Puppy not eating.

slookie

Got a samoyed pup last Thursday and she is 10 weeks old this week. Everything going ok, she gets on with the other dogs. However, her appetite is very bad. The breeder gave me a leftover bag of the stuff she was on....it's Gain food for puppies and saplings. But she doesn't seem to show any interest in it. I try feed her in the mornings and evenings. She eats treats ok, and I gave her a small bit of chicken on Sunday.
Then last night I tried her with a handful of adult nuts and she nibbled at them, but soon lost interest. She is still full of energy and running around the place. She is due her next shots this week, but this would hardly have anything to do with it?
Please help!

January

Cut the treats and chicken out completely. She won't eat her normal food if she knows there may be tastier alternatives coming. Put the bowl of food down for 10 - 20 mins MAX and if she hasn't eaten it, remove it and don't give her any more until the next feeding time. Or any alternatives. She won't starve, she'll eat when she's hungry and when she knows there's nothing more delicious up your sleeve!

tk123

Have you tried soaking the food in some warm water OP?

slookie

January wrote: »

Cut the treats and chicken out completely. She won't eat her normal food if she knows there may be tastier alternatives coming. Put the bowl of food down for 10 - 20 mins MAX and if she hasn't eaten it, remove it and don't give her any more until the next feeding time. Or any alternatives. She won't starve, she'll eat when she's hungry and when she knows there's nothing more delicious up your sleeve!

Ya I was thinking the same thing, but decided against it as she was only a pup and thought that she could starve herself sue to new surroundings etc.
Yes I have tried soaking the nuts in warm tea, but the breeder said she eats them dry?

are you serious

+1 on cutting out treats, your pup will not let itself starve no more treats and you will see her eating properly again in no time!

January

slookie wrote: »

Ya I was thinking the same thing, but decided against it as she was only a pup and thought that she could starve herself sue to new surroundings etc.
Yes I have tried soaking the nuts in warm tea, but the breeder said she eats them dry?

Don't soak the nuts in tea :eek: Soak it in warm water only!

FR.Ted Crilly

Hi i have a Pug 2 and a half years old, my self and my partner raised it from a 8 week pup. Like yourself we had the same problems, got the pup with half a bag of Madra dry dog food and told to mix it with a little bit of Pedagree puppy from the tin until he is four months old, and as you know what happens when you have to stop putting in the tasty (PedSludge)...!
January's advice is the best, but our dog was so small Gain Puppy was still to big and hard to munch so what we did is this pour water on top soak for three secs then spill out the water and within a few min it will have a nice puppy food texture which you can easily wean him off.
but dont take too long as too much soft food won't clean there teeth

slookie

January wrote: »

Don't soak the nuts in tea :eek: Soak it in warm water only!

Why not? Am I missing something?

tk123

slookie wrote: »

Why not? Am I missing something?

I'd assume
1) It has caffine in it which can be poisonous for dogs
2) The milk could give the pup the runs

January

slookie wrote: »

Why not? Am I missing something?

Tea contains caffeine, theobromine, or theophylline, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea and be toxic to the heart and nervous systems.

andreac

Please dont soak the food in tea!! Esp if the tea has milk in it, as dogs are lactose intolerant so its very bad for them and as others have mentioned, tea is not good for dogs. Why you would use tea is beyond me...

Secondly, i suggest you get a good quality food, Gain isnt great to be honest. Im not sure why you mentioned Saplings?? What has that got to do with puppies?

As others have mentioned, try soaking it in warm water or heating it in the mircowave a little so the smells and taste gets a little more enticing.

Puppies should have great appetites. Any i know are mad for their food.

Just to note a pup of that age should be fed 4 times a day not twice!!

Cut out any treats, a young pup doesnt need treats at that age really, even more so if they arent eating their meals.

