# Puppy won't eat! :(



## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

I have a 7 month old miniature dachshund. We have gone through several types of food trying to find the right one he likes. We don't want to feed him something like science diet or a high grain food, so we are feeding him pure vita currently, not the grain free, but its a good food.

We kept switching it up but the people at a helpful local pet store said we may be giving him to many options. When we would switch he would eat it really well for about 2 or 3 days then he would barely touch, same pattern over and over. So after she mentioned that we chose one and have stuck with it. Sometimes he eats sometimes he doesnt. Like this past weekend, Fri Sat Sun, he ate maybe 1.5 cups worth of food. Very little. Every once in a while we will mix it with milk which sometimes works he seems to like milk, we don't give him a lot just enough to sort of coat the food. Not this weekend though.

Any ideas or tips to get the little guy to eat? He still seems to have tons of energy and doesn't appear to be sick in anyway. I just want to make sure he is getting the nutrients he needs, and its very frustrating.

Thanks!


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## Goldens&Labs4Me (Jan 18, 2012)

What other foods have you tried? Pure Vita is a 4 star food, but high in carbs and not real high in protein or fat. 

You can always add a little low sodium chicken broth to his food or a little yogurt to see if that helps. I personally add a little canned to mine or yogurt at each meal.


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

How much does he weigh?


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## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

Well we started off with Science Diet and soon realized that may not be the best option. Though my mother seems to think it is the best thing on the planet since thats what she always fed her dog, we seem to disagree on that. She bought him some of the science diet ideal balance or something like that. Much better than regular science diet as far as content (3 out 5 at dogfoodadvisor.com) I'm still not completely sold on it. Either way, he did not seem to like that. We have tried a few different flavors of Hi-tek rations grain free, and a few different flavors of the pure vita. All he seems to eat well for a couple days then he wants nothing to do with it.

I do like the idea of a little chicken broth in the food. I might give that a shot and see how that goes. Thanks for the tip.


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## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

I would say approx. 8lbs. Little guy.


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

Is it possible that half a cup of food per day is enough for him? This is a small breed so he is probably nearing the end of his growth stage where they need to eat more food for growth. My corgi is 10 months, 25lbs and eats 1 cup of Blue Wilderness per day. At less then half his weight it seems reasonable that your pup may only need half a cup a day? It's possible it's not that he doesn't like the food but is just self regulating his food intake.

The cups per day of food recommendation on the bags are usually way too high.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

First of all - I think 1.5 cups of food/day for a 8lb dog is a bit much - so its very possible you might be over feeding, and perhaps he just isn't hungry at meal times he's getting enough? I can't say for sure - I dont feed kibble that often as my dogs eat mostly raw diet, but when I have fed them only kibble meals in one day, my 20lb dog gets between 3/4 - 1 cup a day, and my 45lb dog gets 2 cups a day. So a dog that weighs 35lbs less than mine and getting almost the same amount of food as him seems a bit off to me. Try decreasing his food portions...


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## luvmyfurballs (Mar 5, 2012)

I would go with he's eating what he needs to eat and maybe its not as much as you would like or what is recommended. Some dogs just don't eat alot and remain healthy, happy, and the same weight.


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## L Kathryn (Feb 27, 2012)

Are you exercising him before each meal? Having him sit and wait? Sometimes working dogs won't eat unless they've worked. I do like the idea of soup as well. You can also try gravy or other liquidy things mixed in that are highly appealing to the dachshund nose.

***I also agree that 1.5 cups a day is too much.


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## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

I suppose that is possible. When he does eat, we usually feed him about about 2 cups a day, approx.1 cup twice a day. That just seems like such a small amount of food though. Thats even less than when he was a tiny tiny pup. But this is my first dog so I am learning. He is going to the vet in the next few weeks so I will definitely chat with her about that when we go.


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## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

I wouldn't say worked him. We are slowly learning some things none of which we have mastered


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

I believe you said he ate 1.5 cups over three days in your original post? Just making sure I read that right. 

2 cups a day for an 8 lb dog is ALOT of food. Dogs eat the most when they are little and the food intake should decrease as they age. Gally ate 2 cups when he was about 3 months, then we decreased that to 1.5 cups at around 6-7 months and over the past month we have decreased it to 1 cup. He is also a very active dog that gets at least a couple hours of exercise a day plus training and play. Is your pup recently neutered? Sometimes its necessary to decrease food intake after neutering as well.


