puppy not eating much

kendalls_cave

I am the proud new owner of Clover. She is nine weeks old and is a Yorkie/chihuahua mix.

She came to me last Thursday. The breeder said she hadn't been fed on anything specific to avoid Clover getting attached to it. So I choice Iam's puppy for her.

She will eat a little of it, but not much. i put a little warm water in it for her, and have also tried it dry. Interestingly my friend bought her puppy round today (he's four weeks older and has been vaccinated) and we fed them together and Clover ate it up.. but tonight she is back to eating hardly anything and what she does eat i hand feed (not good I know)

She is my first dog and I'm worried. Thanks for any help

lynnemcf

If you are worried I suggest you take her to the vet. It seems a strange thing for a breeder to say she hasnt been fed on anything in particular, a decent breeder would give you a bag of the food and an idea of how much to feed her.

devildog

I agree with lynnemcf.
Any half decent breeder will have given a couple of days worth of food that the puppy has been fed on and a diet sheet stating number of feeds as well as mentioning what other foods the puppy has been used to(be it rice pudding, scrambled eggs, weetabix, mince, chicken,tripe etc)
It could be that your puppy is missing the companionship of it's littermates as it did eat when in the company of another puppy.
Yes it is not good to hand feed her(you could be making a rod for your own back there) but I also accept that it is a balance between getting her to eat something or starving.
If it was me I would try feeding her on something else and add in a bit of the Iams and then overtime gradually increase the Iams amount.
I do hope that your puppy has already been vacinated too!

kendalls_cave

it looking like my little one has never had dried food before. I put a bit of chicken in with the iams and she ate it all up. I really soaked the iams too.. she looks soo much better for eating. Tried calling breeder but she's not returning my calls. We'll get there, she is such a sweet thing

catlou

When I first had my pup I used to cover the next day's dry food with water and leave it to soak over night - maybe try that? It made the food soft and spongy!!

Sorry to say but the breeder sounds a bit dodgy, not returning your calls and with the food in the first place as people said above most would give the pup one food and stick to it to save upsetting pup's tummy!

kendalls_cave

ohh I will dry that - I have been adding warm water but maybe not leaving it long enough. i totally agree about the breeder and the thing that is suffering the most is the poor little pup

I love her and just wanna do my best for her, but feel i'm doing all this in the dark cos i dunno what she was fed before

catlou

Don't feel bad you are doing the best you can and if you can't get in touch with the breeder your'e not psychic!!

Enjoy! and do we get to see a photo???

faded_flowers

http://www.iams.co.uk/dog/Dog-Food---Puppy-Junior-Small-Medium-Breed-Rich-Chicken-|--UK-41.html

Check the iams uk website and work out how many grams per day the food recc's - I think it'll be 65-90 grams. Then check if she's eating the minimum amount. You might be accidentally overfeeding without realising

You can always pick up a good quality wetfood and mix a tiny amount in (not too much, ideally you want her on dry food.)

The breeder sounds well dodgy, pups have delicate stomachs and should be on a single food that you can continue to feed when they get home with you!

sarabe

It is not unusual for a pup to not eat brilliantly for a few days after leaving mum and siblings.

However hand feeding a pup is absolutely the most brilliant thing you can do and will be great for your relationship with her.

kendalls_cave

She has eaten her food soaked in chicken gravy - however my mate (who is a vet ) said try her on James wellbeloved, as she may have a sensitive tummy.



She has been running round the house like a mad dog since eating and i had my first rough and tumble with her.. which we both loved

I dunno how to post a pic of her on here as i have no web space

kendalls_cave