# Puppy Diet



## Nelly (Feb 7, 2013)

H everyone, 

I was just looking for some advice about 12 week old Nelly's eating. Since the day we got her she has never been a big eater and does not have a huge appetite. It is quite apparent that she was very submissive re food within the large litter. I sometimes hand-feed her or place her food bowl in my lap which she likes. Despite her submissiveness she likes me to be near when she's eating and has no guarding issues whatsoever.

She has recently gone down to 3 feeds a day from 4 as per vet and breeder recommendations. She was on x2 dry and x2 wet a day but is now on x3 dry of Beta Puppy or Wainwrights however I have just ordered a bag of Taste of the Wild Puppy as I see there are a lot of owners on here that use it. We implemented this change gradually.

She's still not eating nearly enough for her little growing body and occasionally is sick bile with her empty stomach - like this morning. I know food immediately after this can aggravate it more so I gave her breakfast about an hour later - she didn't eat much.\

Despite this she has a very healthy looking little body and everything else seems to be working fine!

Our vet had recommended cutting out wet food altogether?

I just wondered what everyone else's experiences were with V puppy eating and also wet food vs dry food.

Thanks!


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Try warm water of the dry food. It will help her want to eat it. 


Vs can tend to form weird eating habits so don't fall into the trap of lap feeding hand feeding etc for too long. This will become the feeding ritual and you will have to do this forever!


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## Nelly (Feb 7, 2013)

Thank you born36, I did wonder about this becoming a habit, i'll try the warm water and see how she goes


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

Our trainer also recommended wetting the dry food, which seemed to help. Our four month old V also went through a picky phase around 12-14 weeks. At 16 weeks he is eating more due to increased physical activity. Like babies, I think they really do go through hungry periods and non hungry periods!


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

I agree with Born36, don't start bad habits. Another thing to try is chicken/beef stock on the kibble or gravy. Why have you cut out the wet food? That often encourages poor eaters.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

When Miles was a baby we used mashed sweet potato and plain yogurt to stimulate him to eat more as he has never been too interested in food. Now that he is older we add meats, veggies, and eggs to his food to help encourage him and also use a bit of raw food patties that he loves. I think what you are experiencing is pretty typical for the breed.


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## Ollywebb1 (Feb 6, 2013)

Hi Nelly, I'm very much a novice but I can tell you that Radley (also 12 weeks) is exactly the same with his food. The breeder started him on beta puppy large breed and this is what we've stuck with. Mixing with a small amount of warm water does seem to appeal more to him but he's far from greedy. I have read on other threads around this topic that they sometimes lose some of their appetite when going through a growth spurt too. Radley has certainly grown since we got him a week ago so I'm not sure what others think about this as a theory?


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## ZDOGSMOM (Sep 15, 2012)

I have to say I was blessed with a non-picky eater with Ziva who is now 3 1/2 years old... she has always been willing to eat nearly anything I put in front of her.

Little Izzy, 12 weeks is the same. I think she would suck up the bottom of her feeding bowl if she thought she could! 

I do on occasion though add a spoon full of canned Wild Salmon, solid pack pumpkin, sweet potato, green beans, a cooked egg, or carrots to their dry food. They love it and their coats shine like a brand new penny and are so soft.


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## lyra (Nov 2, 2012)

Lyra needs a little 'extra' in her kibble to encourage her to eat enough to be a healthy weight (we've tried changing kibble and all that happens is she is dead keen for week and then returns to her usual disinterest).

We did try and hold out for about a couple of weeks but she started to look emaciated


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## Nelly (Feb 7, 2013)

Thanks for the advice everyone. She does have more hungry periods but during these still doesn't seem to eat an awful lot. Hotmischief - cutting out wet food was our vet's recommendation, in saying that I have since changed vet as I was dubious about a few things she said - also the most horrific puppy party i could have imagined! 

Nelly has eaten well last night and this morning, i just put her bowl down and left her to it. I like the idea of the salmon Lyra and also your additionals zdogsmom. I'll have a go at some of these.

Thank you!


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## Nelly (Feb 7, 2013)

P.s! We have also given her a bit of grated carrot over her soaked kibble which seems to stimulate her a bit more. Hotmischief I meant to ask - what do you think about 2x dry food and 1x wet food p/day? Would that be ok? She did love wet food


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## candi30 (Jan 2, 2013)

A little bit of olive oil on the kibble might help.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

I think that's fine 2 meals of kibble and 1 of wet food. Crated carrot is excellent as long as you remove the skin as they can't digest the skin. Won't do any harm, but you will just see all the carrot in their poos undigested. Don't stop at just carrots, I give my dogs whatever vegetables we are having, also apples, strawberries, bananas.

Salmons is good, tuna, pilchards - you can make the kibble more interesting by adding flavours.

Glad to hear she is eating well now.


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## deanfootlong (May 21, 2012)

we do a pill of fish oil in her food. she loves it. try it out. how much does your pup weight?


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## Nelly (Feb 7, 2013)

That's brilliant thanks everyone! So far we have tried sardines, wild salmon and green beans - she was hilarious with the green beans having had them for the first time, pawing them and jumping around like it was a creepy crawly thing! She eventually ate it though and went back for more 

Hotmischief I noticed that haha i'll remove the skin from now on. Does everyone give the veggies raw or go between raw and cooked?

Dean - She's due to be weighed again next week as we were in the process of changing vets but i'm sure we'll be flabbergasted as at the last weigh-in she was only 7.1 kilos, pretty sure she's at least 8 1/2 now!


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