Puppy won't eat.

[Seamonkey50]

My jackadoodle pup (he's 9 months old) is refusing to eat! He used to be so keen at his feeding times and completely devour his food now he turns his nose up and wanders away. He'd rather chew sticks and stones when we're out walking or in the garden. If I put food on my hand he'll take it ok but doesn't take very much. This has been going on for just under a week now, I'm new to being a dog owner so I'm unsure if this is a phase or should I take him to the vet? Other experienced dog owners have suggested changing his food (ive done this to no avail) or with holding his food for a day then feeding him but this hasn't worked either! He seems healthy and happy enough but he must be losing weight, it's such a worry. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a phase? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[goldenbear2013]

Morning!

Have you been feeding him anything other than his dog food? Like your own food for example?

some dogs get used to be getting bits here and there from human food that they then refuse to eat their own food. If this is the case stop feeding him human food (it's not good for him anyway and its bad for his teeth) straight away and leave his own food down for him. When he is hungry enough he will eat it.

If you aren't feeding him human food, then try making meal times for him exciting.

For example:

If you soak his dried food until it is soft and soggy mush it up and then put it into a kong, he then has to play with the kong to lick the food out of it. You could even freeze it to make the kong last longer. Especially with the warm weather coming up he should enjoy it being so cold. You can do this for each meal time, instead of just giving him his food in the bowl

OR

Find an interactive toy that you can put the food in and as the dog rolls the toy around and plays with it the food comes out. Again, you can do this for each meal time.

OR

Just leave the food in his bowl and don't feed him anything else, no matter how much he begs. if he is hungry enough he should eat it eventually.

The other thing you need to consider is his health? Is he going to the toilet ok? Having a wee and poo being solid regularly?

I would probably say try the things I have suggested and see what happens, but in the mean time, just to put your mind at ease go and get him checked out at the vet just to be on the safe side.

No doubt he is in good health and all you have is a very picky puppy on your hands!

Let us know how you get on.

Sophie x

 

[Seamonkey50]

Thankyou for your advice, and yes, the children have been feeding him treats and bits of food from their leftovers at tea time. So it could be possible that he's getting used to this!! I will make sure this stops, hopefully he starts eating properly again. I'll see how he goes over the weekend and if he's still not back on his food I'll get him checked over at the vet. Thanks again x

 

[excuseme]

How many feeds each day are you giving him now ?

It is very possible that only one feed is all he requires, it could be his way of saying I am getting too much.

My suggestion would be to make sure he gets absolutely no treats from any one at all and offer him just one feed each day only. leave the food available for 20 min only and then take the whole thing away.

Provided he will eat enough food at his one daily feed to maintain his body weight and condition this should be fine.

Many people will tell you to keep him on 2 feeds at this age but there are so many youngsters that at this age that only require, and only want to eat the one meal.

Don't try to force him to eat more than he wants, if he is fit and well in himself he will be absolutely fine.

 

[Raven oaktree]

Hia, i have a pup the same age (you have my sympathies hahaha)...anyway, we did loads of research into foods and chose a very good food for Willow, being very careful about weighing and giving her treats. We used some food from her allowance for training treats and his worked well until a few months ago..then she stopped eating..she was bored with it. We tried mixing in other things like sardines, liver, eggs etc but although at first she ate she soon got bored of it so we have looked at another food..no point in spending money on it then throwing it away..atm she is eating the new food, but like another poster said, she is only eating once a day, not twice..but she isnt losing weight so im not worried..im not sure if boredom is a problem with your dog, it sounds more like he is being fussy so i would deffo be nipping this in the bud before it becomes a problem..so i would try this.

1) Weigh him every few weeks at the vets and keep a record for the next few months or so..its always good to keep an eye on weight anyway , but this will let you know if he is losing weight but also you know how much to feed him

2) weigh his food according to the feed guides for that food and split it into 2, take out a little for training treats and ONLY give him this..no human food, no titbits nothing..only his food..at least till he is eating properly.

3) feed him after a walk, when he has ran around, and should be hungry.

4) make him work for his food, so make him sit, give paw..give him the wait command till you say eat..make him feel like the food is a reward and he has earnt it.

5) leave the food down for 20 mins, then take it away..he may try it on for a few days but he will eat when he is hungry ..if he thinks its not always going to be there he will eat when he gets the chance

It may be that he dosent really like his food, or he is bored with it..and needs a change?..but also , remember if he is showing ANY signs of illness at all he must be seen by a vet..is he due for worming etc? as long as you can be sure he is healthy its safe to stand your ground with him a little, but everyone in the house must be doing the same..no sneaking food to the begging puppy hahahaha. good luck !

 

[Seamonkey50]

Thanks very much guys. I appreciate all the advice. ill try anything. The kids have been warned not to give him any treats, regardless of how cute he looks whilst begging!! Ha!! He is trained to stay out of the room when we're eating at mealtimes and since yesterday ive been keeping him out of the livingroom when the kids are eating snacks etc. I'm hoping this helps. There's been no change in his behaviour and he is still his usual feisty/active self. I think he's just a chancer!!

 

[eingana]

I think that another thing to bear in mind is quite how high calorie content most human food is, meaning that a very few small treats (especially with a small dog) can give him enough calories that he simply doesn't need to eat his meals. Add onto that the fact that it's much more fun being fed by the children, and the food that he's getting in treats is so much more exciting than the food in his bowl and it's really easy to see why he's trying to base his diet on the treats instead of the boring stuff in his bowl.

I'm a believer in making the food in their bowl more interesting as well as stopping the treats, and one way of doing that is to take just a few of the titbits that he would get from the children, chop them up really small and bury them in the bottom of his food as little surprises that make his food more tasty and appealing.

If he's otherwise well and happy then I think it's time to reassert that the only food that he gets to eat is in his bowl at dinnertime. Temporary withdrawal of all training treats for a few days and the children toeing the line too, and he will soon realise that he eats what he gets given or he doesn't get to eat at all (and there aren't many dogs that will choose that option!).

Please give him a scritch from me

 

[gypsysmum]

Although one meal per day may be all right for a small dog, larger dogs need their meals split in two in order to try to prevent bloat. This is where the stomach twists on itself and is life threatening.

Some dogs can also get low blood sugar if fed once per day.

We show our love through feeding our dogs (and children!) and find it really hard when they reject it. So long as he is otherwise normal it will help him to be ignored when he is eating. It is very easy to set up a behaviour problem by paying attention to them when they do not eat. They learn that it is free attention to turn their nose up at food. I would put it down and just busy your self around the place and give him no attention at all. After 10 or 20 mins just pick it up without looking at him and leave him without food until the next meal time. Repeat until he eats. Again, make no fuss so that all the pressure is taken off him around meal times.