Fussy eater: shih tzu cross puppy! HELP!

Ciara.smilie

Can anyone offer any advice when it comes to a fussy eater! Milo will be one in June and is a shih tzu x bichon.

He was very spoilt, too many treats! and went off his food. I have changed his food three times, on advice from the vets, which works for a time but now I can put a bowl down for him and it will still be there 4-5 days later, practically untouched. Yes I have started to leave it down all the time, as he went for over a week not eating when I lifted it. I have tried the stock or gravy mixed in, which stopped working also.

When I got him nutered he was on wet food for two days, so I could be sure he was eating something, he loved it! and would lick the bowl clean! But he was stinking!! his breath, his farts, his poop!!! But I was advised if he was on a high qaulity wet food this wouldnt be as much of a problem.

After a vet check up last week I found that milo has lost a little weight since his last visit, so Im starting to worry again about his eating habits. I am now considering changing his food again, going back to wet food, or homecooking his food.

He has been on Burns puppy and is now on Flatazor puppy small kibble. (sp).

Can anyone offer me any advice? or has anyone had the same problems? I'll be taking him back to the vet in three weeks to weigh him again, and if he has lost more weight, something will have to change!

VonVix

I think you mean "Shih Tzu" :P

Is he begging for treats? What brand of food are you feeding him? Is he defecating as normal? How much physical exercise does he get?
Sometimes these fellas can be pretty smart, they'll skip their boring food because they know you'll give him the good stuff (because you're worrying over the fact he is not eating) later on.

Ciara.smilie

Yes! Fixed!! Apologies about that!!

No he doesn't beg for treats, he used to go to the kitchen where they are kept and cry, but that was a few months ago, after getting ignored this quickly stopped!

Yes, he goes to the bathroom as normal. At the moment he is on Flatazor puppy, small kibble size. Before this he was on Burns puppy. He gets moderate exercise, he is walked (not every day), runs himself silly out in the garden, esp now in the good weather, and goes to doggy day care 2-3 days a week (to keep him social) where he is playing with the others most of the day!

VonVix

Ciara.smilie wrote: »

Yes! Fixed!! Apologies about that!!

No he doesn't beg for treats, he used to go to the kitchen where they are kept and cry, but that was a few months ago, after getting ignored this quickly stopped!

Yes, he goes to the bathroom as normal. At the moment he is on Flatazor puppy, small kibble size. Before this he was on Burns puppy. He gets moderate exercise, he is walked (not every day), runs himself silly out in the garden, esp now in the good weather, and goes to doggy day care 2-3 days a week (to keep him social) where he is playing with the others most of the day!

Haha, no worries, common mistake.

How much does he weigh? Can you feel his ribs without having to dig in? And how much food do you give him per day? I assume the vet has checked his teeth?

Many of the Shih Tzu's (purebred, can't comment on crossbreeds) I have come across are poor eaters in the sense that they don't eat everything out of a dish in one sitting, they tend to graze throughout the day.

Does he like toys? Have you tried him with an interactive feeder such as a Kong wobbler or a treatball where you put the kibble inside and he knocks it around?

If he doesn't seem lethargic, is fit and active I wouldn't worry too much.

Ciara.smilie

Last week he weighed 5.3kg, yes you can feel his ribs through his skin without pushing. The vet said they are not sticking out so not to worry yet. Yep she checked everything and all was ok. He gets a good hand full in his bowl, but like I said that could still be there days later.

Yea I've tried the kong, all that happens is the kibble is left scattered around the floor!!!

The last few days he has been lethargic, but I'm putting that down to the heat and being outside alot more the last few days, coupled with last Thursday and Friday in day care! Mind you, if you throw the ball he will still go tearing after it! He got sick Saturday and Sunday, again I'm putting this down to what I mentioned before, but if that happens again the next few days, we will be going back to the vet.

I know we should be lifting his food and not allowing him to graze but its hard to do when he is so picky!

VonVix

Ciara.smilie wrote: »

Last week he weighed 5.3kg, yes you can feel his ribs through his skin without pushing. The vet said they are not sticking out so not to worry yet. Yep she checked everything and all was ok. He gets a good hand full in his bowl, but like I said that could still be there days later.

Yea I've tried the kong, all that happens is the kibble is left scattered around the floor!!!

The last few days he has been lethargic, but I'm putting that down to the heat and being outside alot more the last few days, coupled with last Thursday and Friday in day care! Mind you, if you throw the ball he will still go tearing after it! He got sick Saturday and Sunday, again I'm putting this down to what I mentioned before, but if that happens again the next few days, we will be going back to the vet.

