# Puppy not interested in food



## onthehuntforhavanese (Mar 18, 2017)

Hi all! I welcome Oscar home just over a week ago and he has not been hugely interested in his food. Unfortunately this has left him retching in the early hours of the morning. The vet gave me some wet food to tempt him to eat a better evening meal to help settle his stomach so I used a small amount to mix in his food (to prevent from upsetting his tummy from a new food) but it only worked once before he avoided eating again. So now it is after 3am again and I am doing a quick wash of the bile he puked onto his bedding. Apparently this is quite common but I am clearly doing something wrong 🙁 He is otherwise a bouncy little bundle of love and has energy to spare. Just thought I’d reach out in hopes that someone else has advice on what has worked for them. Thanks


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

My girl, Molly, was not interested in food as a puppy either. She did not throw up from an empty stomach, however. Have you tried moistening the kibble? Otherwise, I would find a dog biscuit he likes and give him one before bed to help fill his tummy. Tell your vet that the wet food isn’t working and see what they recommend. Maybe a new brand of kibble or a different protein might help. Good luck!


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## Henry&Kate (Mar 29, 2017)

oscar is pretty darned cute. I always love that frog leg pose. 

Henry skips meals too. He did it a lot the first few months although he didn't throw up bile. But it worried me a lot even though I knew he wasn't going to starve. When we went from 3 to 2 meals, he started eating every meal. Yay! but now we're back to skipping meals. It doesn't seem to be doing him any harm. His weight is fine and he's energetic but I don't like it one. bit. Although I admit he's training me well because when I get nervous about it I'll put a tiny bit of people food on his food to tempt him, which it does. Once he takes a bite, he'll usually eat his meal. 

The biscuit before bed sounds like a good idea. Good luck.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

This really isn't a very common occurrence with Havanese puppies. They can be off their feed for a day or two after coming home, but after a week, they should be back to eating normally. And it is easy for Havanese to talk their owners into catering to their whims as far as food is concerned. But that's not what's happening here. That would not cause him to vomit bile. Have you talked to your breeder about the problem? She might be able to help you through this better than anyone, as long as the vet says he's healthy.


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## onthehuntforhavanese (Mar 18, 2017)

Thank you for your reply! I was originally moistening the food because that's what he had at the breeder's but when he arrived he wasn't eating much so when he gobbled up a stray dry kibble, I offered both soft and dry to him and he went straight for the dry bowl each time. I like the biscuit idea. Will give it a try!


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## onthehuntforhavanese (Mar 18, 2017)

Thanks for the advice. I have contacted the breeder yesterday so I'm awaiting a reply. He's got a clean bill of health from the vet and the breeder did tests for eyes and liver too. I pretended to eat his food this morning and made a big fuss with yummy noises and he came over to eat too...maybe sharing his food with his littermates made the food more appealing? I'll see what the breeder says and also try the biscuit idea and keep making a big deal about mealtime. Thanks all...I've been in new mom mode stressing over him so I'm glad to have you to share your experiences and insights with me.


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## onthehuntforhavanese (Mar 18, 2017)

Forgot to mention I've also been adding a sprinkling of crumbs from his treat bag into his meals to entice him too. Maybe that was a bad idea to start with :|


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## Meli (Apr 25, 2018)

First, he is SO adorable!!!

Second, our pup wasn't eating much when we first brought him home...he would only eat a few bites here and there. I was worried at first. But I realized he's more of a social eater :laugh2: He prefers having me in the kitchen with him while he eats. If I'm standing in the kitchen (doesn't matter what I'm doing, I just need to be in there), he'll eat all his food. But the moment I walk away, he decides he's done. I guess he thinks he's missing out on something and needs to follow me to see what I'm doing. He won't starve himself though, eventually he'll go eat by himself.


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Welcome! Thanks for the cute photo! Hope to see lots more! Sorry to hear about the eating. Hope that is resolved soon.


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## Cassandra (Dec 29, 2015)

We definitely found the biscuit before bed to cure the bile throw up during the night problem. It apparently soaks up the bile, or gives the stomach something digest or something like that. Cassie generally is ok re eating her meals..every once in awhile she sniffs it and walks away..she is definitely not as food motivated as my previous dogs who never, ever skipped a meal (goldens, shelties, and dachshunds).


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## Jeanniek (Mar 20, 2018)

I love that you tried that - - pretending to eat his food too. What a great idea!


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## onthehuntforhavanese (Mar 18, 2017)

Thank you! He had his best meals through the day with a LOT of coaxing and bribery. His last meal was 8pm and then he had a spoon of wet food with a tiny bit of kibble and that lasted MOST of the night but at 5:45am he was retching again. Sigh. And now at 6:30am he is not eating his breakfast. Now I wonder if he's holding out for the good stuff (I crumbled a small liver treat into his dinner last night to get him eating which he loved). He does like the little biscuits I have so tonight I'll try giving him one after his midnight pee break to help get us through 'til breakfast. 

Re: Cassie, how big a biscuit and how late did you feed it to her? The ones I have are Old Mother Hubbard's tiny classic bones. I did have a Golden who wasn't big on food but it never resulted in the tummy acid issue.

My breeder is away overseas until July 1st so if my next few attempts don't see us through the days without any incident of clear vomit then I'll be back at the vet's. Fingers crossed the midnight pee break snacks will help!

