Chickentrain's Dog Q&A

[Mamatomany123]

Is this thread still active? I'm looking for some advise. I got a boxer puppy 3 weeks ago. He was super malnourished and had coccidia. We've got him all fixed up, he's 14 weeks now and around 20lbs. But man,he is the pickiest dog I've ever met. He just does not like to eat. I've even tried giving him people food,ribeye steak! And he turned his nose up. Any ideas or tricks? Here's his squishy face. He's such a good boy. Already knows tons of commands and leaves the chickens alone, even the chicks.

 

[Cecisflock]

Is this thread still active? I'm looking for some advise. I got a boxer puppy 3 weeks ago. He was super malnourished and had coccidia. We've got him all fixed up, he's 14 weeks now and around 20lbs. But man,he is the pickiest dog I've ever met. He just does not like to eat. I've even tried giving him people food,ribeye steak! And he turned his nose up. Any ideas or tricks? Here's his squishy face. He's such a good boy. Already knows tons of commands and leaves the chickens alone, even the chicks.

Have you tried higher-calorie food? PPP 30/20?

 

[Mamatomany123]

Have you tried higher-calorie food? PPP 30/20?

I don't know if it was 30/20 but I did try the purina pro puppy and he still didn't want it. He will devour any new food the first time but then he doesn't want it anymore.

 

[NatJ]

I don't know if it was 30/20 but I did try the purina pro puppy and he still didn't want it. He will devour any new food the first time but then he doesn't want it anymore.

Possible things to try:
--offer a small amount of new food, then gradually increasing amounts. If he devours a large amount it the first time, he might get an upset stomach and then avoid it in future.

--maybe rotate different foods, so he eats several different kinds, on different days. If he gets tired of any particular food, that might help.

--offer food wet rather than dry. He might like or dislike that, so try a small amount to see what he thinks.

--offer food in a different dish, or from your hand, or dropping bits on the floor. And/or use food as treats when training him. Sometimes a different way of presenting it will make it seem more appetizing.

--try offering food at different times of the day. I've had a dog that prefered to eat when the people were eating, and a different one that didn't care. The pickier one also liked to eat shortly after going for a walk or running around in the yard, as if he needed to work up an appetite.

--try feeding him more often, something like 3 or 4 small meals rather than 1 of 2 big ones. Or the other direction, fewer meals but bigger ones (but I'd try small/frequent first.)

--obviously check with a vet, but don't try to make him gain weight too fast, and don't try to get him too fat. Of course he needs to grow and gain muscle & bone, and probably even some amount of fat reserves, but there is a chance he is self-regulating to avoid getting overweight, and you might be trying to feed him too much. (I don't really think so, just mentioning it as a slim possibility.)

I don't know exactly what will work for your dog, so this list is based off what I've read, what seemed to stimulate appetite in a dog of my own, and even some things that work with chickens or children

 

[Mamatomany123]

Possible things to try:
--offer a small amount of new food, then gradually increasing amounts. If he devours a large amount it the first time, he might get an upset stomach and then avoid it in future.

--maybe rotate different foods, so he eats several different kinds, on different days. If he gets tired of any particular food, that might help.

--offer food wet rather than dry. He might like or dislike that, so try a small amount to see what he thinks.

--offer food in a different dish, or from your hand, or dropping bits on the floor. And/or use food as treats when training him. Sometimes a different way of presenting it will make it seem more appetizing.

--try offering food at different times of the day. I've had a dog that prefered to eat when the people were eating, and a different one that didn't care. The pickier one also liked to eat shortly after going for a walk or running around in the yard, as if he needed to work up an appetite.

--try feeding him more often, something like 3 or 4 small meals rather than 1 of 2 big ones. Or the other direction, fewer meals but bigger ones (but I'd try small/frequent first.)

--obviously check with a vet, but don't try to make him gain weight too fast, and don't try to get him too fat. Of course he needs to grow and gain muscle & bone, and probably even some amount of fat reserves, but there is a chance he is self-regulating to avoid getting overweight, and you might be trying to feed him too much. (I don't really think so, just mentioning it as a slim possibility.)

I don't know exactly what will work for your dog, so this list is based off what I've read, what seemed to stimulate appetite in a dog of my own, and even some things that work with chickens or children

I'll try these. He won't even touch dry food. Everything has been wet food. He was only 10lbs and very malnourished when we got him. Then he had coccidia then he had to have surgery because he kept prolapsing. So maybe his tummy just is trying to get back to normal. He has a checkup in 3 weeks for his last set of shota so if he's still not eating great or losing weight then I'll see what his vet thinks. Here he was the day we got him. He was sooo skinny.

I've heard great things about simply nourish. That even picky dogs loved it. Any opinion or experience with it?

 

[StinkyAcres]

I'll try these. He won't even touch dry food. Everything has been wet food. He was only 10lbs and very malnourished when we got him. Then he had coccidia then he had to have surgery because he kept prolapsing. So maybe his tummy just is trying to get back to normal. He has a checkup in 3 weeks for his last set of shota so if he's still not eating great or losing weight then I'll see what his vet thinks. Here he was the day we got him. He was sooo skinny.

I've heard great things about simply nourish. That even picky dogs loved it. Any opinion or experience with it?

Poor guy! He reminds me of a Boxer I adopted/rescued years ago. She was so skinny due to hookworms. The previous owner thought Heartgard was all she needed to treat an infestation. I wish you and your puppy all the best!

 

[NatJ]

I've heard great things about simply nourish. That even picky dogs loved it. Any opinion or experience with it?

No experience, no opinions. Sorry.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Poor guy! He reminds me of a Boxer I adopted/rescued years ago. She was so skinny due to hookworms. The previous owner thought Heartgard was all she needed to treat an infestation. I wish you and your puppy all the best!

He did have hookworm. We dewormed him already. I'm thinking maybe his tummy is still getting back to normal. We've only had him 3 weeks and he's only been coccidia free for around 2.

 

[ChickyWhicky]

If he is not eating and as a result begins losing weight, I would start to become concerned that something is wrong with him health-wise. Dogs generally will not purposely starve themselves to the point of declining health. A vet check would be wise.
As a side note, I owned a husky at one point that had this happen. Would NOT eat anything, or very very little. Even with encouragement such as fresh meats, wet food, ect. Turns out she had a stick stuck up in the roof of her mouth causing extreme pain and causing her to not eat.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh dear. Poor guy. Are you giving him probiotics, yogurt to build up the gut biome? Scrambled eggs for the protein? Nutritional yeast for the B vitamins? I agree with the small frequent meals in case he still has gut inflammation and it hurts to eat. Might try TOTW grain-free diet and wet it. Good luck with him.