I know we should be lifting his food and not allowing him to graze but its hard to do when he is so picky!

If he seems to prefer softer food, try putting water in his kibble and then pop it in the microwave for about 20 seconds, drain off the excess water. It will help bring out the smell. Remember, dogs 'taste' with their noses, if something is smelly, they are more inclined to eat it. :P

Ciara.smilie

Thank you! I'll try it! I put it in the microwave this morning, and he went to it and took one or two pieces and then left it again!! haha! we have our work cut out with him thats for sure!!!

tk123

A week without food?! Are you sure somebody isn't sneaking him something?

You don't HAVE to feed him kibble OP. You could always feed a good quality wet food like Forthglade, NaureDiet, Rocco etc - take a look on zooplus.ie or zooplus.co.uk or the likes of PetStop and PetMania have a good variety (sorry MaxiZoo ) I raw feed my two and there's never any problems with uneaten food!

PS I misread the first line and though he was crossed with a BOXER - I had a crazy long haired boxer in my head for a second lol!

Ciara.smilie

Haha, nope not a boxer!!! I have him on kibble because I was told it was better for his teeth and would keep his poop soild etc..., but I have been thinking about going to wet food since he isnt eating!

Well a week with no kibble anyway!!! Hes like a hoover in his day care apparently! getting to the treats before anyone has a chance!!

How do you find the raw food is going? What do you give them? I have been considering doing home cooked food. If I gave him a plate of chicken right now he would hoover it up, 100%!

VonVix

It's mostly a myth that wet food is bad for their teeth, high quality is best. My two little lads are on Lukullus wet food and have fabulous teeth for 4 years of age.

tk123

Ciara.smilie wrote: »

How do you find the raw food is going? What do you give them? I have been considering doing home cooked food. If I gave him a plate of chicken right now he would hoover it up, 100%!

They're thriving on it. My boy is on it about 4 years and my girl since she came home as puppy. They get a variety or different things - beef, turkey, duck wings/necks, tripe, pheasant, rabbit, venison, tripe, lamb bones etc My boys teeth were always a bit dirty on dry food but not since we switched to raw.. my girl has always had dirty canines even with the raw so I have to give her kelp and scape/brush them to keep them clean.

Bells21

Have you tried adding something beneficial to it such as some salmon oil? One if mine is quite picky about his food but loves fish and all things fishy smelling!! I've started putting half a teaspoon of salmon oil in with his kibble and the smell entices him to eat! And on the plus side his coat now has a lovely shine

kylith

Ciara.smilie wrote: »

Well a week with no kibble anyway!!! Hes like a hoover in his day care apparently! getting to the treats before anyone has a chance!!

That's why he's not eating at home, I'd wager. He's filling up in treats so he's not very hungry when he gets home. Any chance you could get them to stop feeding him treats at day care?

boomerang

IMO (and this is not aimed at you directly OP) dogs are only as fussy as you allow them to be! If he's hungry enough, he will eat.

aonb

Ive always fed my dog home cooked - you know whats going into the food - its solved the issues one of my dogs had with allergies (skin/stomach) and is so easy. If he prefers wet food why sweat it - give him what he will eat with no hassle, and saves you having to worry about him eating or not, very economical. Take a cup of brown rice, a packet of chicken thighs, fire in a few bits of chopped veg like carrots/potatos/brocolli/peas, boil it all up til the rice is cooked (removed the bones and chop up the chicken), put in a large tupperware and keep in the fridge - enough for a week. Vary it by adding a bit of beef or fish instead of chicken.

Ciara.smilie

Bells21 wrote: »

Have you tried adding something beneficial to it such as some salmon oil? One if mine is quite picky about his food but loves fish and all things fishy smelling!! I've started putting half a teaspoon of salmon oil in with his kibble and the smell entices him to eat! And on the plus side his coat now has a lovely shine

No I haven't tried this, I had been adding gravy or stock, this worked for awhile but after awhile he got tired of it too. :rolleyes:

Ciara.smilie

aonb wrote: »

Ive always fed my dog home cooked - you know whats going into the food - its solved the issues one of my dogs had with allergies (skin/stomach) and is so easy. If he prefers wet food why sweat it - give him what he will eat with no hassle, and saves you having to worry about him eating or not, very economical. Take a cup of brown rice, a packet of chicken thighs, fire in a few bits of chopped veg like carrots/potatos/brocolli/peas, boil it all up til the rice is cooked (removed the bones and chop up the chicken), put in a large tupperware and keep in the fridge - enough for a week. Vary it by adding a bit of beef or fish instead of chicken.

