Cocker Specific Discussion > Feeding

My five month pup barely eats

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tritonx:
My new little fellow is cute as can be and seems healthy enough, but I just can't find a food he likes. He was sent to me with a freeze dried raw food that the litter had been put on at weaning and he ate it happily enough, it seemed for a few weeks and then started turning his nose up. I moved him over to Acana puppy food which he ate for a while and then started leaving. He also had a bout of diarrhoea that went on long enough that I took him to the vets who put him on an antibiotic and Fortiflora and worming pills. Also sent home with Royal Canin gastro food which he turned nose up at. Went back and was given canned gastro. Refused to even take a taste. Then given another can of gastro. Same thing. Since a good range of nutrition was not present, sent home with Royal Canin puppy food which he will take a couple of mouthfuls of and then sometimes finish off the one bowl set out in the morning. But I couldn't get more food into him, was giving him boiled chicken with some yam (he didn't like pumpkin) and then after a talk with the clinic dietitian tried him on mince (boiled ground beef). I've been piecing together daily food for him by leaving the puppy kibble out in one dish for grazing and minced beef and gravy a couple of times a day, also a couple of tsp. of bran buds for fibre coated with a skim of peanut butter. And yet he gained weight while eating way below the normal amounts advised on the tins and bags of food. Long as this is, it doesn't cover all the other things I've tried to get him interested in eating. It never occurred to me after Fraser who inhaled his food and spent his life looking for more outside on his walks that I'd get a pup who can't be persuaded to eat enough. Forgot to say he eventually went through three courses of antibiotic and was given a course of Giardia crystals. Strangely, the stool panel he had didn't show anything obvious. Has this degree of food pickiness happened to anyone here?

bizzylizzy:
Oh they do cause us some grey hairs don’t they? !  :huh:
I think some dogs are just picky eaters, my first GSD was a nightmare, but unless he‘s actually underweight, or unhealthy I‘d be inclined to take away any food not eaten within about 10 minutes and not offer anything again until the next meal time, its at least worth a try, won’t do him any harm done over just a few days. It does sound a bit harsh and we all obviously all want our pets to enjoy their food but I made a big mistake with my GSD, the food used to stand around all day and he never really got into a good feeding routine. It could just be that its an age thing and just a phase. Humphrey went through it at around 6 months but we then changed to raw and have had no problems since - he is a spaniel though :lol2: and if he didn’t behave like a canine dustbin I know there‘d be cause for concern!  :005:
Hope you manage to find a complete food that suits him.

Mudmagnets:
I don't know if this is worth a try, my pup is on Royal Canin Puppy Mini both dry and the wet pouches, he has 30g dry with 30gr (approx) wet pouch mixed up three times a day atm.

Rupert is 3.5 month Westiepoo (and he does  :lol2: )

When he came to me from the breeder she said he was a grazer - he was not keen on the dry alone with a tiny bit of wet - and he would eat a bit, play, eat a bit sleep, but since I have changed the ratio he eats the lot in one go (Having Minstrel about who ate what he left helped :005: ) He is doing well on the food.

The mini food is for pups with an expected adult weight of 9-10kg, I expect for a cocker you would need the medium kibble/wet.
Hope this helps  :luv:

tritonx:
Well, I contacted the breeder who said Australian labradoodles often aren't food driven and very smart. Smart enough to wait to see if anything even better is forthcoming. She said let hunger be his guide. Remove after 10 mins and put out again at a later meal as you suggested Bizzylizzy. I'll also have a look for the puppy mini. Worth a try. I have one of those large Kong weighted treat toys that Jamie likes to knock about. I put quite a large amount of puppy kibble into it and left it out on the dining room floor. He actually ate most of the kibble that he knocked out that he turns his nose up to when put in a bowl. Filled it up again with a previous kibble he'd gone off when put in a bowl and he ate most of that too. Beginning to suspect I'm being played by my five month pup with a brain the size of a ping pong ball. Hmmm. From behind the curtain of babyhood emerges a personality to be contended with. Noted. Thanks for your ideas. Off to buy more ridiculously expensive training treats. I cannot believe the prices in pet food stores and how much I'm spending. Bully chews, $40 for about 4 or 5 six inch chews! I'm starting to call him my million dollar pup with original cost of purchase and subsequent costs of equipment, food and treats. Oh well. He's my companion, cute as hell and makes me laugh every day.

bizzylizzy:
 
--- Quote from: tritonx on April 10, 2023, 11:46:50 PM ---Well, I contacted the breeder who said Australian labradoodles often aren't food driven and very smart. Smart enough to wait to see if anything even better is forthcoming. She said let hunger be his guide. Remove after 10 mins and put out again at a later meal as you suggested Bizzylizzy. I'll also have a look for the puppy mini. Worth a try. I have one of those large Kong weighted treat toys that Jamie likes to knock about. I put quite a large amount of puppy kibble into it and left it out on the dining room floor. He actually ate most of the kibble that he knocked out that he turns his nose up to when put in a bowl. Filled it up again with a previous kibble he'd gone off when put in a bowl and he ate most of that too. Beginning to suspect I'm being played by my five month pup with a brain the size of a ping pong ball. Hmmm. From behind the curtain of babyhood emerges a personality to be contended with. Noted. Thanks for your ideas. Off to buy more ridiculously expensive training treats. I cannot believe the prices in pet food stores and how much I'm spending. Bully chews, $40 for about 4 or 5 six inch chews! I'm starting to call him my million dollar pup with original cost of purchase and subsequent costs of equipment, food and treats. Oh well. He's my companion, cute as hell and makes me laugh every day.

--- End quote ---

 :lol2: - just a thought, as he‘s eaten the kibble from the kong, - maybe you could switch the expensive training treats for the kibble?
He sounds like a real character though and its nice that he‘s so different to Fraser, you’re less likely to fall into the trap of trying to compare them - and making you laugh every day makes him worth every penny you spend isn’t it?  :luv: :luv:
We‘ve been laughing this morning, OH has a bad knee at the moment and my answer is, he should lose some weight, - Humphrey on the other hand has a bad back, he has 2 lots of homeopathic medication, extra Vitamins, Brewers Yeast and Yumove tablets, plus ongoing expensive physiotherapy every month!......(I also give far more thought to what he gets to eat )  :005: :005:

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