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## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

Correct he ate a little less than 1.5 over 3 day period. He has not been neutered yet. We are planning on doing that in the next few weeks to do that. Just a couple different reasons it hasnt happened yet, but it will soon.


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## luvmyfurballs (Mar 5, 2012)

clokwise said:


> Correct he ate a little less than 1.5 over 3 day period. He has not been neutered yet. We are planning on doing that in the next few weeks to do that. Just a couple different reasons it hasnt happened yet, but it will soon.


Before I got my second two dogs, my first dog went through 1-50 lb bag of dog food in a YEAR. She doesn't eat much, more of a nibbler, but she has maintained her same weight for 6 years. Imagine my surprise at how much my golden and shepherd eat!!


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

In the end, I think it would be great if you found a food your pup really seemed to enjoy eating but I wouldn't push him to eat more than 3/4 cup a day. Keep an eye on his weight and his body shape. There is a nice chart for body shape specifically for dachshunds here: http://www.everything-about-dachshunds.com/chart-dachshund-weight.html


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## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

I apologize. I was wrong, it looks like we are actually only feeding him about a cup a day, split into half cup servings. I was thinking the scoop we used was 1/2 cup but apparently I have been told it is a 1/4 cup scoop.

Thanks for the link about dachshunds that is helpful.


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## Goldens&Labs4Me (Jan 18, 2012)

My 12 lb JRT x only eats about a cup a day--some days, she doesn't eat the full cup and some days maybe 1/2. I didn't think about that, but agree that he probably is actually getting enough for his size.


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## lyphzgud (Feb 11, 2012)

sounds like he is being a picky eater / stressed eater.

The constant changing of foods is totally not a good idea. As for the couple days of eating great ten stoping thats normal result of buying a new food. my boy does the same thing. Ideally you want to have very strick feeding times, and keep to it. If he doesn't touch it in like 10-15 min pick it up and wait till later.

If he is hungry he will eat. 

Make sure he is drinking regularly and getting excercise. It took my boy like 3-4 weeks before he began eating normally after switching foods. If you looking for high quality food I highlly suggest orijen, acana, and wellness core ocean.

gl


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## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

Well we were just sticking with the 1 kind and leaving it down for about 15 minutes if he didnt eat we took it up until it was his next feeding time. But it got to where he would eat like 2 bites a day, and he just wouldnt eat. So we were concerned we needed to get some food in him somehow.

I gave the chicken broth thing here a go and it seemed to be great! Until about the third meal with it, now he won't touch it just like everything else.

I have talked with other dachshund owners who have said they switch their food up every bag because dachshund get bored quickly. I just don't see that being the best option. I feel like its going to mess his stomach up. 

Im totally out of ideas. I have no idea what to do for the little guy.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I have two small dogs. One is 19.5 pounds and the other is 18.1 pounds. They each get 1 and 1/3 cup of food per day. They maintain their proper weight. This may help you in regards to the amount an 8 pound dog actually needs.  ... less than what mine get for sure. 

My dogs hate dog food ... period. They would sooner starve. Soooooo ..... I keep the same two kibbles and I add a different thing every day to their kibble to make them happy. I add chicken breast boiled one day. I add chicken liver or beef liver ... boiled ... one day. Do not feed too many organ meats as they can cause health issues if given too much. Once a week is fairly safe. I also buy canned dog food of the 4Health in different flavors to add to their dry kibble and some warm water one day a week. The 4Health comes in stew flavors. I just keep mixing up different meals each day. It works for mine. I just be sure the majority of the meal is the same kibble. This way it is not such an insult to their digestive system. 

I feed 4Health dog food and I feed Taste Of The Wild grain-free. Both foods come in different flavors. 4Health is a 4 star rated food. TOTW is a 5 star rated food. Of course you can use whatever kibble you are using. Just try adding a little surprise to his dinner each night. I usually add 2/3 kibble to 1/3 of my goodies for their meal.

I also have added a little plain yogurt to their food ... a couple tablespoons as a pro-biotic for their tummies. It is good for their digestive system and they love it. I do that maybe once or twice a week also. You can also use plain pumpkin ( not pie filling with the spices in it ) as a topper, a couple tablespoons for fiber. Pumpkin also fixes the runs and constipation. It is a great tool for bowel issues

Yes .... I go all out for my dogs ... but hey ... they have to eat to live. 

