5 months old fussy puppy

[reemym]

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Hello

my 5 months old shi tzu not eating her food at all. Some days she eats it and some days she goes smells it but dont eat it. We got her when she was 8 weeks old. So 3 months ago. She was on pedigree puppy pouches. Then her appetite grew and I bought the pedigree puppy tinned food. She refused eated straight away. They say she will eat it when hungry but she didnt. So I bought dry baker biscuits. She was eating it but only couple of and leaving the rest. I bought her. Royal canin shi tzu puppy dry food but sge didnt even want to try, then her about james beloved. So gave her that, again didnt want to know. She has been to vet but vet said nothing wrong with her and hope she grows out of it. I bought her buthers puppy food. She atethat for a week, seemed a happy dog again. Today she is refusing to eat it. I dont want to change her food again but dont know what to do.

 

[excuseme]

How often are you feeding your puppy and how much at each feed?

You are probably doing exactly what she wants , she is testing to see just what you are prepared to offer her next time!

 

[reemym]

Thank you for your reply. I dont know why some of my spellings gone wrong there lol. Honest I am educated person Although I am writing on my tablet and my fingers hurts. Anyway I feed her 3 times a day. It said on the tin 1 and half tin a day for her size. So thats what I offer to her but she hardly touches it. That goes for couple of days, then I give up and cook chicken and rice for her. She scuffs that down usually. What can I do? Help please

 

[excuseme]

I think she might be getting a lot more than she actually needs, 1 and 1/2 tins sounds like quiet a lot. The guide lines are just that a "guide" sometimes they are just way too much! Are you or anyone else giving her treats as well ?

I would suggest that you reduce her food and stop all treats, try just 1 tin a day shared between her 3 feeds. Offer her food for 20 minutes and then take it away until the next feed time If she becomes hungry this is fine but don't be tempted to feed between meal times. It is good for our dogs to be hungry and want their next feed!

If you must give treats use some fresh raw vegetables, carrots are fantastic and broccoli stalks chopped up into pieces, my girls love these for treats.

Take care with the amount of wheat and grains that are in your biscuits and kibble, this can fill our dogs without any great nutritional benefits. Grain and rice free would be better quality, especially as she does not have a big appetite. Too much grain can also lead to overweight.

She will not starve herself, I suspect that she is just being a little "minx" and trying to get something different.

 

[reemym]

Thank you thank you thank you. I love her so much that it hurts seeing her not eating. I will try your suggestions. And no treats from now on She is a little minx lol

 

[gypsysmum2]

We express our love by feeding our animals and we will feel rejected when they do not eat.

Try tough love as excuseme suggests. Do not hover over her. Failing to eat can be a behaviour problem as the dog enjoys the attention it brings. Just put the food down and pick it up after 10 minutes. Don't talk about it just put it out of your mind and tell yourself you are training her for life.

 

[reemym]

Yes I did take the food away today after 20 minutes. She was keep coming back checking if I put it back lol and then giving me a look

 

[excuseme]

You may have to be firm with yourself and with your little "Minx"!

 

[reemym]

Ok! she is not eating. Any more ideas please. I even tried to feed her with my hand one by one. She spits it out. She just doesnt like dog food but very interested with my plate when I am eating. Shall I put dog food into my plate, pretend I am eating it and then give it to her. Honestly I am lost what to do.

 

[excuseme]

Stick with it, I think you panic and give in too easily. DON'T DO IT !

3 meals and one tin of meat only, absolutely no treats! no hand feeding, no free feeding at all (all bowls empty) food down 10 to 20 minutes only at each feed time x 3.

She will get hungry and learn to eat what she is given and when it is given!

24 hrs without food is easy for our canine friends, it is quiet normal for a wild dog or wolf to go 2 to 3 days without food, they do not starve but they survive very well!

Your little "Minx" will learn.

Keep in touch with us.

 

[reemym]

Oh can they. She is scaring me going without a feed. Ok I wont give in tomorrow. She is asleep now in her crate. She is training me instead me training her, isnt she Thank you for your help.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Just a thought that she may be teething. This is nothing to worry about but, if you are feeding a dry complete food (not Bakers please!) then you might like to soak it first with warm water. There is no need to go back to wet food. A good quality dry food is perfectly fine. Choose a good one and stick with it. Take a look at the website All About Dog Food for more information.

