# Please HELP Puppy stopped eating



## ninemaplefarm (Mar 2, 2010)

Has anyone had this happen before?

She was doing great eating the patties (1/4 pound or 1/2 cup each) but over the last couple of days shows no interest. She will eat half her breakfast; no lunch; 1/4 to 1/2 of dinner or skip dinner too.

I thaw patty in fridge the day before. I feed right out of fridge so it's fresh. I give her plenty of time to eat and then pick up and store back and fridge. I try re-offering it but she shows no interest. I switched meats to see if that helped and still no difference.

She is clear for worms so I know that is not the problem. Her energy level is very high and normal.

She is still really skinny- 11.3 pounds at 9 weeks. So, I need to get her to eat soon! I called Bravo and they said they don't know of many dogs that don't just love a raw diet and could provide no suggestions.

Does anyone please have any suggestions or advise?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I would get some chicken necks and offer one in the dish with the patty crumbled around it. You can offer some cooked scrambled egg with cheese to get her kick started(mix the egg with the raw meat mixture)
Did you just vaccinate her? That may be a reason for her appetite to be off.


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## ninemaplefarm (Mar 2, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> I would get some chicken necks and offer one in the dish with the patty crumbled around it. You can offer some cooked scrambled egg with cheese to get her kick started(mix the egg with the raw meat mixture)
> Did you just vaccinate her? That may be a reason for her appetite to be off.


Ok, thanks so much for trying to help me! I will try to do the scrambled egg with cheese at lunch mixed in!! Gosh, I sure do hope it works. We have farm chickens so eggs are not a problem...but the necks would be! hehehe

She is so skinny and I know if I call my vet for help he will tell me to put her back on kibble. He is not an advocate of raw-which is an understatement.

No, she has not been vaccinated but was being treated for worms which are now gone. Maybe the worms were making her inhale her food and now that they are gone she is not as interested?

I have been offering it to her a couple times a day but I am paranoid that this will become a habit and she'll expect me to feed her 6 times a day forever.


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

When you had her fecal checked did they also check for giardia? It is a different test than worms/coccidia. Ask the vet about a snap test. It will decrease their appetite and they will be thin. I would rule it out.


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## ninemaplefarm (Mar 2, 2010)

GSDAlphaMom said:


> When you had her fecal checked did they also check for giardia? It is a different test than worms/coccidia. Ask the vet about a snap test. It will decrease their appetite and they will be thin. I would rule it out.


Thank you for taking the time to post! Yes, she was positive for that and worms. So, they gave me a heartguard plus tablet and have had me put her on pancur powder for 9 days. She only has 3 days left of the medicine. Then, I am supposed to go back in 2 weeks for nemex or something. Maybe she is still fighting the giardia?

I didn't even think of that!


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

Giardia can be a stinker to get rid of and it often takes more than one round of treatment. It seems every vet has a different varation of treatment. Some do just metronidazole and some do a combo. I most often hear metro for 2 wks with 3 days of pancur in the mix.

It can also be hard to detect as it only shows up when they are shedding so if you take a fecal in when they happen to not be shedding it can be missed. I like to get more than one negative reading, especially if I am seeing symptoms.


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## ninemaplefarm (Mar 2, 2010)

Hmmm. He didn't give her metronidazole at all..... :-(


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## ninemaplefarm (Mar 2, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> I would get some chicken necks and offer one in the dish with the patty crumbled around it. You can offer some cooked scrambled egg with cheese to get her kick started(mix the egg with the raw meat mixture)
> Did you just vaccinate her? That may be a reason for her appetite to be off.


She inhaled her food with the egg and 1/2 slice cheese mixed in!! Thanks so much for the suggestion!!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Good to hear~Hope she continues to eat with enthusiasm!


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## ninemaplefarm (Mar 2, 2010)

Nope. *sigh* Today back to normal even with egg/cheese mix.....

I might have to switch her back to kibble as she is really dropping weight.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

my feeling is that with a puppy that young, *that* she eats is more important than *what* she eats. she could also be having GI tract issues from the giardia, etc. if you've had success with the kibble before, you might want to switch back. have you had any bloodwork done?


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## ninemaplefarm (Mar 2, 2010)

katieliz said:


> my feeling is that with a puppy that young, *that* she eats is more important than *what* she eats. she could also be having GI tract issues from the giardia, etc. if you've had success with the kibble before, you might want to switch back. have you had any bloodwork done?


I gave in and called my vet due to the weight loss. Wow....a puppy can lose a lot of weight in such a short time. 

I, sadly, made the decision to put her back on kibble. But, I went with the Nature's Variety no grain kibble and she is devouring it with nothing in it. In fact, she is trying to claw into the food container to get at it after she is done eating too......I just switched her yesterday so I will be interested to see if she keeps it up and will actually eat her lunch and dinner. But, so far, all systems are go and I am shocked at her eagerness to eat the food. She wasn't even like this with raw...She ate but not like this.

