# New Puppy not eating well



## TNT (Aug 13, 2014)

My wife and I just got us our first chi puppy. Jack is 8 weeks and weighs 1.5 lbs. we've raised labs before and they normally eat like crazy. Jack isn't eating well, we started with the food the breeder gave us but he didn't really eat much, maybe a tablespoon, bought royal canine chihuahua puppy food for him, he likes to lick it and play withit but he barely eats it but eats more of it than what the breeder gave us. I can get him to eat wet food but from what I hear that's not always the best for puppies. At least with our labs, they were much healthier and better stools with the dry food. 

Also let me throw in that he is the only dog in the house, I'm military and we had to move so our lab is currently at my parents till we get a REAL house with a yard so gets all of our attention and love. If I hold the food he will eat more but I don't want that to be a habit. Any suggestions??? We've only had him for 3 days, is this normal??


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## Chiluv04 (Dec 19, 2013)

He may not yet be used to his surroundings. It is not uncommon for a new puppy to not eat, or potty or want to play when being brought into a new home. It took several days for my last pup to eat normally. Also maybe he doesn't like his food. Royal canine isn't the greatest food. Maybe you can try a higher quality kibble or freeze dried food? If you go to dogfoodanalysis.com or dogfoodadvisor.com you can find out everything you need to know about the food you are feeding as well as a full and complete rating on the best 5 star foods to suit the need of your dog. Also it's great to keep something handy in case your pup suffers low blood sugar. Hope this helps. Hopefully others will chime in with more advice on this. We'd love to see pics of your little guy 😊


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## cafebaby (Jul 25, 2014)

TNT said:


> My wife and I just got us our first chi puppy. Jack is 8 weeks and weighs 1.5 lbs. we've raised labs before and they normally eat like crazy. Jack isn't eating well, we started with the food the breeder gave us but he didn't really eat much, maybe a tablespoon, bought royal canine chihuahua puppy food for him, he likes to lick it and play withit but he barely eats it but eats more of it than what the breeder gave us. I can get him to eat wet food but from what I hear that's not always the best for puppies. At least with our labs, they were much healthier and better stools with the dry food.
> 
> Also let me throw in that he is the only dog in the house, I'm military and we had to move so our lab is currently at my parents till we get a REAL house with a yard so gets all of our attention and love. If I hold the food he will eat more but I don't want that to be a habit. Any suggestions??? We've only had him for 3 days, is this normal??


I had a similar issue with Mavis when I brought her home. I put the kibble in a food processor to chop up the kibble and to get some of it powdery. Then with the back of a tablespoon, I would mash it into a chunky paste with a little bit of wet food. She ate that right up. I was so worried about her not eating because the vet warned me that chis are predisposed to become hypoglycemic and that it was important for her to eat several times a day. Anyway, that's what worked for me.


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## Alula (Feb 3, 2013)

I completely agree with Meoshia, if he is eating wet food ok that may suggest the smell stimulates him so much that it is over coming any settling in jitters that are causing him not to want to eat. If you are set on feeding him kibble then you can try adding low sodium broth to the kibble to try and stimulate him. Ofter in the end, old fashioned hunger wins out but when they are tiny you have to be so careful with hypoglycemia, so do keep something on hand and know the symptoms.

Wet or dry it really depends on what you are feeding him as to wether it is good for him, sadly so many dog foods are full of cheap, indigestable fillers, the two websites above are excellent places to find solid information on what you are feeding your pup. There are some excellent and affordable 4* & 5* foods out there. As Chi's only eat such a small amount it is so very important to ensure that that little amount is packed with the best nutrition possible, looking into those websites will help you to ensure that  good luck and keep us posted!


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## coco_little_bear (May 30, 2012)

I agree with what Meoshia and Jemma said. Royal Canin is not the greatest food and considering how much it costs, you could get a better quality food for the same price. Also, don't be put off from feeding him wet food. You often hear people say that wet food isn't as good and it seems to be mostly based on teeth health, but kibble being good/better for teeth is a myth. Wet or dry, it doesn't matter, what makes a food good or not depends on what ingredients are in it. You could find a high quality wet food on dogfoodadvisor.com if he prefers that. As the others said, it might just be that he's still getting used to his new home though. And I agree with Meoshia, we'd love to see pictures of him.


