[Katzie]

Kirby got all his incisors in a couple of weeks ago, no problem. Then the canines came in and only one still has the baby retaining. Next his premolars starting falling out and now he is getting all of his molars at once.

Besides the strong desire to chew which I have been helping him with by giving him crushed ice, frozen carrots, bananas, lots of chew toys....as of the last two days his appetite is way down. Is this normal when all those molars are coming in at once?

He's only 5 mons and 3 weeks so I am concerned about his not getting the nutrients he needs. He always had a great appetite and ate everything I gave him and his weight is perfect. I thought I'd cook him some chicken today and see if that will spark his appetite.

I usually give him Holistic Health Extension kibble softened with water with a couple of spoons of various holistic canned foods (I alternate between the 3 he loves) and then I add fresh cooked peas or carrots and some fresh cooked brown rice. I have tried various combo's, leaving some ingredients out, trying just the soft food alone and he's still picky, eats a couple of bites and that's it.

Attaching a new picture that shows his new big beautiful front teeth.....I can't believe how fast he is growing!!!!

 

[Miss_Annie]

Oh my! He has grown! and he's as adorable as ever! :wub:

I have no advice, but I'm sure others will jump in and give you some excellent advice.

 

[Cosy]

I would cut out the treats/snacks and see if he will eat his regular food.

 

[jmm]

Yes they can have a decreased appetite when teething. Stick with his dogfood. Softening the dry with warm water can help.

 

[Katzie]

I only give him a couple of pieces of frozen carrot or banana after he eats. I give him Zukes Peanut Butter treats during training time which is after dinner. He doesn't get treats before meals.

Tonight I gave him a plate with his food separated instead of mixed to see if there's something he just is not liking now. He ate all his peas and carrots, a little bit of the two tsps of canned and none of the soft kibble that he's been eating since I got him, he came home with it.

Is this NOT normal for teething, should I call the Vet? The last puppy I had was 10 years ago and I had a 5 yr old dog when I got him, so I didn't have any of this. I had no idea how much our Toby was mothering Nestle so that I never went through this kind of stuff.:huh:

 

[Katzie]

Well after a week of Kirby's appetite going down, down and down and his chewing on his back paws I called the Vet and took him in today to get checked out.

I knew about the retaining canine and thought it was bothering him, what I didn't know about is with all of his molars are coming in a couple of pre-molars have not fallen out yet and there's some swelling and redness in those areas. The Vet said his mouth is hurting and that's why he doesn't really want to eat much. However.......she weighed him and even with his eating so much less he managed to gain almost another pound in 17 days. He now weighs 7.5 lbs and he will be 6 months old August 7th. The breeder said he'd be around 10 lbs full grown, I think he might pass that and reach 12 lbs which is fine with me because I can't tell you how many times I almost fell over him, so a little bigger might help.

The Vet told me to schedule his neutering around August 14 and she'll pull the one retaining canine and if the pre-molars still haven't come out she'll pull those as well. As for his paw chewing, his nails needing clipping, she said there was no skin irritation and probably he's been doing it due to the pain and stress from his gums since he only started doing it the last couple of weeks. She clipped his nails and he didn't chew his paws at all tonight.

I am just very glad that his lack of eating is not causing any problems and now I know why my wrist hurts when I hold him....he's heavy....LOL Hard to believe that only 11 weeks ago he was 2.8 pounds and so tiny.