So far, poops are soft and changed back to a color instead if the grayish color. But, this morning, poop was solid and looked more grayish.

It was weird as she would actually look disgusted -if that is possible on a dog- when I put the raw down for her. She would make a "disgusted" face and literally back away from raw. I have never seen that before. Most dogs if they don't like something go up, sniff it, say no thanks, and just walk away.

I talked to some raw diet feeders at the speciality pet store where I got the Natures Variety Instinct. They were very kind and supportive and said what you said...just get her eating and I could always try again down the line. Plus, they said, in all honesty, some dogs just don't like raw and I might have one of the few...figures! But, they all thought the Nature's Variety Instinct was a REALLY good alternative and they supported my decision to stay with the no grain diet.

However, thank you so much for posting as you were spot on.......


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

My mom has a small mix breed that is on raw/ she fed Bravo from the beginning and he wouldn't eat the chicken flavor. Once she started giving him regular raw meat, chicken necks, and green tripe he ate better. But some dogs just aren't raw eaters so good that you decided to feed what she will eat(and it is nutritious!)


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## Oldnewbie (Jul 21, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> My mom has a small mix breed that is on raw/ she fed Bravo from the beginning and he wouldn't eat the chicken flavor. Once she started giving him regular raw meat, chicken necks, and green tripe he ate better. But some dogs just aren't raw eaters so good that you decided to feed what she will eat(and it is nutritious!)


Yes and hopefully she will continue with the kibble and put on same weight. She is very young and you can switch her back to raw when she shows a desire for it. As stated above, give her what she will eat right now and best of luck.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

yay, she's eating!!! what's her name...she's a smartie and must be so expressive, if she can look "disgusted". please keep posting as she grows. would love to see pictures too.

ps...don't feel bad 'cause she doesn't like raw...she just has a mind of her own!


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## Josie/Zeus (Nov 6, 2000)

Odin has his moments as well, he will refuse raw for no reason. If he doesn't touch his food for 5 minutes I take it away. I did however provide kibble (Natural Balance Synergy) by his water bowl so he has something to munch on if he gets hungry- he doesn't touch that either. 

Like this week, he refused to eat to eat his chicken frames for 2 days in a row. So I threw the chicken frames out and gave him beef instead, he finished it. Sometimes, it's just a matter of changing the meat, well for Odin anyway. 

Yay for your puppy eating! You can always try raw again later on, it's never too late to start.


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## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

Liesl lost interest in her food for a few days at that age also. Scared me, but I read several helpful posts here about how finicky GSDs can be. Sure enough, added a little raw egg and voila! appetite returned. As long as you offer it twice a day, and take it up when they don't eat, and they don't act sick or listless, then they're just being finicky and you can wait them out. They will NOT starve themselves if you're offering food twice a day!


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## ninemaplefarm (Mar 2, 2010)

katieliz said:


> yay, she's eating!!! what's her name...she's a smartie and must be so expressive, if she can look "disgusted". please keep posting as she grows. would love to see pictures too.
> 
> ps...don't feel bad 'cause she doesn't like raw...she just has a mind of her own!


Thanks, guys, for not making me feel like a total failure!!

Yeah, she is a pretty dang smart puppy...kinda scary!!

Thank you Onyx, old newbie, josie, and billsharp for sharing your experiences.....makes me feel a whole lot better!!!

Here she is:


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

oh man, whata sweet little peanut!!!


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## ninemaplefarm (Mar 2, 2010)

katieliz said:


> oh man, whata sweet little peanut!!!


Thanks!!


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Omg she's such an adorable little muffin! :wub: :wub: I love the blacks.
If you ever get tired of her eating habits, send her my way! 

Btw, feeding a DIY raw diet is waayyyyyyy cheaper than the patties. If you can find a good bulk source anyway. 
I find that dogs like being able to crunch the bones and chomp on the hearts more than eating the patties.


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## ninemaplefarm (Mar 2, 2010)

Tbarrios333 said:


> Omg she's such an adorable little muffin! :wub: :wub: I love the blacks.
> If you ever get tired of her eating habits, send her my way!
> 
> Btw, feeding a DIY raw diet is waayyyyyyy cheaper than the patties. If you can find a good bulk source anyway.
> I find that dogs like being able to crunch the bones and chomp on the hearts more than eating the patties.


Hahaha...thanks!! But, I think she is a keeper!!

So far, she has been eating the NV instinct like it is going out of style!!!! 

Thanks again to all who responded and thanks for not judging me to harshly for switching to a kibble! :blush:


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

ninemaplefarm said:


> Hahaha...thanks!! But, I think she is a keeper!!
> 
> So far, she has been eating the NV instinct like it is going out of style!!!!
> 
> Thanks again to all who responded and thanks for not judging me to harshly for switching to a kibble! :blush:


You have to feed whatever works best for your dogs 
I know some that do horribly on raw.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

nah, we're only gonna judge ya if you crate her for 12 hours a day or she lives outside, lolol....


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