Not eating ?!?!?!! HELP !!! URGENT

[tyhatts]

Ok... So Jenny all of a sudden has started acting funny towards meal time about a week ago. She will be turning 16 weeks on the 7th of Sept.
We were on a twice a day feeding.... 1.5-2 cups in the morning and the same in the evening. ( recommended serving on the bag )
I have noticed in the last few days that she has had a runny stool and that she is not eating regularly, like she was. At the beginning, when I first started to notice her acting different, she would just eat a bit of food and then go play then come back and eat some more. and so on... She used to eat the whole bowl with out a break, and she would eat more if ya wanted to give her it.
This morning I put her food out and she just looked at it and took a drink of water and walked away.... she did eventually eat MAYBE .5 of a cup... Now I also read that in a post regarding puppy food, that there EM was 14 wks old and 44 lb ???? Jenny was only 28lbs @ 14 wks and I wouldn't say she is more then 35 lbs now ?


What should I be doing ??? I have been told to change her food...We are feeding her "Performatrin Puppy blend for Large breeds" ... but do I step up to regular food or stick with the puppy food ? I have to do something asap because I dont want her to starve herself.

Please, any advice would be GREAT !!!!

 

[Cody]

Personally I wouldn't feed her a puppy food, I use all stages for my dogs. Find one with a lower protein level and go from there. Has her stool firmed up? Is she vomiting? If she is I say take her to the vet. Has your vet said anything about her weight?
If not, I would give her some pumpkin/sweet potato mashed with boiled chicken and some plain yogurt until that firms up, then maybe consider switching foods, preferably to one that is either grain free or is a lamb and rice based rather then chicken and corn. My dogs do not do well on Chicken based kibble, and our Boxer has a corn allergy (it is common). She won't starve herself, it could also have something to do with teething, both the runny stool and the lack of appetite. Sometimes it could just hurt her.

 

[tyhatts]

Well, I went out and bought some new food for Jenny. I got mixed up tho, and thought I was suppose to get higher protein levels.

I have alrdy opened the bag too, DAMN !!!!!!!!!!
I went with Purina Proplan food.... with min. 25% protein !

What % of protein should I be looking for ?

Also, I have to get over to the grocery store tonight and pick up some chicken/pumpkin/sweet potatoe so I can give her that for dinner tonight

 

[tyhatts]

heres the meal ..... chicken, pumpkin, rice, yogurt!
is this what the finished product should look like ?

 

[The Ricardo]

Only problem with most Purina foods is they contain grains and fillers which as Cody stated could be the reason for everything... for a pup anything under 26% is good but try and get something GRAIN free...

I would eat the stuff in your bowl haha

 

[Marrowshard]

Looks downright tasty.
Bear in mind, too, that different bloodlines will "grow" differently. There have been a LOT of threads about puppy weights and mostly it comes down to: do they LOOK healthy? It's much more important to have a healthy pup (or any dog, really) than one that adhers to a certain size requirement.
I hope she digs her new food and that her poops firm up The mushy food should be more palatable than kibble if she's teething, at any rate.

~Marrow

 

[Cody]

Looks perfect

 

[tyhatts]

Ok guys....... She LOVED her meal ! hahaha It was pretty much the funniest/more relieveing sight to see !!!!!! She looked so full after and she was excited and happy !!!! I spooned out the last little bit that she was having a hard time getting out of the bowl and I let her lick the spoon to get every last drop.... I almost lost my hand hahaha !!!! ANNNND this morning I watched her to make sure she went potty and it was normal FINALLY !!!! Looks like it worked..... I have about 2 meals of the chicken and pumpkin left... so I will give her that, and in the mean time... Ill go pick up some better kibble.... Thank you so much for the advice !!! I dont know what I would do with out this site ! haha

 

[Marrowshard]

So happy she's doing better!

~Marrow

 

[Skilly]

You can also mix the kibble with the veggies to make her more interested. When I cooked up veggies for the family I would make extra for my dog, putting in a few potato peels and rice into his saucepan too. He loved his veggies much more than his kibble so I would put veggies at the bottom and kibble on top so he would have to eat some kibble to get to the veg.

 

[tyhatts]

Ok so an update

Jenny is doing great. She WAS eating her food normally, but she has started leaving some in the bowl again. Also, her stools are not consistant. Sometimes it will be good and firm like it should and others, its ends up like a cow patty.
Im thinking that I need to get her a different food now.
I had to buy some food for her last night, and not knowing what to do, I just bought the small bag of "Performatrin Puppy Blend" for the time being untill I decide on what food to get her.
Now its been suggested to go with "all stages" but my vet strongly discouraged us from that route ??? His explaination was that All stages food would be missing some key nutriants a puppy needs. They balance the diet for all stages of life and a 10 yr old dog has competely different requirements then a puppy.

They told me to stick with puppy blends untill Jenny is 1 yr old..... My concern with that.... My gfs family currently has a EM... and they kepy him on puppy food for to long and it created growing issues.

Any advice ? AGAIN ! haha thanks

 

[Ellen Sneve]

Remember that if you just switched her food she will most likely have diarrhea too. She will probably keep having problems with her stool being soft or inconsistent as long as you are changing it around and for a week or so after you figure out what you are going to regularily feed her. Remember that not all vets know much about mastiffs and their dietary requirements so you might need to do some shopping around for one knows more about them. My vet encouraged me to feed Science Diet...but I am not stupid...so I nodded and since I only have one choice for vets with in 300 miles I have to just do my own research. I bet your vet would recommend spay/neutering early as well.

 

[Tailcreek]

Take a fecal sample in to your vet to check for parasites. Very common in young pups and it could make her not feel like eating and cause loose stool...

Jennifer
www.tailcreekmastiffs.com

 

[dmouse66]

I feed Diamond Brand Large Breed Puppy Lamb & Rice food, it's a 4 star rated and has 24% protein and is reasonably priced. I also mix in 1/3 can Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul for the extra veggies. In the morning I also add 1 scrambled egg.

* correction: 27% protein

 

[angelbears]

Sad to say, very few Vets know much about nutrition. I think you answered your own question, "They told me to stick with puppy blends untill Jenny is 1 yr old..... My concern with that.... My gfs family currently has a EM... and they kepy him on puppy food for to long and it created growing issues. "

Personally, I believe in feeding raw but if your going to fed kibble go with under 25% protein and grain free or as close to that as your budget will allow.

 

[tyhatts]

Remember that if you just switched her food she will most likely have diarrhea too. She will probably keep having problems with her stool being soft or inconsistent as long as you are changing it around and for a week or so after you figure out what you are going to regularily feed her. Remember that not all vets know much about mastiffs and their dietary requirements so you might need to do some shopping around for one knows more about them. My vet encouraged me to feed Science Diet...but I am not stupid...so I nodded and since I only have one choice for vets with in 300 miles I have to just do my own research. I bet your vet would recommend spay/neutering early as well.

hahah Odly enough he did suggest getting it done as early as possible. Everytime we are in there, I will tell him our reasoning for waiting and he trys to talk us out of it ! Im not stupid.

Also... I havent changed her food at all since we got her, so I would say her tummy isnt upset because of changing diet all the time.
She ate all her supper last night no problem, and has been doing good the last few days... so unless there is a huge problem. I think I might stick to the current food.