I have been really considering home cooking lately and have been doing some research on it. I reckon that if we went this way, he would really enjoy meal times again!!!! The only thing that is holding me back, is I've read that if you do homecooked, the dog would more than likely have to go on some kind of supplement to make up for nutrients they are missing out on from the homecooked stuff - did you find this?

I've also been trying to work out portion size, like how much meat in relation to veg etc.... any advice you can give me would be great Altough I may be way over thinking it!!!

aonb

Over-thinking is a pet owners job!!

One of my dogs was so fussy, hated kibble, two were dustbins, so the home cooked just covered everything. All of them love the home cooked food. Jeez a visitor once ate a portion from the fridge thinking it was leftovers

I give them a kibble meal usually once/week or so, its a novelty and they will eat it. To supplement their home-cooked, I give a raw bone every week. I also give a raw chicken wing every week (anal glands etc). I put salmon oil onto the food in the bowl, and one dog I give a spoon of coconut oil. All of my dogs have great teeth, good skin (even the one with a skin issue was pretty much ok), not farty - whether that was the home cooked or just luck...

My dogs are 'good doers' - they are like fat ponies, can survive on fresh air!! - so a decent bowl every evening - enough to fill them up (happy dogs) - if anyone ever left anything behind (hah!) then I know Im giving them too much. Unlike your boy who is a bit thin, I would put less rice than meat in initially, with my chunky boys, I put more rice - a cup to a tray of chicken wings or minced meat or to say 4 fish fillets (I buy the frozen white fish fillets in Tesco - really good value) I also put liver in the mix now and then, or if my husband is home to chop it up, a heart is very popular

good luck - let us know how you get on - you could also look at the raw diet - lots of good reports on here for it - Im squeemish about meat being a bit of a vegetarian...

Ciara.smilie

aonb wrote: »

Over-thinking is a pet owners job!!

One of my dogs was so fussy, hated kibble, two were dustbins, so the home cooked just covered everything. All of them love the home cooked food. Jeez a visitor once ate a portion from the fridge thinking it was leftovers

I give them a kibble meal usually once/week or so, its a novelty and they will eat it. To supplement their home-cooked, I give a raw bone every week. I also give a raw chicken wing every week (anal glands etc). I put salmon oil onto the food in the bowl, and one dog I give a spoon of coconut oil. All of my dogs have great teeth, good skin (even the one with a skin issue was pretty much ok), not farty - whether that was the home cooked or just luck...

My dogs are 'good doers' - they are like fat ponies, can survive on fresh air!! - so a decent bowl every evening - enough to fill them up (happy dogs) - if anyone ever left anything behind (hah!) then I know Im giving them too much. Unlike your boy who is a bit thin, I would put less rice than meat in initially, with my chunky boys, I put more rice - a cup to a tray of chicken wings or minced meat or to say 4 fish fillets (I buy the frozen white fish fillets in Tesco - really good value) I also put liver in the mix now and then, or if my husband is home to chop it up, a heart is very popular

good luck - let us know how you get on - you could also look at the raw diet - lots of good reports on here for it - Im squeemish about meat being a bit of a vegetarian...

Thanks so much for the advice, I think we have pretty much decided that from this weekend Milo will be on homecooked, and we'll see how we go for awhile! I can worry about supplements later, hes missing out on everything as it is at the moment! So I'll get him eating first, and take care of that later!!

Thanks you again!!! I shall report back!

Latatian

How is his muscle, spine, hips? If he has reasonable muscle, isn't 'bony' at the base of the tail, I wouldn't worry about it unless/until the vet says to worry. Most dogs are better off a little slim- while some dogs do indeed not eat enough to keep themselves healthy, most of the time it's just us worrying (i.e. being good pet owners and concerned about the animal) and not a problem with the dog's health.

Some dogs are just good at not eating more than what they need, or good at holding out for something better when they want it. I had a dog who wasn't eating- turns out other family members were just giving her 'better' food (i.e. junk) and she turned her nose up at her dinner.

.red.

Any time my fella is a bit sick or if I run out of food i do a batch of rice, veg and meat. He loves it and i need to take the bowl or he will keep licking it and moving it round the kitchen.
I just pop in the rice, frozen mixed veg and some mince, turkey or beef, whatever i have and boil it till the rice is cooked. I normall do enough for a few days till i have time to get more dog food.
When hes put back on the normal food he looks at me like ive done smething wrong.
Its worth a go anyway OP, and if it doesn't work its only cost €2/3.