could do some xrays to see if he had esophagus problems. Then she proceded to tell me that when he gets hungry he will eat. 

Should I go to a different vet? Or should I just let him come out of his shell as the first vet suggested?

-A concerned mommy


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

What kind of kibble are you feeding him?


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## ennairb (Feb 13, 2010)

Royal Canin Maxi Puppy


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Is that what the breeder had him on? Maybe soak some of it and see if he'll eat that way for a few meals.


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## FLyMuSLiMa (Apr 25, 2010)

HMMMM... That's the same thing that happened to my pup; she looked super skinny; at first it took about 1 1/2 weeks to get her eating right.... now she's fine; I say give it time! and yes; wetting the food helped... a lot


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## ennairb (Feb 13, 2010)

The vet was feeding him Purina puppy chow mixed with moist and meaty (cheeseburger) 

No wonder he wont eat the Royal Canin i bought him


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Buy some of what he was eating, and mix it with the stuff you WANT him to eat. Gradually increase the good food and decrease the other.

GSD's can just be picky eaters and (for me) it's not worth waiting them out when I can just add a bit of what THEY want to get them to eat what I want. Compromise works in all parts of life!


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## milkmoney11 (Feb 11, 2010)

23 lbs at 10 weeks is not really underweight. Cash is 12 weeks now and weighs 28 lbs. He weighed that at 10 weeks and everything checked out well with him. I've also paid attention to other people's posts on here about weight and that is right in line with where he should be. 

Cash ate like that his first week and a half home. Now he is always wanting to eat. Give it a few weeks.


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## Grissom (Jan 7, 2010)

My puppy is doing the exact same thing. After having Golden Retrievers who LIVE TO EAT, it's so unusual for me to have a dog that could care less about food!! I've had him home now for one week and he eats maybe one cup a day if that. He just isn't that interested. I did take him to the vet for a slight bacteria problem in his stool, so that could also had contributed to his lack of appetite.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

How was his fecal?


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## alaman (May 3, 2006)

When I have one like that, I free feed them. They will eat if they get hungry enough.


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## ennairb (Feb 13, 2010)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> How was his fecal?


He had diahrrea the first two nights I had him.


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## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

Molly was/is the same! Since she has been spayed (last week) she seems to be more interested in her food! I sometimes will mix some yoghurt with her biscuits to make her excited to eat


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## ennairb (Feb 13, 2010)

milkmoney11 said:


> 23 lbs at 10 weeks is not really underweight. Cash is 12 weeks now and weighs 28 lbs. He weighed that at 10 weeks and everything checked out well with him. I've also paid attention to other people's posts on here about weight and that is right in line with where he should be.
> 
> Cash ate like that his first week and a half home. Now he is always wanting to eat. Give it a few weeks.


I had just read on several sites and books that around 3 months they should be around 30lbs. (give or take a pound or two)

I also said earlier that it was the vet that was feeding him puppy chow, but I ment to say the breeder was, sorry about that. When looking down on him you can see him backbone, and ribcage outline. I'll just continue to read around on the site to see more feedback from other owners.


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## Bama4us (Oct 24, 2009)

Try hand feeding him. We did that with Bear, have him sit with you on the floor and give him just one kibble at a time, or toss it and let him chase it. Make a game of it, great way to bond. Wetting it down may help too when he eats from a bowl.


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## ennairb (Feb 13, 2010)

He will eat out of my hand, or try to eat one at a time from me but I was afraid that if I continued to do that then trying to reward him for good behavior with a "treat" would not continue to work.


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## milkmoney11 (Feb 11, 2010)

ennairb said:


> I had just read on several sites and books that around 3 months they should be around 30lbs. (give or take a pound or two)


Well, they gain about 2 or 3 pounds a week at this age and you still have a couple weeks before you hit 3 months. You might be very close to that. 

As others have advised me, those charts you see are kind of pointless as every dog is different. Much like your kids will talk at different times, walk at different times, your dog will grow at different times.


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## ennairb (Feb 13, 2010)

That does make perfect sense, so maybe I shouldn't worry too much. 

I'm also learning that I have grown up around labs who live to play and eat (and chew. So I'm understanding my concern for Alessandro is a little distorted. Thank you for everyones help!


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