Thanks again everyone for the support and words of advice!


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## Cassandra (Dec 29, 2015)

Cassie gets 4 tiny Natures Balance sweet potato and chicken biscuits around ten p.m., before or after last potty of the night. She knows the routine and hops up on couch to get them sitting next to me to remind me it is time for bedtime treat. I break each one in half. It is probably about the amount as two of the medium size old fashion milk bone biscuits. They have the same ingredients as the Natures Balance kibble she gets with a couple tablespoons of Chicken and Turkey Refrigerated FreshPet for dinner as I prefer not to introduce anything different in food (i think beef based treats or chews caused her stomach problems in past)


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## onthehuntforhavanese (Mar 18, 2017)

No barf today! YAY! He ate a small meal at midnight & then a biscuit around 2am. Unfortunately he didn't really want the biscuit (maybe not hungry, maybe too thick and crunchy for that early hour to work on) so I soaked it a bit to make it softer, broke it into smaller pieces then kept at him until he finally ate it. Will look into some different biscuits like the Natural Balance and hopefully the midnight snack will be the routine. In the meantime I think he's just a small eater so I am focusing on a bigger morning and evening meal with just something small in between. I'm also only going to use peas and apples as training rewards for now - I read online that it may be that he is having too much fat in his diet to break down (?) Worth a try. And maybe it'll increase his appetite for his meals too.


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## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

Good luck and welcome to the forum!


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## havahop (Jul 24, 2010)

What a cutie Oscar is. I once had a Havanese foster puppy that also would not eat. Came to find out he was afraid of the shiny stainless bowl I was using. Once I switched to a white ceramic one he gobbled it up. We've also had fosters that would only eat off of paper plates or off the floor. In my experience these guys can be quite quirky. Good luck and I am sure you will stay on top of this...btw, I have also used the special treat at night when one of mine doesn't eat their dinner as they will also vomit the yellow bile during the night. My two are 14 and 11.


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## onthehuntforhavanese (Mar 18, 2017)

Thank you for sharing your personal experiences! Truly helpful to give insight into this amazing breed! I did wonder about the bowl too but his water bowls are all stainless steel and he drinks from them - but I have started giving his meals in our ceramic bowls (if not just because he sees us eating out of the same type).

Update: We've had some major success:grin2:! Last night after mixing the softened kibble & adding warm wet food he still backed away. So I sat there deflated with the spoon still in hand that I used to mix his meal with when I noticed him looking at it. So I offered him a spoonful and sure enough he started eating!!! He had a great meal and I wonder if part of it is he doesn't like his nose rubbing around the food (the few times recently he eats from the bowl he scurries off quickly to try wiping off his face). Not sure if elevating his bowl will help with that. No barf at night. Tiny breakfast (which made my heart drop again) BUT for lunch he went straight for the mixed dry kibble! YAY! I know I'll still need to see how things go meal by meal but for now it gives me hope! 

Thanks again everyone for all your ideas and support!!!


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## Molly&Ben (Jun 3, 2018)

I brought my dog Molly home a week ago. I have not experienced any vomiting, but feedings have been tricky. The first time, she wouldn't eat until I offered the food on my finger. She has improved, but she definitely needs some coaxing and patience, lol! I responded to your post because Molly also appears to wipe her face after meals - too cute!


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## onthehuntforhavanese (Mar 18, 2017)

Molly&Ben said:


> I brought my dog Molly home a week ago. I have not experienced any vomiting, but feedings have been tricky. The first time, she wouldn't eat until I offered the food on my finger. She has improved, but she definitely needs some coaxing and patience, lol! I responded to your post because Molly also appears to wipe her face after meals - too cute!


Congrats on Molly! So exciting! Glad your little one doesn't have this issue :smile2: I was hoping with Oscar that he was just transitioning to being here but its definitely something with the food. He LOVES peas and ate them no problem as his midnight snack but when I tried giving him his kibble or even a partially softened biscuit, he backed away like I just gave him something horrid. I now wonder if its teething and he likes that the peas are cold. So tomorrow I'll try softening some food and refrigerating it & see if I can get anywhere with that! Sigh!


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## onthehuntforhavanese (Mar 18, 2017)

Aaargh! And now a chipped canine tooth! Just noticed it. Off to the vet we go...again :frown2: He is still chewing away on all his toys so hopefully it's not anything other than just a small chip. Fingers crossed.


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## Molly&Ben (Jun 3, 2018)

Oh no! Maybe Oscar has not been eating well due to tooth problems? Hope everything works out at the vet! I discovered last night that Molly also loves peas! I've been keeping both of our pups on a no table scrap diet, but have been offering bananas and now peas to see how they react. Ben loves bananas, but Molly hasn't shown any interest in them.


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## onthehuntforhavanese (Mar 18, 2017)

Vet checked tooth and it's fine but she did mention that the way his teeth are aligned they will start growing into his palatte so he may need dental work if they don't correct themselves. She was however concerned that he still wasn't eating so we are trying so. me new wet food and will track over the weekend. Sigh. I will be honest, I started crying in the vet's office. Of all the challenges I anticipated with a puppy, I did not think eating would ever be an issue. This is stressful :frown2:


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