# Puppy won't eat - help!



## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

We feed Fromm's puppy kibble and Zoey shows almost zero interest! She is almost 5 months old and I'm out of ideas. I've soaked it, I've added cheese to the bottom of it, I've hand fed it, I've left it in her crate when we leave for the day evem and she still won't touch it! She ate better at 3 months than she is now... we did the same things then that we are trying now.

She probably eats less than 1/2 cup a day. :-(

Ideas??


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

You could try another brand of food. Maybe adding some raw food? Or something like ziwi peak? Puppies are fussy eaters. It will improve. I read some good advice on here which was to put the food down and take it up after fifteen minutes. You also do not have to feed a puppy food, that is more of a marketing thing versus an actual requirement.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Yup. Don't get sucked in to "puppy fussiness". Put her food down, and if she hasn't eaten in 15 minutes, pick it up. NOTHING else to eat until her next scheduled meal. Then feed her, and again, if she doesn't eat, pick it up. Healthy puppies WILL NOT starve themselves. Even if she doesn't eat AT ALL for a day or even two, just be matter of fact and offer it at meals then pick it up. When she gets hungry enough, she WILL eat.


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

krandall said:


> Yup. Don't get sucked in to "puppy fussiness". Put her food down, and if she hasn't eaten in 15 minutes, pick it up. NOTHING else to eat until her next scheduled meal. Then feed her, and again, if she doesn't eat, pick it up. Healthy puppies WILL NOT starve themselves. Even if she doesn't eat AT ALL for a day or even two, just be matter of fact and offer it at meals then pick it up. When she gets hungry enough, she WILL eat.


I needed to hear that. Thank you.

Should we discontinue treats until she's eaten the appropriate meal too? As in no treats at 9am if the 7am breakfast was not eaten?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

m&m mom said:


> I needed to hear that. Thank you.
> 
> Should we discontinue treats until she's eaten the appropriate meal too? As in no treats at 9am if the 7am breakfast was not eaten?


Yes. The only exception I would make is for training&#8230; and then I would use her regular food as the training treats.


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

Tough momma! I'm in. Thanks!


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

My guy was a fussy eater when he was little. He used to take his food out of the dish (he usually eats out of one of those glass flan bowls) and put it on the place mat. My other dog is a lab so I was definitely not used to this sort of behavior! Somewhere along the way my hav turned into a big eater and now he practically inhales his food and pushes me around at mealtimes. Definitely not the same dog now that he is 2!


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

Yeah - when she does eat she brings it into our family room one piece at a time! Silly pup.


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## FancyNancy (Oct 7, 2009)

Mine was a fussy eater until I started using Honest Kitchen Preference formula and adding cooked ground beef and cooked ground turkey to it. It's healthy and apparently delicious since my dog jumps up and down and runs around in circles everytime I give it to him. You can search on this site for "Honest Kitchen" and you'll find all the discussions. Good luck.


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

FancyNancy said:


> Mine was a fussy eater until I started using Honest Kitchen Preference formula and adding cooked ground beef and cooked ground turkey to it. It's healthy and apparently delicious since my dog jumps up and down and runs around in circles everytime I give it to him. You can search on this site for "Honest Kitchen" and you'll find all the discussions. Good luck.


Mine too, I dont know what they put in Honest Kitchen preference but my dogs love it. I add it to either chicken, other commercial raw like Primal or OC, and sometimes ziwi peak.


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

Is Honest Kitchen kibble? I want to stay away from raw (for now) and also stay away from adding anything to the kibble.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

m&m mom said:


> Is Honest Kitchen kibble? I want to stay away from raw (for now) and also stay away from adding anything to the kibble.


It's a freeze dried food. It comes either with freeze dried raw meat in it, or it comes with just the "extras", and you add it to your own meat, either raw or cooked. Your choice.


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

Well we have a quick learner. One day and she ate her entire dinner the minute it was served. Hopefully that was not a fluke...


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

Well she ate dinner but zero breakfast. Then around 3pm she ate an Asian beetle before I could get it and she dry heaved for a few minutes. Ugh. She ate almost 1/4 cup of kibble at 4:00 so we'll see...


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Don't give in! They can turn into monsters if you do!!!


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

krandall said:


> Don't give in! They can turn into monsters if you do!!!


Yikes!! She feels so skinny! We'll keep at it.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Check out the Purina Body Condition System on this page:

How to Determine Your Dog's Ideal Weight

It provides a couple of ways to guage your dog's weight; visual inspection and palpation.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

FancyNancy said:


> I started using Honest Kitchen Preference formula and adding cooked ground beef and cooked ground turkey to it. It's healthy and apparently delicious since my dog jumps up and down and runs around in circles everytime I give it to him.


