# My puppy wont eat ANYTHING!



## Laxdog (Aug 15, 2017)

Short version: Basically he eats about 1 cup of food (plus mix ins) a day for the past two weeks and while he has gained 2.5lbs he seems skinnier and his ribs show in some light and his bones above his tail seem more defined. He begs for our food and is excited when we feed him but loses interest when he sees what he gets.

Long version:
We have had our new puppy with us for almost two weeks now (he is 9 weeks old) and we have had a constant struggle getting him to eat. Our breeder said he would eat 1 cup in the morning and 1 at night but he quickly will need more. She also said it is ok and nothing to worry about if he doesn't eat much the first few days as he adjusts to our home. But it has been almost two weeks now and we haven't been able to get him to eat consistently. 

For the first few days we would feed him 1 cup of the food the breeder gave us at around 6:30 am. He would smell it, maybe eat a few pellets then leave it. Since he would eat so little, we left his bowl out all day hoping he'd eat more but throughout the day he'd do about the same. At around 6:00 pm he'd finally finish the single cup he got for breakfast and we'd give him another for him not to touch it, he'd maybe have a few pellets around 9 pm.

So a few days in we finally caved and added chicken broth. This didn't encourage his eating at all in the morning or at night. Next, we added runny egg yolk mixed in which he seemed to like the most initially but his interest faded on the second day we used it. We tried mixing in canned wet food and had similar results to the egg yolk. After about 5 days and various mix ins we tried a different food. First plain, then with various mix ins and got similar results to his breeder food. 

Then we took him over to a friends house to meet them and play with their dog a few nights ago. After he napped he tried to eat their dogs food so we fed him that food on his own plate and he scarfed it down. They let us take some home with us to try it the next day to make sure he liked it before we bought a bag. The next morning he treated it as the other foods and barely touched it.

Last night we went to some upscale dog bakery and got a 4 free samples and laid them all out for him to choose. He picked one and ate most of the sample, maybe 1/2 cup enthusiastically. This morning we gave him the remainder (about 1/4 cup) which did not want to eat until i literally fed him out of my hand. Using this method he finished it in 2 'sittings'. 

Additionally, he is visibly hungry and will whine, jump, even little barks, tail wagging in excitement when we begin preparing his food. He will run over to the bowl only to be disappointed and leave it. He also jumps and begins barking to try and get our food when we eat despite the fact we have never fed him from our plates or anything we eat. 

Today we fed him about 1/4 cup of the fancy food from the night before. He had a few pellets and left it. About an hour or so later I hand fed him food from his bowl and he ate 1/2 before he lost interest. Then I tried again 30 min later and he finally finished it from my hands. Around noon I made myself a bowl of cereal and he did the jumping in excitement thing for food and barked once or twice. So I gave him a cup of his old food which he ignored and went back to trying to get my cereal. I then added wet food to his and stirred it up but he only had a few bites before coming back to me trying to get my cereal. Now 4 hours later he has had maybe one bite of his food.


So before I go buy him this designer dog food that he has shown mild interest in (not a puppy formula either) what else can I do to get him to eat more? Should I go to another vet?

Some background info:
- He has been dewromed with Panacur to treat roundworms while in the breeders care. Once at like 5 weeks old i think and a follow up at 7 weeks old. Our first day with him we had to give him his last dose of the treatment on 9/4. (I can get exact info if its helpful)

- On 9/4 we fed him wet food from breeder to mask the panacur as she recommended for breakfast (he scarfed it down) then followed that with a little bit of his dry food (1/4 cup) that he had been eating at the breeder's which he didn't touch. We left it out accessible all day and he would come by and nibble on it occasionally but at the end of the day there was still some left.

- On 9/5 he had his first vet visit and checked out ok initially (weighed 10.6lbs). But we found out he had Giardia when we got our stool sample results back. We were given Panacur again to treat this. We gave him one dose a day for 5 days and just finished on 9/12.

- On 9/14 he had a vet visit to get his 2nd dose of the distemper combo and his first kennel cough vaccine. Our vet did not request or suggest a follow up stool sample to see if the giardia has been cleared or not and did not seem concerned unless he had legit diarrhea. She said he gained 2.5lbs since last time and he seemed healthy (he weighed 13 lbs).

- His water bowl and food bowl are the same and he has no problem drinking. Serving food on a plate doesn't help either.

