I have a CKCS pup of 14 weeks. I got her at 6 weeks old. I am a total newcxomer to bringing up a pup despite reading every book available on cavaliers. The breeder assured me that she would be perfectly o.k. to leave the litter at 6 weeks and That there was nothing I couln't do that she was doing. When the pup came home I made allowances for the settling in period, had her to the vets the next day and everthing was fine. She is an absolute darling and I love her to bits. BUT.... one big problem FEEDING. She did not eat anything the breder had given her, which was home cooked food and Beta puppy soaked.
I have struggled every day, she never seams hungry, never asks for food. Tried her on nature diet as I was cooking for her and she seamed to go off it. She ate the nature diet for a while then went off it so I am back to cooking.Sometimes she eates herself other times I have to hand feed her. It's got to the stage where I am a bag of nerves. Puppy classes start on Tuesday. Can anyone help please.

If you are a first time dog owner, then the breeder should not have let you take the puppy at 6 weeks. That was very unfair of her.

Your puppy has you well trained :) Puppies are very good at spotting any weakness in their owners and this little madam has found out that you will dance to her tune. You need to pick a puppy food that you are happy with and one that she has eaten. Puppies do not need variety and by offering her lots of different types of food, you are making a rod for your own back.  Put the food down for a short amount of time and see if she eats it. If she doesn't eat it after a set time (10-15 minutes) pick it up again. Do not leave it down all the time. She has to learn that she eats when you feed her or she goes hungry. It sounds harsh, but it isn't. She will soon get the message that you eat your food when it is offered. Stick to your guns (you can do it) and don't let her dictate what she will eat and when :)

I totally agree with this.  I'd add - do not hand feed her because again you're just creating a rod for your own back.  Dogs do not starve themselves - they will eat when they're hungry enough.  Pick a food and stick to it and offer it at regular intervals.  Nature Diet Puppy is a good one to pick.

Six weeks is way too young for a toy breed like a cavalier to leave it's litter mates. Contrary to popular beliefs Cavaliers can be very picky & are experts at training their owners to hand feed them amoungst other things. One reason puppies need to stay in the litter for longer than your puppy did is to esttablish an independant eating pattern. My BC puppy stayed with his brother & mum until he was 13 weeks old & is the best eater I hav ever had)

I would go back to basics six small meals a day & like Admin says down for 10-15 minutes & then taken up until the next meal is due. Dogs don't need to have lots of different foods, my cavaliers have been on the same food for over 9 years & never mind.

Mine get steamed organic free range chicken & complete in two meals a day(I feed all my dogs two meals a day except the puppy of course)

Some cavaliers do seem to dislike dog dishes & sometimes will eat from a small plate(I used flat cat dishes for one dog to get him eating)when they wouldn't touch food in a dog dish

They do not need masses of food split the food into 6 meals, don't feed titbits/biscuits inbetween meals, do not feed from your own meal at this time(it's ok later once the puppy is eating & always fed in their dish)

Do let us know how you get on, cavaliers have a way of getting into your heart

I had problems feeding my Irish Staff.  He was an extremely fussy eater and I kept changing his diet, which was no good for his digestive system.  My advice is do not keep changing the puppies diet as this will cause major problems.  If your dog is hungry she will eat.  Do not give in keep to one food and one food only. 

Its not surprising she wont eat.

New place, new smells, all very exciting and upsetting and tiring, AND of course, no competition for food.

Put down a tiny meal, HALF what you think she needs. Pick it up after ten minutes. Dont give anything else. This might take a couple of days, as long as she is drinking this wont be a huge problem.

Em

I agree, that breeder should not have let you take a Cavalier at 6 weeks - 10 or 12 is the norm for Cavs. But now you have her, stick to the advice the others have given - just put a little bit down and pick it up if she hasn't eaten it in 10 minutes. My Cavalier boy was terribly fussy as a puppy, and my girl was quite picky too! I know you'll feel terribly guilty when she doesn't eat her food, but she will give in eventually - they're stubborn little things. Good luck and let us know how she goes - Cavs are the best dogs! :-)

Many thanks for all your advice. After 2 days of her not eating and me getting in a frantic state of putting nature diet down and picking it up after 15 mins, I decided to give her some cooked chicken breast mixed with a desertspoon of JWB turkey and rice kibble and a spoonful of rice. Don't know if this is the right thing to do, but who can say when she has gobbled up the last 4 meals of this in 30sec flat. If this is what she likes to eat surely it can't harm her. I know I will have to adjust the quantities of the chicken and the kibble as she could be having too much protein, but I can do this over the next couple of weeks.
I feel as though now I can relax a bit and enjoy her, by the way she was not hand fed either she ate all by herself.
Please someone tell me that it's ok. She's a very happy lively little thing, and she was absolutly smashing at pupply classes.

I'm admittedly a bit hardcore about this, but either you decide what you want your dog to eat, or she will decide....

It sounds like you've now let her decide.  Do YOU want to feed her cooked chicken, rice and JWB every night?  If that's ok and you don't mind cooking chicken for the rest of her life, and you feel it's giving her all the vitamins etc she needs, then fine.  But if you don't really want to cook chicken forever, then you're making a rod for your own back...

