# Almost 6 month old pup not eating consistently...help please



## KBouma (Apr 17, 2013)

Hi Everyone,
I'm sorry if this has been asked, I did search first but couldn't find my answers. We have a six month old pup, Kane, who is happy and energetic. He sleeps all day (he is crated and so he is nuts at night but we'd rather him be safe when we aren't home). Our problem is that if he goes too long without eating he throws up, I feel awful for him but he wont eat consistently. We have food out in the morning that he looks at then goes and jumps in the bed to sleep, then at lunch I come home to let him out and run around but he is too excited to eat. We tried feeding him at only certain times, but if he doesn't eat at those times then he goes too long and throws up. We've resorted to mixing in wet food, but then he gets runny or loose stools. He is not sick, no fever or any other abnormal behavior. One person we know suggested just cutting him off for a day then starting all over, but then he'll be throwing up. I'm sort of at my wits end. We have a vet appointment for his 6 month checkup and shots but I wasn't sure if anyone else has had these issues and I figured I should just ask. Can anyone help? 

Thank you in advance, 
Kathy :-\


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## dgm (Dec 23, 2011)

Is he exercised in the morning? It might be easier for him to work up an appetite after a walk or some form of physical activity.


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## KBouma (Apr 17, 2013)

I will try this tomorrow morning! Thank you, I'm willing to try anything at this point.


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## marathonman (Jan 15, 2013)

We've dealt with an upset stomach (excess bile from an empty stomach). It was happening at 2am. We feed snack before bed that takes care of that. 
Instead of wet food, maybe try some chicken broth or supplementing with something else tasty (sardine, egg, raw food). That may help spark his appetite. As dgm suggested, exercise in the morning might help. If he doesn't want to eat much at lunch, turn it into a training session with rewards. That might help a little.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

KBouma, Kane is an adorable little guy!! ;D

I've had a couple of dogs in my lifetime who were just like what you have described. I think marathonman has it exactly right. There is really nothing wrong with adding eating incentives to Kane's food to make it more interesting. I think if I had to eat dry kibble every day, I would get bored with it pretty fast!

Sometimes just a little bit of plain warm water will do the trick. If you are adding calories with eating incentives, reduce the amount of kibble a little bit to compensate. You don't want to make him fat, but you DO want him to eat. Buy some low sodium chicken broth to put on his food. (Don't store the leftover broth in the can. Put it into something made of glass.) That is almost zero calories, but smells good. Water pack tuna (about a tablespoon of it), a little crumbled cheese, an ounce of whatever meat you had for dinner (beef, turkey, etc.). These things will make his meals so much more interesting!

I know, I know... people will say it spoils the dog. But my philosophy is this: They live pretty short lives (too short), they don't have to go to college or go out and get a job... There is nothing wrong with making their lives a little more pleasurable. The only thing you have to guard against is excess weight gain. So that's my opinion and I'm stickin' with it! ;D ;D ;D


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## KBouma (Apr 17, 2013)

Thanks everyone! The broth worked perfectly!!!! We tried it last night (he doesn't like beef apparently) but this morning with Chicken he devoured it!!!

Thanks for all your help! ;D


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## marathonman (Jan 15, 2013)

Glad to hear the chicken broth worked. It's fitting that this thread came up, because in the past couple days our 11 month old boy hasn't been as interested in breakfast. (even with the typical chicken broth for taste/moisture). This morning we dropped a piece of chicken on his food and that got him interested real quick. We're not worried too much about the additional calories right now. We have a hard enough time keeping weight on him. (when we can see his spine, time to dine) During the week he's at daycare and on weekends we are running/hiking a lot.


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

This is with the best natural kibble you can supply top end only

and get a yogurt loaded with 

active "Bifidus" 

"Pre and Pro Biotics" 

and with his or foods flax seed cold pressed seed only organic  

Then once we improve "super digestive enzymes" and real whole foods into his or kibble 

the core liver and gut is the keys to the bus and all health and fighting any sickness or bug 

and restrict any unnatural sugars 3 weeks 

Your in" ;D

then will add real substance back foods for you and your mate

Biggest mistakes most Folks make getting a cold or a virus is grabbing cold pills and drinking the crap which all surpress your immune system and core 

western bs

Fact 

1st line of defense and choices should be any bug going in is Pre and Pro Biotics complex they shorten and beat colds fast ;D


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

Rudy said:


> This is with the best natural kibble you can supply top end only
> 
> and get a yogurt loaded with
> 
> ...


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