My 14 week old puppy who has always been a little fussy has decided he no longer likes his food, and looks at it with disgust everytime I put it down to feed him and after 10 mins he's only eaten half or less of it.

He is on Pedigree Complete puppy food ( not my choice as his breeder uses this to rear her pups ) I'm not a Pedigree fan at all and use Arden Grange / Natures Menu for my other two adults. Anyway I tried to introduce the Arden Grange puppy food slowly but he wouldn't have a bar of it. So we decided just to get him to eat and I want to avoid trying loads of different puppy foods I would stick with the Pedigree.

Now he's gone off Pedigree ahhhhhhh! I soak it well and mush it up with a fork, I think he no longer likes it mushy as he will eat handfuls of the biscuits on there own.

What do I do? I don't want to try any other foods as that will only make him fusser.

Can I give it to him dry? He's only 14 weeks.

At a bit of a loss, I have never owned a fussy eater.

Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks :)

I would give it to him dry my dogs all have theirs dry and love it, they have it like that from about 10 weeks and they have all been fine, try a spoonful of natural yogurt on the top of it mine all love that to.

dry is ok, make sure he has plenty of fresh water near by, you could also try scrambled egg mixed with his food, or cottage cheese, grated cheese

All my pups are having their food dry by the time they are 10 weeks (or other pups have gone to their new homes), and have had dry food as well as moistened from 6 weeks of age.

I have found most of my pups sooner or later don't like their food dry.

Also at this age you may need to drop one meal and you will find a renewed interest in his meals. 

Put it down for 10 minutes and pick it up and don not offer anything else until next meal time, do not make the next meals bigger to compensate, a little hunger will work wonders.

What is his body condition, as you could be overfeeding.  His rate of growth though still great will not be as fast as it has been in th first 3 months.

Hi,

Ok, I try the biscuits dry and see how we get on. I did wonder if I was over feeding him but I don't think so, he must be about 6.5kg now and is a Beagle looks good not skinny at all, but I personally would like a touch more weight on him to keep bone etc. Coat lovely and shinny and a very happy bouncy playful puppy. I must admit I wouldn't want to eat mashed up puppy biscuits either so can understand why he's not keen on eating it anymore.

I did consider dropping a meal but decided against at this stage.

How many grams of food per day would you recommend for a 14 weeks old Beagle pup weighing 6.5kgs?

Thanks :)

Well I have a breed that as adult will weigh about 20kg and they get 200g at that age building up to about 250g, then dropping back down to 200g after about 6 months, and by 9 months they will be on 150 to 200g depending on condition.

Beagles are rather prone to getting fat so I would be wanting him well covered and slim, it is the quality of the food that will keep the Bone not the quantity.

If he is picky I would certainly drop one of his meals.

Thanks he on 210g a day, not happy with him on Pedigree I personally don't think it's a very good quality food. Once I get him settled again with eating I'm going to introduce a little Arden Grange again.

I think Pedigree put stuff in there Puppy food so they like to eat it!

Thanks again :)

Salt and sugars probably.  Seems like Rather a lot of food?

Does sound alot but hes certainly not over weight, on looking at him. Unlike my other two he will only eat till he is full, my other two would eat and eat and eat if they could they are both so greedy and both have done since puppies in fact the entire time I have had my oldest who is 6 1/2 now he has never refused a meal!

I think I should relax a little about it aswell, just worried about him and get a bit stressed when he's not eating properly.

Thanks :)

Success! So far the past couple of days all meals are been eaten, dry with a little water added. Cross fingers he won't go off this. :)

Hi,

I'm having a total nightmare with my puppy still and have basically been feeding him what he fancies (yes I know made him fussier) feeding can take up to an hour and this morning it was puppy porridge, chicken breast and gravy bones! However, I did tried the suggested leave the food down for 10 minutes and if not eaten pick it up and no food until the next meal. It went on for days and did not work! He lost a huge amount of weight and took ages to sort him out. His issue with food (which yes I know really is mine) is taking over my life.

I want to try the strict put the food down and if not eaten pick it up again, but I am so scared it won't work, I don't want to go backwards with his weight it took alot to get him back to a normal weight. I have had him fully vet checked and nothing wrong with him. I would like a normal dog that eats normal meals at meals time and I just don't know how to achieve that at the moment. I know I have done everything wrong but I just wanted him to eat. I would like to put this right.

Please help, I'm desperate!

How many meals are you feeding him a day, and at what times?

Two meals a day morning 7.00am and evening 6.00pm.

You could try three meals, but reducing the quantity quite a bit, so he associates when his bowl is put down, he should eat what's in it. Perhaps also adding something tasty too? Personally, I would also be adding tripe, my pups have always loved the stuff, or a bit of cooked chicken?

Another thought is....... (& I say this cos one of my friends has an 'odd' dog) is he happy with the bowl he's being fed out of? My friends dog will not eat or drink out of a metal bowl!! no matter what!

He'll only eat off the floor, seems not to like looking at a bowl full of food. So I put his food together and halve it and throw it on the floor when he's almost finished the first half I put down the 2nd half. If you put the whole lot down he just turns his nose up but he'll do that at some meals no matter what size they are anyway. I have added allsorts to his food, chicken breast, molasses, gravy, cheese (he didn't like it), puppy porridge (seems to be a favourite), rice, yogurt, cottage cheese, rice pudding.

Can I buy tripe from the butcher? Do I need to cook it or can I give it raw?

My little madam was like that! Terrible it is, I know. I tried the ten minute rule but found it to be absolutely hopeless, now I put her food down in an evening & in a morning for her to eat as & when she pleases. It seemed to work, she eats better now although I do find kibble under cushions & behind things around the room!