Yep! that's what I eat, Honest Kitchen Preference with boiled chicken breast, sometimes fish, sometimes turkey just for variety. Delicious isn't the word for it, it is addictive. Try it, your doggie will probably like it. Buen provecho, bon appetite, happy eating.

besos, Ricky Ricardo


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

I really don't want to add anything to her kibble. Should I have to do that? Then won't she expect it every meal? Seems like if I did that I would guarantee her not to eat when extras are not included.


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

1/8 cup breakfast


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Molly has been a picky eater since day one. I was so worried about her that I tried a lot of different foods including raw, Honest Kitchen, and various premium kibble. She would eat the new food once or twice and then refuse to eat it. I came to the conclusion that she would eat when she was hungry and we ended up back on the kibble her breeder started her out with. Some days she barely eats 1/4 cup of food and other days it will be 1/2 cup or more. She is a small girl at only 6 lbs. and that is probably all she needs. Try not to worry so much. Pick a quality dog food and stick with it. I find kibble to work best because I was throwing away too much of the perishable food when she would not eat it. Lately I have been putting some kibble in a treat ball if she hasn't eaten. She likes the challenge of getting it out and it seems to entice her to go to her bowl and eat afterwards. Good luck!


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

1/4 cup dinner. Think I should try feeding three times a day?


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

Oops, I posted before reading your reply. That is great to hear! I just get so worried. Tonight she had blood coming out of her mouth and thank God it was from a lost tooth!


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Her lack of interest in food might be related to her teething also. She is losing teeth and having new teeth poke through and having blood in her mouth. Another thing I would do with Molly's food was to have two dishes. I would leave one dry and add water to the other one to soften it. She would go through periods of definitely prefering one over the other. It's amazing how much we can worry about these little dogs, just like with kids!


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

m&m Mom,
Mine does the exact same thing. Also, I tried putting a few of her crunchies (dry kibble) on the floor in front of her dog dish and she seems to like taking one at a time on the floor. She treats it like a scavanger hunt. Good luck!


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

Zoe093014 said:


> m&m Mom,
> Mine does the exact same thing. Also, I tried putting a few of her crunchies (dry kibble) on the floor in front of her dog dish and she seems to like taking one at a time on the floor. She treats it like a scavanger hunt. Good luck!


We try some softened and some dry and also the floor trick. Never having had a dog before and starting with such a tiny thing, is really worrisome. Thank you all so much for your kind suggestions


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

m&m mom said:


> 1/4 cup dinner. Think I should try feeding three times a day?


Keep in mind, that when Kodi was eating kibble, he ate1/4 c twice a day as a 16 1/2 lb adult. They are small dogs... They don't need a ton of food, and you DON'T want to make them fat.


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## m&m mom (Sep 27, 2014)

I agree. I was hoping she'd want more for dinner since she had little to no breakfast and no treats throughout the day.

I'll give it a few days and see how she does sticking to 1/4 cup twice a day.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I've switched food a lot. Right now I'm offering Formms salmon and they are only eating half the food normally. I was feeding Honest kitchen Keen and they gobbled their food.I have a box on order and they will be so happy to have it back. I then mix up the two to save money. When mine were under a year ols. I cooked chicken breasts and put them in Ice cube trays with juice from the chicken. I added one cube split to both bowls and they would eat their meals .


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## prettysmartchic (Jul 21, 2012)

*"M&M mom don't worry"*



m&m mom said:


> 1/4 cup dinner. Think I should try feeding three times a day?


When I first brought Parker home, he was super picky. He ate just short of starving but I gave into it because I didn't know better. Now, he's been a picky pooch ever since.

What I didn't know, and learned after $2500 in veterinarian visits, is that some puppies experience teething like children. My munchkin didn't want to eat unless it was something really tasty (i.e. worth the pain). He stayed 7 lbs from 3 months until he was 6 months. He put on one more pound at 7 months and then when all the puppy teeth were gone, he actually ate. Before that, my vet had me FREAKED OUT (she apparently was uneducated on teething in puppies) and as a result I even have a post on here about potential liver shunts. To her credit, she never knew another reason why a playful, happy, lively, energetic, sweet, loving and otherwise healthy puppy wouldn't eat ANY kibble unless it was new (which you know has its own health risk).

My giving in (changing food constantly and giving people food for "sick stomach", etc.) created a bit of a brat. Eventually, we had an intervention where I took him back to the breeder for a week -- sort of like picky puppy rehab -- and learned some good habits. It's funny in hindsight, but for the longest time the vet inflamed my fears. We were there EVERY OTHER WEEK. But once all the teeth fell out, we were good.

