Dante won't eat his food! :/

[dantesmom]

Breeder told us to add some warm water to his food, we did, and we also had to put dewormer (liquid) in his food, but when he gets to the food bowl, he seems to just be drinking the water (mixed with dewormer), but he wouldn't touch the kibbles. He would drink some of the water, then run away, then come back and drink a little more, then run away and play again. I tried to put him in the crate with the food, he cries to get out, and i tried to put Bubu in the crate, and let him eat out, he still runs around and wouldn't eat.

At his age he's supposed to be fed 4 1/8 cups a day, I planned to feed him 4 cups a day for now since he won't be getting out much yet (still need next round of shots). We tried feeding him 3 times a day with 1 1/2 cups in the morning and at night, and 1 cup in between. But he barely ate. So we reduced it down to 1 cup in the morning at night, and half a cup in between. He still wouldn't eat.

Is it normal? It's day 2 since he's come home. He plays and sleeps a lot.

 

[Penelope's Mom]

Has he eaten at all today?

 

[dantesmom]

He ate a little bit in the morning (around 7am), I'd say about 1/3 of a cup.

Has he eaten at all today?

 

[Penelope's Mom]

You've only had him a couple days, right? Others may chime in but I'll go out on a limb and say don't worry too much about it just yet. Dante is still getting settled in and it will take a bit of time for him to adjust.

Did you switch his food from what the breeder had him on?

 

[dantesmom]

No, the breeder recommended Royal Canin Giant Puppy food. They gave us two mini bags and we went and bought bigger bags. Same food he was on as we were told.. But yes you're right, he's still settling in. So hopefully he will start to have an appetite soon. Thanks!

 

[Penelope's Mom]

He'll eat when he's hungry and BTW, he doesn't need a puppy food. A good adult food will work fine for him. You don't want him growing too fast. Keep us posted.

Dante is adorable.

 

[musicdeb]

I agree, Dante is not relaxed enough in his new home to eat. He will eat when he's hungry. Are you feeding him treats for training?

I checked the calcium and phosphorous levels for the Royal Canine Giant Puppy food and it's within the limits of the required for those 2 minerals, in fact, the calcium is a little low and the phosphorous is in the middle.

Calcium & Phosphorous Requirements for Dogs

 

[dantesmom]

Thanks. So it's okay to keep giving him Royal Canin Giant puppy right? Or should I switch to a different food, an adult one maybe? And well I give him MINIMAL amount of treats to help him with crate and potty training.

I agree, Dante is not relaxed enough in his new home to eat. He will eat when he's hungry. Are you feeding him treats for training?

I checked the calcium and phosphorous levels for the Royal Canine Giant Puppy food and it's within the limits of the required for those 2 minerals, in fact, the calcium is a little low and the phosphorous is in the middle.

Calcium & Phosphorous Requirements for Dogs

 

[musicdeb]

Yes, I would say the food is ok to feed him until he's about 6-8 months old and then switch to the Giant Adult food.

Once you start adding water or toppers to his food, he will expect it all the time. Be aware, you are creating a food monster. I have one of those.

 

[DennasMom]

I'd go ahead and feed him in the crate, and then ignore him and any cries... don't let him out when he cries, or he'll learn that's how to get out and keep crying until he gets what he wants (since we're talking about creating monsters ).
Make sure you get at least 2 seconds of quiet before you open the door, and aim for longer periods of quiet each time. (you can use this time to teach the puppy new vocabulary words, like "wait" and "quiet", too)

I'd give him at least 20 minutes in the crate with his food at each meal time.
Hopefully with a set routine for meals, he'll settle down and quietly eat his food.

Are you giving him the yellow banana flavored wormer goo? I just squirted that right into the puppy's mouth before meal times, so I knew it all got in.

We left breakfast out all day for Denna to graze on, but with another dog in the house, that's probably not an option for you.
BTW - I love the cuddle pictures with the two pups on your other thread!!

 

[dantesmom]

The only concern I have with the cries is that it would bother the neighbors because we live in an apartment. But he's getting a lot better with the crate, mainly because we got him his own smaller crate as compared to the big one we used to use for Bubu, and sprayed the calming spray all over it and put a comfy bed and blanket + toy in there with him. AND we've got the whole day off today so we let him out plenty of times. I wait a second or two inbetween his cries to let him out to the pee pad on the balcony, but yet to have success with that. We will keep trying. At least we've managed to tone down the cries a lot. I will try the feeding in his crate when I put Bubu in her crate as well. Hopefully he will start noming like a monster soon! Thank you for the advises, and Denna looks beautiful too!

I'd go ahead and feed him in the crate, and then ignore him and any cries... don't let him out when he cries, or he'll learn that's how to get out and keep crying until he gets what he wants (since we're talking about creating monsters ).
Make sure you get at least 2 seconds of quiet before you open the door, and aim for longer periods of quiet each time. (you can use this time to teach the puppy new vocabulary words, like "wait" and "quiet", too)

I'd give him at least 20 minutes in the crate with his food at each meal time.
Hopefully with a set routine for meals, he'll settle down and quietly eat his food.

Are you giving him the yellow banana flavored wormer goo? I just squirted that right into the puppy's mouth before meal times, so I knew it all got in.

We left breakfast out all day for Denna to graze on, but with another dog in the house, that's probably not an option for you.
BTW - I love the cuddle pictures with the two pups on your other thread!!

 

[Penelope's Mom]

How's he doing? Is he eating now?

 

[dantesmom]

Out of the one cup I give him every meal (2 meals a day), he eats about half before he starts to run away from it. I tried hand feeding him but that only gets a few kibbles in, too. :/

How's he doing? Is he eating now?

 

[musicdeb]

Sounds like Mr. Dante is too excited to eat. Is it possible to place him in a room without Bubu around to see if he can concentrate on eating?

 

[dantesmom]

Everytime I fed him I put bubu in her crate, and I tried either feeding him in his own crate or outside, their crates are far apart but both in our bedroom (we have a big one) they can't see each other when they eat. Should I still try to put him somewhere else?

 

[musicdeb]

I would give it a try because Dante can still sense Bubu and Bubu is his playmate. What can it hurt?

 

[dantesmom]

I will do that. It's just that he seems to be distracted not by bubu but by his surroundings (slippers, lamp stand, etc) and me. He eats a few kibbles then runs around wanting to play (not with bubu)

 

[musicdeb]

Oh Mr. Dante...what are we going to do with you? hehehehehe

Typical puppy, was he free fed at the breeder? If he was, that could explain a lot. IMO, free feeding can lead to bloat.

I guess to do your best by putting him in a calm environment so he will eat. Leave the food down for 20 minutes and tell him "eat". Pick up the food after 20 minutes and give it to him again at next feeding with the food for that feeding, meaning sometimes double the food.