I'm having trouble getting my new puppy to eat....

[rideagoldenpony]

I have a new puppy, she is almost 12 weeks old. I’ve had her not quite two weeks. She is a French Bulldog.

I’m having a really hard time getting her to eat. I’m offering food 3 times a day, for about 10-15 minutes each time, and she just is uninterested most of the time. If I hand feed her, she will eat “some”, but not as much as I feel like she should be eating. She doesn’t seem like she is losing weight, however, I know she’s growing, so adequate nutrition is really important!

I have Orijen puppy food for her. Any ideas on making it more appealing? Or should I try something else?

[tradewind]

I would call the breeder you got the pup from and ask for ideas. Personally I am not a fan of Orijen at all. The protein is ridiculous on it IMHO…What was the breeder feeding? Do not hand feed her, it will make things worse. Do not stand over her and signal your upset at her lack of eating, this will also make things worse. You may try wetting the food as water will release the fat in the kibble and make it more appealing. You may try reducing her feeding times to 2x a day to help stimulate a more healthy appetite. How much exercise is she getting? Exercise helps to stimulate appetitie. Just be careful in the heat with your Frenchie. I really would try the breeder first, they know their lines, and have probably already run into and solved your very problem before.

[rideagoldenpony]

Unfortunately I am unable to contact the breeder, as they do not speak English. That is simply not an option, so I need to come up with a solution that does not involve that…

[Horsegal984]

My suggestion? Buy a small bag of 2 other puppy foods, like Royal Canin, Eukanuba, or you could try Acana(made by the same company as Orijen). Put down all 3 on the schedule you are trying, then leave the room. Dogs will not starve themselves to death. Humans will, and cats will; dogs will not. After a few days of this you will come to find she will probably prefer one food over another, if you’re relly set on one brand she isn’t interested in you may be able to try mixing it in later on, when you’re ready to transition over to an “all life stages food” like Oirjen. Personally I am not a fan of those types of foods for puppies, it’s just too hard to really make sure they meet all their needs without being too much for adult dogs.

And quit handfeeding her, or adding things too the food, you’ll just be training her to be a picky eater later in life!

Katherine
Vet Tech

[Simkie]

Have you tried wet food?

[mjmvet]

If she’s growing well, she’s probably getting enough. A small breed puppy will need a TINY appearing amount of food to be healthy. I recommend checking her on a ‘body condition scale’ (just google the phrase and you’ll find a few) and weighing her every few days.

[rideagoldenpony]

Katherine, thank you for so much practical advice! I will run to town tomorrow and grab a couple of small bags of something else for her.

And yes… I’ve been hovering!! I’ll try not to!!

mjmvet – thanks for the weighing idea. I’ll go grab my postal scale out of my office and see where we are at.

Simkie – I haven’t tried wet food, because I’m reaaaaaallllllly trying to avoid going that route. Obviously I will if I have to, I’m just really hoping not to!

[Simbalism]

When I purchased my pup in November, I bought a small bag of what the breeder had been feeding(purina). I gradually weaned the pup over to Merrick after visiting a pet food store and getting some samples of different foods(free). My pup was also a little sluggish about eating, so I did add some canned food to the dry. My dog is a mini aussie, and I have to really measure and read the packaging as my last dog was larger and ate more food. I initially started feeding her 4x per day and then 3x. She is currently getting two feedings equaling a cup of dry and about 1/3-1/2 of canned food per day. Some days she eats her meal immediately when I put it down for her, other days I have to offer several times before she eats it all. Good luck with your puppy.

[fivehorses]

Can you find a translator? for the breeder.
I would bet someone on here could do the questions for you and you could mail them to her if need be.

I just find it incredulous in this day and age that a common language would not be found. I even think you can get translation on the internet. Say what you want in your language,and internet translates it to the language you need.

I think it is important to have pups on the same diet and slowly transition to ‘your’ food. What a shame the breeder did not give you that information or even some food too.

[wendy]

actually a lot of people recommend hand-feeding puppies- using the pup’s kibble throughout the day as training rewards. You measure out the day’s ration and put it somewhere then dole it out whenever the pup is good.
One thing to think about: most dog food bags suggest feeding ridiculously huge amounts.
Orijen puppy food is one of the best out there, I wouldn’t switch to something inferior.
It is possible the pup is actually sick, or maybe just very stressed about the new home. Maybe try a vet check just to reassure yourself.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=wendy;5675035]
actually a lot of people recommend hand-feeding puppies- using the pup’s kibble throughout the day as training rewards. You measure out the day’s ration and put it somewhere then dole it out whenever the pup is good.[/QUOTE]

Wendy beat me to it. A lot of people do this.