- I am home with him all day and my girlfriend comes home in the evenings after work 

- His poops are solid 75% of the time and when they are not they still hold form just a little soft. He has had 2 non form holding diarrhea poops. May be attributed to constant food switching or giardia.

- He has vomited twice, once the first night we brought him home and once immediately after the car ride to our friends house. We assume this is car sickness or nervousness as he is fine immediately afterwards. 

- We only give treats for training but he often spits them out and doesn't eat them till later if at all. We got him new softer treats which he seems to like more but he does not get nearly enough treats in a day to fill him up.

- In our yard he tries to eat/chews on rocks, mulch, grass, and weeds constantly.

- He also often gets hiccups after eating and drinking


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

For what was my very picky one, baked (not boiled) chicken worked better than the other things I tried. I would dice it very small, so she would eat most of the other food with it. I tried plenty of different dog foods over the years, but the fact remained She was just picky. Most meals I would hand feed her the first few bites, and then she would eat on her own.

She was always willing to eat any meat that was on my plate.


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

His gaining weight is good - if he was not, it would be serious. But his pelvic bones showing is too thin.

There have been some reports here of reluctant eating being "cured" by feeding raw. Searching for it will probably turn up too many miss-hits to be useful, but maybe someone will reply.

In the meantime, you could try giving him a sample of raw. Say a raw chicken wing, which should be fun chewing. Even if you don't go all-out raw, raw might be a meal additive which would improve his appetite.


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## Spy Car (Sep 3, 2014)

If the OP is open to trying raw (a good idea IMO) what I'd suggest to start is getting some chicken breasts (bone-in, skin on) from the market. 

Then take these breasts, flip them over with the back side up and with a stout knife cut portions that attempt to evenly distribute the rib bones between the pieces. 

And yes, contrary to all we've heard about cooked chicken bones being dangerous, raw chicken bones are a very excellent source of dietary soft-edible bone.

If (and only if) the pup just sniffs and seems to reject raw chicken, the very lightest of a sear can be put on the non-bone side. Just the minimum amount to excite the nose. You don't want to "cook" the chicken. Don't "sear" unless you have a problem.

You might want to remove some or all of the skin for initial feedings. Fat is the best source of energy for dogs/pups, but too rapid a switch from carb burning to fat burning and sometimes cause GI distress and loose stools. This is far more rare in young pups. If you cut some skin, work on flowing adding it back.

If a trial goes well then research the 80/10/10 "Prey Model" diet that is 80% meat, 10% soft-edible bone, and 10% organs (half of that being liver).

The problem with gourmet doggy bakery foods (beyond the expense) is that they are typically as high in carbohydrates as conventional kibbles.

With a PMR style diet you remove the non-essential carbohydrates in favor of highly nutritious meat, bone, and organ. The diet canines were shaped by evolution to thrive on.

Best wishes,

Bill


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## Anida (Jun 10, 2016)

I think TR, Bob and Bill have some really good suggestions. Sometimes mixing in coconut oil into Kaylee's food works for her. She isn't so skinny that we worry too much anymore and I've just decided she's like my toddlers and is a "feast & famine" eater. She pigs out some days 3-4cups and most of the other days it's maybe 2 full cups but she is almost 2 now so she isn't growing.

With your boy being young I'd definitely probably try some of the raw approaches just to get his weight up so he can grow well.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

I'm a big proponent of raw as well, but it isn't necessarily a cure for pickiness. I've heard of just as many picky vizslas being fed raw as kibble. However, I encouraged my parents to switch the 15 year old family dog after a couple years of increasingly turning her nose at other offerings. I'm still waiting for her to decide she's tired of this too, but it's been 3 months and she excitedly eats it and is gaining weight. 

With kibble I'd try hand feeding, putting the food in something like a kong with some peanut butter or cottage cheese mixed in, tossing the food for him to catch or chase, or feeding in his crate so he can't run off. If he's super people-pleasing, enthusiastic praise when he sniffs his food or eats a bite can go a long way.


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## dodge (Mar 13, 2017)

When we brought our puppy home, our challenges were so similar to yours. Our Dodger has the same responses with broth, eggs, wet food etc. Dodger also eats random stuff in the yard and get crazy hiccups. I can literally nod and say, "us too" for every struggle in your post. It makes me think we could have the same breeder. My husband thought our dog had a serious problem. He marveled that he had never seen a dog refuse raw egg. 