Tips that people gave you which are really good and imperative:

Do not leave food out like a buffet. Put it down, say "Go eat" (or give an eat command so he'll learn what it means when food is available).
 Praise softly while eating - don't cheer just for going to the bowl
 15 minutes later, if the face is not in the bowl, take the food away. Some people say try in 15 minutes, but I think Havanese are too smart and have too good of memories for that short interval. Give them an hour and try again. 
 When the bowl is empty, give a calm but sincere praise and maybe a treat (i.e. a lick of coconut oil, which will also be good for digestion, coat and skin).

Stay away from treats until food consumption is consistent. This was hard for us because we went to puppy training classes and there were treats galore. That made it REALLY TOUGH to encourage eating. Better idea is to do what my breeder did (she showed her first few Havs) keep a squeaker in your pocket or hand, and reward with affection/toys/game.


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## prettysmartchic (Jul 21, 2012)

Also, yes I agree with 1/4 cup 3 times a day, but honestly if your pup is going to be smaller, he may eat less. Parker still glamorously leaves a little kibble behind at every meal (and he still will skip a meal on occasion trying to wait me out to give him something tastier).


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Thank you, Stacey!
Your post couldn't be more timely. My 4 1/2 mo. old puppy is just realizing that the smells coming from the kitchen at dinner time do not match what's in her dish. You would think I would know better as she is not my first dog, but I made the mistake of giving in and spiking her food with bits of chicken, sweet potato, rice, etc. Now she just waits for me to spike her food and refuses her plain kibble. So thank you for the post because I am reminded that this will make her a picky eater which will be super annoying. I was also making mistake #2 of leaving it out longer. I definitely needed to hear this.

Linda


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

prettysmartchic said:


> When I first brought Parker home, he was super picky. He ate just short of starving but I gave into it because I didn't know better. Now, he's been a picky pooch ever since.
> 
> What I didn't know, and learned after $2500 in veterinarian visits, is that some puppies experience teething like children. My munchkin didn't want to eat unless it was something really tasty (i.e. worth the pain). He stayed 7 lbs from 3 months until he was 6 months. He put on one more pound at 7 months and then when all the puppy teeth were gone, he actually ate. Before that, my vet had me FREAKED OUT (she apparently was uneducated on teething in puppies) and as a result I even have a post on here about potential liver shunts. To her credit, she never knew another reason why a playful, happy, lively, energetic, sweet, loving and otherwise healthy puppy wouldn't eat ANY kibble unless it was new (which you know has its own health risk).
> 
> ...


I have to say, if it's a teething issue, I'd give the pup canned food... Which is better for them anyway, as it contains more moisture. Then there is nothing to hurt them. You can always go back to kibble after they are done teething, if you feel you must. But they won't have developed an aversion to something that hurts them every time they eat.


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Thanks, Karen. I have also tried letting the kibble soak in warm water but she still refused it. I will go to canned if I have to. 


Linda


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

If you can afford commercial raw or freeze dried that is the best option to maximize nutrition and convenience. You'll still experience some random puppy quirks with eating but I think they will eat more and have better nutrition. 

As an example my hav is two and he's always been on a raw diet. He has only been to the vet for one round of puppy shots, rabies shot, neutering and wellness visits to check for heartworm etc. We've spent nothing other than routine required things.


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## Hsusa (Dec 21, 2014)

At the beginning, when she was teething, I added warm water to Sheba's kibble til it was soft. Now that she's not teething she usually eats a total of 1/3 cup kibble daily, plus another little bit for training. She is six pounds, three ounces. You can feel her ribs, but there is a little bit of meat on them. She is energetic, not lethargic. So I think she is getting enough. That being said, she would eat more if it were people food. But in the long run, more dogs are harmed by becoming obese than by being underfed.


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Thanks, everyone. All of this is very helpful. She is young and very active but definitely has already mastered the art of begging for people food if she likes the smell. 


Linda


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Silly Zoe ate all her new food this AM. I bought her 2 very small sample bags of Orijen puppy and Acana duck. She pesters me for her morning banana and them I added hot water to her mixture and I found the plate licked clean. Then she started to run around and bounce on and off the sofa! Silly puppy!!!


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Just want to add that when I experimented and gave her some of the new dog food and cut the kibble into smaller bites, she ate it readily (without the hot water) and when she finished it, she would come to get me, sit before me with a little soft puppy sound, then she would follow me into the kitchen and waited until I chopped more krunchies. etc. repeat...
(Not sure who's training who at this point but she made it perfectly clear that she liked it that way.)


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## Hsusa (Dec 21, 2014)

So glad that Zoe is doING well with eating her supper and training Mommy at the same time.


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Yes, she is very good at training Mommy!


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Actually I just discovered that she loves Solid Gold Wee Bits. The bites are tiny. She had been on Orijen but I had to add hot water and then let it cool for her.


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