Finally Home But Having Eating Issues

[Bo's Mum]

Bo arrived at his new home safe and sound yesterday and im so pleased to have him he settled down nicley and even comes striaght to us when we call him which i wasnt expecting so soon,he used his crate and slept until 7am when we let him out to pee which he also is using his puppy pads really well as he cant go outside yet,

only problem is as recomended by the breeder he is on feeds at 8 1 5 and 10 at 5 he has real meat but for the other meals he has pedigree complete as this is what the breeder as been feeding him
he had his 5pm feed no problem but then wouldnt touch his 10 or his breakfast this morning or his lunch but whenever real food is around he wants it, is he just trying his luck with me by not eating his own food hoping i will give him real food?    im getting worried now an almost givin in to him so that at least he is eating sumthing

[Jane S]

It is normal for puppies to go off their food a little when they move to a new home - Bo has a lot to get used to & is adjusting to a totally different home & new people to get to know. He should get back to a normal feeding routine if you give him time & if you don't start chopping & changing his food hoping he will eat something different. Leave his bowl down for 10-15 minutes at the most & if he doesn't eat the food, just take the bowl away without comment (don't sound disappointed or cross) & don't offer him any more food until next meal time. Keep doing this & eventually he should get back to eating all his meals

Jane

[Penel]

Why can't he go outside ? don't you have  a garden ?  please don't tell me you have been advised to keep him inside until his vaccinations are done - you will have the most awful time housetraining him if so.
I've had 4 puppies in the last 8 years - and all have been housetrained within days of bringing them home - no newspaper or puppy pads - just simple training - and putting them in the garden when they need to go.

[paddys mum]

Congratulations on your little bundle of fun.  
I'm sure that after a couple of days he'll be eating you out of house and home. These little monkeys aren't daft, they know how to twist you round their litle paw, believe me Paddy has done it plenty of times. Follow Jane's advice and you should have no problem - try and stay strong against that puppy eye look when you're eating you tea    

[Cayley]

Why can't he go outside ? don't you have  a garden ?  please don't tell me you have been advised to keep him inside until his vaccinations are done - you will have the most awful time housetraining him if so.
I've had 4 puppies in the last 8 years - and all have been housetrained within days of bringing them home - no newspaper or puppy pads - just simple training - and putting them in the garden when they need to go.

[snapback]129584[/snapback]

I was thinking the same thing.

As far as I'm aware, you can't take them out for proper walks (puppy walking on ground rather than being carried) before vaccinatons because they are more at risk from catching something, your garden is fine though because you know you haven't had dogs in there with a contagious disease so there is very little risk of him catching anything   .

Correct me if I'm wrong though.

[suzysu]

Welcome little Bo......... I'm sure the eating will settle down when has been with you for a few days     Big hugs for him xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Bo's Mum]

Why can't he go outside ? don't you have  a garden ?  please don't tell me you have been advised to keep him inside until his vaccinations are done - you will have the most awful time housetraining him if so.

[snapback]129584[/snapback]

i dont have a secure garden    their are always stray cats roaming around so my vet advised to keep him indoors just until his injections are done   jus to make sure he dont pick up anythin, plus id rather be safe than sorry  
also had the same problem today he wouldnt eat lunch (pedigree complete) but loved his tea (chicken) he didnt leave a trace, but il follow janes advice an hope he starts eatin

[Kim]

I agree with Penel & Cayley.
As long as your garden is yours & not open to stray dogs, then let him out!
I have foxes, badgers, deer, rabbits, squirrels, rats, cats etc etc in my garden, but my puppies are always allowed out, even before they go off to their new homes.
They have to build up some sort of natural immunity, as well as having protection from their Vacs!

JMHO

[Bo's Mum]

I agree with Penel & Cayley.
As long as your garden is yours & not open to stray dogs, then let him out!
I have foxes, badgers, deer, rabbits, squirrels, rats, cats etc etc in my garden, but my puppies are always allowed out, even before they go off to their new homes.
They have to build up some sort of natural immunity, as well as having protection from their Vacs!

JMHO

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so il be ok to let him out?   this is confusing taking everythin in gettin all the different advice    

[Bob's mum]

Bob is like that. He doesn't go mad over his lunchtime meal, but absolutely wolfs the other meals down and he is eating 4 meals a day of the same food, so i wouldn't worry.  
Also we have cats, birds, hedgehogs in our garden, but no dogs and we allowed Bob out. He was absolutely fine. I think you have to weigh everything up and this first few weeks is the optimum time for training-they have brains like sponges at the mo and will learn very quickly so everything you do needs to be positive for him. Good luck

[Cob-Web]

i dont have a secure garden    their are always stray cats roaming around so my vet advised to keep him indoors just until his injections are done  jus to make sure he dont pick up anythin, plus id rather be safe than sorry 

I would recommend that if you can, you arrange for your garden to be secured as soon as possible -  Bo WILL find his way out once he does go out there, even if you supervise him, as puppies move like lightening when they are tiny    It will be a lot easier on you if you can let him burn off some energy by tearing round the garden like a dervish rather than having to keep him on a lead all the time  

We have cats, hedgehogs and small rodents in our garden - tbh, I hadn't thought that these might carry nasties that Molo might catch.........the vet certainly didn't say anything  

[Bo's Mum]

Bob is like that. He doesn't go mad over his lunchtime meal, but absolutely wolfs the other meals down and he is eating 4 meals a day of the same food, so i wouldn't worry. 

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but he aint touching his other 3 meals he turns his nose up at them  

[Bob's mum]

Give him time to settle in. You have only had him 2 days  and it is a big upheaval for him. He won't starve and will eat when he is ready. If the breeder has given you a diet sheet to follow I would stick with it for the moment as he is obviously used to this and was eating it before. It took Bob a week really to start finishing his meals. He would sniff and pick at them, but is absolutely fine now. Stick with it!

[~Jilly~]

Bella was the same as Bob - it took her about a week to settle food wise. The first week she'd eat some of most of the things we gave her but left half or most of it. We just did what Jane has suggested, i.e. taking it away after 10 mins. After the first week she was fine and hasn't left a morsel since

On the subject of your garden, I would make sure it is secured and then take him outside. You will struggle with toilet training otherwise and will probably have a very hyper puppy to contend with indoors. Sometimes Bella is desperate to go outside and she spends a good percentage of her day's out there, she has so much energy hubby takes her out there and plays ball with her for ages to wear her out (or try to, she's got more energy than both of us put together :: ) - again the first week she was just settling in I guess and was sleeping a lot more, now she has real mad half hours and I think she'd drive me doo lally if she was confined to the house

[LouiseH]

Reality is Cocker Spaniels will most definitely not starve, if he is eating "something" then try not to worry and let him decide how much he needs to eat.

Puppies grow at different rates, some weeks he will need more food than others, don't be tempted to change his food or add anything he is not used to yet as this will just make him fussy.

It could take weeks before he is in a proper feeding routine, and even then he will have days where he eats and others where he won't. Don't be tempted to leave his food down all the time or he will never become adjusted to routine feeding times.

I have had what I thought were "eating problems" with my english setter puppy and believe me english setters are fussy, she now eats very well indeed, although stopped eating almost completely for a few days when her teeth were giving her trouble. I also had similar problems with my swedish import, the upheaval meant he wouldn't eat for days at a time, now we struggle to stop him eating everything in sight and it's only 12 months ago since he came to live with us but it did take a number of weeks to get him into a routine.

And lastly, as a breeder I know it is impossible to predict the amounts each puppy is eating when they are fed together, so when I create puppy diet sheets for my new owners I never stress on amounts, as long as puppy is eating something then things are fine. Another trap some new owners fall into is thinking their puppy is going to eat exactly the amount stated on the packet! This is nonsense, and nearly always the packet will state a much higher amount than is atually needed by most puppies.

My advice would be start to worry if he is not his "bouncy" self and if he refuses food and water for more than 24-48hrs.

You should also speak to your vet about worming as this can affect appetite. And I also find sometimes my puppies go off their food when they have just been vaccinated, so lots of changes for puppy to get used to.

Oh, and get your garden secure!!!! It won't be long before puppy is starting to explore....and all this should be part of his socialisation and getting used to the big wide world.

Hope this helps.