I use wet food for my dogs along with the kibble. There are battles I’m willing to fight and ones I’m not, if adding a spoonful of canned food to the dry makes feeding time less stressful, then I do it. I don’t understand the negativity to canned food most people have.

[tradewind]

Hand feeding as a reward for desired behavior is not the same as routine eating. If the puppy is not eating properly the hand feeding for shaping behavior should be stopped until the puppy is eating properly for health and growth.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=tradewind;5675215]
Hand feeding as a reward for desired behavior is not the same as routine eating. [/QUOTE]

Truly I’m not sure the dog, and especially a puppy, will know the difference between hand feeding as a reward and hand feeding as routine eating.

[tradewind]

You would be surprised, and it just prolongs a crappy eating habit.

[wendy]

I’ve never had a problem with this. Why feed the pups out of bowls and waste such an opportunity to a) build work ethic- pup learns he has to work for food, which builds value and excitement for food, and makes it so much easier to train the puppy; and b) forces you to train the pup. A few minutes here and there per day and you’ll end up with the perfect puppy. Plus if you are using his meals to train with instead of meals + treats you’re less likely to end up with a fat unhealthy puppy.
A bit later into life you can start feeding at least some of the day’s ration out of one of those food-dispensing toys: make the pup sit, stay, put down the toy, release pup to charge at the toy and work to get his meal. If you decide you don’t want to continue with this throughout the life of the dog, you just put the food in the bowl and make the pup do a few obedience routines and then release to eagerly eat his reward. Dogs who might refuse to eat boring kibble out of bowl tend to get really excited about eating kibble that has been turned into a work reward.
-also don’t understand the aversion to wet food. I think people think they are “spoiling” the dog or something? I think it’s very healthy to mix wet stuff into kibble. Eating dry kibble isn’t actually natural.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=tradewind;5675735]
You would be surprised, and it just prolongs a crappy eating habit.[/QUOTE]

what is a crappy eating habit?

[tradewind]

A crappy eating habit, is what this puppy is doing, not eating his full meal within 15-20 mins of it being offered. Feeding by hand snacks in between prolongs this unsavory habit. It also turns them into food brats by which I mean they get tired of this, then that until the poor owner wants to pull their hair out. Dogs are designed to bolt, and should consume their meals promptly. The habit of good eating starts at weaning time, and should continue for the course of the dogs life. Until such time as the puppy eats what it is given in a timely manner, snacks should be avoided, especially hand fed snacks. Frenchies are a very smart breed and will play their owners if allowed.

[CVPeg]

You might also try soaking the kibble with warm water. Most of my pups had moved up to dry before leaving for their new homes, others still preferred it warm and mushy, as it was fed to them early.

Agree to find out what the breeder used, but if it is that impossible, then leaving the pup alone with a few good samples is also a good idea. But if that doesn’t work, you can try soaking the new stuff as well.

And a good quality mushy kibble is usually much more reasonable than canned.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=tradewind;5676020]
A crappy eating habit, is what this puppy is doing, not eating his full meal within 15-20 mins of it being offered. Feeding by hand snacks in between prolongs this unsavory habit. It also turns them into food brats by which I mean they get tired of this, then that until the poor owner wants to pull their hair out. [/QUOTE]

I don’t see it this way at all. This is a puppy. An itty bitty baby dog and I just can’t see this puppy thinking “gee, guess I’ll make my owner crazy and not eat.”

I’ve fed dogs (both fosters and resident dogs) by hand for years without it becoming an issue. Apparently your experience is different. The last dog I had here that wasn’t eating, had multiple abscesses in his mouth from no dental care and couldn’t eat his kibble. Once his mouth didn’t hurt, he happily gobbled up his food.

[saje]

I second the soaking of dry kibble, and maybe add a touch of canned to it.

You can use some of the daily allotment of food as training rewards, and still teach her to eat from a bowl, it doesn’t have to be either/or.

I have a GSD who’s not a great eater, especially if traveling. He really likes praise and to please though, so periodically I remind him that Eating What’s Put In Front Of You Is Good by making a big deal out of him going to the bowl and starting to nibble at it. Lots of happy praise, excitement in my voice, and the stupid little squeaky tone that he just loves and makes me feel like an idjit