Poor appetite - Page 2

Hi guys, I think this dog was not a good eater before I bought her. She was being fed with "hi pro" dog food with some oath meal. And I think that food is designed for older dogs that is why I changed it to puppy food. When I intervied the care taker of the dog, he told me that she will leave the food after eating a few. I think she was not in good shape because she is very thin and you can visualize her rib bones by just merely looking at her. She was regularly visited by a vet specially when being vaccinated. I also tried feeding her with some home cooked food but still no appetite for it. I started giving her b-complex vitamins to gain appetite. When I dewormed her, a large round worm came out and it was more or less 7 inches in length. Is there a possibility for her to gain appetite after that worm is removed from her system? Thanks guys for the suggestions.....

Hi, I was about to suggest Vit B complex, but you already did that, keep it up for a while. I agree with sunshine and wacky about offering more tempting foods, chicken and chicken liver are good as well. Also, don't leave the food down for more than 10 minutes, if she doesn't eat, remove the food and try again later. Hopefully the deworming will help. Good luck!

I have to say that I do support the Life's Abundance dog food that Healthy pet net is selling. I have been using it for years now and love it. The dogs do great on it and I haven't had any issues the doing the barf diet and switching to the dry with this food, I have with others and it is not fun cleaning up.... Heather

Of you dewormed once and a seven inch worm was in her stool, it is highly likely that she STILL has worms. What kind is hard to say, but a good bet would be roundworms or a tapeworm. Sometimes a heavy infestation in a given dog can be very difficult to get rid of and requires multiple treatments. If worms are the problem, the dog will not improve until they are gone.

Thanks very much guys for the much needed information. I will just post here if her condition will improve or not...

1. Eukanuba isn't a good dog food; switch her to Canidae, Solid Gold, or other NATURAL brand. Raw diet is better, but if you can’t do it, at leas feed her better kibble. 2. Do not feed puppy formula - too much protein may affect her growth not in the best way. Just think, in nature, pups don’t get any "puppy" food, they eat same as adults do. 3. How many times per day do you feed her? At 4 month of age feed no less than THREE TIMES per day, better 4 times. After 7 month you may go to 2 times, and after 18 month even to 1 time per day. 4. For a couple of days give her just slightly less food than she will eat. (But remember, 3-4 times a day). When she sees that the food is not indefinite, she will value it more. 5. If you have a good - eating dog, let them eat together – healthy competition boosts appetite. This worked with my puppy – she would barely eat, so I started to feed her with big dogs, and now at 3.5 month old she will scream if I delay her feeding, and she has put some weight on. I hope your puppy gets better, and please do keep us posted.