# How to make your puppy eat?



## jenna123 (Aug 13, 2012)

After I switched to Fromm food, he's been eating everything in the bowl for the first week. Now he's going back to what he normally does, eat half the bowl and after that we have to follow him everywhere and lay the food on the floor or hand feed him than he'll eat it. :huh: Any tips or ideas of how to make him eat all his food?


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

That's a hard one mines not even eating but tiny mouthfuls it's a nightmare , I'm even spoon feeding him water he's been to vets as has a bug , poor boo .. My vet said never put food in his bowl as dogs as puppies get bred if you make it not a game it's more appealing to them ... Imagine us eying dry same food every day  yuck xx


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

Bored ( Make it into a game ) x


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## jenna123 (Aug 13, 2012)

Lynzodolly said:


> That's a hard one mines not even eating but tiny mouthfuls it's a nightmare , I'm even spoon feeding him water he's been to vets as has a bug , poor boo .. My vet said never put food in his bowl as dogs as puppies get bred if you make it not a game it's more appealing to them ... Imagine us eying dry same food every day  yuck xx



So Albert barely eats everyday?? I guess it is sickening but he was enjoying his new food for a week :blink:


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## WeeGrace (Oct 22, 2012)

Daisy did this for a bit then few people on here gave me great advice feed him 2-3 times a day and add either warm water/chicken stock really helped daisy gobbles all her food now


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

No Shirley he's got a bug just now past few days , he got anti inflammatory jags today , hoping he will eat better , but in enteral he's not a big eater , he's getting a fussy boy and likes to be hand fed he's terrible for it but my vet said nothing wrong with that as its more appealing for them xx


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

In general ( silly iPad pre text )  x


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## WeeGrace (Oct 22, 2012)

I did this when daisy didn't eat that is hand fed her. The vet told me not to do this!!!! Your pup will get into the habit and won't eat by themselves. Maybe they are like us I hate big meals I can't stomach them so I eat little but often try this with your pups/dogs and they will eat. Daisy eats all her daily allowance now well after we take out the weight of her treats. Don't disturb them when they are eating either. Try adding wet food or warmed water enhances smell etc it really does help


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## jenna123 (Aug 13, 2012)

WeeGrace said:


> Daisy did this for a bit then few people on here gave me great advice feed him 2-3 times a day and add either warm water/chicken stock really helped daisy gobbles all her food now


Adding water doesn't sound appetizing :blink: but I'll try that since it helped Daisy. Maltese dogs are very high maintenance :HistericalSmiley:


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## jenna123 (Aug 13, 2012)

Lynzodolly said:


> No Shirley he's got a bug just now past few days , he got anti inflammatory jags today , hoping he will eat better , but in enteral he's not a big eater , he's getting a fussy boy and likes to be hand fed he's terrible for it but my vet said nothing wrong with that as its more appealing for them xx



How did he get inflammatory jags? Is it cause of the winter? Did Albert used to eat more or he always ate the same amount?


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

He used to eat more , but past 2 days his tail was down , he didn't wanna walk , play , chew , eat or drink anything , and didn't poop or pee , so i took him to vets this morning and she said that his temperature was up and she thinks it's a bug , as he was coughing up bile too , so she gave him 2 jags and Said if not better by tomorrow to bring back in for tests  I hope he's gonna get better I've been forcing water dwn him every hour xx


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

Hi grace il try anything to get him eating right now but I no its not good long term hand feeding :/ il try the gravy or stock thing though too x


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## WeeGrace (Oct 22, 2012)

Hey guys make sure there is no infection first take them to the vets daisy had beginnigs of ear infection and this can put them off then try warming their food or wetting it brings out the flavour. Daisy loves warm water she gets warm water in her water bottle every morning and drinks it all. Think it's nice to give hem something warm these cold days. Just don't forget pups will push the boundaries too but def get them checked by vet I'd not already done so. Once Daisy's ear infection cleared she was back to her normal mischievous self and eating fine.


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## WeeGrace (Oct 22, 2012)

Lyndsy your poor puppy  try not to worry don't force food in of he's not having it heat water little might help I don't know we are sending hugs and daisy gives a special lick. She obviously knows as she is currently liking my phone to death lol


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

Thank you for the advice il try the warm ware too  I just hope the vets right and it is just a bug he's picked up  he's just sleeping lotsn lots xx


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

Awww thank you wish Albert would give licks back  xx


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## Grace'sMom (Feb 22, 2012)

I hope Albert feels better soon  Tummy bugs can make them feel yuck... just like when you have the stomach flu - you don't want to eat. Hope he gets better soon.

As far as hand feeding -- It won't spoil your pup. It is actually a great bonding tool. You become the "giver of all good things". It takes trust for a dog to eat out of your hand.

You switched foods for Boo ... and he ate great for a few weeks? Then stopped? .... Could it be food allergies? Does he have any other signs - runny nose, itching, red ears or anus, poop changes, red rimmed eyes, feel hotter in general? - Sometimes it takes awhile for these things to develop.

Some does may prefer smaller meals more often. So that is something to consider.

I labeled Grace as a "picky eater".... but the fact is she is not. She simply will not eat things that will make her sick. So no matter how long it's been since she has eaten if I put something down that she knows will make her sick, she won't eat it.

So that's a thought. Are there any common ingredients from your last food and this new food?