Bakers is full of additives and colourings. Dogs cannot see the colours they are put in there for the humans to be attracted to it.

 

[Eliza17]

I know how you feel!! I have a Shih Tzu and went through exactly the same thing!! She was so fussy and stubborn; she would pick and choose her meal times and would only eat wet food. We tried so many different dog foods and just when we thought we had found one she liked she would the go off it. She didn’t really like treats so these have never been part of her diet. It was so worrying her not eating and we hated the thought of her being hungry.

Then a couple of years ago she became unwell and after several vets visits and many tests that showed nothing it was recommended we try the Hills hypoallergenic dog food for 10-12 weeks. We were told to feed her twice a day at exactly the same time, the food was put down and then taken away after 30 minutes. For the first five days she probably only ate 4 of her meals. It was really difficult to stick to especially when she would cry for her food, but we persevered. Eventually after about 8 weeks she realised that she wasn’t in control and started eating most of her meals. Even now she still chooses not to eat about 2 meals a week. She has never been a greedy dog and only eats when she is hungry; she is a good weight so I don’t worry about her skipping meals.

She now eats Lily’s Kitchen Lamb hotpot and has been on this for about 10 months and loves it!.

 

[reemym]

Well she didnt eat anything at all today. So should I be worried 3 days after her going without a meal? I feed her with butchers puppy tinned food. Honestly she goes, smells it and then I even saw her pushing the tray with her nose like saying " I dont want this rubbish". Is she too clever for her own good. I think I will take her to vet again tomorrow. Thanks for replies.

 

[gypsysmum2]

No dog will ever starve itself when there is food available.

Check very carefully that she is not scavenging or being sneakily fed by someone else.

A little story for you - I went away for a long weekend, leaving my dog in the care of my husband. When I returned by husband told me the dog had pined the whole time I was away and would not eat thing! At her next meal time I watched as he put her food down. The first thing she did was look at my husband. The next, very important, thing that happened was that he said "good girl"!

He had managed to train her to leave her food! She was rewarded by him for leaving the food and looking at him. He had obviously carried on with the "good girl - eat it up - nice food" kind of chit chat with her for the whole time she left the food to look at him.

I cured this, learned, behaviour by preparing her food and, making no eye contact with her whatsoever, putting it on the floor. I then busied myself around the kitchen, still making no eye contact with her, After ten minutes I, without looking at her, picked up the food and stored it until the next mealtime. I repeated the above at each mealtime and she started eating. She would, occasionally stop eating if my husband was in the room. She would look to him for attention so I would send him away so that she would eat.

The above is quite common. A dog that gets lots of attention for not eating will choose not to eat in order to get all that attention. I knew of a poodle, once, that had every health test under the sun for its refusal to eat. It was very thin, Only when the female owner was banned from the house at feeding time (she was doing what my husband had done) did the dog start to eat.

The moral is to take all pressure off the dog at feeding time. Even looking at the dog can be seen, by the dog, as pressure. This can either make them anxious and so unable to eat through anxiety or they can lap up the attention that not eating brings them.

 

[reemym]

This morning first thing she did was look into her dog bowl and go away. I dont know what she is expecting to find there

 

[reemym]

I had adult butchers traditional wet food that I bought by mistake a while ago. I thought I try that. Omg she is eating it just now like she was starving.

 

[excuseme]

Ok that's good, so now she is eating something she likes (don't worry about puppy food).

Keep her feeds small so that she is always looking for the next one and don't even consider giving her a little more because she says that she needs it!!

Continue to remove any un eaten food after 10 minutes and she will not get fed until the next meal time.

As well as the Lilly's Kitchen and Your butchers tinned foods there is "Natures Menu" too which is very good quality. However, I would not consider changing foods now!

Remember to keep your routine regular and strict.

Good luck.

 

[reemym]

Thank you. Thats very reassuring. I wasn't sure if she could have adult dog food. I gave her the other half of the tray for her dinner and yes she did eat that too. Hopefully she will continue eating it from now on. Thank you for all your help everyone

 

[excuseme]

Keep in touch, we always like up dates.