[ohbehave]

My pup (some sort of dachshund mix) is 12 to 16 weeks old. I have had her for eight days.

First, she has never come close to finishing the rations described for her weight on the Science Diet bag.

However, yesterday she only took a few nibbles.

This morning, thinking she'd be famished, she nibbled and stopped.

Then, just before leaving for work this same morning, I put a small amount of peanut butter in and on various chew toys and wrapped that in an old t-shirt.

When I came back home, I see that the toys are all out of the t-shirt, but none of the food appears to have been eaten.

About 10 minutes ago, I sat down at my desk near her crate, and she is starting to eat the bits of food off the toys. Now, I have filled a larger "brain toy" with food and she is working on it. If she eats all of that food, it will be maybe a quarter of her daily ration.

So, aren't puppies supposed to be big eaters? Her teeth must be ok, because she does chew her toys rather vigorously. Her energy is fairly high, too.... so it's not like she is lethargic.

Anyway, do pups sometimes go through a very lite eating phase?

 

[Willowy]

My first dog wasn't a good eater, and she was a Lab! Labs are supposed to be such chowhounds. But she grew up normally and lived to be 13 so it must not have harmed her. She never did get enthusiastic about food, so I don't have a lot of suggestions. Except, maybe, to try something better than Science Diet? From all my pets' reactions to the food in the past, I gather it's not too tasty.

 

[ohbehave]

Ok. Well, it seems that most of the dog pounds and the Humane Societies feed Science diet, so I didn't want to change her diet first thing. I'm not necessarily a Science Diet guy, but I suppose it is fine.

I'll try to blend in another variety soon. That, or I can just let biology take over and let hunger "improve" the taste of the food. I wouldn't want her to overeat.

Regardless, having filled one particular brain-toy-food-dispenser and sitting nearby seems to be creating a little more eating than I have seen in the past 24 hours.

 

[Hambonez]

How much does the bag say to feed? Keep in mind, they're trying to sell you more dog food. Hamilton is a doxie mix and 17 wks old and he gets 1/4 cup of food 3X/day. The bag says to give him at least twice that. The vet says he's growing well and eating enough.

We did the same thing when we brought Hamilton home from the shelter -- they were feeding him (and recommended! blech) Puppy Chow. We kept him on it for about a week just to make sure he wasn't going to have any digestive issues from the stress of changing environments, then we changed him over the course of three weeks onto a better food.

 

[hamandeggs]

It seems to me that this reluctance to eat this kibble is probably related to your pup not being very motivated by the kibble, which you posted about in your other thread. Adding two together, I deduce that your dog doesn't like this kibble very much! I agree with Willowy, switch to something better. Wellness and Taste of the Wild both have good puppy formulas.

Also, please don't take this the wrong way, but you've made a couple of comments here and in your other thread about not wanting your pup to overeat and being worried about her weight. Your intention is obviously good and it's clear that you care a lot about doing right by your dog, but I think you might be too focused on her weight. She's a growing puppy, not a 50-year old diabetic man with heart disease. Obviously, she needs to eat, and you should feed her a food she enjoys! Of course you should watch her and make sure she's not getting fat, but if she starts looking a little tubby, it's easy to cut back. Furthermore, don't worry about feeding her really tasty things for training. You can always cut back on her kibble on days when you feed a lot of training treats. Obviously you don't want to make hot dogs the majority of her diet, but you can strike a balance.

 

[ohbehave]

Thanks hamandeggs -

She is 10 lbs... and probably has a small belly. Unlike a larger pup, I was thinking that her little belly would be disproportionately filled with hotdog stuff.

Also, being a dachshund-type, I have been told to be particularly fretful of obesity.

I'll see if "wellness" and "taste of the wild" are available locally, though.

 

[ohbehave]

The bag says to feed a cup and a half! ... for a 10 lb pup. Holding that portion near her, it looks almost impossible to eat.

And my local dog supply place says that they have both of Hamandeggs recommendation. One does not come in a "puppy" formula. Instead, it is called an "all stages" type food (Salmon flavor).

 

[Willowy]

Is that Taste of the Wild? They have 4 different flavors in "all life stages" (which is fine for a puppy), 2 in a puppy formula. If you want the puppy kind, ask another store. Tractor Supply Co has all TOTW flavors/formulas.

 

[Hambonez]

My 11lb'er is happy with 3/4 cup a day, plus he gets treats and things throughout the day. If you've been giving her as much as the bag says, it might just be way too much!

 

[hamandeggs]

Is that Taste of the Wild? They have 4 different flavors in "all life stages" (which is fine for a puppy), 2 in a puppy formula. If you want the puppy kind, ask another store. Tractor Supply Co has all TOTW flavors/formulas.

I believe actually only two flavors are "all life stages" now, the lamb one and the fish one. The poultry and bison/venison ones used to be "all life stages," but then they added puppy formulas and changed the designations for those two to "adult only" (but apparently they didn't change the ingredients).

Anyway, all life stages is fine for puppies, or you could seek out the puppy formulas. I believe Wellness has a small-breed puppy formula, which is why I recommended it.

 

[ohbehave]

It must have been the Taste of the Wild that was available in Salmon "all stages", then.

I've got no problem with all stages... but I'll take a look at Wellness, too.

 

[kafkabeetle]

Personally, I haven't found a kibble my dog enjoys more than Taste of the Wild. She was never particularly interested in her food until she started on it over a year ago...maybe even 2 years ago and she hasn't lost enthusiasm for it. It's worth a shot.

 

[Bordermom]

Not sure if you're free feeding or feeding meals? If your'e free feeding, it's hard to tell if/when she eats. I don't use that route. Instead try feeding meals, 20 minutes then take the food away. No major treats or snacks inbetween, training is fine but use things the size of half a pea. You can try topping her food with goodies too, yogurt, meat baby food or a bit of canned food with water all works well. Learn how to tell 'ideal weight' and then use that to keep track of how much more or less to feed.

 

[ohbehave]

I have never "free fed" a dog before. I put food down... and pick it up if there is no interest.

Ok, so I have this Taste of the Wild, and the pup seems to love it. Unfortunately, I can't blend it with Science diet (to gradually introduce it to her diet) because she is pulling only the TOTW nuggets out.

Part of the reason for wanting reasonably good tasting food is that I want the dog to actually eat at my scheduled meal times. In that way, I hope to be able to time/schedule her need to poo.

Thanks for the heads up.

I may try Wellness next.