I got a Chihuahua cross Jack Russell (Paolo) about 13 days ago, he seems fine in himself, plays and sleeps a lot but he eats very very little. I feed him Bakers complete puppy food. He does seem to like it but it takes him a very long time to eat even just a small amount.
And when I say small, I mean around 5 or 6 individual biscuits. I tried adding a little hot water to make it soft and it didn't really work, I even tried mixing in a little gravy and still no success What can I do?
Hannah

how is his weight? Can you see his ribs and spine?

You should be able to easily feel his ribs but not see them. Provided your puppy is not underweight (bones easily visable) you can do the following:

Feed him 3 times a day (aprox times 7am, noon and 6pm)

Make his food in the morning call him over to you, have him sit and place the food down infront of him. Wait 10 minutes and then take away the food (unless he is eating it in which case you will take it away when he leaves the food)

Do not feed him anything else until noon when you do this again. Leave the food there fo 10 minutes and remove

Repete this again at 6pm for his dinner.

This has worked for EVERY dog I have ever suggested it to (provided you DO it and don't give him snacks between meals and people food)

For some dogs it only takes one or 2 meals for them to learn to eat for others it takes 2 or 3 days but as long as he is drinking water and is NOT underweight this is safe.

Let me kow how it works.

[lil mutt]

One of my dogs dont want to touch her food unless you offer it to the other dog... She likes to take away food from my 2nd dog...

I sort of take the evolutionary view. They will eat if they are hungry enough... No need to force it IMHO...

Hi
Dont worry...It happens sometimes...do one thing to give him energytic liquid food initially.After then you will give grevy type food...

[Popcorn]

Hi Hannah,

How old is your puppy, if he is straight from the mum etc at 8 weeks he should ideally be having 4 small meals aday. there stomach's can't cope with to much in one meal. then gradually reduce to 3 meals a day once the puppy is approx 14-16 weeks old, then reduce it to 2 meals a day by the time the puppy is 6 months old.

Bakers complete is not an ideal puppy food as it has to many additives and colourings etc and a very high protein content. I used Beta puppy food when Meg was tiny it was what the breeder had been using, then by the time she was 6 months i had changed her on to James wellbeloved the same as my other dogs.


Hope you little one is settling in well,

Anne x

James Wellbeloved it s GREAT pet food. If this is available to you I would recommend the change.

I put Paolo on Baker's because thats what my friend (who i live with) feeds her Rottweiler and Paolo used to try and steal it from her bowl instead of eating his own food. James wellbeloved is a tricky thing to get hold of here, they sell the treat pouches in a lot of the horse riding stores close by but I havn't spotted the bigger dog food bags.

Originally Posted by lil mutt

One of my dogs dont want to touch her food unless you offer it to the other dog... She likes to take away food from my 2nd dog...

I think they are in love with each other, they want to share food and eat together or like to share each other.

Originally Posted by Hannah_and_Paolo

I put Paolo on Baker's because thats what my friend (who i live with) feeds her Rottweiler and Paolo used to try and steal it from her bowl instead of eating his own food. James wellbeloved is a tricky thing to get hold of here, they sell the treat pouches in a lot of the horse riding stores close by but I havn't spotted the bigger dog food bags.

Please re-think this.
There is no pure meat in Bakers, it is full of artificial colours, preservatives, fillers and it is all around - rubbish. A lot of dogs on Bakers get behavioural problems and become very hyper, anxious and bouncy from all the colours and preservatives.

I don't think you mentioned how old your pup is, but you should keep in mind that toy breeds like Chihuahuas are very prone to developing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Several small meals a day might be necessary especially while your pup is growing. We also advise adding a small amount of minced meat or canned meat like chicken or water packed tuna or herring. By small amount, I mean a teaspoon full. Just enough to whet the appetite, and provide the energy needed to prevent hypoglycemia.

They do go through spurts where they seem ravenous, then go several days where they don't eat nearly as much. It's tied into how much they're growing at any individual time.

Another thing to keep in mind is the health of your pups mouth and teeth. Small dogs are notorious for retaining puppy teeth, and that can cause problems with eating. So have your pup's mouth & teeth checked by your vet.