Is the pup up to date on its worming? Make sure you are feeding the correct amount for the pups age, the bag will tell you how much you should be feeding.

slookie

Thanks for all the replies. Puppies and Saplings is whats written on the bag, so I just said it so you'd know. That's the food the breeder had her on. It's ok as it's nearly gone now, so need to get more. Any recommendations on a brand? Will try microwave etc. Im btinging her to the vet tomorrow for her next shots anyway, so will get her checked out.

aisher

You could change her food to something a bit more tasty - my pup came with a bag of dry food - kibble that was being fed to greyhounds lol. We tried her on Beta puppy kibble - not a big success and then introduced Nature First - its almost a 'wet food' but can be mixed with the kibble - my puppy loves it! If you do change food - do it slowly over a week or the dog will get the trots.

tk123

slookie wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. Puppies and Saplings is whats written on the bag, so I just said it so you'd know. That's the food the breeder had her on. It's ok as it's nearly gone now, so need to get more. Any recommendations on a brand? Will try microwave etc. Im btinging her to the vet tomorrow for her next shots anyway, so will get her checked out.

Make sure you slowly change the food so gradually mix in the new food adding more every few days over a couple of weeks or the pup might get the runs. Our guy was the same for a few days when we got him - she'll turn into a greedy pup once she's settled in :pac:

slookie

Hopefully your right. Can anyone recommend a decent brand of food that she will like, that doesnt't cost a fortune?

andreac

Whats your budget for a bag of food?

portgirl123

try whites dog food, its a good quality without been as expensive as some. also they do a loyalty thing where every 15kg bag of food u get 10% of or save them up and on your 9 th bag you get it free. you can order on line or phone them delivery is free and is usually delivered the next day. its €40 a bag

DBB

andreac wrote: »

Secondly, i suggest you get a good quality food, Gain isnt great to be honest. Im not sure why you mentioned Saplings?? What has that got to do with puppies?

A sapling is a greyhound pup ;-)

Slookie, you're feeding your pup greyhound food, which as a general rule is rubbish. It's full of cereal, is not nutritious enough, and most dogs find it boring to eat. Because dogs like meat, not wheat. It is also very hard in consistency, which makes it really hard to eat for a pup.
Gain is made by Red Mills I think? They should stick to horse feed, as their dog food is dreadful stuff. Way to go, your pup's breeder feeding cheap, profit-enhancing food.
Also, as Andrea said, at 10 wks your pup needs at least 4 meals per day, not 2.
It's a well established realisation now that better quality, more expensive foods, actually end up costing little more to feed than cheap food does. You always have to feed more cheap food to meet the dog's nutritional needs (which cheap food rarely does anyway), compared to smaller portions of nutritious food.
Whatever food you choose, try steeping it in warm water, not tea, allowing it to cool before feeding. A small teaspoon of sardines in oil (not brine) mixed through softened food will make it much more palateable.
I wouldn't be quite so nonchalant as other posters about a pup of this age not eating, to be honest. It's one thing allowing a healthy adult go without for a day or two, but it's not right to leave a young pup so long without eating, so it needs to be addressed asap, one way or the other.

slookie

Cheers for that DBB. Took her to the vet today for her 7 in 1 injections. Told him about her bad eating habits, and he gave her a full check up. Said she is fine and would leave the injections for 10 days until she is back to herself. Gave her an injection and also dosed her for worms and fleas. He gave me a sample of Pro Pac Performance Puppy food. Brought her home and soaked 100g of the new food mixed with the older stuff, and 30 seconds in microwave. She ate it straight away about 5pm. Went to do the same before bed time and she nibbled on it for 20 seconds and left it. I hope it's because she wasn't hungry.
Thanks for advising me that its the wrong food for her. When you say a teaspoon of sardines in oil, do you mean the actual sardines mixed through, or just the oil from them. She is still full of energy so hopefully she is on the right track. Want to get it sorted asap.

andreac

You can give her the actual sardines in the oil.

