# Puppy won't eat his dry food!



## John B

Hi everyone my 5 month old pup had really gone off his dry food since falling ill on Friday (he seemed fine after being sick but noticed gum in his undigested food) been at the vets this morning to run tests to make sure there was no lasting damage) tests came back clear but the only thing he will eat is cooked chicken.
I must add he is drinking and going for walks fine. He is fed wainwrights turkey and rice puppy and normally eats it sometimes with a little encouragement needed. He looks like he's lost weight aswell (didn't weigh him at vets was so worried and forgot) should i buy another brand tomorrow? Please help


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## Tinman

Try pouring a little bit of boiling water on it and let it cool, it brings out the smell to make it more enticing and softens it - I do this with barking heads which I feed my two on.
Try a bit of scrambled egg in there, or a bit of tinned tuna (not brine - too salty) 
I'd stick with it - he's holding out for the chicken, he won't let himself go hungry.
Both of mine had a funny reaction to their food around this age - I just think they get a little bored with it.
I know some people swear by a dollop of coconut oil in the dry food too.
Good luck, keep us updated. X


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## RuthMill

Sounds like he's gone off his food, hey, chicken is much tastier 

You might find you need to try something different. I would try adding coconut oil first though. It is very good for dogs and humans and I know it's helped some of the other fussy eaters. I feed it and cook with it and moisturise with it, the list is endless.


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## John B

Thanks Tracy  I should of added I usually add water to his breakfast feed and sometimes night (hes fed 3 times a day) but he's even running away from the bowl I've resorted to hand feeding but he's spitting it out he ate a small amount of my dog sitters lamb and rice dry today after a run on the park but not as much as he normally tries (he pushes the other dogs out the way normally) I'm really worried I thought about nipping to pets at home and asking them about changing food and I've heard barking heads is great for picky eaters but don't want to spend if he's not going to eat. He's already cost me nearly £70 today and he's getting clipped tomorrow more money (good job it was pay day yesterday) think he will be living on chicken and me baked beans!


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## John B

RuthMill said:


> Sounds like he's gone off his food, hey, chicken is much tastier
> 
> You might find you need to try something different. I would try adding coconut oil first though. It is very good for dogs and humans and I know it's helped some of the other fussy eaters. I feed it and cook with it and moisturise with it, the list is endless.[/QUOTE
> 
> This is probably a really silly question but were can you buy cocoanut oil? It's worth a try as I've got 5kg of food left


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## RuthMill

You can get in in Tesco. Need to make sure you get the solid stuff.. Looks expensive but it has many uses. Including massage oil! 

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=268622297


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## John B

Thankyou soo much I will nip in tomorrow to tesco just wandering how much do you mix in? And could I add it to 3 feeds I'm willing to try anything as he hasn't eaten 1 days food in 5 days and is looking like posh spice in a sheep costume  but seriously people have said how thin he looks


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## RuthMill

I would give him a day or two to see if this is helping him eat more. After a couple of days I would try something else if this hasn't worked. Did the vet think he was thin? 

A good heaped teaspoon should do the job. It has no negative effects to my knowledge so feeding it in his meals should be fine. I think it helped Donna's Jake who was fussy.


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## Peanut

I had the same problem with Peanut. She stopped eating at around 4 months so I put her on Nature diet soft food and she loves it. Now I feed her 2 meals with soft and one meal with granger dried food so she has a balance diet. 

You could also try nature diet mixed with kibble and see what happens. 

They are stubborn little ones and mine decided to starve herself for over a week rather than eat (Although I am sure in my case it was the teething that made her eating hard food painful). Within 3 days she had recovered her curves. 

Let us know how things go.


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## Lindor

When Skipper was young he stopped eating food also. I would switch brands, he would eat it for a few days and then stop again. Turns out he had food allergies. I had him tested (rather expensive) got him on the right food and he never refused to eat again.


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## wellerfeller

Lots of puppies go off their food at some point. You could put WARM water on it to bring out the flavour, not boiling or hot water as it destroys the nutritional content in the food.
I have found that Nature diet is an excellent way to liven up dry food. Its relatively cheap and you only need a spoonful to mix in. Its never failed here.
Good luck.


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## Tinman

wellerfeller said:


> Lots of puppies go off their food at some point. You could put WARM water on it to bring out the flavour, not boiling or hot water as it destroys the nutritional content in the food.
> I have found that Nature diet is an excellent way to liven up dry food. Its relatively cheap and you only need a spoonful to mix in. Its never failed here.
> Good luck.


Ah thanks Karen - I always do boiling to make it smelly for them, I shall let it cool before pitting it on now. Didn't know it destroyed the nutrients.


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## John B

Thanks everyone after I took him for a haircut this morning and a long work he ate a big bowl of lamb flavour food at a friends so I'm going to try and keep him on this hopefully it will work as he's not eaten properly for days I'm going to switch him straight over  thanks again will keep you posted!