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

Thanks tori  Xx


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## WeeGrace (Oct 22, 2012)

Agree with tori on food alergies I got daisy checked for all food alergies. On hand feeding its a preference I give daisy treats and rewards from my hand which she loves I keep the treats for that. Do get the pups checked by the vet first of all as tori said could be food alergies.


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## jenna123 (Aug 13, 2012)

Lynzodolly said:


> He used to eat more , but past 2 days his tail was down , he didn't wanna walk , play , chew , eat or drink anything , and didn't poop or pee , so i took him to vets this morning and she said that his temperature was up and she thinks it's a bug , as he was coughing up bile too , so she gave him 2 jags and Said if not better by tomorrow to bring back in for tests  I hope he's gonna get better I've been forcing water dwn him every hour xx



I hope he feels better today. He sounds like he's not feeling well at all


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## jenna123 (Aug 13, 2012)

Grace'sMom said:


> I hope Albert feels better soon  Tummy bugs can make them feel yuck... just like when you have the stomach flu - you don't want to eat. Hope he gets better soon.
> 
> As far as hand feeding -- It won't spoil your pup. It is actually a great bonding tool. You become the "giver of all good things". It takes trust for a dog to eat out of your hand.
> 
> ...



Wow and all this time I thought hand feeding was bad, I will hand feed sometimes just for him to trust me more . I switched from Nutro to Fromm and he ate everything in the bowl for a week and just friday he started to eat half only and we would have to hand feed or spread it all over the floor. I never thought he would eat it like that but he does! But it's so much work just to get him to eat! He has no signs, he's still very hyper and playful :blink:. No new ingredients except the meat, I bought the duck flavor since he loves the duck treats. 

Wow Grace is very smart! That's not picky, what a smarty pants! She knows what makes her sick. I don't think Boo would know.....


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## lols82 (Nov 13, 2012)

jenna123 said:


> After I switched to Fromm food, he's been eating everything in the bowl for the first week. Now he's going back to what he normally does, eat half the bowl and after that we have to follow him everywhere and lay the food on the floor or hand feed him than he'll eat it. :huh: Any tips or ideas of how to make him eat all his food?


My wee pup does this ALOT. We usually leave it and he goes back and picks at it until it's finished. He eats very little when i'm out through the day and my bf has to hand feed him to get him to eat something. We also add water to his wet food but that's because he won't drink any water on it's own either - talk about fussy.


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

Guess what Alberts just eaten a bowl of chicken breast and rice and he's started back on his water  I'm soooo happy !!!! Xx


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## Grace'sMom (Feb 22, 2012)

jenna123 said:


> Wow and all this time I thought hand feeding was bad, I will hand feed sometimes just for him to trust me more . I switched from Nutro to Fromm and he ate everything in the bowl for a week and just friday he started to eat half only and we would have to hand feed or spread it all over the floor. I never thought he would eat it like that but he does! But it's so much work just to get him to eat! He has no signs, he's still very hyper and playful :blink:. No new ingredients except the meat, I bought the duck flavor since he loves the duck treats.
> 
> Wow Grace is very smart! That's not picky, what a smarty pants! She knows what makes her sick. I don't think Boo would know.....


Hand feeding is great, especially for frightened dogs. For those who adopt an adult or older puppy, it is good to hand feed them for awhile. It helps build the trust and show them you give them good positive things. Especially for those who may come from backgrounds with abuse.

Our vet says that animals are very intuitive. She had me keep a diary of foods Grace refused, and it became a pattern. She would often refuse meat, or only take 1-2 bites then walk away. Meat for dogs with liver problems is not good... so she knew it made her feel lousy. I thought she was picky... what kind of dog turns away from meat?? Who knew, right?

I tend to respect my dogs more now... if they don't want something I leave it alone. If they don't eat it within a certain time frame, I will offer something else. If they don't want to greet someone... I don't make them. They are very intuitive.



Lynzodolly said:


> Guess what Alberts just eaten a bowl of chicken breast and rice and he's started back on his water  I'm soooo happy !!!! Xx


Yay! I'm glad he ate  Keep it slow for a few days.... Hope he continues on the road to recovery.


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

Thanks so so much for your advice  he's like a hungry hippo ... X


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## italianna82 (Aug 17, 2012)

I added some water to Gucci's and she does seem to eat it a bit faster, since it's softer. But, the best idea I have found is adding a tiny bit of wet food on top of the kibble. She will , OBVIOUSLY, eat all of that...and then will eat a lot more of the kibble!


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

Another great idea !! Do you think if I fed Albert a handful of kibble and chicken and rice everyday would be enough supplements he needs ? X


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## Grace'sMom (Feb 22, 2012)

Lyndsy --

No.

If you want to switch him to semi-home cooked I'd suggest getting him onto a multivitamin or a supplement powder you mix into the rice and chicken to make it more complete..... 

And if you are going to do that, you may want to add in some veggies - green beans, carrots, etc.


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

Thank you tori that's great I will see about getting a good vitamin supplements then , he does enjoy carrots and fruit .. He loved the chicken and rice tonight he's sleeping like a baby right now and had a good drink of water what a relief xx


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## jenna123 (Aug 13, 2012)

italianna82 said:


> I added some water to Gucci's and she does seem to eat it a bit faster, since it's softer. But, the best idea I have found is adding a tiny bit of wet food on top of the kibble. She will , OBVIOUSLY, eat all of that...and then will eat a lot more of the kibble!



I added a bit of warm water to his kibbles and it works, he ate it all :chili: . Good idea that you had!


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