[Marquela]

Hi.

My 5 month old boy Pochi is not eating. I have tried 3 different kinds of foods. His breeder fed him Science Diet which i was feeding him, but he did not like it anymore after his vet told me to mix it with a prescription called forbid which was supposed to help him stop eating his poop. After that I changed to Eukanuba, but still the same. At the beginning he was crazy for it, but know he just eat from my hand and just a few kibbles. I'm giving him nutrical but I'm worried. Last saturday and sunday he just drink water and did not eat. Please help me.

Thanks

 

[dr.jaimie]

are you feeding him treats on the side? or is his food all he gets? it is common for dogs to not be as crazy for their food as their were when you start them on it. if you keep switching him around it wont help. i would put the food down, if he doesnt eat wait til tomorrow, see if he eats then. he is old enough to where you dont have to worry about hypoglycemia as much as he was when he was tiny. he is just testing you, trying to get you to spoil him...if he still doesnt eat by day 2 talk to your vet.

as for BARF diets, they are very complicated...you have to make sure they are balanced...esp calcium and phosphorus...if not you can have bone problems and organ failure....it is important to have their blood values check annualy when fed these diets, which can get expensive.

 

[Sunshine]

I also think that your baby is testing you. Abby does this to me on occasions. I just leave her food for 20 minutes. If she doesn't eat it, I take it away and no treats. At her next meal, she is usually hungry and will eat it.

Your baby could even have sore teeth or gums or something or even may just prefer a wet diet. Try putting some water with the food to soften it maybe? Or switch to a wet food - you can make your own with chicken & vegs etc or buy one....

 

[Snertsmom]

Gosh, Sassi is going on 6 years old and she has had about every dog food you can imagine

because she wouldn't eat regularly. Drove me

My vet told me that she is a true Canine. They will eat a lot at one meal and then go for a day or two without eating anything.
I discovered that when I gave her treats that she wouldn't eat that day.
(Now, keep in mind that my husband would give her a treat every time she pottied)...duh
So, we were creating our own problem.

But your little guy is too young to stop eating.

Almost sounds like the 'forbid' turned him against food...period. Maybe he is afraid that all food will taste like that... :lol:

Surely there is something you could sprinkle on the poop to discourage him from eating it instead of mixing something with his food.
Malts are pretty picky eaters anyway, I think.
Are you giving him treats between feedings?

Just don't let him go too long, they can dehydrate and go into hypoglycemia pretty fast.
Don't hesitate to take him to the vet.
Keep us updated please.

 

[Marquela]

Originally posted by LadyMontava@Nov 14 2004, 08:22 PM
are you feeding him treats on the side? or is his food all he gets?  it is common for dogs to not be as crazy for their food as their were when you start them on it.  if you keep switching him around it wont help.  i would put the food down, if he doesnt eat wait til tomorrow, see if he eats then.  he is old enough to where you dont have to worry about hypoglycemia as much as he was when he was tiny.  he is just testing you, trying to get you to spoil him...if he still doesnt eat by day 2 talk to your vet.

as for BARF diets, they are very complicated...you have to make sure they are balanced...esp calcium and phosphorus...if not you can have bone problems and organ failure....it is important to have their blood values check annualy when fed these diets, which can get expensive.
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[/QUOTE]

I give him a milk bone treat a day and he really likes it. I used to feed him Science Diet treats but he does not like it anymore. I forgot to mention that every morning when we are eating breakfast, he is just waiting for us to give him something. I have never feed him table scraps and I don't know why he is acting that way.

 

[doctorcathy]

did you try canned science I/D? my dogs loved that for 2 weeks...but then stopped eating again. i totally understand what you're going through. we tried science diet, bil-jac, eukanuba, nutro max....it sucked!!!

so now they're on homecooked food diet. its hard work(just like BARF)...but its really worth it. BARF sorta freaks me out because you give raw meat, but we cook our meat and chicken and the dogs have been fine for over a year. their teeth are strong (we give them bully sticks to chew) and they never get that doggy smell.

good luck on finding the right food for your pup!

 

[LexiAndNikkisMom]

You can try going to local pet stores and see if they have samples of the food. Sometimes they are free but othertimes they might be a couple bucks. This way you furbaby can try they without you having to buy a big bag of them. Also at 5 months your baby is probably teething so the food might be too hard. You can try giving him some softened food or trying some canned food.

 

[adorableaccentsdogbows]

I just leave a bog bowl of dry food down and they nibble all day. Unless your baby is loosing weight I wouldn't worry. Just make sure that plenty of fluids are being drunk every day.

 

[kodie]

Yeah... Kodie eats when he wants to.. I just make sure he has food available all day. I also tried mixing things into the food... things he likes a lot... like a cookie broke into lots of pieces.. etc.

 

[pico's parent]

There was a time in Pico's youth that he wouldn't eat for a couple of days and it did freak me out, too! My husband was always after me to put bacon fat over his kibble to make him eat it but I refused to do that. Because he has MVD and is on a low protein (8%) diet his food options are limited so he had to eat Science Diet l/d or nothing.

He still leaves a bit of food every once in a great while but for the most part I am happy with his eating habits. My husband does give him a couple of tiny bits of his tortilla on the rare occasions he gets tacos, or a bite of wheat toast and also a couple of bits at our dinner time. Yesterday he got a half string of spaghetti without sauce, cut up and doled out in 1/2 inch pieces. These "treats" seem to stimulate him to go polish off his plate after the treats are gone.

 

[2happymalts]

I agree with Lexi's mom that if he is teething depending on the size of the kibble it might hurt, we fee ours Royal Canin Yorkshire mini and the kibble is really small so they can eat it, but they have one for puppies and it is mini also...but they also do test us to see how much we are willing to give in, I would get freaked at first when they wouldn't eat and now they free graze and I don't stress (much

) hope you find something he likes...

 

[Gizmosmom]

Originally posted by 2happymalts@Nov 15 2004, 02:16 PM
I agree with Lexi's mom that if he is teething depending on the size of the kibble it might hurt, we fee ours Royal Canin Yorkshire mini and the kibble is really small so they can eat it, but they have one for puppies and it is mini also...but they also do test us to see how much we are willing to give in, I would get freaked at first when they wouldn't eat and now they free graze and I don't stress (much 

) hope you find something he likes...
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[/QUOTE]

You could try putting a little hot water on the kibble to soften it too. See if that makes a difference. I also have troubles with Gizmo. He has a very erratic eating pattern. Again, my fault, too many treats.

 

[Snertsmom]

One more suggestion...I'm sure you can't wait

There was one way I would get Sassi to eat her kibble when she was young that I forgot about.
Buy the dried liver treats in the can.
pulverize it and sprinkle a small amount over her dog food (that I had previously soaked in warm water for about 1 minute)

The liver will definitely entice him to eat and the softened kibble will be easier on his little gums.

How is Pochi doing by the way??

 

[Marquela]

Originally posted by Snertsmom@Nov 15 2004, 07:39 PM
One more suggestion...I'm sure you can't wait 

There was one way I would get Sassi to eat her kibble when she was young that I forgot about.
Buy the dried liver treats in the can.
pulverize it and sprinkle a small amount over her dog food (that I had previously soaked in warm water for about 1 minute)

The liver will definitely entice him to eat and the softened kibble will be easier on his little gums. 

How is Pochi doing by the way?? 

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[/QUOTE]


Thank you all for your suggestions and advices. I moistened his food with water and now he is eating, not the whole bowl, just a lttle more than other days, but to me it is a progress. I will try your suggestions. Thanks. This is such a great website.