[Tink]

I bought a 4 month old standard poodle just a week ago tonight. He was quite thin when I bought him, and I've had NO luck at putting any meat on him. He barely nibbles no matter what food I try. I did take him to my vet yesterday and he agreed he's very thin, but could find nothing else wrong with him. His advice was to keep trying different things to see if I can hit on something he will like.

I've tried giving him Iams and Purina puppy chow, baked chicken, tuna, browned ground beef, peanut butter and bread, and nothing seems to interest him. He will eat an ounce or 2 of tuna, then looses interest, and the same with the Purina puppy chow. He ate a little bit of ground beef too, but no where near what I had hoped he would. The other stuff he takes if I hand feed him, then drops it on the floor.

Any one have any ideas? He's a gorgeous little guy and we really want him to be healthy! He's had all his shots, he's been wormed several times, lives in the house with us and seems happy and to be bonding normally. The only other odd thing we've noticed is that he drinks huge amounts of water, which the vet said might be an indication of diabetes, so he will be tested in a couple weeks if things don't improve.

He's currently 28.8 lbs and could stand another 5-7 at least!
Thanks for any help you can give.

[Dulce]

The things you are feeding him is NOT good for him..

Iams and Purina are VERY LOW QUALITY foods. Ground beef, and all the other junk you gave him is so unhealthy.

Try a better quality food that has fish and potato, it's really popular with most dogs.

[Cheetah]

I agree about the IAMS and Purina, but there is nothing wrong with giving a dog fresh beef, chicken, peanut butter, or small amounts of bread.

Many people feed homecooked diets that are perfectly balanced and have ground beef, chicken, veggies, etc. in them.

I give my dogs several things with their kibble, including (but not limited to):

Ground beef, bison, or turkey, chicken breast, chicken wings and necks, bison femurs <--- all meats are given raw
Carrots, green beans, snow peas, rice, oatmeal, pumpkin, plain yogurt, cottage cheese, applesauce, strawberries, mango, blueberries

Anyway, I would switch the kibble, and possibly add some canned, and you could even try a few of the things listed above. I find that even picky dogs tend to like cottage cheese and yogurt.

Kibbles I recommend are:
Natural Balance
Castor and Pollux
Canidae
Eagle Pack (Holistics)
Nature's Variety
Innova
Innova EVO

There are probably more but it's late. >@_@<

[Dulce]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

I agree about the IAMS and Purina,

Kibbles I recommend are:
Natural Balance
Castor and Pollux
Canidae
Eagle Pack (Holistics)
Nature's Variety
Innova
Innova EVO

There are probably more but it's late. >@_@<

GREAT suggestions Cheetah. The ones in orange are one sI'm familiar with, and are good foods!

Also, white rice and chicken are great for dogs, as well as potato's, and fish Most dogs seem very attracted to rice

[Dog-Gone-Crazy]

I've had the same problem with my half poodle. So, I'm trying out different things. But she eats more then your poodle it sounds like.

Anyway, the cooked food your giving your dog is fine for him. As long as it isn't that bologna, ham, turkey, ect. that you buy in packs at the grocery. Those are horrid for a dogs health.

He may just be a picky eater, and he's so under weight because his old owner probably didn't take the time to try everything out there to see what he likes. So just keep experimenting.

There are a lot of things that you can try. Don't give up hope !

[cindylou_38]

My 5 month old eskipoo was the same way, no matter what I gave her she would not eat it. I found that she like the beneful dry for puppys. I give her the first part mixed with a bit a wet dog food, she eats that up and later I give her more just straight. She picks at it.I have found she put on lots of weight and the vet is happy! Also she is to!

[LoveLilly]

Try the Iams puppy gravy. It worked with my Pap. I know people are going to yell back that its not healthy, but when you have a little tiny underweight dog that is now looking so good you do what works. Also, putting a little warm water on the kibble and heating it in the microwave for a few seconds really helped her. She likes her food warm. Currently she is getting Purina Pro Plan small breed puppy with a little moist food from The Honest Kitchen on top and warm. The Honest Kitchen is 100% natural with no preservatives or chemicals. She really loves it and can't get enough.

