# Puppy off his food



## Swaymyway (Oct 5, 2011)

Hello all. I'm a first time puppy owner and not sure if I should be concerned that my puppy (4.5 month old westie) is completely off his regular food.

We feed him burns mini bites 3 times a day, he gets extra in a small Kong twice a day and we also use it as treats to reward his good behaviour. He also gets other treats at times such as bits of chicken and cheese and he loves to throw a sprout around before eating it.

However since Christmas day he has no interest in his normal food and for 2 days would eat nothing at all, the last few days he's been eating little bits of his burns and taking some treats such as chicken and cheese but he's still not eating 'right' or getting excited by his food like he usually would.

The only thing I have found that he really wants to eat is his old wet food that he was on when we first got him (Bakers puppy) but we stopped feeding him it for a reason and don't want to go back to it - is it better to keep giving it him for now as it's the only thing he'll eat?

Other than being off his food he is perfectly normal and doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain etc

Any suggestions or do you think I should take him to the vets asap?

edit: I should add that we went away at Christmas for 2 days to stay with my family, he'd already stopped eating 2 meals before we went so not sure if it's related to that, it's the first time we've been away anywhere with him since we got him 2 months ago.


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## Mumbles (Apr 17, 2011)

When we first got toodles he went off his food, we ended up taking him to the vet and they gave him an antibiotics injection and some sensitive food which he started eating straight away with lots and lots of interest.

It may not be quite the same as what we had but the vet told us it is very unusual for puppies to stop eating, it may be worth while popping down to the vets to see what they have to say.


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## Lyceum (Sep 25, 2009)

Usually I'm all about tough love but if he's getting it as his main food, in his kong and has treats the poor guy must be bored stiff of the stuff. 

Why not keep it for meal times only. Or since he enjoys wet food, give him a quality wet for his meals (nature diet, wainwrights, natures harvest) and keep the burns for his kong. 

If it was just meals I'd say tough love all the way. But besides the occasional treat of chicken and cheese all the pup is eating is a burns. Why would he eat? If he doesn't eat his meal he'll get it in his kong later or as treats. 

Do you split his rda into the three meals plus kong fillings plus treats?

If not he may not be eating it at meal times because he gets enough from treats and his kong. 

My advice would be to vary his food. One thing at meal times. Another in the kong another as treats. 

I he enjoys wet, why not feed it?


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## Swaymyway (Oct 5, 2011)

He's never shown any sign of being bored of his burns - he goes mad for his Kong, will do anything for a little treat and is always jumping around by my feet when I'm getting his meals (3 per day) ready. Seems odd that he'd go from that 1 day to refusing to touch it the next out of boredom - if it were that I'm sure he'd be happy to eat other food instead but he wouldn't touch any thing.

Having said that the main reason he does get so much of his burns is because he loves it - I have always said what's the point in giving him other treats etc when he's so happy to take his dry - if he does show signs of being bored of it or preferring something else I will be happy to switch and/or give him more of the other treats he likes 

As for wet food - we moved away from it as everyone I know who owns a pet says dry is better for them and the difference it's made to his poop makes me not want to go back. I have thought about getting a higher quality wet to give him now and then as a treat but people have suggested that it's bad for puppies to keep having their diets messed with and we should stick with the dry until he's a little older at least.


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

I'm with you all the way re going back to wet:thumbup1:

We stuck with dry for a year but after numerous tum upsets (prob not caused by the dry) it was obvious how much harder it is to digest. Even manufacturers advise soaking it to make it easier to digest for upset tums.

I found the only thing that sorted Heidi's tum was Wainwrights wet trays from [email protected] We've since moved to Naturediet after trying lots of wets from Zooplus along the way.

If pup is happy and healthy then that's a good sign, if not - vets is a must!

I would be inclined to go with your instinct and try a bit of wet. Kibble isnt better these days Wet has come along way. As you say, not a good idea to keep changing foods but it may just have to be. Why not spend your money on a good quality wet that's mostly meat with a little rice rather than the other way round:thumbup1:

Mine went off her dry as a pup and I kept changing brands to get her to eat. Put her onto wet and nothing gets refused.


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## Sarah1983 (Nov 2, 2011)

Wondering whether you could be over feeding him. If he's getting it for meals, getting extra in his Kong and getting extra for training treats he could well be getting quite a bit more than he actually needs. Not all dogs will eat till they burst 

I used to use Ruperts kibble a lot for training treats in the house but I used his daily ration for it, not extra. Same with his Kong, it was filled with some of his daily ration plus some extra yummy stuff, not extra of his actual food.

I wouldn't go back to Bakers wet but there's nothing wrong with trying a high quality wet food, there are several out there.


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## Lyceum (Sep 25, 2009)

Swaymyway said:


> He's never shown any sign of being bored of his burns - he goes mad for his Kong, will do anything for a little treat and is always jumping around by my feet when I'm getting his meals (3 per day) ready. Seems odd that he'd go from that 1 day to refusing to touch it the next out of boredom - if it were that I'm sure he'd be happy to eat other food instead but he wouldn't touch any thing.
> 
> Having said that the main reason he does get so much of his burns is because he loves it - I have always said what's the point in giving him other treats etc when he's so happy to take his dry - if he does show signs of being bored of it or preferring something else I will be happy to switch and/or give him more of the other treats he likes
> 
> As for wet food - we moved away from it as everyone I know who owns a pet says dry is better for them and the difference it's made to his poop makes me not want to go back. I have thought about getting a higher quality wet to give him now and then as a treat but people have suggested that it's bad for puppies to keep having their diets messed with and we should stick with the dry until he's a little older at least.


Dry is harder to digest than wet. But neither is 'better' the best one is the one the dog prefers. It's not better for teeth, a good wet will produce no more or less poo than a good dry. Bad of either variety will produce more. If it was bakers puppy you tried, that sadly falls into the bad and will cause more poo.

No, it's not a good idea to swap and change every week with a pups diet, but the occasional wet won't hurt. The most important thing is he enjoys and eats his food.

He is a baby still, they can go from loving something to hating it in hours, you said he wanted his bakers puppy wet. I'm just being honest with my opinion here. And that is he's bored. Every other post about this I will and have said tough love. But I genuinely feel your pup is sick and damn tired of burns mini bites. If he loves it, keep it for kong and treats.

As said though, you could be over feeding him if all the treats and king fillings isn't coming out of his rda.


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## tttessa (Oct 31, 2011)

You've been travelling with him, he's a Westie, their digestion and eating can get upset very easily..... we have a Westie pup and have found that to VERY much be the case..... if he is eating *anything*, and is active and happy and healthy in every other way, give it a week or so to settle down again - don't keep changing food though.


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## Barryjparsons (Nov 27, 2011)

Have you tried adding to the complete eg a raw egg (broken shell and all), some raw meat, small bits of pate? 

Though a complete food is indeed "complete" at least you can see if his appetite improves by eating something that he might find exciting.


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