GardenGnome Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Hello ☺ We got our toy poodle puppy on Friday, so have had her almost a week. She is happy, energetic, weeing/pooing and drinking well but seems to be so selective on when she will eat. One day I could only get her to eat 5 little puppy kibbles that had a little warm water to soften them up. I gave up on day three with the kibble part altogether and just gave her meat, vegies and rice (which she is eating a little bit more), as I was worried for her. She has just eaten her first meal today, after me trying all day. She ate happily and is now resting. She doesn't seem ill or anything, and I remember my mum saying her poodles were a bit fussy as pups, but is it normal with how little she is eating? I was trying to stick to 3-4 meals a day because of how little she is, but she just won't do that. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralPug Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Sometimes puppies will lose appetite when they no longer have the competition of litter mates. If you don't want to be lumped with a fussy eater for the next 15-odd years then you are absolutely going to have to stop the "trying all day' bit. Dogs will not starve themselves to death unless they are really ill. Stick to the feeding times and foods as advised by her breeder. Put the food down for 10 minutes each mealtime and then pick up anything that she hasn't yet eaten and don't offer her anything else at all until her next mealtime. She should have access to fresh water all day, but not access to food all day. She may miss a meal or two when you start this, but soon enough hunger will creep in and she will be devouring each meal as you put it down. If, after a few days, she is still leaving food, then you may be giving her too much. If she starts to look terribly thin, then maybe a vet visit is in order, but my bet is that after a few days of the 10 minute meal times, she will eagerly scoff whatever you offer. Good luck and let us know the result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 the puppy's breeder should have given you feeding advice. What did they say ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardenGnome Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) * Double post. Edited January 29, 2015 by GardenGnome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardenGnome Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) Thanks! Yeah, I was only leaving it for 10mins at a time then taking away, but offering it up more than usual as I was worried because of her being a smaller breed and losing weight. I'll make sure I stick to the 3 times a day meals. Does no other foods include treats for training? We've been doing a few little basic training sessions together and she is happy to take the small treats. Nanook, our other dog, has always pretty much inhaled her food and we have never had her say no to a meal, so this is pretty new. Her breeder gave us a bag of kibble she was eating said she also has raw meat, vegies and rice and that she's fed 3 times a day. So I was trying to follow that, but just a bit unsure with her skipping so many. Edited January 29, 2015 by GardenGnome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralPug Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 My rule of thumb for training treats in small breed puppies is that the total treats given in any one day should be less than 10% of the total daily food intake. So make a pile of the average number of training treats she would get in a whole day and put it next to one of her meals. If she is being fed three times a day and the treat pile masses less than a fifth (20%) of that one meal then you will have no problems. But if the treat pile masses more than that, then you have a puppy filling up on treats which would explain not being hungry at mealtimes. Solutions include decreasing the size of each treat by whatever ratio is needed, trying to reward her with play (tug toy or similar) rather than a food reward, or simply replacing the actual treats with tiny portions of her ordinary meals and including those in her total daily food allowance. It might also pay to check back with the breeder about the total DAILY food requirements that she needs as she grows. It is not unknown for new puppy and kitten owners to mistakenly feed the entire daily amount in each meal, three of four times a day and then worry about why so much is being wasted! And can we please have some pictures of your new cutie pie? Pretty please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Cut the rice and veg and try kibble and fresh meat , along with no treats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) Stick to the breeders diet. Not good to change too quickly. If you want to make changes wait until you have had her for a few months then add the new food to her usual in small amounts initially increasing gradually. It may be that you are giving too much & don't realise the small amount these tiny ones eat. Excitement & change with leaving home also affects them & its only almost a week. I find that about 2 tablespoons is a meal at about 9 weeks old according to weight, under a kilo they may not eat that much yet. I leave dry kibble down all the time but in your case I would mix it with the wet food. No need to soften it her teeth will be quite sharp & she is well able & needs to crunch some food. Can you weigh puppy , record & check daily so you know she is not going backwards ? Don't hand feed. A healthy puppy won't starve itself to death. Remove food as you are doing if uneaten. Not sure about treats as I don't use them. Very responsive to voice praise this breed. She sounds fine, healthy & normal & like she is trying to train you. They are so smart. Resist. Photos ? Edited January 31, 2015 by Christina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardenGnome Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Hello! Thanks so much for replies. Sorry it's taken so long to get back. School year start and puppy stuff have filled up my days a bit :) So we stuck to the breeders foods and I have stuck to meal times/ taking away not offering until next time and it has paid off. Also, I think she hated me wetting the biscuits down and she eats them really well without it. She is happily eating her meals ( I was dishing out two meals in one, thinking it was the right amount!) and I am making sure to not give too many treats and use alternatives like her rope/toys for rewards. Also weighing her to check she is putting on weight fine. She is much more settled now and I had forgotten just how smart poodles were. She has caught on so fast! Here she is. Her name is Liquorice :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Great update :) What a pretty bit of Licorice ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Pleased its all going well now. She is very cute & pretty :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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