Hi,

Our whole litter (large breed gundogs) were weaned onto CSJ with added chicken / beef. I have now (about a week and a half ago) brought the puppy I am keeping home and she has been eating the CSJ mixed with a little tinned puppy meat with no problems - up until yesterday that is.

She sits and waits for her food and seems hungry but then when I put it down for her she backs off from it. If I pick bits up she will take them from me but I can't do this 3 / 4 times per day.... What should I do? I don't want to pander to her and start giving her chicken again but at the same time I am aware that at 9 ½ weeks she can't afford to not eat for long? Should I give her what she wants or should I do the whole put the food down and if she doesn't eat it pick it back up again until next feed time thing?

Any advice please? Thanks

Hi.Well your little one hasn't got the competition anymore from her siblings,so probabaly doesn't feel the urge to eat as soon as its down - no one else is going to eat it.I would try the 10 minute rule and if it is still there after 10 mins then take it away and try at the next meal time.As you probabaly know its important not to change diet to frequently or often as this can upset a pups tummy.Is she well in her self.Drinking plenty so not to become dehydrated,running around as normal.It is probabaly just a blip and probabaly likes being hand fed,and they can soon wrap you around their paws.Good luck but if you become worried about her then check her out at the vets to rule out any underlying medical cause.

She is normal in herself I think, a little snoozy perhaps. She is very playful with us - a little sulky at times maybe but I guess that is to be expected after leaving Mum, 9 siblings and a JRT! 

She is due to go to the vet on Saturday anyway for her 2nd jab so will just mention it to them. She was the smallest in the litter anyway and when I see the others I just think she is so dainty compared to them. She is starting puppy classes once vaccinated so that will help with the appetite I expect!
Maybe she is just wondering why she has gone from madness and racing about with lots of other pups to P&Q with 2 cats!

I am sure she just isn't hungry.My puppies litters had picky appetites but as they came from Norfolk/Cambridgeshire border it has been very warm there.It is now cool down here and mine are now eating well.Enjoy your pupster x

This may not help but it worked for me. My GSD has been picky from when I got him at 8 weeks old. I dread to imagine how much food I have thrown away. Like your pup he would back away from the bowl when I put it down (he would give me a look like I was trying to poison him!!! lol). Anyway, I discovered (after several months of tearing my hair out) it wasn't that he didn't like the food, it was that he was far too busy to eat!!!! He was a bit like a toddler - he just wanted to play. What I did was to put him in his crate with his bowl of food and walk away. When I wasn't around to play with he would eat!!! He is now 12 months old and I still have to do this to get him to eat. If I'm there, there's too much going on to get his attention rather than his food. If I crate him just for a few minutes we have a lovely clean bowl!!!

> I discovered (after several months of tearing my hair out) it wasn't that he didn't like the food, it was that he was far too busy to eat!!!! He was a bit like a toddler - he just wanted to play. What I did was to put him in his crate with his bowl of food and walk away. When I wasn't around to play with he would eat!!! He is now 12 months old and I still have to do this to get him to eat. If I'm there, there's too much going on to get his attention rather than his food. If I crate him just for a few minutes we have a lovely clean bowl!!!

100% agree!! I'd never had a problem with my dogs eating......then Asbo came along (all in the name)
Oh he was FAAAAAR to busy to eat, it's a hard life being a nosey puppy don't ya know! lol

Once I stopped faffing & worrying & ignoring him he started to eat, yes we have the odd time when he won't eat so it's picked up & binned & he has to wait till next meal time.

I started doing the 10 minute rule yesterday lunchtime with great success - she ate most of dinner and breakfast so all is back on track! Maybe she is just too busy to eat!!

So things have been going okay - a bit fussy but not too bad. I gave her some different food to try - mixed with old and she loved it - great I thought I've cracked it. Gave the same to her this morning and she took one look and walked off....what fun!! Soooo fustrating!!

Sounds like mine - some meals she will eat the kibble, others she won't. Odd thing is, when she walks away and lies down near it, she will often eat the rest of it if I throw her a few pieces at a time - it's much harder for her to pick it out of the vet bedding, but she seems to eat a lot more like that. Weird little thing!

Oh Gemma I did chuckle - ASBO!!!! Brilliant!!! Think that's what I should have called Reggie. I do sometimes refer to him as Hound of the Baskervilles (bit more of a mouthful than Asbo!!)