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## TNT (Aug 13, 2014)

Well he's eating a little better but not the recommended 1/2 cup a day per the back of the bag. He will eat soft food any suggestions on a good puppy soft food that he can eat every day


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

I don't know of any good soft puppy foods to suggest. If you are still having a problem getting your puppy to eat a satisfactory amount of kibble, I would consider mixing the kibble with a 4 or 5 star can food. As the others have mentioned, you can find which ones are 4 or 5 star by visiting dogfoodadvisor.com. Usually 4 or 5 star foods are for all life stages which means they are acceptable for puppies and you don't have to look for "puppy food" per se. Just be sure to look for the correct amount to feed a puppy because it will always be more than an adult dog. Also, if you want a soft food for your puppy you should look in to frozen or freeze dried raw foods. They will either have to be thawed or rehydrated, but when they are the consistency is much like canned food, and to be honest if you are buying a quality canned food you can usually buy a frozen or freeze dried raw a bit cheaper. All of these above foods are a bit more expensive than kibble, but not terribly much when feeding a chihuahua, and not so much if he won't eat, and you end having to pay a vet visit. If you just can't get him to eat, you can always scramble him an egg. I feel sure he will eat that! Good luck!


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## TNT (Aug 13, 2014)

Put Jack on the scale at pet smart and he weighs 1.1lbs not the 1.5 I thought but that was me on a bathroom scale with him in my arms. We have been giving him Nutrical every couple of hours. He seems to like the science diet toy breed puppy stew. I found a site that gave me a formula to find his calorie intake requirements. Looks like 78 is all he needs, does that even sound right??


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## Alula (Feb 3, 2013)

As previously mentioned please take a look at the dog food advisor websites so you can do some research and decide on which canned food is right for you. Here is their review on the food you are currently feeding - Hill's Science Diet Puppy Canned Dog Food | Review and Rating 

here is a link to the 4 star wet foods - Four Star Wet Dog Foods | Dog Food Advisor and a final link to the 5 star wet foods - Five Star Wet Dog Foods | Dog Food Advisor

I anticipate that for the amount the science diet costs you, you could find a 4 or 5 star dog food for the same price


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## Lola's mommy8 (Feb 2, 2014)

Not to be a dog food snob, but from what I hear semi-moist foods or pouched foods are the worst thing you can feed a dog because of the preservatives used. Let's all agree to give up on Iams as a dog food entirely, several years ago they killed many dogs by mixing rat poison accidentally into pet food and then just a couple of years ago the company bought out a perfectly good food that I was feeding my chi ( Innova, also Innova Evo) and she was poisoned with salmonella thereafter. Every food has a recall from time to time but I will never trust Iams. The company owns many brands of food that are not called Iams also, including Benneful which is just a poor quality food, so be careful. When you go to Petsmart I recommend going no lower quality than the aisle you find Blue and Wellness on, I'm not saying only those brands will do but anything on that aisle is usually good quality. I avoid Blue because anything with different types of kibbles in it invite finickiness. Also wet food should be okay for a while for a puppy, it is sometimes necessary to get the appetite going. It has more carbohydrates than dry food which we all know increase the appetite, but tends to have less protein so kibble is still good to keep in the diet. Good luck.


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## Alula (Feb 3, 2013)

I think that wet foods have come a long way in the last few years and that many of the high quality ones were lower in carbs than there dry counterparts? Canned foods contain no synthetic preservatives too where ad kibble needs to be preserved artificially. I think a lot of people get caught up in the whole 'but kibble is better for a dogs teeth' thing, but thats a load of rubbish too! Here is a little comparaison of wet vs dry to have a read of http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/ this article in dogs naturally also touches on the subject http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/dog-food-ten-scary-truths/ 

I think its a great idea to try and include a 4/5 star Kibble and a same quality, canned wet food if thats what gets him eating. If you are feeling adventerous take a look at raw feeding, it is the best thing I have ever done for my dogs


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## Siggy (Aug 20, 2014)

Puppies are so adorable!!..When I got my first Chi puppy we were concerned also but didn't realize we were so used to larger dogs and the amounts they ate. Think your pup may be training you to offer the wet food she prefers. A little goes a long way with your little puppy.


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