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The doghouse

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Original poster

Puppy gone off his food

18 replies

GColdtimer · 14/12/2018 07:13

My 16 week cav cross (no idea with what as he is a rescue) has not really eaten for a couple of days. He has kibble mixed with a tablespoon of good quality wet puppy food. He usually eats it with gusto but the last few days has been very picky and only eaten about a third, picking around the kibble. I offered just wet food and just kibble (separated in bowl) and he rejected that too but ate a bit of the wet. One of his poos was a bit runny but otherwise ok. DH gave him some chicken last night which he ate and he is still working for training treats. He is fine in himself.

So is this just fussiness and what do I do. Do I leave his untouched dinner or remove and give him fresh as meal times? I don't want to pander to fussiness (already have 2 fussy dcs!) but he his a pup and needs to eat.

Thanks.

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BiteyShark · 14/12/2018 07:23

Mine has always been picky as he isn't terribly motivated by food so if it isn't exciting he would happily leave it.

How many meals are you feeding because it may be that he's just getting to that point where he only needs 2 meals a day if you are still feeding 3.

Dogs also eat with their sense of smell which is why kibble is boring and things like wet or raw are typically much more exciting.

I also swop flavours about. I see a lot of things saying don't change foods and if so make sure it's over many days but ironically my dog has a stomach condition but changing foods and flavours on a regular basis doesn't set it off. The thing is I absolutely adore fillet steak but even I go off it if I am fed it on a daily basis so I think a variety is nice for my dog as well.

Original poster

GColdtimer · 14/12/2018 07:52

I have a mixed pack of wet food and he loved the duck for 3 days then refused it. He has picked this morning. Do I just leave it and figure if he is hungry he will eat?

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doingwhatican · 14/12/2018 07:57

Have you tried hand feeding kibble? It’s also a technique used by rescues to help with bonding and presumably to teach them to be gentle around food.

Original poster

GColdtimer · 14/12/2018 08:09

Yes. He turns his nose up totally and backs away. Sausage on the other hand .......

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MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours · 14/12/2018 08:17

I'd be inclined to think he would rather have chicken and is seeing how long until some is produced.

Otherwise anything missing in the house?...am thinking odd sock, or ball toys, cardboard, anything he might have pinched, eaten and given himself a stomach ache

Hungerstrike was one of my GSDs favourite method of expressing his disapproval, but he'd usually only miss one meal a day as he'd be really hungry by the time the next was due, but he was a needy nellie and we knew what he was like.

BiteyShark · 14/12/2018 08:35

I swop flavours everyday now and he only very occasionally misses meals (usually if it's his least favourite).

Some people ride it out until they realise that it all they are going to get but as mentioned earlier I prefer to mix it up for him.

anniehm · 14/12/2018 08:40

Some dogs are picky. Mine always eats wet food but dry sits all day and gets eaten (if at all) late at night when there's no prospect of human food. It's not just dog food either, he's picky even with human food (eg won't eat crisps, anything warm). Try offering a little scrambled egg for instance, as long as he's eating that you can put the food down to fussiness - we leave a bowl of dried dog food where he sleeps/is left and top it up each morning, some days it's gone other days untouched

Original poster

GColdtimer · 14/12/2018 09:27

Thanks everyone. He knows there is chicken in the fridge . I think he is holding out! Dd hand fed him kibble and he ate pretty much his a portion whilst lapping up the attention. I think he is playing us.

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MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours · 14/12/2018 09:39

wee monkey!! I don't know much about the workings of spaniel minds ...labs, retrievers and GSDs I know!

glad he is eating now!

BiteyShark · 14/12/2018 09:41

I think he is playing us

They all do that every now and again. I know when BiteyDog is thinking 'I wonder if I will get anything better if I don't eat it' as he goes to his bowl, looks at it, looks at me and wanders off. I then ignore him and after about 10 minutes he comes in and tries to catch my eye, if he can't he sulks back to his bowl and reluctantly eats it

adaline · 14/12/2018 10:24

He's probably fed up with it, I think when they're just fed the same thing from a bowl every day it gets a bit boring!

Can you try feeding it different ways? So either stuffed in a kong and frozen, scattered around the garden so he has to sniff it out, or maybe in a slow feeder or kong wobbler? It just makes it a bit more interesting. My pup will turn his nose up at kibble in a bowl but if you put it in a puzzle game he'll wolf it down!

Original poster

GColdtimer · 14/12/2018 12:11

Can anyone recommend a puzzle feeder. He likes his king and I stuff it with peanut butter and kibble but puzzle feeder/toy sounds good.

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BiteyShark · 14/12/2018 12:12

Kong wobblers are good. For wet food licky mats keep mine occupied for ages.

adaline · 14/12/2018 12:18

Mine loves puzzle feeders though he figures them all out within minutes.

We have a frisbee thing that you fill with biscuits and he has to flip it around to get the biscuits out. We also have one where he has to move the covers off the compartments to get at the food. Look up Nina Ottosson - she has a great range of toys and they're available on Amazon or in Pets at Home.

He also has a snuffle mat for biscuits and a licky mat for wet food. The licky mat can be frozen too which makes it lasts longer (and is great in summer!)

smackbangwhollop · 16/12/2018 22:12

Do you weigh his food out? Over feeding can cause loose stools, also food intolerances. What are you feeding him?

Original poster

GColdtimer · 17/12/2018 06:47

Well I have an update. He hadn't been pooing much either (no loose stools just tiny ones) and grumbled when I picked him up a couple of times. I was considering going to the vet but then watched him have a very difficult poo. When I picked it up it appeared full of short bits of wicker. . I discovered a hole in the bottom of a child sized wicker chair we have in the living room. No idea when he has got to it as he is crated when we go out and is rarely unsupervised. That said the 12 year old may not have noticed. Anyway he is eating normally now and appears to be giving the chair a wide birth.

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Original poster

GColdtimer · 17/12/2018 06:49

Thanks smack, useful to know. He has kibble with a small spoonful of wet food mixed in. Same brand (John wellend I think).

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Original poster

GColdtimer · 17/12/2018 06:50

Adaline do you give him all his food lin puzzle feeders and licky mats?

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