Hungry puppy - Page 1

I have a 12 week old male pupp. He is on Arden Grange and has been eating fine up until recently. He needs encouragement and hand feeding ( yes I know making a rod for my own back) but the poor boy is loosing weight and lost his appetite. I mix boiling water and recently also mixing a spoon of tinned ppupy food but to no avail. Hes just eating enough to stay alive and thats it. Can someone give some ideas please. DO pupps get bored with the same food? should I try something else or should I just let him get really really hungry.HELP PLEASE.

Are you certain he's not sick?

How's his weight - is he de-wormed (have you checked stools?) - has he been checked-out by vet?

It is my opinion that puppies should be robust and this doesn't sound robust to me... think I'd recommend geting him to the vet... like someone else said... check stools, UA... he's not acting like a puppy!! They should want to eat everything!

A healthy pup will not starve himself to death. That part you will never have to worry about. So you have several options here: 1. The peer pressure is now gone from its littermates and your pup can now for the first time in its life eat at his leisure. He is now realizing it and simply slowing down. His body is also changing. His previously plump and round puppy body is now starting to stretch and get some more adult forms. That means he is naturally getting a leaner look. Now providing that he is healthy (firm stool, shiny coat, shiny lively eyes, lively temperament, interested in his surroundings) your reaction to his loss of appetite could possibly create some feeding time stress for him. If he is healthy, you need to stop fussing about his eating habits. Feed him after you have eaten. Then you can either opt to free feed him, meaning that he has access to his food all day long and you just leave it there (don't water food down though or it will spoil if left out for longer periods of time). Or you take the food away after 10-15 minutes. He will eventually catch on that he needs to eat or else. What you should avoid is giving him special attention. Lots of mighty smart dogs out there that will gladly forgo food for all that extra attention not eating will get them instead. 2. You should never use boiling water to pour over your dogs food. For one it destroys the valuable nutrients in the food. Secondly, though on the outside cool enough to the touch, the insude of the food might still be too hot for safe consumption. Your puppy may have burned his mouth. 3. Your puppy could be sick. If in doubt, always take a young puppy to the vet. A single day can make a big difference with such young dog (though pups can be suprisingly resilient, its not something you want to put to the test). Have the vet check for disease, especially infectious disease. Have the vet check for a possible obstruction. Your pup may have swallowed something that is now stuck in his intestines. Could be anything from a piece of bone, chew toy, pen cap, stone, or pit from a fruit, you name it. Check for the possibility of poisening. Has you pup eaten from any of your houseplants? Has the pup had a chance to get into any containers containing items such as paint, fertilizer, detergent, pesticides, antifreeze, chocolate, etc? When was the pup last vaccinated? It could be a reaction to a vaccine. Your vet can also tell you if the pup is at a good weight for his age or not. Better to have the pup on the lean side anyways. With 3 months it is also old enough to eat the kibble without moisture. I advise adding water only if the pup woolves down the food too fast and may choke because of it. For a slow eater, I usually recommend to keep it crunchy. Also saves on your food bill because you don't have to throw out what has not been eaten.

I have never had a "healthy" puppy/dog not eat...the key is the healthy...I have a 16 week old GSD and she has eaten and eaten and eaten...she will just about knock down the door to get into her crate to eat...I actually want my puppies to be a little on the plump side...now when they get older then I'll keep them on the leaner side...Do you have any other dogs that aren't eating?...Have you had your puppy out somewhere where the pup is around other dogs or dog people...?...You're just guessing...But I wouldn't wait very long or you'll have a real problem on your hands...By the way I put water (just to cover) into all my dry food to feed my dogs...older dogs and young pups...This is GSD's...not smaller type dogs...my wife has Yorkies and you just want to "free feed" them...By the way my 16 week old female GSD is like 35 lbs or more...I weigh her once a month so I can "chart" her and keep up on the health thing...Good Luck and let us know what happens...

Cheers DH, Will you never cease to amaze me with your lucidity and well-reasoned comment? I much agree with DKiah though: pup this age should have ferocious appetite. Something's wrong! If he looks skinny, or fails on appearance points you mentioned, I think vet must be first stop. Also, no pup of course should be overfed - leave them slightly hungry for more, and they'll be the better for it. Best to leave the canned stuff alone, don't you think? With pups I've had great success with slightly boiled, chopped-up cow liver, mixed with dry food - they love it!

Ditto - patrishap on the DH comments -- Puppy doesn't have to be crazy for food - but eating every meal that's presented is a good thing -- Problem with some of these dry foods -- is that we wet them, of course -- to have them expand outside the dog's tummy instead of inside -- and then they can't hold much -- or they process it so slowly they're not ready for more when we're ready to feed again -- (We feed a raw diet -- I know, nobody asked) and we are feeding a 12 week old puppy now -- 1 and 1/2 cups of raw meat (ground), yes it's ABADY -- TWICE A DAY - sometimes with another 1/2 cup snack between the two meals -- He's heavy -- but thin -- and growing fast (american lines-here we go again -- not mine - I'm just puppysitting for a few weeks) I wonder whether Gen1's puppy is eating stones !!! or has a blockage ?? This pup definately needs to see a vet - maybe get some pics taken to see what's going on - on the inside . Handfeeding accomplishes nothing but setting the standard for the rest of his life !! Don't do it!! Please - much as we hate to see him not eat -- Dogs are supposed to enjoy and look forward to the same food everyday -- If this is not the food he was weaned on-- go back to that food and stick with it. Even a pup can go 3-4 days not eating much as long as he is drinking and does not have an elevated temp !! Vet first -- straight away !!

once vet checked and if determind you have a finicky eater,this should be halted as quickly as possible.you can feed smaller meals but need to be certain the pup is getting proper nutrition....feed quality kibble;;;solid gold ,canidae etc..add prime ingredients like cottage cheese, tuna fish in oil, sardines, salmon, yogurt.raw honey or blackstrap molasses..get it ,add whatever you want that is good for the pup ..feed smaller meals put food down ,allow 5 min. and remove seal the food so it can be used again in 8 hrs.also again if the pup is healthy increase his activity to increase his appetite..this also works for adults.i have to keep my dogs crated until the food is ready to give to them because their food drive is so high they are going nuts to get their food....also remember snacks are food also, some people feed their dogs snacks all the time and do not realize how much it adds up.eliminate snacks until the dog is eating eagerly.....jade

I would check his stools & would deworm him & if that did not work I would take him to a vet. If nothings wrong I would then I would change the food. Boiling water......never!!! will burn his mouth & will become food shy.