# Not eating?



## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

So, like my intro post said, I just got an 11 week old puppy. He's a great dog all around and in 3 days is potty trained, sleeps through the night, knows "sit" and for the most part "leave it"...walks great on a leash and is a great dog! Problem? He won't eat! I am feeling him solid gold wolf cub, and got some wellness canned food to mix to encourage him to eat. We've only ever put three or so tablespoons in the dry and mixed it up to encourage him to eat, and we feed him 1cup of dry 3 times a day. Today, I only put about 1 1/2 tablespoons of wet in his dinner to slowly transition him to full dry--but he only ate the kibble that had wet food on it! He also can't manage to finish a serving! Am I feeling too much? I've NEVER had a puppy, always adopted older dogs, so I am flying blind here! I just based the feeding from what the back of the bag says! He doesn't get any human food or any treats, so he should be hungry right?!?!? Help! Should I soak his kibble a bit? Maybe he still has a hard time with the dry food? And he doesn't poop much either! Smaller size poops maybe twice a day! 


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

Side note-- after reading I tried adding raw egg and he still wasn't pleased :/


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

He's not pooping because he's not eating. 

Has he been to the vet? A lot of pups come with coccidia and other parasites and those can be quite painful. Otherwise he could still be just settling in so he's not feeling like eating yet. 

One thing you could try (to see if it's because he just doesn't like the kibble) is to make a gravy with the wet food by adding some water to it and mixing it in with the kibble. 

Why doesn't he get treats?


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## Dan mc (May 5, 2011)

Sounds like he likes the can food not the dry. Would you eat a food three times a day you don't like? One cup three times a day is good. My puppy likes taste of the wild puppy food. My breeder said do not feed raw eggs.


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## Swifty (May 11, 2013)

My Shadow was not interested in eating in the mornings when she was little, so I would suggest putting enough wet food in and mixing it enough that eating the wet food means eating the dry food. The gravy idea is good as well, and I get best results if the water is warm (not hot).

You might try switching dry food to something that your pup might find tastier as well. If you're good with Wellness, their large breed puppy food picked up my GSD's interest pretty well but she began smelling like fish (the first ingredient in the Wellness dry food is fish), so you might have to watch for that.


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

So I got some of what the breeder was feeding (bil jac) and he still isn't too into eating, but he ate..and that food looks nothing like kibble! LOL and he did a monster poop (solid) tonight so I guess he's getting something. I'm gonna try 1/3 solid gold and 2/3 bil jac tomorrow with no canned and see how he does. 


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

Now we have the opposite problem :/ Now that I'm mixing in bill jack, all he wants is more food!Eekkkk....he ate all three servings today, and ate them right up! I also added some of that food that's in a roll (think cheese log style)...I grate about a tablespoon and mix that in there. Right now he was wandering around whining for more food...so I gave him a little more. Tomorrow morning we are heading into the vet. It's not time for round two of the shots, but I figure a peek in for a quick exam should be ok, just to make sure he's good to go. 

I dont feed treats because (a) I dont want a dog to be motivated by food, I believe that praise motivation should be enough (b) I did get him one of those toys that dispenses treats when they roll it the right way to keep his mind busy.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

make sure there's nothing medical goin on. maybe he doesn't
like what your feeding? why no human food or treats?


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

No human food because its not the greatest for them (I'm talking table scraps) and no treats (unless from his puzzle toy) because I am a firm believer that dogs should work for praise not food (in my house anyway). 

We went to the vet and he was cleared medically. The vet said he may just be stressed out. 


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

Update--- so, I caved and got some treats so I know he's getting something :/ we have been to the vet and he's medically fine. I have tried a few foods, he loves the bison jerky I got him, so I got bison based food. 

I don't understand WHY he doesn't chow down. Seems like everyone talks about their dog diving at the food bowl, I'm good if Sabo eats half a meal :/

He IS gaining weight at least. On the 4th he was 21.4 lbs, on the 12th he was 25.6 and today he was 28.4. So while he is gaining it still freaks me out that he's not gaga over his food. 

Water, dog gravy, shredded food logs, ugh. What can I do? The vet said just remove the food after 15 min, but I don't want him to starve himself!


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## Loneforce (Feb 12, 2012)

What was the breeder feeding him before you got him?


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

Bill jack. I have that. He won't eat it. 


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

He just grazes, but never finishes. 


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## Loneforce (Feb 12, 2012)

Maybe try to put some warm water, mix food, let set for a few minutes. then see if he eats that.


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

Did it :/ he still eats half (if I'm lucky) and walks away. Same with the gravy. 

Could I just be feeding too much??? The solid gold said 3-4 cups a day. I've been dividing that between 3. 

I've tried:

Just solid gold, 1c/meal 3xa day. 
1/2c solid gold 1/2 bill jack
1/3c solid gold 2/3 bill jack
1/3 solid gold 1/3 bill jack 1/3 salmon food (salmon flavored, bag is in kitchen)
1c taste of the wild bison and veal 

All the above combinations except the bison have been mixed with water, gravy or the shredded up logs of food (natural balance lamb about 2tbsp each serving). Either individually or some combination of them all. 

