Picky Pups - Is It A Stage They Go Through?

[Stitch]

I have had many dogs over the years, raised many litters as well as run on promising pups myself and kept in touch with my puppy buyers and it seems to me that there is a stage that most, not all, but definitely a lot of pups go through that they don't eat well, some seeming to survive on only a mouthful of food a day. I try not to get too worried about it when it happens to one of mine that I am running on however it is concerning and I would prefer not to have to contend with this behaviour as it does have to be managed.

I have small/medium sized breed, so I don't know that it would apply to larger breeds with maybe bigger appetites, but I have found that around the 9 week to 16 week stage a certain percentage start eating less and being, shall we say, more selective in what they will eat.

My advice to puppy buyers is that just to continue on with the diet the pup has been on as it is well balanced and good quality maybe trying a few alternatives that I suggest. I have found if they chop and change too much it can cause the pup to be a picky eater permanently, however I got to wondering what everyone elses experiences have been with this 'syndrome'???

Normally what I will do is add chicken juices or sardines to their usual mix which sometimes works but not always. Sometimes it is a matter of finding something similar to the diet they have been on, which will be acceptable to them. For instance I have one now that has decided that Dr.B's BARF which they previously loved, is now only worth tasting a little bit and leaving the rest, won't eat much of Advance puppy dry which they loved for 4weeks previously, but thinks chicken necks and Adult Supercoat is now pretty good. Now, normal puppy owners are not going to have the flexability of available diets that I have as an owner of many dogs.

The important thing I have concluded is that the pup retains the habit of eating regularly and until their stomach feels full.

So what do you all think???? as I read about this problem time and time again on this forum so it is obviously not just me that has seen this happen.

Does anyone have a solution or an explanation as to why it happens?????

Edited March 20, 2010 by STITCH

[Stitch]

Anyone?

[Kavik]

Sorry can't help - mine have always been good eaters and will eat what ever I put in front of them.

[Dogsfevr]

No issues here at that age,its like the pigs eating.

Occasionally the 7 months stage with teething can be an issue but 2 occasions in 20 odd years.

In some breeds though it seems bad tonsils are becoming more common & plays havoc with eating habits

[dancinbcs]

I find that puppy appetites vary a lot. They seem to grow in spurts rather than at a constant rate and the appetite corresponds to the growth rate. If the growth levels off for a while the appetite disappears, only to re-appear when they start to grow again. I test them by offering a small amount of something really tasty like roast chicken to make sure they are not ill. If they will eat that, I assume they are just not hungry enough to eat normal food, so offer a smaller meal and remove it if they do not eat. Then offer the next meal at the usual time. They usually only skip a few meals before they start to get hungry again. If they are still on 3 or 4 meals a day, I use the drop in appetite to determine when they should be cut down to one less meal.

The one exception to this rule was a dog many years ago that would eat practically nothing between about 7 and 9 months. He was seriously losing weight so I started offering Di-Vetelact made up thick like cream. He was happy to drink that and it kept his weight up until he finally started to eat again. He was still a picky eater until about age three and then just ate normally for the rest of his life. I found in that first few years that offering smaller meals worked best. If he ate all the food offered I would put a bit more in the plate and repeat until he had enough. If I put the whole meal in together, he woud just walk away and not even taste it.

[persephone]

I have never noticed! My guess is tho, that texture is important- as their senses change/improve, they become more aware of WHAT they have in their mouths- and how it feels...

[Stitch]

Thats interesting Dancinbcs, I pretty much do the same thing although the 2 pups I am running on from my last litter couldn't be more different. One is a BIG eater and one eats like a bird. I have started to feed them separately as I will have to monitor the 'bird'. They have been on 2 meals a day from 8weeks old although the big eater always gets more than the 'bird'.

The one I have kept from a previous litter was initially a 'bird' and so I started running her with her mum who is a piggy eater. When the competition came into it at about 13wks the 'bird' suddenly got the will to eat and hasn't stopped since.

As I said I have seen the appetite or lack of it in litters/pups first hand and I have also read it time and time again here on this forum and I got to wondering how I could understand it better, thereby maybe learning to help the 'birds' more- maybe even being able to avoid a 'bird' situation.

I wonder if some foods just don't agree with some pups - but how do you work that one out and is it going to be practical to introduce in a litter situation????

[stormie]

Not a breeder, but I went through this with Orbit after I bought him home. Took him a couple of months before he was eating full meals and lost a fair bit of weight during that time. His breeder told me the litter in general were not huge eaters and the other two did something similar too.

It does seem to be a common topic on DOL though, where the new puppy isnt all that interested in food.

[FionaC]

Not noticed it here either - 2 large breed dogs - one currently at 21mths and the other at 16 weeks .... they have both eaten well since we bought them home as 8 week old pups and I've not noticed any reduction in appetite in either of them ....

[woodbyne]

yes i have found the same thing i don't breed but just going from my own dogs experiences i wonder if it is when they are teething thats what i put it down to i just offer the food if they don't eat it take it away they soon learn mmm better eat up no one had had any ill effects from this but i have wondered if nayone elses pups have done the same thing.

[Stitch]

Yes Woodbyne, that is the usual thing that is said when puppies get a bit picky especially when they change owners. I have said it myself.

I would say that puppies mostly respond to this but some are quite persistant in not wanting to eat much and of course it can vary between litter mates.

It is especially noticeable when you show one that isn't eating well as opposed to one that is a good eater.

I wonder if eating is a learned behaviour like many other things and the ones that are light eaters have learned to eat that way????

[Mystiqview]

I currently have a 8.5 month male BC doing that. Some days he will eat it all, other days he will eat a mouthful or two and leave the rest. His mother did it around the same age too.

Not too worried at present. He looks a little lean, but if anything like the mother, he will grow out of it. If he gets too bad, I will feed more raw that what I currently do. Mine are mostly on Advance with raw added.

I also found the mother, did not like the larger normal kibble. I have her on small breed of the same brand, with bones to chew for teeth/gum health

[Fordogs]

My almost 5 month old puppy went off her food after the rest of the litter left, I found the only way she would eat was if I hand fed her ( yes I know that was very bad of me ) but she refused to eat out of any bowl. The next thing I did was to scatter food onto the floor, she ate that and thought it was a game, then I let some fall into the bowl and before she knew it she had eaten a full meal out of the bowl. Never looked back.

[Stitch]

So eating is a learned behaviour as well as a need???

Perhaps if pups go on for too long sharing with their litter mates, when they do have to eat alone it becomes scarey to learn a new behaviour ie. eating alone???

Insecurities must obviously play a part in a pup learning to eat by themselves, if not for all pups then for some??

[sandgrubber]

Labradors seldom loose their appetite and tend to live true to their reputation for eating almost anything they're fed. I find this is usually continuous through puppyhood. I don't remember ever having a puppy buyer call and ask "why isn't my pup eating" or reporting fussy eating problems.

Anyone?

[Stitch]

Yes, Sandgrubber, I can imagine that Labradors probably wouldn't have this problem but smaller dogs do seem to!