[Dulce]

Originally Posted by LoveLilly

Try the Iams puppy gravy. It worked with my Pap. I know people are going to yell back that its not healthy, but when you have a little tiny underweight dog that is now looking so good you do what works. Also, putting a little warm water on the kibble and heating it in the microwave for a few seconds really helped her. She likes her food warm. Currently she is getting Purina Pro Plan small breed puppy with a little moist food from The Honest Kitchen on top and warm. The Honest Kitchen is 100% natural with no preservatives or chemicals. She really loves it and can't get enough.

The puppy gravy isn't real healthy for your dog. I believe I mentioned in your other posts that Iams and Purina is poor quality food??

Like I said before, fish and potato is great for dogs, and the fishy smell is quite illuring.

Try white rice, and chicken or chicken broth. Feeding raw will more than likely do the trick. It's great FOR your dog too!

[mistee06]

if you want your pup to gain weight,sadly but true Iams or Purina mixed with a high quality food might help...think of it as Mcdonald's for dogs, thats why most of them like it...its like candy for them...and what makes a person gain weight faster then eating mc****s all the time.. maybe try getting wet food as well...Merrick's canned wet food smells GREAT and dogs seem to like it...when we get an underweight dog in, we mix low and high grade puppy food and soft food....keep trying to feed him...

[mistee06]

i should add, that you should most definately NOT feed iams or purina or pedigree or any of grocery store dog food on a regular basis... I only suggested to mix in them with a high quality dog food like Natures Variety, Canidae, Timberwolf, etc.....i suggested this because our vet reccommends it for underweight dogs in the shelter..because we cant prepare raw food for them to eat there.... feeding natural foods (chicken, veggies and fruit) is a much better way to go though...

[Tink]

Thanks all!
I've been trying all sorts of things this past week, and was truly shocked by some of the things this little stinker wont eat! He chewed (and spit out)baked chicken breast, cheesy pasta, mashed potatoes, and salisbury steak with gravy! He showed us by bugging my son when he was eating, that he will eat a bit of pizza, likes spaghetti sauce on his beef, and will actually eat a cup or so of ground beef with sloopy joe sauce on. He seems to enjoy tomato sauce if nothing else!

I have gotten him to eat an egg each day; with a handful of fresh ground beef and maybe a few nibbles of Purina puppy chow. As I said, he will bug my son for some of his "people food" so we've given in and let him have leftovers since I've forbidden anyone to let him eat WITH them and create a little beggar.

He is full of energy, is enjoying learning to retrieve, and seems to be eating enough to make normal piles of poo each day. I don't see that he's any meatier than he was, yet he acts healthy and normal at this weight. I will have to just keep trying and hope we hit on something that he'll eat that's also healthy for him. Until then, I'm putting him on a daily vitamin supplement just to be safe.

[Dulce]

Ok, again, you are feeding your dog CRAP!!! Why would you do that after all the helpful suggestions people have given you?

I can understand you want to encourage your dog to eat, but there ARE healthy alternatives.

I said it before, and I'll say it again...try WHITE RICE! I really think it will help. It doesn't hurt to give it a try. It's a lot cheaper of an alternative to some of the other stuff..

[Doglistener]

Dogs tend to decide what to eat with their noses not there taste buds of which they have far fewer than humans.

If you are feeding a quality all in one dry food then pop it in the microwave for 15 seconds it enhances the smell. Do not pamper to the dog or it will get very fussy in it's eating habits.

Some dogs do this almost as attention seeking. Stick to a good quality diet put it down if the dog has not eaten it in ten minutes take it away and feed it's normal rations at the next allotted time. Do not free feed or leave the food down longer than this time.

Stan

[Cheetah]

Please don't feed the dog junk food (pizza, spaghetti sauce, etc). I suggested many fresh foods that are healthy which I feed with my own dogs' kibble.

