Getting a pup to eat dry food

[Smith3]

I have a 16 week old pup. Our breeder said she had been giving the puppies supercoat and they loved it. 

 

When puppy arrived at 8 weeks, he wouldn't eat it. We tried adding an extra into the dry food (boiled egg, tin sardines, chicken hearts, tuna) and he would sometimes eat it. 

 After speaking with some dog people, we changed his dry food to Royal Canin but he still wont eat it on it's own. Now we are finding even when we put something extra in as an enticement, he's not interested.

 

He wants to eat. Any raw food i give him on it's own he gobbles down, it's just the dry food that's the issue.

 

Lots of people have said not to worry, he wont starve himself. Meanwhile the vet is saying she wouldn't like to see him any leaner than he is. 

 

His weight aside, his behaviour is becoming a big issue. When we can get him to eat he's such a lovable dog. Sleeps well, his back end of things is good, playful, loves cuddles.

When he wont eat, he gets destructive. Wont sleep, wont settle, i can't have him around my kids because he can get bitey.

He obsessed with eating dog poop, dirt and rocks. Even in our backyard he has to be on a lead so we can stop him from trying to eat them.

 

If anyone has any helpfully info or knows a brand of food we should try, i'd love to hear about it.

 

 

 

 

[persephone]

Why does he HAVE to eat dry food? 
Millions of dogs grow and thrive on a raw diet  
if he will eat raw, then feed him a lovely balanced raw/fresh food  diet - It's not too difficult , and once you start , it will be just like preparing a meal for another of the family . perhaps joing THIS GROUP on Facebook for some support ? 
The main things to remember when feeding fresh/raw is EDIBLE bone for calcium  So - chicken frames , that sort of thing, a little bit of organ meat - liver/kidney , some muscle meat - "steak" heart , and a small amount of veg if you want . Eggs are a valuable add-in , also sardines/other fish , some yoghurt , apples as a toy/treat .. and off you go! 

 

[_PL_]

Good advice above from Perse.  

 

If he really likes raw, and thrives on raw, feed it to him. You can create a balanced diet on your own or even buy BARF pre-made patties if you don't always have time that day.  

 

Kibble is sometimes encouraged by vets as a complete diet or even 'safer' than raw. Not my experience, just be careful of them crunching up large splintery bones. 

 

In the end, different dogs thrive on different foods so there's no set rules as such, whatever your dog does best on is the diet they need as long as it's nutritious. 

[Tassie]

I've had one pup that was fussy for a few weeks after he arrived .. he was the one that threw up in his crate a couple of times on the way to the airport  .  He eventually ate kibble … Supercoat at that time.   But when my now 3 year old arrived, she had been raised on raw, so I started off with the Big Dog raw  BARF frozen patties  … easy, can get different varieties, and they have veg and ground bones etc.    I actually transitioned my older boy from kibble (Black Hawk at the time) over to the raw.    I'd suggest deciding on something and sticking to it ..at 16 weeks he's probably got you fairly well trained () but he's unlikely to starve himself. 

[juice]

Big dog patties make feeding raw easy as it’s all they need . 

You could try soaking the kibble in gravy to soften it if you really don’t want to feed raw . 

[Smith3]

We're open to raw feeding, just intimidated by it. We had a lab for 14 years and if it started with f and finished in ood, he ate it. So this is new territory for us.

 

On 19/03/2020 at 11:39 AM, persephone said:

 perhaps joing THIS GROUP on Facebook for some support ? 

I joined this group, thanks. Lots of info to look over.

 

We got some of these rolls Is this the right thing? We gave him half the roll and he ate maybe half of that.

 

I have seen the big dog patties at the pet shop, so we'll give them a try. I differently like know he's getting everything he needs from them. That's our biggest issue, not knowing if he's eating the right things to help him grow healthy. 

 

 

 

 

[persephone]

7 minutes ago, Smith3 said:

That's our biggest issue, not knowing if he's eating the right things to help him grow healthy. 

 As long as he's getting food for PUPPIES, not adults - pups have different nutrition needs- like human babies/adults   He needs special ratios of calcium and other things in his food- and food made especially for  PUPS will have everything he needs to BUILD A GOOD SOLID body . 
Well done in doing your research.  

[Dogsfevr]

 

What advice has the breeder given?

 

Have you soaked the kibble to soften it slightly whilst teething .

Is pup being fed in a quiet zone .

 

there is nothing wrong with adding the right foods to pups dry and yes a hungry puppy can be a grumpy puppy just like us .

 

What time out does pup get from the kids ,are you ensuring it gets brain switch off time .

 

The roll is a start ,you can get pet mince ,can cook up veggies etc etc .

Biggest thing is keep it simple .

Your mission is to feed right but also to teach right 

 

 

[Boronia]

Vets All Natural have a mix, sort of like a savoury muesli, you soak it overnight and mix with the raw meat, it tries to mimic the gut content of animals that dog ancestors have killed. It will give your dog the essentials that you are concerned he might miss out on.

 I give it to my lot and they love it. Free postage as well (there is probably slightly cheaper elsewhere but I have found this company very good. Budget pet products are ok but their free postage is only selected areas)    https://www.vetsupply.com.au/vets-all-naturals/b2077.aspx  the puppy mix is on special https://www.vetsupply.com.au/dog-food/complete-mix-for-puppies/pet-foods-pack-1730-7119.aspx

 

and all about Vets all natural  https://vetsallnatural.com.au/