Puppy NOT eating?
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I have ONE male pup who refuses to eat the Mush. Ive tried canned puppy food…dry soaked in water...he WONT eat it...just sniffs it and SCREAMS. Like a LOUD screaching WHINING. The first time I fed them he ate but now he will ONLY nurse...and refuses to touch the food. And the mom isnt nursing as much because they have teeth now. How the heck do I handle this? if he wont eat...
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I think im going to try that. Not sure why he wont eat. He seems very healthy. He nurses good but just refuses to eat FOOD food…maybe he'll like that. I hope anyways! If not I have NO idea why...
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My breeder weaned all the puppies on a mixture of goats milk and kibble. Are you mixing any type of milk in the mush?
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I had tried water with the food to soften it…and added milk to make it the consistency of a slightly runny oatmeal...the others eat it but he wouldnt touch it. So I tried feeding HIM canned puppy food...No change. Its like he refuses to eat and only wants to nurse. But since they have teeth she isnt feeding them that often.
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He will eat when he is hungry. If he is still nursing then I would guess he is not sick. Have you been weighing them? Has he lost any weight? And do you grind up the kibble in a blender first to make it like a powder? Do you use milk replacement to mix with the powder to make it more appealing to the pups? (you can get it at any pet store, comes in a can). You should not be using regular milk, whole or fat free, try the canned milk replacement.
I have had pups that refused to eat at that age…. I really didn't worry too much as long as they didn't seem sick (and they didn't)... they catch on soon enough. 3 wks is pretty early to be eating solid food if they were in the wild.
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I was using goats milk. I use a blender to grind the food up then add the goats milk to it. Ive tried the milk replacer too and he wont touch it (the others will). I even tried warm goats milk (and even the milk replacer) by itself to see if he'd lap at it or drink it and he wouldnt. he just screams. Ive never heard a puppy make that kinda noise before. And at least im not he only one with a weird puppy lol. All the others will eat anything that doesnt eat them first lol. Hes the odd one out lol
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Thanks Tanza. I feel a little better about it.
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I've only had puppies here once, I was given a chihuaua/corgi mix rescue that had pups the next day. One ate at three weeks, but his brother waited an extra week to start. His brother always did things before him, I guess he just was maturing at his own schedule
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I don't usually introduce solid food until about 4.5-6 weeks. I have had to introduce food earlier when the dam didn't want to feed the little vultures as much (because of the teeth), but I would use a mixture of baby pablum and either milk or water. I would make it really runny and let them lick it off my fingers first until they got to know what it was. Sometimes, I would have to start them by sticking my fingers in their mouths, but when they got the idea, they would start licking. As Pat says, I think it may be a bit too early as well, but all litters are different. Don't forget them still get a lot of nutrients from the dam's milk and if you feed them too much 'mush' they will not drink as much milk, (which I feel they need more than the 'mush). Don't worry so much about it, as Pat says, it will come.
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As long as he's not losing weight and seems otherwise healthy I certainly wouldn't worry (especially if the oithers are ok and his parents have good health history) - mine are offered ground meat from a few days old and will usually lick this. However I wouldn't be at all concerned if they wouldn't take 'mush' at 3 weeks. He obviously is still getting sufficient from his mother if he isn't hungry. If the time comes when he takes anyhting apart from his mother's milk watch his poo which always gives an idea of health.
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I know I am in the minority but I stopped making "mush" a long time ago. It never really made sense to me. A wild dog regurgitates recently eaten food for her pups. It's more solid than liquid so why do modern dog breeders make a mostly liquid formula to try to wean pups on?
I feed mama dog in the whelping pen. She gets slightly moistened puppy kibble and for some meals I add cottage cheese, yogurt, and/or canned food. The pups will eventually show an interest in what she is doing and go over to investigate. This happens between 3-4 weeks of age. Some of them will just smell around while others try to taste the food. (Sometimes mama dog will regurgitate and the pups will eat it.) Within a couple of days, all of the pups will be attempting to eat the food and that is when I start feeding them solids. I take puppy kibble and put it in a small, shallow dish and add enough hot water to cover it. Then I put a lid on the dish and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. The kibble should then be very soft. Since the pups are already familiar with the smell and already know it is something to eat from watching mama, they dive right in. They never have any problems eating and they do so with gusto. From that point on, they get some meals of kibble and some meals nursing from mama dog, until she gets fed up with their teeth and doesn't want to feed them any more.
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Heck, I never fed my puppies mush either, just softened kibble. And it didn't seem to take very long before the pups would be sitting in the mom's dog dish chewing on her dry kibble.
-JoanneWhen you think about it… softened kibble is mush.... just all depends on how you offer it. And I only do "mush" between 3 to 4 wks after that it is just softened kibble... and in the end.. that is mush
