Update on crying puppy

[Amanda and Wheatley]

Well, last night she slept like a dream in her wire crate! Turns out she is very intrigued by carrots! And the fact that she was probably dead tired by night. However, now I have a new issue. It's day 3 and she still isnt eating! She eats carrots, but she wont touch her dry food, and I know she eats the dry food because its what my breeder gave me! For the sake of her eating I cooked her a piece of chicken and she ate it, but she wont eat the dry food! I dont understand why?? Is she still too stresses...even though she eats raw foods?? Thanks

[Amanda and Wheatley]

Oh ok! Good to know. Unfortunately I really have been trying to research, but I cant find too much on what to feed puppies. ( I just assumed she would eat her kibble!) Luckily though, she had maybe a tablespoon of beans in the whole batch I made and I only gave her a cup, if even, which she ate 1/3 of, so she probably ate maybe 3 beans?? I'll see how she is tomorrow. On top of this I did it because I was reading a discussion in the food group (I'm a part of that group already!) and some girl fed her 8 week old puppy chicken, ground beef, rice, and a bunch of veggies. So I kind of assumed that the whole wheat pasta would be my rice exchange haha. Otherwise it was all meat. Oh well I supposed quinoa isnt meat, but it is wheat and gluten free and is a complete protein...

[fergie11]

what's quinoa?

[Amanda and Wheatley]

Quinoa is called a grain but it technically isnt. It's an alternative to rice and has a relatively high amount of protein in it (5g to 1/4 cup). It also is a complete protein meaning it has all the amino acids in it. Some vegetarian dog foods use it:
http://www.andeannaturals.com/AN/News/Entries/2006/11/27_Quinoa_In_...

[Lynn D.]

1/3 of a cup of food is a decent amount for a puppy. Feed that to her a few times a day.

I don't disagree with taking your puppy to the vet again, if she continues not to eat.

Best of Luck.

[Amanda and Wheatley]

Oh absolutely, if she doesnt start eating more I'm taking her to the vet again. The vet said it was typical and she'll work up her appetite, so I will give her a few days and see how it does. Do you think that mixture of food was too much? Is it bad to introduce such a wide variety? I assumed since people feed their puppies raw diets which have all sorts of different foods then it would be ok

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Excuse me...but YOU ACTUALLY GAVE ALL OF THAT IN ONE SHOT TO A 12 WEEK OLD PUPPY??!!?...Do me a favor and go back to puppy nutrition school ...and take tomorrow off from work because you're going to be spending your day at the vet.....

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

My Tigger was not very interested in food at first either. He is now a total chowhound. Stay with the dry kibble - down for 10 minutes and pick it up. Also try feeding only twice a day. Some puppies are ready to give up that third meal very early. Roo was still gobbling down three meals a day at 4 months, Tigger did much better on two meals a day at 9 weeks. Actually eating more than when offered food three times a day.

[Amanda and Wheatley]

Ya i've tried it, I put down the dry, she doesnt touch it and I leave it down for maybe 20 minutes then pick it back up. I try it periodically throughout the day but no luck. Thats when I gave into the chicken breast and what not... She will eat the raw food, just not the kibble. I figured I will keep feeding raw until she gets more confortable and then add the kibble until I wean her off the raw and just feed kibble...

[Lynne B]

You've gotten so much advice here I doubt if you need more- but, if nothing else works, try this. Boil chicken and shred it, cook a bit of rice in with the chicken and broth and just offer that. Offer it 3 times a day, leave it out for 15 minutes pick it up after that, no more until next feeding time. If she eats it, then the next day add a little kibble, let it soften in the broth. If that goes well add more kibble the next day until you are feeding mostly kibble with just a tablespoon or two of the chicken/broth/rice mix.

[Amanda and Wheatley]

Oh great, I will definitely give that a shot! Thank you so much! And I've got some pumpkin in case what I fed her earlier will make her tummy upset. I just was not prepared for this! Every puppy I've had has been such a big eater, so this just completely shocked me! haha

[Terri]

I know you've already gotten tons of great advice and ideas. I really wanted my pup on kibble...and I had some of the same issues when we brought Cooper home last fall. We did the chicken and rice thing for a while until he got into the habit of eating at a regular time. I found that he really, I mean REALLY, likes plain yogurt. That was the trick that got us back to kibble. I put a Tablespoon or 2 on his food and coated it really good, so that no dry food pieces were left uncoated. He still begs at the refrigerator every morning for me to put some on his food. If I forget and put down the dry in the morning, he will pace around the fridge. He's a creature of habit...because he eats dry for dinner and never even blinks, but he wants his yogurt in the morning. If you try it, make sure its plain yogurt. The probiotics in yogurt also help the tummy. Good luck with your new pup.

[Amanda and Wheatley]

I will try that thanks Terri! She seemed to like her Innova this morning! But for future I think I will try that, I have heard great things about yogurt! I also hear cottage cheese! I think I like yogurt better though due to its lower sodium content. hehe