I agree that you are encouraging your dog to be picky by trying to cater to her. So I would try putting something *healthy* in the dog's kibble to get her to eat, although I still think the kibble is very poor quality and that may be why she's not wanting it (dogs are very perceptive, she might know what's really in it lmao). I also suggested some better kibbles in my first reply. At this point I would even suggest Nutro Natural Choice over what you are feeding (but don't get the Ultra, as they have a nasty little secret).

[Cheetah]

Ok, for some reason it's taking me to somebody else's reply when I try to edit my own, so I meant "he" not "she" lol...

[blackgavotte]

Want to hear something funny now? Its so true that if you let a dog train you to feed them what they like, its the beginning of the end. My first two toy poodles got my number pretty fast, and I was already a pro and should have known better. My vet boss used to say, " let 'em go hungry... they won't starve.. feed 'em dogfood and when they're hungry enough, they'll eat "... but those sweet faces and big eyes, and so on... anyway, after some months of messing around with this issue, and tons of worry for me, I found myself sitting crosslegged on the kitchen floor one day, HAND feeding these two little darlings, a combination of people food and high-toned canned dog food, that I had mixed all together in one plate, and I was picking this stuff up with my fingers, and feeding them each, a little mouthful at a time, just to be sure they were eating enough. Thank goodness, my common sense kicked in about then and I put a stop to that foolishness immediately.. they did not starve and in fact within the week of "tough love " were eating very well indeed, their own dogfood..out of bowls, too.

[samnason]

Wow! I can't believe someone else is going through the exact same thing I just went through with my dog. Sorry this is so long, but I think this may be helpfull to anyone who has the same problem with their dog.

I have a Vizsla male. As expected, he's really high energy and perfectly healthy in every way except this. He was never a big eater, but at about 5 months his appetite slowly dropped. His energy level never went down, but he went from eating 2 times a day to one, and then down to eating only 1 cup of food a day.

It didn't matter what we fed him, he hated everything. We tried every type of food out there, good and bad, and he ate exactly one cup per day. We also noticed his thirst going up. At first he'd just ask for more water when his water bowl ran out, and slowly it just got more and more until he would search out water excessively. He'd drink till he got bloated, and we'd have to restrict his access to water.

All the while we were trying all these diets and foods people had recommended. Satin Balls, BARF, etc., nothing worked. When he didn't like something he just wouldn't eat it period. He would go up to 3 days without eating at all, and then we'd have to switch to something we knew he'd eat a little of. During this time, he was tested for diabetes twice with negative results.

We started feeding him people food as leftovers mixed with his food, and that would help a little, but we had to do something different every day. A lot of people will criticize that your dog is training you, which may be the case in other dogs, but those are the same people who when they see every rib and spine bone of your dog showing will call animal control to come check you out. I appreciate people's concern, and I never had a problem explaining and showing vet records of my dog's problem. But not every dog is the same, and in my case if I didn't feed him "something" he wouldn't eat. To give you an idea, my 1 year old male Viszla weighed 44 lbs. His mother was 62 lbs at perfect weight and his father was 76 lbs.

Every day was different, and we tried a mix of different stuff in his food to get him to eat. I noticed one thing he didn't limit himself with was heavy grain breads. So I took raw oatmeal, mixed a little molasses, a raw egg, and mixed it in with his kibble. He chowed that stuff down like he had been starving all his life. I was glad he ate, but I learned not to get too excited when he liked something, cause he never ate the same thing the next day. But the next few days, he was eating this combination twice per day, and asking for more!

So we went to vet with our new find, and he had already gained 4 lbs within a week. She wanted us to try cooking the egg for the safety of ourselves and our other pets (apparently dogs can shed salmonella through their skin). He wouldn't eat the mixture if the eggs were cooked, so we went back to raw.

His excessive thirst was still a problem, and we were going to test him for diabetes, when she recommended we do a full blood work on him again. This time, the blood test revealed severe kidney function problems. It was devastating! We didn't know what was causing it, but all signs pointed to a kidney infection, so we gave him antibiotics for 2 weeks. We tested him again, and his kidney function was normal but there was still a high white blood cell content in his urine. So now he's being treated for a prostate infection and we go back in a week to find out how the tests come back. She's also had us give him Pepcid AC before his meal to reduce any stomach pain he may be having that keeps him from wanting to eat.

