Food

[Rusty]

Hi everyone

Having a little problem with rusty eating his food, He was having quite a bit of a runny tummy  so we took him to the vet he told me to stop adding stuff to his JWB, as I said to the vet he will not eat it by itself  anyway I've given it a go and the runny tummy has gone but he is not eating to much at all  I've even tried putting one of his smackos in with it and he then maybe eats a little :unsure:Today he has had no lunch and he has not touched his dinner it is still sitting there  I know I'm probably worrying about nothing he is 17 weeks now and I know other people that add to their dogs food and their dog seems fine having a bit of a dilemma as my OH said to lift it after 10 mins.

Look forward to reading some of your advice on this little problem  

Elle & Rusty xx  

[Louie]

Hi , one of mine will not eat his complete on its own he will pick at it and was starting to lose weight. I started to mix a little cooked mince and the juice into the complete or a little tripe and he eats it all most of the time and has gained the weight that he needed. Adding a tiny amount shouldn,t give him the runs, you could try a little tinned puppy meat mixed in, this shouldn,t hurt. Could be that he is teething so you may need to add a little more flavour just to encourage him to eat. I think a lot of puppies go through stages like this. I,m sure his appetite will improve as he gets older   I know how worrying it can be if their not eating    Good luck!

[bluegirl]

Hi,
I tend to agree with your OH. If you pamper your pooch too much he will indeed be a fussy eater. There is nothing harmful in fasting a dog , even a pup.

It may seem a bit drastic but fast him from 24-48 hrs and then put his food down. If he doesn't eat it within 10 mins then remove. Do not give treats between and do not coax him to eat. When he's hungry he will eat and when he realises that when its gone, its gone then he'll soon work out that if he doesn't eat, then its a long time to the next meal time and hopefully get the message.

From Karen

[JoHarborne]

Woody is now 19 weeks old and we noticed a similar thing a few weeks ago - check Rusty's teeth!!!  Woody has now lost the four bottom ones and one of the top ones and we think this was the reason he wasn't keen to eat his Arden Grange kibbles.  We've found that tinned puppy food (follow the instructions carefully so as not to overfeed) has been the way forward although we do include some kibbles because we'd like to switch him back once his teething is over.

Gravy is a definite help as is beef mince.  He is now putting on weight and enjoying his meals.  

Good Luck!

[Tracey J]

We had the same problem with Molly, she would not eat complete food on its own.  After living for 17 years with a Yorkie that only ate food with meat or chicken added I decided that I would try different types of food so that there would be no fussiness.  I discovered that it was only the dried foods she wouldn't eat (went 4 days without eating a thing - very worrying ).  I then tried Naturediet which is wet, inexpensive and totally natural.  There's no stopping her now.

I hope you find a solution, they're just like babies and you worry so when they don't eat.