Ugh. Do I just put down plain kibble and not give in until he gives in? Keep buying food and seeing what he likes? (So expensive! $10-30 per bag!!!!) I wouldn't mind having to keep buying, but I don't even know anyone with a dog to take the bags he doesn't like! Can't feed the ferrets or cats the dog food, so I'm outta luck!!!


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

I'm about ready to mix it all up together and say "eat it dude, it's all I'm buying!" But then what????


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

I saw a vet here by my house when we brought him home, that vet said "Well, he looks healthy, dont worry. Pick it up after 15 minutes" 

We went today to get his second booster shots (went to his breeders vet, I'd like to keep that consistant...that vet was there when the litter was immunized the first time, and knows the parents...if there's a reaction I just feel better that way) at the breeders vet...(a) the front desk girls recognized him and coo'd and awe'd all over him and (b) the vet couldn't stop staring! Told me "Be glad you have a mellow puppy that doesn't mow you over to get food and pick it up after 15 min. He wont starve himself"....

I dunno....The only puppy I ever had was EONS ago (and I messed that all up! That's a long story) and he would mow me over for his food!

I guess I"m just paranoid after loosing Metro? I dont want to do something wrong to loose Sabo (completely different circumstances, I realize that, but I want Sabo around as long as we had Metro!)


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## Loneforce (Feb 12, 2012)

Hmmm Maybe get a second opinion. A pup that young should be pretty hungry. Does he play hard? I have a problem child too, but I found after he plays hard then I let him rest for 45 minutes to an hour, he eats after that.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I know it's frustrating. I've had many breeds over the years, and I've never had trouble getting any of them to eat. Just the GSDs. I just added my third one, and he is no different than the other two.

Russell is 15 weeks old. Right now he will only eat if I mix Deli Fresh dog food roll or Tiki Dog canned into his kibble. I don't insist that my dogs eat only dry kibble. I just want the darn dog to eat. And if it takes a variety of goodies mixed into his food, then that's fine with me. Oh, and he doesn't like his food watery. At all.

Sorry, sometimes it just takes alot of trial and error to find what your puppy will eat. Mine also won't eat when he first gets up. If he doesn't want to eat, then I'll give it to him a little later, and he _will_ eat.


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

He's pretty mellow. Our schedule is 
-Wake up 7am, go potty (walk around 1/2 the block) come in and eat
-8-10am play with kids in their room so ferrets can have free roam in living room (and they play!) he will usually knock out after an hour or so of play (some days will fall asleep after 30-45 min)
-10am go potty (either 1/2 or full block), play with mommy for 20-30min, combine in there some obedience...1/2 jerkey treat broken up really really tiny, so maybe not even eat the entire 1/2...fall asleep around 1030-11...he will chase cats and play with his own toys
-sleep until 12....wake up, go potty (full block), come in for lunch, go to sleep
-1-3 alternating periods of play and sleep
-2 or 3 go potty (1/2 block)
-alternate sleep and play until about 7...maybe a total of 1-2 hours of playing with us, the kids, the cats or himself...with one or two potty breaks depending on his behavior
-7-8 make Sabos food and ferrets food...Sabo gets his food and goes back to play with the kids or learns "leave it" and hangs with me on the couch while the ferrets eat/get medication and play in the living room (if he's with me he is either wide awake watching the ferrets or dozing, but waking up if they try to get on the couch)
-Walk around 10pm...depending on where I am in my night/day shift we either stay up relaxing until 12 or go to bed at 10...

He poops 2-3 times a day now. It's firm poop. Decent size I guess...doesn't shock me as "small"...in ratio with his body size. Brown stool. He drinks water just fine...doesn't skimp on that even when I was mixing water into the food. 

We move in 2 weeks to a house with a yard, so I am kinda hoping his appetite will increase. He is also teethging...could he just be really sensitive to that? The vet said after his shots he will be sleepy/not hungry for a day or so and then it will go back to normal... with Sabo, what is normal? :/


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

dogfaeries said:


> I know it's frustrating. I've had many breeds over the years, and I've never had trouble getting any of them to eat. Just the GSDs. I just added my third one, and he is no different than the other two.
> 
> Russell is 15 weeks old. Right now he will only eat if I mix Deli Fresh dog food roll or Tiki Dog canned into his kibble. I don't insist that my dogs eat only dry kibble. I just want the darn dog to eat. And if it takes a variety of goodies mixed into his food, then that's fine with me. Oh, and he doesn't like his food watery. At all.
> 
> Sorry, sometimes it just takes alot of trial and error to find what your puppy will eat. Mine also won't eat when he first gets up. If he doesn't want to eat, then I'll give it to him a little later, and he _will_ eat.


This makes me feel better, a little. My last puppy was a great dane, and I swear, there were days I thought he was going to eat the darn BOWL! Are the foods I'm offering too high in protein? I know protein fills me up fast, are dogs the same way?


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

erfunhouse said:


> Are the foods I'm offering too high in protein? I know protein fills me up fast, are dogs the same way?


You know, I don't know! I did lower his protein recently and he is eating more, so maybe.


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