I have just come up against some allergy issues in my dogs ... that is why I added grain-free to their diets. My big girl Abbylynn mostly eats the 4Health now with the goodies.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

when Josefina was a pup, she was a bad eater also but she got better as she aged.

what are you feeding him? a good site is www.dogfoodadvisor.com, i only feed foods rated 5 or 4 stars.


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## nfedyk (Jan 14, 2012)

Oliver is 8.5 pounds and he eats 1/4 cup of food twice a day. Somedays he doesn't even finish the entire 1/4 cup. Try giving your puppy less food.


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## Captain Spaz (Mar 12, 2012)

clokwise said:


> Well we started off with Science Diet and soon realized that may not be the best option. Though my mother seems to think it is the best thing on the planet since thats what she always fed her dog, we seem to disagree on that. She bought him some of the science diet ideal balance or something like that. Much better than regular science diet as far as content (3 out 5 at dogfoodadvisor.com) I'm still not completely sold on it. Either way, he did not seem to like that. We have tried a few different flavors of Hi-tek rations grain free, and a few different flavors of the pure vita. All he seems to eat well for a couple days then he wants nothing to do with it.
> 
> I do like the idea of a little chicken broth in the food. I might give that a shot and see how that goes. Thanks for the tip.


Science Diet is horrible dog food. Almost all of the different kinds they put out have either just unhealthy things dogs should *not* be eating, or some kind of ingredient in it that is not digestible at all. 
Including the Ideal Balance Grain Free, it has Powdered Cellulose, a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from the by-products of vegetable processing.
_My last dog died fairly young of bone cancer and I believe this was in huge part to eating Science Diet all his life. _

As for your pups problem, try feeding him dog food with less ingredients, grain-free as well as without all the fruits and such a lot of kibble is adding, dogs weren't meant to eat fruit and many times they can't handle it. 
Try Brother's Complete Allergy Formula, or Back to Basics. Less in more sometimes where dog food is concerned.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

clokwise said:


> I have talked with other dachshund owners who have said they switch their food up every bag because dachshund get bored quickly. I just don't see that being the best option. I feel like its going to mess his stomach up.


I assure you that rotating foods will not harm your dog in any way, so long as you transition between bags over a period of days. Buy the new bag when you have about a week's worth of food left, then add the new food to the old food, increasing the amount until you're feeding only the new food. My dog has eaten different things her whole life and now we can switch between foods cold turkey with no ill effects. Sticking to the same food over a long time can actually lead to an intolerance for that food.

That said, I would try the 15 minute rule. If he doesn't eat within 15 minutes, put the bowl up until the next mealtime. It won't hurt him to miss a few meals and he will learn to eat when it's offered. This method has worked on my previously very picky dog. For us this was really important for her to learn because she was guarding her leftover food from another dog in the household. Now she eats right away and no one can threaten her chance at a meal.

If this doesn't work for whatever reason (give it at least a good honest week before writing it off) then you could do a couple things to make the food more enticing for her. Be careful though, because this can also cultivate more pickiness. The first objective should be to get her to eat her normal food. But if you have to you could add water/both/teaspoon of canned food and warm it up in the microwave. Most dogs gobble that up.

As far as feeding, I don't know much about feeding a growing puppy, but my 20 pound, almost 5 year old dog is at a healthy weight eating from around 3/4-1 cup of Taste of the Wild.


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## LilasMom (Jan 18, 2012)

clokwise said:


> Well we were just sticking with the 1 kind and leaving it down for about 15 minutes if he didnt eat we took it up until it was his next feeding time. But it got to where he would eat like 2 bites a day, and he just wouldnt eat. So we were concerned we needed to get some food in him somehow.
> 
> I gave the chicken broth thing here a go and it seemed to be great! Until about the third meal with it, now he won't touch it just like everything else.
> 
> ...


Sticking with just one food can actually cause issues because they can end up developing an allergy to that food. It is better to rotate proteins and formulas, and you can do mini transitions between each bag.

I recommend rotating foods for every dog, bored or not. I can't imagine eating the same exact thing day after day.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

I have a 3 m/o 7lbs doxie mix who currently eats 3/4 cups of chicken soup for the puppy lover's soul broken into three meals. Up until a week ago he was getting 1/2 cup a day over two meals, and the vet said to add another 1/4 cup at lunch time because he's growing fast. A full cup sounds like a lot. It took him about two weeks to figure out that he actually had to eat at meal time, he'd just pick up one kibble at a time and wander around crunching until the cats came and stole his food. Now he chomps it right down! Maybe you just need a few cats to stare at his bowl at meal times


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