With the food, offer her the food, leave it with her for about 15 mins and then take up the food and dont offer anything, not even treats until the next meal.
The pup will realise that it only gets this meal and will soon cop on that it gets nothing else and should eat up.

Its very strange that this pup doesnt have an appetite, as any pups i know have brilliant appetites at that age.

Where did you source this breeder? Did you see the conditions the pups were kept it?

What injection did the vet give her? Thought you said he was going to wait ten days to give the injections?

Squall19

Had the same problem with my Siberian/ Malamute Husky Mix when he was a pup, I think alot of the northern Spitz breeds are picky enough eaters and very very smart that sense weakness, so if you start giving him lovely chicken and sardines he will never go back to his dry food.

My boy wouldn't eat his Purina Beta nuts for a few days, so like an idiot I was feeding him boiled chicken and rice for a week, I told the vet this when he went to get his routine injection and he said stop it straight away.They are not dustbins who will eat anything like labradors so you have to be tough with the northern dogs.

I have been feeding him Purina Beta dry food for large dogs mixed with tin food once a day since he was 12 months.If he doesn't dig into his food in 5 minutes it goes straight into the bin and he doesn't eat again until the next day.

That doesn't happen much now as he always eats but in the past he did play up and went 4 days once without eating, his stomach was grumbling with the hunger for 2 days but I didn't give in and he ate after that.

He's a good 40kg+ now, very strong and healthy.

If you give in now, your Samoyed will own you.

Good luck;)

Squall19

andreac wrote: »

Its very strange that this pup doesnt have an appetite, as any pups i know have brilliant appetites at that age.

My husky pup was a picky eater as well, I think its a fairly common with these breeds.

His pup is 100% healthy, just very smart.

Slookie be hard with her, she will thank you in the future.

If you start giving into her now, she will break your heart, it will be a constant headache at meal time.You will be giving her striplion in a few months:P

Put the food down and take it away.

slookie

Ok she seems to be eating a bit better the last 2 days. I mixed a spoon of tuna in sunfower oil into the kibble and she eats it then. I'm gonna try reduce the amount gradually, so she doesn't get too used to it.

barbiegirl

Would you try Robbies, it's a dehydrated food, that the dogs seem to love the smell of when you add the water. Completly natural and suitable for all ages and breeds. They will send you a sample or both it and the other brand Luath. Our Sindy was very fussy sometimes only eating once in 2-3 days, now it's twice a day and she's lost weight. Now a healthy 17kg which the vet is very happy, because weirdly she was 20kg when not eating right.

slookie

Is she a husky? Where do I get the free sample?

barbiegirl

From these guys http://www.landofholisticpets.co.uk/
She's not a husky, a spaniel retriever cross, but I know you can contact these guys direct and they will be happy to answer your questions, particularly on nutrition etc.

DBB

slookie wrote: »

Ok she seems to be eating a bit better the last 2 days. I mixed a spoon of tuna in sunfower oil into the kibble and she eats it then. I'm gonna try reduce the amount gradually, so she doesn't get too used to it.

Glad she's liking the tuna! Tuna and sardines are very potent for a food-fussy dog!
Just to look at things with a different perspective, what does it matter if one feeds their dog a bit of nice stuff in their dry food? Really, if the dog likes it, there's not a bit of harm giving her a wee bit of nice, healthy sardines!
I don't see any reason why anyone has to be "hard on the dog" by insisting they get dry kibble and nowt else.
If your dog likes it and eats well, and it's not a problem for you, where's the harm?

barbiegirl

I agree but I know our dog was getting overweight with the mixed in foods with her kibble. She still gets treats, her dentastik and some leftovers if they are ok for her, and she weighs much healthier

ISDW

Sorry, slightly off topic, but huskies aren't really picky eaters, but they are very efficient eaters, so don't need as much food as most other breeds. One of my boys will sometimes go 2/3 days without eating properly, no matter what is put down. He just doesn't need the food at that time, very common in the breed.