[Puppy0226]

She could be eating better than she is right now. She doesn't eat alot. Hope this gets better. We feed her with a bowl in her crate and we sit kinda next to the crate but don't give her any attention. How long should we give her to eat her food or how can we handle this better? I know feeding it to her in a kong might be better (she has no clue what it is or how fun it can be) but when we get back to reality and us going back to work, It would take her a really long time I assume to feed herself that way and we won't have that much time in the morning to wait it out so we can take her for her walk after her eating. Any suggestions? Today we started at 5am for her walk and her 2nd walk we'd want to be around 7:30 and then we'd leave about 8 or 8:15. This is how we are looking at the morning schedule to be.

 

[georgiapeach]

I'd give her 15-20 minutes, then take it up. Are you adding any water to the kibble? Adding just a little water to moisten it, brings out the aroma, and may make it more enticing to her. Definitely don't give her attention when feeding her - it can cause attention seeking finickiness.

 

[Wicket]

How old is your puppy and what kind of dog is it? When my dog was a puppy, I gave her around 10-15min to eat her food before taking it away. Sometimes they don't always have an appetite, and some are just hungry all the time, lol. How many meals a day does she have? If you're feeding more than 3, you can reduce the number of meals and increase her portion sizes of the main meals. Does she exercise and play enough? Dogs who don't get enough exercise then to be less hungry, you can try playing with your puppy a little more to get her extra hungry. Walking her before her mealtime might help too. As for the kong, sometimes you have to train a dog to learn how to use it. I suggest smearing something tasty tasty, like peanut butter or cheese, just around the rim of it and let her sniff and lick it off. Keep doing this and gradually smear some food on the inside to encourage her to explore it. Eventually she will learn that she has to work to get at her food, and you can stuff more of her meals in there. It helps to mix her good with something yummy like wet food. Also, she might not like her current kibble, some are just down right unappealing to some dogs and they just won't eat it. You can try to jazz it up with real meat or switch her over to something more tasty and smelly. Lastly, if you find that she's barely eating, and getting more listless, take her to the vet ASAP. There could be something wrong with her that is causing her not to want to eat.

I hope this helps and things work out Goodluck!!

 

[Puppy0226]

She is a 3 month Shihtzu. The breeder fed her a cup in the mornIng and a cup at night. When we told the vet this she was fine with it. I don't know if she ate all her food with the breeder. I would think a pup would finish it up. We've only had her since last Friday evening. She is getting plenty and plenty of exercise and we do walk her befOre her feeding. It's not that she doesn't eat just think she should be chowing it down as a pup but maybe I am wrong.

 

[RedGermanPinscher]

I give Bambi and Riley 15-20 minutes. Dycen get 30 only because he Typically waits for the other two to finish before he eats. Cause although he has his own bowl, for some reason he prefers to eat everyone else's leftovers?????

 

[Wicket]

She is a 3 month Shihtzu. The breeder fed her a cup in the mornIng and a cup at night. When we told the vet this she was fine with it. I don't know if she ate all her food with the breeder. I would think a pup would finish it up. We've only had her since last Friday evening. She is getting plenty and plenty of exercise and we do walk her befOre her feeding. It's not that she doesn't eat just think she should be chowing it down as a pup but maybe I am wrong.

Wow, 2 whole cups!? That seems like a lot of food for a 3 month shih tzu. She might not be able to finish it because it's just so much food. I have a Shih tzu x Peke cross (so about the same size kinda dog), and when she was 3 month old, she ate about a cup a day that was split into 4 portion, and then 3 portions when she was at the older end of 3 months. I suggest increasing the number of feedings to 3 so it's more spread out and she doesn't experience spikes and drops in blood sugar levels. Decrease her food by half a cup and see how she fairs. If she doesn't finish it, decrease a little more. If she does finish within the 15 min, increase a little more. She will let you know how much she needs. Try mixing some water or wet food into her food to entice her to eat if she's barely eating. You can even mix a little boiled egg in there if you like for some variety. But do it a little at a time to not upset your puppy's tummy. Also, consider switching to a higher quality of kibble so she doesn't need to eat very much of it to get all the nutrient she needs.

 

[RedGermanPinscher]

Wow, 2 whole cups!!?Wow, That seems like a lot of food for a 3 month shih tzu. She might not be able to finish it because it's just so much food. I have a Shih tzu x Peke cross (so about the same size kinda dog), and when she was 3 month old, she ate about a cup a day that was split into 4 portion, and then 3 portions when she was at the older end of 3 months. I suggest increasing the number of feedings to 3 so it's more spread out and she doesn't experience spikes and drops in blood sugar levels. Decrease her food by half a cup and see how she fairs. If she doesn't finish it, decrease a little more. If she does finish within the 15 min, increase a little more. She will let you know how much she needs. Try mixing some water or wet food into her food to entice her to eat if she's barely eating. You can even mix a little boiled egg in there if you like for some variety. But do it a little at a time to not upset your puppy's tummy. Also, consider switching to a higher quality of kibble so she doesn't need to eat very much of it to get all the nutrient she needs.

TOTALLY miss that bit of info and have to agree with^^… Also, please keep in mind you have only had her a short time and it can take several weeks for even a puppy to completely settle into a new enviorment. A healthy dog will not starve itself you just might not be offering food during times of hunger. If the above advice does not help and/or you begin to notice a decline in health please contact your vet immediately.

 

[InkedMarie]

I give my dogs 15minutes. Is your pup used to eating in a crate? Also, that does seem like alot of food for a little dog.

 

[Madakira]

I have a 4 month 40lbs Dogo and sometimes he doesn't even finish 2 cups!