Not eating much, underweight... HELP!

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

Hi, my little girl Hunter is 9 weeks old, she has been with us for a week. When I first brought her home I took her to the vet for a check up and the vet said that she was underweight. She said that typically Goldendoodles are not food motivated and suggested that I soak her food in warm water. She is on Holistic Eagle Pack Puppy, which is what the breeder had her on and I continued. I have been soaking her food and she still does not have much of an appetite, she eats but it seems to be more of a "chore" to her. She seems to like her food, I am assuming anyways since she does eat it..... I just don't know. The vet said that you can feel her ribs to much and down her spine. She still "feels" the same to me in those areas. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would REALLY appreciate it!! Thank you! Denise & Hunter

[Tammy & Gracie]

My GD has never been too food motivated. She loves working for treats but the bowl of food, well, it's okay, but nothing to get excited over. If your vet agrees, I might suggest the evo foods, all that protein with no grain can add weight. I have suffered through Gracie's first year begging her to eat. It's been hard for me but I have made myself pick up the food after 20 or so minutes and not offering it again until the next feeding. The only time she really ate well was when one of my other dogs became interested in her bowl. It got to the point that feeding time for Gracie always came with a warning that "Katie is going to get your food!" Gracie is now about 14 months old and I just switched her over to Evo poultry and once a day feeding. Even with that she never wanted to really eat until I figured out that she is just not interested in a.m. food. Now that I feed her in the evening, it is going better. Just hang in there. I once had a vet tell me that a dog would never starve itself!

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

Our Abby was thin when we got her too... I tried her with so many different kinds of food it isn't even funny! She is 7 months old and I still haven't found anything she really likes, but I cook for her. Once a month a make a pot of her food and put it in freezer bags and freeze it. I add some to her dry every day - in the evening. Plain yogurt (Abby prefers Vanilla) can be added to the food also, and Abby likes that too. It is tough sometimes and you worry that they aren't getting enough to eat.
As far as dry goes, she seems to like Taste of the Wild - but I'm going to try her on Fromm next. It's all trial and error. Luckily the store I was getting her food from (Atlas Pet Supply) let me exchange it until we found something she liked. Merrick is another one she ate ok. I'm just trying to find something she really likes - maybe I just need to start pulling her food too during the day. Right now I fill her bowl and leave it out all day and she nibbles.
Good luck with finding a food - they can be so finicky.

[Chris & Boys]

Fozzy Bear was pretty thin too, But TOTALLY food motivated. But, when he first came home he wasn't. I think he was still trying to feel at home the first week or two. Now he eats everything he smells. I would try mixing in some canned food, but I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as she is healthy. In upcoming vet appts. they will be taking blood and fecal samples. As long as she continues to put on weight and nothing suspicious shows up, I wouldn't worry about it. As much as Fozzy eats, he still looks like a skinny rat when wet.

[Kyoko]

Oh.... She is soooo cute!!

Charlie did not eat much when we first got her either... I think we ended up feeding her more often, little bit at the time, to measure up to a decent amount by the end of the day....
Some time still, she won't eat much. On those days, I just use kibbles to play / practice command with her.
This seem to motivate her to eat.

[nonnie browne]

My buddy is not a food hound. I do add organic baby food to his kibble (he eats wellness puppy). My vet, trainer, and breeder all suggested this. Dogs love fruit and veggies like we do and tolerate most of them very well. Buddy especially loves sweet potates, squash, bananas, green beans, and mango. Ii spoon a couple spoonfuls in his chow and he he doesnt "attack it", but does eat well and has gained weight well. Occasionally I also spoon a couple teaspoons of plain organic yogurt. This add ins are all inexpensive and easy to store which I also appreciate with a busy schedule!

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

Those are some really great ideas, and seems a little bit less stressful than trying so many different brands of food. I thought she seemed to like it ok but just not enthused. Thank you for the suggestions!

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

Thank you for all of the insite! I was worried it was Hunter that wouldn't eat. I have been hearing a lot about Evo and I think I might consider that. My vet is more interested in selling their own foods too to give much advise. My friend raw feeds but I just don't think I could be up to that. She goes to the vet again next Thursday so hopefully she will have gained a little by then. She was the runt of the liter, I wonder how long it takes them to catch up or if there is such a thing. HHmmmmm

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

Catching up is another issue!! LOL They grow so fast that she really won't fill out much until her growing slows down some. But don't worry - they do fill out eventually. At 7 months, Abby feels real good, at a healthy weight of 50#.

[Holly Southall]

Angel was the same way right at first. Eating was not a real exiciting experience. She would not eat if we did not stay right with her. I sometimes had to sit down beside her. This went on for a couple of weeks. She also had lots of loose stools. I believe it was the stress of transition. After those first few weeks she started eating everything in site. She is very food motivated now and engulfs everything we give her. Maybe Hunter is just really undergoing a lot of transition stress like Angel did right at first. Our breeder suggested adding live active cottage cheese to her food (1 spoonful). That helped motivate her to eat. I mixed it all up and she really liked it. The baby food idea might help too and mix it with the food.

Adding a spoonful of Libby 100% pumpkin to her food helps with loose stool.

We were eventually able to change her food to Blue Buffalo and stop using any extras after a few months. We made a very slow transition and she has done great.

Angel did have Giardia when we brought her home. But that cleared up quickly. A stool check will determine if they have that. Your vet would let you know if that came back positive.

[Mommy2Max]

I had a similiar problem with Max. He is not food oriented. It took a long time to figure out a solution. For him, he would only eat Royal Canin. That is what he and his Mom ate when he was weaned. I think however, it has more to do with size, texture and the strong smell of chicken - which he loves. Also, once I started free feeding him, he started eating all his food. It took me a long time to come to this conclusion and I figured it out basically, because i gave up trying - LOL.

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

LOL Doesn't that figure? There are so many different foods out there it is sooo hard to decide which one to choose. I though I was doing great since she was weaned onto Eagle Pack now I find out that the ingredients are so/so. I am really glad I bought that big old 50 lb bag! LOL Learning from my mistakes dollar by dollar!! I think that I have seen the Royal Canin at my local pet store. I will have to check it out. The Eagle Pack smells like well - old meat - no wonder she doesn't eat much!!

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

Thank you!!! I am going to check that out.