Perhaps try Natures Menu Junior on her - my dogs always find that much more tasty than ND.  It's 65p a pouch and you should be able to get it from most pet shops.  www.naturesmenu.co.uk

The other alternative is barf, (raw feeding), which most dogs love, but I don't know much about that so will leave someone else to explain....

If that's what she is going for and she sticks with it, I'd let her get used to it for a few days, then start sneaking in more and more JWB (or whatever you want to feed her) and less chicken and rice, until she is on just whatever you want her to have. Stubborn, aren't they!!

I think you are overestimating how much she needs per meal.  Two desertspoons of kibble would probably be about what she would need per meal if you go to 6 meals.

Weight the fod and you will be surprised at how little they need per meal. 

My own breed (bigger than a full grown Cav at 10 weeks) would get about 60 g at a time for 4 meals and that is just a handfull at a time, so your pup would need about half that.

Just reading your messages guys n gals, I'm to in need of advice BIG time, we have just got a 16 week old bitch ruby CKCS puppy, I know it's early days yet and she needs to acustom to her new surroundings but she aint eating at all, I think I have done something I shouldn't have and given her some milk tonight which she drank instantly, she is under weight the breeder gave us a packet of puppy dried food called ADVANCE??? The breeder stated that she was behind , she is so delicate and adorable, she is toileting outside no probs at the mo (fingers crossed) she was kept outside in a pen with two bitches whom were mum's to a litter each.  I can't help but wonder why she kept her in there with them and still had her at 16 weeks, she mentioned she was no good for showing due to the white on her chest and feet but we think this is gorgeous and we have no intention of showing at all.  There were dogs everywhere but she just seemed a lost soul to us and my husband feel totally in love as well as me too. She is of a timid nature at the moment, I have had CKC's for years but not a puppy for a long, long time and I feel like a new mum starting from the beginning.

Any advice would be grateful guys n gals

I'm sure I will be also looking for other advice too, this is a great site, lots of advice and you feel connected with everyone

Sharon

Hello Sharon,

You're right about the milk.  Don't give cows milk because dogs are unable to digest lactose in the milk.  It often causes runny poos.  Which instead of helping you to put weight on, will take it off. 

How long have you had her for her not to be eating?  It's usual for pups to go off their food a bit when they come to their new home.  If it's longer than a couple of days, then that might be something to worry about.

You can try soaking her dry food in warm water.  Sometimes that makes it more appetising. 

I haven't heard of Advance before, but if you want to change her food it might be a good idea to do it gradually so that she doesn't get a bad tum.

Is she KC reg?  Did she come from a reputable breeder?  I don't want to offend, but to keep them outside in pens and have loads of dogs around doesn't sound very promising...

Advance was Pedigrees proffesional range that they had to sell off (went to a foreign independent) in order to buy Roayal Canin as otherwise they would not be allowed to by the Monopolies commison.

It was a much better food in my opinion than the current Pedigree Proffesional (assuming the formulation is the same as previously).

Hi onetwothree

Thanks for your reply, I read with lots of interest, I kinda knew I shouldn't have given her milk, but I was so concerned !  However after reading quite a few posts last night I tried her with a tin of sardines with some brown rice and my godness she wolfed it down, today I put down the dried food and she has been steadily eating her puppy complete but, I do think she isn't a big eater, I took her to the vets today for a check up and unfornutely she has a cataract in her left eye however, apart from that she is great, although under weight.  My husband and I are maybe assuming that she was the runt and she is very laid back, so therfore pushed out a tadge.  but, here she can finally get her own food and we are hopefully anticapating her to relish in this when she becommes accustomed to her new environment.  As regards breeder she is KC registered and yes it was very overwhelming seeing all these dogs n bitches around but I don't know much about the breedeing process, my husband has rung this breeder tonight and we have got some money re-her left eye, she said bring her back, we said, NO WAY!!!

We are going to nurture her into a wonderful dog, and she is going to be loved so much, with maybe in a years time getting her a friend(another CKC)

Just at the mo, we are feeling it through with her like she is with us.........

I will certainly introduce a different brand which I purchased tonight ( Nutro) .....plus nature diet Puppy, so finger crossed hey, bought some treats but she is not interested, we was hpoing to find something (TREATY) she liked then we could ue to train with but again no such luck, maybe in a few more days.

Sharon

Hi Sharon

Well it sounds like you've got a good bond with her, so good luck.

If you want to try another food, I'd suggest either Burns or James Wellbeloved if you want a dry food.

www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/

www.wellbeloved.co.uk

A wet food, I'd suggest Nature Diet, which is what I think you've bought.

She's only a wee pup and a toy breed at that so she won't eat much.

Good luck with the cataract too.

Hi,

As has been said by many here 6 weeks was way too young for you to have had this pup, over my many years of having dogs, I have only ever had one pup from 6 weeks of age due to a long distance collection preference and already being knowledgeable with dogs, but I am shocked a breeder would allow you to take her at that age.

Anyhow, my 6 weeker also would not eat for the first few days, I guess it is to do with the young age.  Eventually like yourself fresh cooked chicken, with rice(always a big hit with all pups and dogs)  scrambled egg and Iams soaked puppy food all eventually took her fancy.  Puppy's will eat when they are hungry! Good luck with her, but if you should buy another pup in the future, the minimum age should always be from 8 weeks old. For yours and the pups sake!