# My New Chihuahua mix won't eat or drink water



## NeshaDanielle (Jun 5, 2011)

I have a newly adopted 2 year old chihuahua mix and he is very quiet and doesn't do much besides lay around. I'm fine with that, the only problem is that he doesn't eat or drink and I've had him for a WEEK. I'm really beginning to worry about his health, he'll eat table food every once in a while, he doesn't like the Old Roy dog food I bought him. His original owner had two other dogs that he no longer lives with so I'm thinking that maybe he just really misses them, please help.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Ol' Roy dog food is pretty bad stuff. Maybe if you try something higher quality he would prefer that (read the label; it should have meat as the first ingredient). Do you know what he was eating at his last home? It would be best to start with whatever they were feeding him, you can switch later, once he's acclimated. Have you tried canned food? Many small dogs have trouble crunching hard kibble. And the canned food would get some liquid into him. If he doesn't drink something soon you should contact the vet. . .there's only so long a living being can go without liquids. Do you think he'd drink some chicken broth? Try boiling up some chicken and offering him the broth---if you used canned broth be sure to get the low-sodium kind. 

I hope he gets settled soon!


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## NeshaDanielle (Jun 5, 2011)

thank you so much!I tried the canned purina...he sniffed it and ran away.lol.the only way he has drank the water so far is actually from a water bottle so I am trying to ween him off of that somehow.i will def. try the chicken broth and some better food.thank you for your help!


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## [email protected] (Mar 11, 2011)

Moving onto a better food, mixing wet food into the diet are all important things. Sometimes dogs are just really really icky about their food. Also make sure the kibble is small enough that it won't give your dog trouble chewing it. I work for Nutro and their Max line has an affordable mini chunk kibble (there is a small breed formula in Nutro's Natural Choice and Ultra lines as well. both of which are excellent). Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, Solid Gold and almost all of the major premium brands have a small breed formulas as well.


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## patcurt (Mar 12, 2011)

I have a rescue shih tzu (she has been with us for eight months now) She is super picky eater. would not eat or drink for over a week. Believe it or not she did not know how to drink from a water dish.. My vet and I believe she was used to drinking from a water bottle for dogs. The only thing I have found that she will eat (and that is small enough) is Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed formula for adults mixed with Natural Choice Slices in Gravy. It is a small pkg (3.5 oz) Sometimes she will eat half a pkg/sometimes the whole thing. I have been through bags and bags of food that she will not touch. Of course my local Humane Society is happy about that since that where I donate the uneaten food.

Hope this helps


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## NeshaDanielle (Jun 5, 2011)

Thank you all for the responses, I'm thinking about trying the chunk kibble, my boyfriend bought some pedigree for small breeds so I'm gonna see how he likes that too. Hopefully it all works out.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Unfortunately, quality-wise, Pedigree is no better than Ol' Roy (check the ingredient list!). But maybe he'll at least eat it and get some food into him. Check out www.dogfoodadvisor.com for info on how to find a high-quality dog food.


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## eeloheel (Dec 28, 2010)

Mine was a really picky eater, I went through a ton of foods before I found one he was enthusiastic to eat. If you get desperate, try Innova EVO, he took straight to that. If you've got a petsmart around, he also likes the Simply Nourish which is a decent price. Not quite as nice as EVO or many others, but a lot better than the brands you can buy at the grocery store


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