The game changer for us was at 12 weeks when we introduced partial raw. I do 1/2 kibble and 1/2 raw -but not in the same meal. Usually raw/breakfast, kibble for dinner. The raw a.m. meal(usually something like a bone-in chicken quarter) seems to exponentially whet his appetite for the p.m. kibble(2cups). I have done considerable research as there are some theories about mixing kibble and raw that suggest the potential for harm exists due to different digestion rates. Our vet felt it's a generally safe practice so long as the raw and kibble aren't fed at the same meal. I think that I'm a bit too lazy to commit to 100% raw, so this works for well for us. At six months, Dodger is happy and healthy weighing in at 43 pounds. My husband is also very relieved/happy. He was not keen on my old routine of hand feeding our puppy. Good luck on finding what works best for your pup!


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## Laxdog (Aug 15, 2017)

Thanks for all the replies, it definitely makes me feel better other have experienced picky puppies, we were worried he was sick.

For the past two days we've found a wet food that he seems to like mixed in with his dry food. He's been eating a 13.2 oz can of wet food and probably 3/4 cup of dry food a day. We are going to try a few days of consistency since we've been switching so much lately. But is that enough for him to be a healthy puppy?

If his eating gets any worse or he fails to eat more in these next few days we will probably try the half raw diet Dodge mentioned.

We don't know all to much about raw aside from quick searches but we have some concerns:
1) Is it difficult to keep him on a balanced diet with raw? I doubt raw chicken alone will be enough to get all his nutrients, especially in puppy growing phase. 
2) Does anyone have a good link to a raw puppy diet? In my brief search I could not find anything that seemed too helpful.
3) For those of you who use raw about how much does it cost you? We have read it is expensive.
4) Those that feed raw diets what do you do about traveling and boarding?


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## pez999 (Apr 22, 2017)

Laxdog said:


> 3) For those of you who use raw about how much does it cost you? We have read it is expensive.


I'm curious about this as well. I've considered switching to raw but I've also heard it's expensive. I also wonder if people get their meats from stores/supermarkets or an actual butcher shop/deli.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

1. Not difficult at all if you follow the correct proportions. Roughly 80% muscle meat, 10% organs (of which 5% should always be liver), and 10% bone is nutritionally complete. Some supplement with veggies, but they aren't biologically necessary. Measure when you start out, but eventually you'll get a feel for it.

2. For young puppies it's generally recommended to start feeding 10% of their body weight in food per day over three meals. As they get older you can drop the percentage you're feeding until at adulthood they get 2-3%. So at 13lbs, your pup would start with 1.3lbs/20.8oz. This might look like a couple chicken wings (6 oz, 55% muscle, 45% bone), some liver (2 oz), and some boneless chicken breast (12 oz, 100% muscle). This ends up being 20 oz total, 76.5% muscle, 13.5% bone, and 10% liver. Slightly off ideal, but then the next day you'd feed slightly less bone and balance it out over time. 
If you're on facebook, check out the group Vizslas, Raw and Natural. In the group files there is a puppy diet sheet authored by the group admin and vizsla breeder Christina Diron. You may need to PM her to get accepted into the group.

3. It costs me roughly $2-3 a day on average, sourcing primarily from a meat processing plant/raw dog food business. I buy in bulk and store in an extra freezer. It may very well cost more depending on where you source from. 

4. I bring some with me in a cooler, buy from a grocery store at the destination, or use freeze dried raw products like Honest Kitchen or Primal Pet Foods. I've only left my dog with family or friends and just put together meals in labeled freezer bags to make it easy for them to feed her.


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## Spy Car (Sep 3, 2014)

I'd echo Einspänner on all points.

It is not difficult to provide outstanding balanced nutrition is one follows the 80/10/10 model and feeds a diversity of proteins. Learning bone percentages and how to balance them does involve a learning curve, but becomes second nature after a time.

The expense can vary considerably. Those who feed exclusively commercially prepared raw can be in for a major expense. I source whole items very carefully and average out under $2 a day (under $60 a month), which is less than I expect I'd spend on a premium kibble. I do have a time element in cutting and packing food items. In my case, keeping costs low does require a freezer.

Bill


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