Hetty Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 (edited) I have a five month old French Bulldog who is not eating enough. He's our only dog so there's no competition for food (though sometimes our cat will go for his food and then suddenly he's interested, but then loses interest when she leaves). His breeder suggested that I put some things in with his biscuits so I've been doing that (roast chicken, mince, chicken chunkers, My Dog cans) and it was working really well, but now that's not working as well (he is still eating but only about half of what he should). He will eat out of treat dispensing toys, though today he decided his Kong is not interesting enough anymore. He will work for food but not for normal dog biscuits, only for high value treats. He loves lamb flaps but I don't want to just give him fat or give him too much bone. He's not underweight but he's slim. He is still gaining weight (two weeks ago at puppy school he was 7.8, now he's 8.3kg). I'm looking for suggestions of really yummy things to put into his biscuits to make him keener to eat. He wants to eat whatever we're eating so I know he is hungry. Edited July 17, 2016 by Hetty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 :) 5 mths old ..he may well be one of those dogs who suffer when they are teething ..and his mouth hurts ;) has he been & had a vet check ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Puppies should be slim!! You should be able to easily feel ribs too. It sounds like he is meeting his caloric needs for growing so I wouldn't be in a rush to try and convince him to eat more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 And some puppies are too busy to eat - mine is like that and has been since 5 weeks of age. Only now at 15 months is she really seeing value in food. 3 cups a day plus training treats and she's still a skinny whip of a thing. She will fill out eventually...possibly when she stops running lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 5 months most likely teething ,don't pander to much or you will create a monster . Given he will eat he's not being real fussy Bu selective . Do you leave the food bowl down? How many treats does he get during the day keeping in mind some treat giving can be a small meal . Do you plan to just feed dry or are you wanting to feed a combo or dry /meat etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hetty Posted July 17, 2016 Author Share Posted July 17, 2016 I think he is certainly "busy". I do leave the food bowl down, I put it away after an hour or so unless I go out then he keeps it. Showdog, I didn't even think about pandering too much, you're right. Oops! He doesn't get many treats. I break them up really small for training sessions. When he's an adult I'd like to feed raw or mostly raw like I do with my cats, but I know growing Frenchies have special dietary requirements and don't want to stuff that up by going raw. My concern comes from seeing Frenchies at a show on the weekend, pups his age were much fatter and a little taller. Younger pups were just much fatter. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I would be putting his food down and if its still there after 10 mins take it away till next feed time. Also changing his food all the time is just pandering to him and may upset his tum too. What was the breeder feeding? any reason you cant feed raw now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjosa Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 He would be teething right now as others have said. Also some Frenchies do not get the spring of rib that is required to give them that rounded look, so those who do not get that spring of rib always look slim no matter how well they eat. With the weights that you said, he is definitely getting as much as he needs, I would only be worried if it was going backwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I would suggest getting a blood test done, checking his liver mainly. Being small and having poor appetite are 2 of the factors for a liver shunt. Plus this is a breed that seems to get shunts a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 He's put on half a kilo in 2 weeks. Nothing wrong with that. I think you need to relax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverStar-Aura Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 He's a smaller breed dog too -- they just don't pack weight on quickly. Both Kirah and Ruie my small terriers would put on around 100-200 grams per week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 There is no reason why you cant feed raw now better than canned food etc etc. Obviously being a flat faced breed some foods require more care . I wouldn't leave the food down ,food becomes no value,if pup doesn't look hungry when you plan to feed dont feed him ,its very easy to teach a pup not to eat just as much as creating a pig. Body shape is also another thing ,we get dogs in boarding where the vet & people have said to skinny ,some of these dogs are long in loin & will never look "normal" weight,some are to short in back & look like a rolly polly .With pups they grow in all sorts of stages ,up on leg,fugglies & the gawd lets hide you stage . Your pup is eating you just need to not create an issue by encouraging bad eating habits . Some just don't like the dry they get & as a breeder we will happily discuss with our puppy owners any food issues. Is the dry what the breeder suggested or something else ? Special dietary needs isn't a scary thing ,feed the dry you want & add some basic raw ,add slowly . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hetty Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) I am giving him some raw, at the moment he's chewing on a piece of lamb flap. I'm concerned that if I feed him a full raw diet he will grow too quickly, is this the wrong way of thinking? I can certainly take his food away after ten minutes, I just worried if I did that he wouldn't eat enough that way. At the moment, when I get home from work his breakfast is finished, but then he won't eat dinner. I will take it away after ten minutes from now on. The breeder suggested the dry food, he's on the same dry food as when we bought him. She also told us other things to give him and we give him those things too, generally mixed in with his dry. Just took these: Edited July 18, 2016 by Hetty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 He isn't skinny ,has a nice tuck looks a great weight for a pup. Growing to fast won't happen on ,its generally more a large/giant breed issue but any dog can suffer growth issues from poor diet . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hetty Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 Thank you. I'll stop stressing! He just looked so skinny compared to the Frenchies I saw on Saturday. I'll take his food away after ten minutes from now on. Thanks to everyone for the advice :) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 He isn't skinny ,has a nice tuck looks a great weight for a pup. Growing to fast won't happen on ,its generally more a large/giant breed issue but any dog can suffer growth issues from poor diet . Agree. Not skinny at all. I'd actually like to see a bit more muscle definition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Thank you. I'll stop stressing! He just looked so skinny compared to the Frenchies I saw on Saturday. I'll take his food away after ten minutes from now on. Thanks to everyone for the advice :) Also keep in mind colour can give a different look,you will find most Brindles will look fatter/substanial due to colour ,a fawn can look different again to a parti. Muscle for his age is no biggy for me & as Frenchies run differently they wont bulk up like some other breeds at that age . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 He looks pretty close to perfect as far as I can see... it may be that the other ones you see around are fat? He's obviously eating as much as he needs and not overdoing it - which is actually a blessing... lol! T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 doesn't look slim to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 I agree that he looks fine. A lot of dogs are overweight and obese, and I think it skews what people see as a healthy body condition. This chart may help you: http://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20dogs.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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