The problem is that we are just now discovering the source of the problem 8 months after the small symptoms of picky eating and excessive thirst appeared. Within that 8 months of starvation, severe internal damage was possible, although I hope we find out that is not the case. It was discarded as possible diabetes, a spoiled dog, and many other things.

Now, I give him a spoon full of yogurt about 10 minutes before each meal which seems to calm his stomach, as I do think he has stomach aches. I serve him 1 and 1/2 cup of oatmeal mixed with one and 1 cup of water, one tablespoon of unsulphered molasses, 1 or 2 raw eggs (depending on how much he ate last meal), mixed with 2 - 3 cups of Nutro Hi Protein formula kibble. He eats this twice a day, and he now weighs 58 lbs, and counting.

So if things don't improve please ask the vet for full bloodwork when he does the diabetes test. You can try the yogurt method to calm his stomach, as could be one of many reasons he doesn't like to eat to begin with. Or you can ask the vet what a safe dosage of Pepcid is for your dog. If that doesn't work, keep looking. The sooner you find out what it is the better chance you have of fixing or treating it if it is treatable.

[LabLady101]

I just want to add that although he seems to be bonding normally, this could still be a stress related behavior. Most dogs (and especially puppies) need a few weeks to adjust to a new environment. However, in the meantime (and on the other hand), I would also not cater to his antics. I would put the bowl down for 10 minutes and pick it up whether he has eaten anything or not. If he didn't eat anything or only ate a portion, he gets that exact same meal at the next scheduled feeding. This may seem cruel at times, but it actually establishes a healthy alpha dog relationship with him- with you as the alpha dog. It also teaches him to eat his food when you give it to him. He will not starve himself.

I would also like to say that while it is of some people's opinions (yes, they are opinions and not necessarily fact) that Iams and Purina are "crap" or "junk" foods it is something you need to make up your own mind about. If, once your pup starts eating on a regular basis, you find that one of these foods are working well for your pup, I'd stick with it- regardless of what others think. If he doesn't do well, switch.

Just MHO,
Darcy

[poofywoof]

I can tell you with certainty that Poodles are very intelligent. I think your dog is outsmarting you. He has gotten you to feed him whatever his little heart desires! (and he's only known you a week or so)
Please research some high quality dog foods, then choose one that suits your budget and dog's activity level, etc. Then STICK WITH IT ! Give your dog some time to adjust to a new food, give yourself some time to see how he does on that particular food, if it doesn't work after an honest trial, then you can switch, or try mix ins: cottage cheese or canned food if you wish. If I were you, I would stop switching around all the time, it is harder on his digestive system and he is surely not receiving adequate nutrition.
Poodles tend to be slender, and they are notoriously finicky. Teach him to eat his own food, do not allow him to manipulate you into feeding him junk. People with Poodles have to try to stay one step ahead of them! They can and will train you instead of you training them.

[Ginny01OT]

I have an eight month old standard poodle--I feed him about 80% raw and 20% kibble. I feed him Nature's Variety Prairie frozen raw (thaws over night in fridge) and I add about 1/2 cup of Innove Large Breed Puppy kibble to each of his feedings (I feed him twice a day now). He loves the mix and licks the bowl when he is done. I went to the vet today and was told he is growing at a nice rate, his coat is great, he is bright and energetic and free of ear infections (so common in standard poodles). When he gets older (about 8 months) I will switch him from the Large Breed Puppy kibble to Innova Evo kibble (along with the raw) making his diet completely grain free. There is some indication (from what I have read) that you do not want to give a large breed puppy Innova Evo until he is close to his full size/weight because of the protein/calcium content in the food---I did call Naturapet (Innova) customer service who also said to wait until the dog was a little closer to his maturity size to start Evo for the same reasons. Good luck with your standard poodle, they are the best. We are really enjoying our puppy--in fact, it is time to go for our walk. Best wishes!