# Riley our adopted stray doesnt want to eat



## rileyk (Jun 17, 2010)

Hi there, 
We adopted Riley from the pound 2 days ago and it had been a stray before. It is really underweight (7.5 lbs) to be exact and the vet wants him to gain 3 lbs at least. We just got him trimmed today so it looks even skinnier. The problem is that he rarely eats anything. We bought him Purina Chicken flavor pure one or something along those lines with black packaging and returned it because he literally DID NOT EAT ANYTHING. Finally we made it some mashed up vegetable soup and ate that. So we returned the purina and got Purina Select salmon flavor. Hopefully he likes it, but he has liked Ceasers. Anyone have suggestions, on what theyd give it, some dos and donts. Its our first dog so we dont have any experience but it would help out alot if we could get some help from you guys. Greatly appreciated 
-Peter


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## CVW (Jun 15, 2010)

If I were you I'd go a little further up the food chain for him. I personally do not buy any dog food that they sell in the grocery store (but please no offense to anyone that does). There is a wonderful natural food called "Human Grade Doggie Cuisine", you can buy it at Urban Dog in Toronto. It comes in a package with 8 loaves and I give Buddy one half for breakfast and one half for dinner....heated up in the micro for 10 seconds. He loves it. Another great dry food is "Wellness", you can get this at Pet Valu, it's a natural dog food full of great, healthy things for Riley.

Remember this is a big transition for him and if he was stray who knows what he used to eat. Give him liver treats or sprinkle the liver treat powder on his food. Be patient and supportive to the sweet little fella. You may have to try a few things to find the one he likes the best. Hey may even get the "runs" as he trys new foods as well so watch out for that.

I used to home cook for Buddy too - chicken or lamb with whole grain rice, veggies etc. He loves yogurt and bananas.....ok who am I kidding he'd eat anything!

Don't get too upset, you've already done a great job for him!! Give him tons of TLC and praise.


Good luck!

Claudia & Buddy


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## maltlovereileen (Jan 19, 2009)

Bless your heart for taking Riley in. It's not too uncommon for a new dog to not want to eat for a couple of days (it's a stress thing [new environment]). Pip was the same way. I don't think the Purina food is too great a quality (here's a thread where there's lots of food discussion : http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/60-maltese-food-snacks-treats/58420-foods-we-use-recommendations.html), but am thinking maybe try something bland and enticeful to get him started (such as simply boiling some chicken and mixing it with brown rice). After a few days, if he starts eating, GRADUALLY change over to the food you will be using for him and don't keep changing the food up (it is hard on their digestive systems and that in itself will make them feel sick and not want to eat).

I would suggest you take a few minutes and scroll through the different categories on this forum to get started - there is a lot of great information here (and some of the more common questions/answered are "pinned" to the tops of the topics). 

When you have specific questions, just ask!

In the meantime, CONGRATULATIONS ... Riley sure looks like a cutie!!! 

... oh, and... :Welcome 3:


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

Congrats and bless you for taking in a stray.

I'd try plain chicken and rice for a week and see how he does. Purina really is a poor quality food. Perhaps try Wellness, which is a moderately-priced better food, or Acana, which is a little higher-priced.

Hope this helps. I wish you the best.


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## Miss_Annie (Mar 3, 2010)

You have been given great advice on the food!  

Welcome to SM and bless your heart for taking in Riley! He needed a hero!

and I'm just pondering like I do... maybe you should add some water to soften up the kibble?..


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## maltlovereileen (Jan 19, 2009)

A nice little article : About Dogs - Adopting an Adult Dog - Bringing Your Adopted Dog Home


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## rileyk (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks guys for all the great comments, they really do help alot. 
I was just advised to get Purina by the dog store, Im not looking for cheap (which if he doesnt eat Purina ill go for wellness) but I dont want uber expensive just a bit spoiled and whats best for him. They told me to mix Ceasers in with the dry dog food?


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## bonsmom (Feb 22, 2010)

I second the suggestion for chicken. Not many pups can resist it. He has been through quite bit of stress. He needs to know you will be taking care of him from now on!


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## CVW (Jun 15, 2010)

Honestly, Purina and Caesars are both made with by-products and tons of nasty things. I'm sure the doggies think they taste great but they really aren't great for them.

Pet Valu will give you sample packs of all of the Wellness foods so that you can try a few out first before you commit to buying, however they also have a policy where if your pooch doesn't like the food you can bring it back and exchange it for something else.

Neither Wellness nor Human Grade Doggie Cuisine is uber expensive, both are affordable and much better for Riley. Malts tend to be sensitive or allergic to many things too so more natural foods are the best way.


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

PLEASE NO PURINA OR CAESARS dog food !!! They have by-products and are horrible pet foods. Petsmart sells Halo which is good. Global pet foods in the Toronto area have very good reasonably priced food. Acana, Wellness, Fromm and Merrick are really good foods too. Honestly, all the food at Global pet foods are natural and Holistic. If you have Riley start with a good quality food you'll be saving on vet bills in the long run.


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## kathym (Aug 5, 2006)

Hi and welcome...Because its hard to say how long your little guy was a stray and what he was eating i would keep it real simple however both the foods you mentioned are not good for him if you like the Wellness you would be better off trying to put a little chicken in the food to make it more appealing ..Good luck


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## Tina (Aug 6, 2006)

Give him time to adjust to you and his new enviroment.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Just wanted to stop by and say hi and welcome. And mainly :ThankYou: for adopting Riley. We can't wait to see him thrive with his new parents. BTW, I agree about Wellness. We did very well with it.


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## Matilda's mommy (Jun 1, 2005)

Welcome to sm, when I first adopted B&B she wouldn't eat anything other then treats:blink: I boiled a chicken breast, and gave her brown rice for a few days, but then stopped eating t:w00t: my vet said to put the dry kibble down ( we were using Innova) leave it for a time if she didn't eat it pick it up and give it to her the next day, my vet said a dog will not starve themselves. He was so right, she held out for a few days but then started eating.
Make sure you get a good dog food so important


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## cleex1004 (Aug 2, 2008)

When I first brought my Louis home, he wouldnt eat either. I tried alot of things and I ended up hand feeding him for a day or two. I know its not a good habit but it really made me feel better because at least he was eating. Chicken works wonders, so does little bits of potato/ sweet potato, try adding a little bit on top of his food. Hope this helps.


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

Maybe you could try Wellness puppy to put a little extra weight on him. When my adoptees came to live w/ me,they didn't eat much either. Sometimes if we travel with the kids,they won't eat much of their dogfood,but they do hork down little treats....


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

welcome , i think its just him adjusting to the new surroundings , uve gotten great advice!


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## maltlovereileen (Jan 19, 2009)

Bumping for updates... ??


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## miss Eve (Sep 26, 2009)

I'm having sorta the same 'not eating' problem with Toby. He just turns up that cute little nose and walks away from his food. About all he seems to like now is Chef Michael's made by Purina but I'm not sure if this is a well balanced food or not. What can you tell me about it and is it bad that he won't eat kibble anymore? No problem with veggies or chicken, eggs, etc. My little feller is healthy and as active as can be but, I want him to eat!


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## rileyk (Jun 17, 2010)

Bump Update: weve been feeding him the purina and a wet food the vet gave, its with rice and chicken and we will be switching to the "greatly proclaimed" wellness once this package is done. But on a good note hes eating more and he finally gained some weight, 1.5 lbs to be exact, now hes 9.7  hopefully he keeps the eating up and well have a happy and healthy dog


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