He won't starve himself but he may not quite understand the ten minute rule, I don't think, & it's easier to miss meals/nutrition at such a vital age! I honestly don't know why it is suggested at all in the first place - doesn't it encourage bloat?

try and find out if there is a farm near you that does tripe, thats where we get it, they do packs of it, can't remember how much the parents pay for it though, it's not much. the dogs love it and they always look great when they are on it. i will warn you now though it is a labour of love, it stinks, really yucky. you can probably get from a butcher as well though. i remember mum and dad getting from a slaughter house when i was a kid

(ETA) oh ours like it raw. have you seen it before?

My dog would happily go for days without eating if it was just kibble. My solution was to give him a little something on his complete and to change it everyday - that was key. I had tried toppings but if I gave the same thing every day he would go off. I added anything and everything. One day sardines, next day tripe, next day soup, tinned food, leftovers you get the picture. He cleaned his bowl every time once I started doing that. Plus getting a variety of foods made his stomach less sensitive and he never gets dire rear no matter what I feed. You can get tripe and a variety of nice frozen meat toppings at Pets at home. It didn't take much, a golden eating 200-250g would have 1/3 tin of food or half tin of sardines. Now there are load of folks who would say make them eat what you want but this works for me. It's hardly any effort and it makes him happy.

As for the bowl maybe it's too small? My dogs like to get their muzzle in their dish without banging into the edges much (though both of them would eat out of a tube if that's what their raw rabbit was in :-D)

Sorry if I'm been a bit dim, but do you give the same complete food everyday but different toppings?

Yes, he eats Arden Grange every day, only the toppings change.

Cool, thought so. Thanks :)

Don't know if this article on the Arden Grange site might be of help https://www.ardengrange.com/low-appetite-dog.asp  I have had a fussy anorexic it is horrid.

It's late,i have a 'orrible toofache',so i hope my post makes some sense :p

Firstly if you have a fussy dog,i would go with a meat based food,,not a grain based one as are most dry foods.I think the only dogs who enjoy plain dry food,no matter what the ingredients are,are the true chow hounds.
I see nothing wrong with sticking with same high quality dry food and adding tasty,healthy toppers to it.However it is very important to add the extra's at the first feeding.If he refuses, do NOT pick it up and add something to tempt him to eat or else he will always refuse it waiting for you to add something better.Make sure he cant refuse his meal in the first instance.
Plain dry food is pretty unpalatable,and feeding nothing but is not a healthy regime IMHO.My dogs would eat their dry food on it's own but i rarely serve it up to them,i always add some meat,veggies,cottage cheese,organs(baked liver is a favourite),green tripe(not the human grade stuff from the butcher),tinned fish. They also get rmb's on a daily basis.This way they are getting a formulated food,but also getting the benefits of fresh foods aswell.

I have a friend with a fussy dog who once went 5 days and nights without eating a scrap,she tried the 10 minute rule which just did not work.She has adopted the above regime and her dog is a much better eater now and rarely misses a meal,she only eats one meal a day,but it's better than nothing.

Here is an example of a meat based food,and the one i feed:

De-boned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, lake whitefish, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherals, a natural source of vitamin E), sweet potato, whole eggs, turkey, salmon meal, salmon and anchovy oils, salmon, natural chicken flavor, sunflower oil, sun-cured alfalfa, dried brown kelp, carrots, spinach, peas, tomatoes, apples, psyllium, dulse, chicory root, licorice root, tumeric root, fenugreek, glucosamine HCl, cranberries, black currants, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, zea mays, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary extract, chondroitin sulfate, rosehips, vitamin supplements (vitamin E, choline chloride, vitamin A, vitamin D3, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B12, folic acid, biotin), sea salt, minerals (iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate), direct fed microbials (dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product).
Orijen Puppy Food does not contain artificial preservatives.

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/orijen

Oh,and i urge you to give the tripe a go,i dont know any dogs who dont love the stuff,plus it is very healthy.

At the risk of sounding boring and going on about how wonderful Orijen is,I have been recommending this food to the customers at my grooming salon(so many of the dogs have skin/ear problems etc and most were being fed on Baker's or Pedigree with/without tinned food).Several people have said their dogs were very fussy and wouldn't eat dry food on its own and were very surprised when they loved the Orijen on its own.

> give the tripe a go,i dont know any dogs who dont love the stuff

When I gave Dorain raw tripe he licked at it then looked disgusted and carefully picked out the dried kibble in his bowl and ate that, leaving the tripe! :p So Duibh got extra which he thought was fine. Dorain likes tripe sticks though, not sure what his objection to raw was.

Hi,

Thanks for all the tips peeps, I'm going to try the same kibble with different toppings it kind of worked this morning with him eating some of the kibble but all of the chicken so progression from refusing everything.

I went to the kennels this morning and got some tripe, you can only get it frozen so are defrosting it now and will try it tonight. Hope he likes it as it dosen't look too nice. :)

P.S Like the sound of the Orijen food and you order a very small bag so will give it try.

Let us know if he likes the tripe

Tip on defrosting tripe, put it in a plastic container with an airtight lid

He liked the tripe! Put it in with biscuits and he ate quite alot not as much as I had hope but he ate it! It is awful looking though! :)

Great, perhaps next time, don't feed so much, so it encourages him to slightly more at the next meal. I sometimes put in a few cooked veggies or a bit of chicken aswell, when they're pups, just to help make sure that they are interested when the bowl is about to be put down ;-) Eventually it's a nightmare trying to keep them out of your way when you are doing their food

So glad to hear he is eating with the tripe. You really are making quite a gang of beagles arn't you. Do you still show folly and is this little fella the next in line?