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## fairlie

Good luck with him! Rufus loves lamb, as do I.


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## John B

fairlie said:


> Good luck with him! Rufus loves lamb, as do I.


Me too and JJ I've kept him on wainrights as its the nearest to the other one apart from meat ingredients so hopefully no runny poos aha but he looks so tiny like a toy poodle after his groom she got abit scissor happy hes nearly been scalped! I thought he was big for a toy cross (it was all fur)


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## fairlie

It is truly amazing how much smaller they are when they are scalped or wet.


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## RuthMill

John B said:


> Thanks everyone after I took him for a haircut this morning and a long work he ate a big bowl of lamb flavour food at a friends so I'm going to try and keep him on this hopefully it will work as he's not eaten properly for days I'm going to switch him straight over  thanks again will keep you posted!


Also maybe try changing his food bowl. I've heard of some dogs getting negative association with bowl..


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## John B

After his groom


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## John B

He didn't look that skinny before


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## Tinman

John B said:


> After his groom


Wow - gorgeous!!
I do mean JJ - not you!!!


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## fairlie

You are gorgeous too John, Tracey means no offense, she just has a charming way of putting her foot in her mouth!


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## Tinman

Fairlie - he's not even your type, & my feet are tasty!! Hence always in my mouth!! Xx


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## Mazzapoo

When Poppy was around that age I tried a wide variety of things to mix with her kibble as she was just spitting it out - sardines/cottage cheese/yoghurt/wet food/chicken/egg etc but she just ended up with runny poo! She can manage all those foods now but at the time it was a worry. I changed to Barking Heads and it helped vaguely, as did coconut oil or a tiny bit of marmite in warm water but for a long while I was just adding cooked chicken (plus a bit of the poaching water) and that worked. Now we mix in a spoon of Lily's kitchen wet food with the kibble and it works an absolute treat. I totally understand your worry and am sure he'll settle back down very soon, they can be picky little critters  Good luck!


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## Tinman

I didn't know Lilly's kitchen did wet - I'll look out for it to spice up R&R dry BH feed x


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## John B

Thanks everyone  Tracy I told JJ u said he's gorgeous and hes wagging his tail  while I'm crying into my vodka (only joking)


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## Mazzapoo

It was after that programme Tracey, I'm so suggestible! But I thought the founder lady expressed things really well so I bought a few little trays from Amazon (like Caesar) and honestly Poppy flies in when she hears the fridge door opening and does a Pavlovian drool which is great to see, she was never really bothered before. I've decided to try their kibble when she's 12 months, I don't think it'll work out any dearer than BH (especially on Amazon subscribe and save) but more fresh meat content I think. Talking of which, how's Ralph?  (and little Roobs of course). And have you seen that 'Not on the High Street' Ruby food bag? I mean the one with her name on not the 'I like big bones' one


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## Tinman

Mazzapoo said:


> It was after that programme Tracey, I'm so suggestible! But I thought the founder lady expressed things really well so I bought a few little trays from Amazon (like Caesar) and honestly Poppy flies in when she hears the fridge door opening and does a Pavlovian drool which is great to see, she was never really bothered before. I've decided to try their kibble when she's 12 months, I don't think it'll work out any dearer than BH (especially on Amazon subscribe and save) but more fresh meat content I think. Talking of which, how's Ralph?  (and little Roobs of course). And have you seen that 'Not on the High Street' Ruby food bag? I mean the one with her name on not the 'I like big bones' one


Funny enough I was browsing on that site the other night, I saw an amAzingly expensive dog bed, The OH is a joiner, I have an ex billy cot mattress (aka dog bed) he is now under instruction to construction to build a wooden frame to fit the mattress for a double bed for R&R! 
As for R&R - she is insatiable (remember those days???) it's all her fault not his. She is still sporting Billy's undies to prevent another. "Stuck together" situation!! X


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## Tinman

John B said:


> Thanks everyone  Tracy I told JJ u said he's gorgeous and hes wagging his tail  while I'm crying into my vodka (only joking)


Vodka, gin, wine, it's all the same...... Your amongst friends on here !


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## Mazzapoo

Ooh sounds good, why pay their prices when you can have something unique! Surely it should be two singles though (with one foot on the floor at all times...or maybe two for dogs) like Morecombe & Wise


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## Tinman

Mazzapoo said:


> Ooh sounds good, why pay their prices when you can have something unique! Surely it should be two singles though (with one foot on the floor at all times...or maybe two for dogs) like Morecombe & Wise


I have this idealistic situation of them sleeping together ....... **** me that's come true! 
Ruby shall be done and I will put an end to all that bum in Ralph's face shenanigans xx


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## DB1

See, even innocent threads about dog food end up smutty, love this site!


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