Help...I'm new and puppy won't eat

[TorosMOM]

HI

We have an 8-9 week old rescue rottie mix puppie. He is overall very healthy except for a slight Upper respiratory infection that he is being treated for, my other rescue had the same thing when we got him. His coat is soft and clean, eyes are bright and shiny and he is energetic with a great disposition. He looks all rottie except for a few white markings on his toe, chin and a small circle on his chest. He is an absolute sweet heart and is bonding wonderfully with out 10 month old rescue mix and my husband and I.

He was on Purina puppy chow at the shelter and we have been switching him over to "Taste of the Wild" since the Purina is an inferior food. The thing is, change or not puppy won't eat either food! We have even been putting in baked chicken thighs cut up and still nothing. He gets very excited when he sees the food bowl takes a few bites and is done.

We are starting to worry because we know he needs a lot of nutrition to grow big and strong.

Any advice for a desperate owner???

[brunie's mom]

He should be eating. I would take him to the vet and have him checked out. It could be the respiratory problem is making him lose his appetite?
Try feeding him a bit of chicken and rice, and see if he will eat that. If he eats, then start mixing in some of the good kibble in. You could also try pouring some warm broth over his food...sometimes if it's softened and warm...they get hungry.

How much is he eating? Is he drinking? Is he peeing and pooping?

Gina

[TorosMOM]

Originally Posted by brunie's mom

He should be eating. I would take him to the vet and have him checked out. It could be the respiratory problem is making him lose his appetite?
Try feeding him a bit of chicken and rice, and see if he will eat that. If he eats, then start mixing in some of the good kibble in. You could also try pouring some warm broth over his food...sometimes if it's softened and warm...they get hungry.

How much is he eating? Is he drinking? Is he peeing and pooping?

Gina

I've done allof the above. He drinks water poops 3x a day and pees a bunch so I know he is not getting dehydrated. I put warm brith over the food and let the kibble soak up so it gets mushy. At most he eats about 1/3 cup of the kibble, chicken mixture. He eats better at breakfast and dinner than lunch ( the shelter only fed him 2x a day). I'm at my wits end. The vet says he is normal otherwise, no worms or other ailments. THey say he will eventually eat when he is hungry but that isn't good enough for me! I don't want to stunt his growth. I'm so upset over this.....

[moondog]

Is his weight normal for his size? If so, I wouldn't worry too much. It's likely the upper respiratory congestion has interfered with his sense of smell and food doesn't smell all that great, so his appetite is down. You could try adding a spoonful of something super smellicious on TOP of his meal (baby food chicken works well for this - or even a pinch of sardine would do) and see if that helps.

Is there any chance he's got a broken tooth or perhaps swallowed something he shouldn't have that's sitting in his stomach and affecting his desire to eat?

[TorosMOM]

Originally Posted by moondog

Is his weight normal for his size? If so, I wouldn't worry too much. It's likely the upper respiratory congestion has interfered with his sense of smell and food doesn't smell all that great, so his appetite is down. You could try adding a spoonful of something super smellicious on TOP of his meal (baby food chicken works well for this - or even a pinch of sardine would do) and see if that helps.

Is there any chance he's got a broken tooth or perhaps swallowed something he shouldn't have that's sitting in his stomach and affecting his desire to eat?

He is about 10lbs right now. The shelter is guessing he is about 8 weeks, although they are not sure. It looks like he has all of his teeth, although some are not compeltely in yet. I don't think he has gotten into anythign that would be upsetting his stomach. Other than the eating issue and the slight congestion from the respiratory issue he is a sweet normal little puppy. My husband and I have a lot of experience raising lab puppies, we raise guide dogs for guiding eyes for the blind. My husband thinks he may be younger but we are not sure because we are unfamiliar with rottweilers and again, we are not sure if he is a mix and with what. All so confusing!

I will try adding the baby food on top. Hopefully his sense of smell will clear up and he will start eating, or else i'm gonna have a midget of a dog!!

[DarinBongo]

Hmmm I just went through a phase where my 6 1/2 month old wasn't eating. He acted totally normal otherwise, but when it came time to eating it was almost like he was scared to eat because he knew he'd then have to poop. I actually posted asking for help because I thought it was the food and although his stool sample came up negative, the vet still suspected it was an infection. She ordered a week of antibiotics and he cleared right up and is back to eating normally. You should get him checked out #1, but I don't know about antibiotics on a puppy that young, but #2, when Bongo was taking his medicine and still feeling kinda crappy, I would feed him by hand. Something about me letting him know it was okay to eat, made him want to eat. He wouldn't touch his bowl, but if I would scoop up the kibble in my hand and feed it to him, he would gobble it up. Remember, you're his mommy and just like when kids get sick, sometimes, they just want the OK from mom! I'm sure some people might call me crazy, but it worked for Bongo and kept him nourished while getting over his belly bug.