New Whippy With Very Poor Appetite Help Needed

[goldhoundy]

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Hi everybody

New Whippy who is 14 weeks is settling in nicely. I picked her up on Saturday and so she has been with me three and a half days now. The only issue is she lacks appetite.

Whilst the 10 week old Dob pup she spends a lot of time with, who is fed with her everyday, wolfs her food down, my little Skye takes one look in her bowl and goes back to bed. The only way she will eat is if she is hand fed and encouraged. One would expect that one puppy wolfing her food would stimulate the other puppy to eat, but no!!!

In my experience of other breeds, if a dog didn’t want to eat, I would simply take the food away and try again at the next meal time. Eventually the dog will then eat when it’s hungry enough. However, someone has told me that this is not the case with Whippets and that if I do this, the stomach will shrink and effectively the dog will become anorexic.

What is every ones opinion’s on whippets and feeding – as this is my first whippy, bearing in mind she is just a pup.

Other than this, she is very happy, a real live wire and is full of energy.

 

[kim & Tilly]

As far as im aware and this goes for kids as much as animals....is they wont starve themselves. Just keep putting the food down and trying make sure she has time to eat and if shes not interested take it up again and keep going until she eats..

 

if after a few days she hasnt eaten anything at all, not a buscuit, then pop her along to the vet to have a look, but if she is bright eyed and bushy tailed sounds as though shes fine....

 

Dont get in the habit of hand feeding her or treating her with cotton wool...

 

Good luck...

 

i maybe talking out my bum but it worked with the kids one of whom ate everything in sight the other which i didnt think would last the year (yes honestly) and they are both fine healthy kids...same goes for dogs

 

[lalena]

theres lots of stuff on FAQ that will help :thumbsup: dogs are strange, though :lol:

 

[*Lesley*]

What are you feeding her goldhoundy and what did she have before??h it may be that she's not sure about the new food or just that she needs to settle in, can you have a word with the breeder/previous owner to see what she was like before she came to you?and what she was fed on, try to make sure she's drinking :thumbsup: if it continues though I'd nip her to the vet for a check up

Good luck :luck:

 

[Seraphina]

I also have a new puppy, she came to us just before Xmas and it is only now she is starting to woof her food down. Give her more time to settle and keep offering her small ammounts of food , several times a day. :luck: you are feeding her food that she was fed in her previous home aren't you?

 

[snapdogs]

I had this problem too... although we sadly lost our little whippet in august aged 18 months... I ended up hand feeding because otherwise he would have starved himself to death, feeding him with the others made no difference to him at all but he was ill too... he had some sort of nutrient storage problems vets never fathomed out what they were!

I would give a least five days... to settle in, it's a big thing to leave all your family and go somewhere you don't know anyone or anything!

If things have not improved by then, I'd visit the vets... as long as they are drinking and eating a little is better than nothing..... we have just got a pup he is 16 weeks and been with us just 1 day... he has hardly touched any food today but is drinking water and has had a bowl of milk... a lot of people don't agree with milk for dogs but they are only babies... goats milk is best, cows can upset tummies... hope everything turns out ok in the end.... I could tell you what he was prescribed but at this moment in time I think you could be worring too much... as long as the dog is healthy and fit you don't have any problems.

good luck :luck:

 

[naylorwhippets]

Has she been wormed ??

 

[dessie]

In my experience of other breeds, if a dog didn’t want to eat, I would simply take the food away and try again at the next meal time. Eventually the dog will then eat when it’s hungry enough.  However, someone has told me that this is not the case with Whippets and that if I do this, the stomach will shrink and effectively the dog will become anorexic. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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I would agree with that. I had a puppy that became anorexic. I actually resorted to Periactin tablets to induce appetite but it was a long haul. He never was a big eater and until the day he died you had to pander to his every whim. None of my others are like that so what the hell, I went with the flow.

Try anything and everything, including hand feeding. Anything is better than nothing.

 

[kris]

if i had a dog that wouldnt eat id give them sardines out of a tin or herrings or mackerel.either way fish is smelly and can sometimes trigger an appetite when other things wont work.rub it on the nose and gums so they have to lick it off and they get a taste for it.try mixing it in with the pups other food just to give it a bit of zing

 

[goldhoundy]

if i had a dog that wouldnt eat id give them sardines out of a tin or herrings or mackerel.either way fish is smelly and can sometimes trigger an appetite when other  things wont work.rub it on the nose and gums so they have to lick it off and they get a taste for it.try mixing it in with the pups other food  just to give it a bit of zing

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Thank you everyone for your responses. I am nearly 5 days in now and progress is definately coming and (Yes she has been wormed).

I had resorted to hand feeding, but it was very painstaking slow and I felt that mealtimes, instead of being a treat were becoming a chore for her as I popped peanut sized pieces of meat into her mouth. The last couple of days I have put the food down for 5 mins, then left the room ...........and at last!!!!!!! She goes to the bowl wolfs a little down and then goes back to bed, comes out again and then has a little more. She is still not eating that much (about an egg in volumne of raw meat) 4 times a day at 15 weeks.

 

[dessie]

Glad to hear that things are looking up!!! Something is better than nothing!

 

[LasVegasNo1]

Glad your Whip is eating better :thumbsup: I would add, having a fussy eater Whippy myself, that a variety of foods helps. A different meat each day, with a different assortment of veg/pasta/rice each day too - never put the same meal down twice, or you may have a hunger strike on your hands! lol :sweating:

I don't agree that a dog will never starve itself - as I have witnessed Alfie 'starving' himself before we started him on BARF, and even now he will have periods of not eating even though his stomach is roaring and he's moody from not eating :wacko:

Good luck with your fusspot, once you learn their ways you'll both be fine :thumbsup:

 

[*Lesley*]

Glad things are looking up I was just thinking the more experienced would know :thumbsup: but would it be beneficial to put a little vitamin supplement in her food to make sure she gets the good things she needs to grow if she's not eating very much??? what do you think :unsure:

 

[Karen]

You say she eats a bit when you leave the room then rushes back to bed. In my expierence puppies do not like being fed out in the open in there new homes and they also dont like being looked at so it may help if you just dump the dish in her bed make no eye contact and just walk away.

I had one bitch years ago that would quite happily have died of starvation and it drove me mad worrying about her. The vet nurse wanted her so I let her go at about 13 months, she walked in Sallys house and just ate everything, I think we had worried ourselves into a situation that we couldnt get over.

There seems to be more of this type of puppy around. I would never breed from a bad doer and would not use a stud if I knew it was in the line, IMO it does run in the family.

 

[Janimal]

Glad to hear things are improving - keep it up. :luck: :luck:

 

[LasVegasNo1]

You say she eats a bit when you leave the room then rushes back to bed.  In my expierence puppies do not like being fed out in the open in there new homes and they also dont like being looked at so it may help if you just dump the dish in her bed make no eye contact and just walk away.

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Yes! If Alfie's having a bad week with eating I do this last thing before he goes to bed, just dump his bowl in his crate and leave him. 9 times out of 10 he will eat even if it's just a few mouthfuls :thumbsup: