# Puppy won't eat his food



## tjfox

*Food*

You may need to change to a different brand of food. My Friday started to turn her nose up at her food which she had been eating since about 10 weeks old at about 18 weeks and I had to change to a new food.


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## wagondog

I don't know if my experience will help but you sound desperate about your little Marley and maybe Harley can help. Harley at 6 months old was anything but a good eater and still is not. Changing his diet didn't matter unless I gave him thing he really liked, meat, treats. This dog would do handstands for treats........does Marley like treat food? He would pick at a few pieces of kibble then walk away. At first I was as anxious as you are but after being as sure as I could there were no medical reasons for it I just let him eat as he wanted. He is now 80 lbs. of Golden Retriever without a great appetite but all seems well. i still feel that having a little dominant female Bischon in the home with a totally submissive and I mean totally submissive Golden may have affected his eating habits in some way. I don't know if Marley is in a one dog house but that may have had something to do with our situation.
WagonDog


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom

I would try adding a little of the Trippetts canned tripe to the food. Dogs go crazy for tripe and it is very healthy for them. I got my neighbor to try it with her rescue Dobe that is getting ready to undergo heartworm treatment and really not interested in eating and she said Lucy cleans her dish and then licks it for minutes !!!! She just mushes it into the kibble so she ends up eating kibble plus tripe. My crew gets it as a topper several times a week and goes nuts.....


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## FlyingQuizini

You can try switching brands, but I wouldn't switch more than once. Assuming he's medically sound (and has been declared so by a vet) it's important to remember that a healthy dog won't starve itself. I'd stop using chicken, as that's teaching him to be picky and hold out for the chicken. Put the bowl of food down. Leave it there for no longer than five mins. If he doesn't eat it, pick it up and don't offer food again until the next meal. As a point of reference, the longest I've seen this take is three days. Healthy dogs don't *need* food on a daily basis to survive, so if he goes on strike waiting for the chicken, it will be okay. He should eat when he's eventually hungry enough and realizes you aren't going to offer anything "better". Be sure to keep plenty of water available at all times.


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## jwemt81

When we first brought Tucker home at 7 weeks old, he was on regular Purina Puppy Chow since that is what the breeder was feeding. He always sort of picked at it, but never really ate much of it. He would only finish his entire bowl of food all at once a few times a week. We then switched him to Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy (at the advice of our vet) when he was about 9 weeks old and he scarfed it down like he had never seen food before. He is now almost 14 weeks and we have had him on the Pro Plan ever since then and he is doing phenomenal. So, I guess it could be the food and it might be worth trying something else.


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## marleysmummy

Thanks everyone for the responses, I have spoken to the vet previously about changing to pro plan and he told me there was no need. I guess I am just too soft with Marley when it comes to stopping feeding him the chicken, I just get scared if he doesn't eat all day. HE is almost 7 months and only weighs 46 pounds, which I think is not nearly enough, so that is why I panic even more and let him just eat chicken. Also it has gotten very hot here lately the temperature is currently around 90 deg most days, so I am not sure how that will affect him?


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## Jackson'sMom

Hot weather can depress a dog's appetite, as it can a human's, too. If Marley is healthy, he won't starve himself. He just has you trained to give him tasty chicken when he holds out for something better than Kibble. I'm lucky in that my dogs have never been picky eaters (quite the contrary). But you've been given some good advice here, so hopefully one of the techniques will work for Marley.


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## FlyingQuizini

Marleys mummy said:


> Thanks everyone for the responses, I have spoken to the vet previously about changing to pro plan and he told me there was no need. I guess I am just too soft with Marley when it comes to stopping feeding him the chicken, I just get scared if he doesn't eat all day. HE is almost 7 months and only weighs 46 pounds, which I think is not nearly enough, so that is why I panic even more and let him just eat chicken. Also it has gotten very hot here lately the temperature is currently around 90 deg most days, so I am not sure how that will affect him?


He may also just be a small dog. If it makes you feel any better, my adult male is 5 years old and only weighs 43 lbs. He's 21.5" at the shoulders.


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## goldensmum

I agree with Flying Quizini - our pupsters have a great way of training us to do what they want. Don't mean to sound tough - but tough love is needed. Good Luck


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## Tanyac

FlyingQuizini said:


> You can try switching brands, but I wouldn't switch more than once. Assuming he's medically sound (and has been declared so by a vet) it's important to remember that a healthy dog won't starve itself. I'd stop using chicken, as that's teaching him to be picky and hold out for the chicken. Put the bowl of food down. Leave it there for no longer than five mins. If he doesn't eat it, pick it up and don't offer food again until the next meal. As a point of reference, the longest I've seen this take is three days. Healthy dogs don't *need* food on a daily basis to survive, so if he goes on strike waiting for the chicken, it will be okay. He should eat when he's eventually hungry enough and realizes you aren't going to offer anything "better". Be sure to keep plenty of water available at all times.


This is 100% what I would advise also. Most importantly, pick up the food if it is not eaten. Pups are a bit like human kids in that respect, they won't starve themselves!


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