# Will not eat kibble



## ChanelTheMaltese (Dec 3, 2013)

My baby girl is about 9 weeks old and refuses to eat the kibble. I've tried wetting it and everything, but I'm pretty sure she can't eat it yet because she is still very young and small. She will, however, eat simply nourish canned foods made for dogs that is chicken and rice. 

Has anyone had this problem? What did they try doing? Should she be eating the kibble by now?


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## kilodzul (Oct 7, 2013)

At 11 weeks Cashmere was eating kibble, despite not having all her teeth yet, because she was used to eat it when she was with her breeder. She was gobbling it all down in 30 seconds, without chewing, which worried me. She learned to chew it later.

But for the past month she refuses to eat it. The only things that works is mixing it up with wet food. So I'm interested what other SM members will say about this.

One thing I would do, is to check if the kibble pieces are not too big for her tiny jaws.
And I think that if she already eats canned wet food, then dry kibble may seem less interesting and yummy, not to mention more difficult to eat for her.


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## mdbflorida (Feb 28, 2013)

You could put the kibble in a food processor to chop up and then moisten it or I would switch to can right now and when she get older add some the the kibble to it and then eventually you can go straight kibble. I had to do this with Boo.


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

She is such a young baby. What type of kibble are you giving her? Are the pieces tiny? I would not worry about getting her to eat kibble...she doesn't HAVE to eat it! In fact, kibble isn't really the healthiest food option anyways. If she is on a healthy, balanced canned food that is meant for puppies (or all life stages) that is fine. If you really want to get her to eat kibble, look for one with tiny pieces (like the Now! Small Breed one), moisten and soften it up with warm water and add a bit of canned food. That might help. You can also look in to dehydrated raw foods like The Honest Kitchen and Addiction - each brand has options that have moderate protein and are meant for all life stages - that is mostly what I had Emma on since she was a baby.


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## ChanelTheMaltese (Dec 3, 2013)

Thanks for all the information SM. I really appreciate it. I'll definitely be trying the different tips that you have all suggested.


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

I don't understand why you're still trying to feed kibble when in your introduction thread you were advised that because she was too young to be taken from her mommy, you need soft, moist food. Canned is far superior to kibble.


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## sherry (Jan 4, 2013)

Absolutely get that baby some canned puppy food. I use Blue Buffalo and they have small cans for puppys. Very soft and moist. She's still a baby!


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## Mommy2Laci (Nov 19, 2013)

Laci would eat moistened kibble at 10 weeks. And by 11-12 weeks she had no problem eating it dry. The kibble we use is smaller for puppies. I was concerned of giving anything canned since I had been warned they can become picky and refuse to eat kibble all together. Also, since we are going to use pads indoors permanently, I definitely don’t want to risk an upset tummy or super stinky poops. Her poops are great on the kibble and don’t smell bad at all. Thank goodness, since I have a sensitive nose! LOL 

When she is older I might experiment with more food choices. She seems to be going through a very super skiddish stage right now at 16 weeks. So anything new has to be introduced very slowly. Right now we are working on her new play yard set up and eating inside of it.


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