My 4 or 5 week old pitbull will not eat. I have to force feed babby milk and it won't touch dog food. What should I do?
Sharon from Beaumont, TX
Typically pups are weaned from the mother at 6weeks. this is a very young pup to be weaned off mother but it can be done with a healthy pup and alot of patience . I'm assuming you are using a baby bottle and nipple to feed. check that there's not a cleft palate. You should be using some sort of puppy formula(store bought) or a homemade formula with syrup and egg and pwd milk mix (you can look that up) A trip to the vet would not hurt.
Your puppy is way too young to be taken away from mama -you will probably have to get a pet bottle feeder, and please call your vet for the proper food to feed him, WHY in the world did whoever you got the puppy from let go too early, Puppies should be at least 6 weeks and 8 weeks is preferable . PLEASE contact your family vet !
First, your puppy may need a thorough check-up by a vet. It's expensive, but well worth the price if you want this puppy to live and be happy. Before the vet expense though, I would try cooked oatmeal. The puppy is not yet old enough to be eating solid dog/puppy foods. The oatmeal has nutrients that are good for it. If the pup still won't eat, then it's best to let a vet check it to determine the cause.
Yes this puppy is way too little to be away from its mother and siblings but don't freet you can do it and the puppy can be just fine it's just gonna take awhile for it to adjust you must give it attention and take to the vet ASAP! I breed Blue Pitbulls and I would recommend that you buy a really good puppy kibble and a good milk supplement/ puppy formula which can come in powder form or in liquid for puppies. Get the milk supplement and mix it according to the directions on the label then with a blender chop up some of the puppy kibble and add the puppy formula to it you can also mix some canned puppy food to the mixture as well. Feed this to your puppy hopefully it'll help put some weight on him/her.
Make sure if you rescue your puppy you need to make sure you know what food they were eating previously to you owning them. A change in their diet can make them very sick. If they are not eating trying putting them on a low residue puppy food. I know IAMS makes a really good one.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a 3 month old puppy that just stopped eating. She now weighs about 5 lbs. She eats a can of dog food and then no more. Her feet have turned dark and I am afraid she's gonna die. I have tried Ensure and any kind of food I think she may like. But still nothing. Please help before she dies. Please.
By Alma from Georgia
Please take the dog to the vet ASAP! There is something seriously wrong with it.
Take the pup to a Vet right away. If money is a problem most vets will allow you to make payments. Some will treat you pet for nothing because they have funds just for that.
This sounds like organ failure, maybe kidney or liver. Or it could be an intestinal blockage so major it is actually shutting off circulation.
You are asking what to do online instead of taking it to the vet. I assume this means you can't afford vet care for your pet. You will need to find the money for the vet visit and medicine or other care. This is an emergency.
I recommend that you try Nutrical. It is a paste that you put on the ruff of her mouth once in the morning and once at night. It keeps their blood sugar up. See if that helps. I had that same problem with my pup!
My husband and I adopted a puppy from the pound and he has kennel cough. They gave us the medicine for him, but I still can't get him to eat like he should be eating.
They also told me he was 11 weeks old, but they found him as a stray so who knows. He is very tiny and malnourished. I just don't know what I should do or what kind of food to give him. Please help.
By krystle from Killeen, TX
Here are nutritious cookies to make for a dog that needs to gain weight. I have used this on a sweet adult hound dog which was brought to us with nothing but skin and bones. Kibble by itself will not put weight on, and depending on what kind of dog food it is, might actually hurt the animal if given alone. Kennel cough is so common, it takes a while to get over.
Here is the cookie recipe:
1 package of gelatin
1 pound of hamburger meat
1 or 2 cups of oatmeal
Package of macaroni and cheese
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Mix this all in a bowl, make into patties, freeze, then put in plastic bags, and pop one out several times a day 4 for so, microwave for about thirty seconds, and feed it to the dog. If you don't have all the ingredients, still make it with what you have.
I like to shape this into patties, and then freeze on a cookie sheet.
When frozen put in bags, or all in a plastic bag enough to hold them all, and pop one out several times a day and microwave them. This is in addition to regular food.
Depending on how sick the dog is or how dehydrated, see this link for simply hydration formula to make at home.
www.k911.biz/
One dropper full of infant vitamin drops for a big dog, half a dropperful for a medium dog and 1/4 dropper full for a small dog
Also, instead of buying garbage treats, buy something like Pro Plan or Authority in little bags to give as a treat, it has meat as a first ingredient or second ingredient. Meat by-products are not really the best food.
I supplement my dogs all the time, just not as often since I can't afford the best dog food.
They can also eat green beans, mashed potatoes, don't give them raisins, grapes, broccoli or chocolate of any kind. There are websites on the net about what is toxic to dogs, and what is not.
Lots of love and have fun. God bless you for your efforts on behalf of this little soul.
Our buddy Gus was only six pounds underweight when he came to live with us but he was difficult to feed in that he has some eating habits we were not used to seeing (DH and I had Labs and Golden Retrievers growing up, not dogs known for being picky about food!). For the first three weeks or so he would barely eat from his bowl so we hand fed him making every handful a reward for doing something with plenty of praise, tedious but better than watching him not eat. We learned shortly after that an old owner would not provide food or water to Gus unless the owner was eating a meal (this explains a lot), and have learned since that Gus will eat his food (or drink water), on his schedule and ONLY if he has an audience.
We also helped a friend rehabilitate a boxer that came to her severely malnourished (Mia weighed 22 pounds...now weighs 60!). Her mom had to supplement her dog food with human food; for six months she would mostly stick to eating the "human food" component of her food, when she was back to a more or less healthy weight she began to eat her dog food. Those "cookies" Robyn suggested sound like a great idea, wish we had known about them three years ago!
We had this problem and the vet told me to moisten the dry food and add a little beef boullion to the food until we got him to eat.
Try cooking some hamburger, rinse it off with hot water to remove the grease and mix with cooked rice add some to his regular food. This was told to us when our dog got cancer and was unable to eat just regular dog food
I got my puppy 2 days ago, I was told she is only 2 months old and so far all she does is drink a lot of water and won't touch her food. We gave her hard food that her owner was giving her and she will take a few pieces and eat them someplace else, but won't return. I'm afraid she's not getting the nutrients she needs to grow more and be healthy.
I'm not sure what to do. I was going to buy her some soft food and see how that played out. This is my first puppy so of course I'm worried about every little thing, but any suggestions?It sounds like your puppy is having some problems being in a new home. I hope she wasn't given away too young. Puppies need to eat 3 or 4 times a day, all they want for a while. When your puppy was eating hard food, she probably had access to Moms milk. It is possible she is not old enough for hard food alone.
I would certainly try some soft food for puppies. Make sure she has a quiet spot to eat. It is dangerous to let her go longer than 2 or 3 days without food, so if she doesn't go for the soft food, see a Vet right away. Your puppy should get started with a Vet anyway for vaccinations, nail trimming etc. Parvo vaccinations are essential as parvo is often deadly and easy to catch. Those first vaccinations are very important. Good luck with your puppy.
Two months old is just barely old enough.
First, it is possible the dog was not weaned yet. You say the owner was giving her hard food, but that could have been untrue. If the dog was taken suddenly from its mother's milk it will not suddenly know how to eat hard food.
It's also possible the owner lied about the age and the puppy is younger.
Take the puppy to the vet. First, rule out anything serious like Parvo. Then ask for a soft mushy food your dog can eat. You can gradually transition your puppy to hard food by mixing the puppy food in with the hard food.
In the future, never take a dog if you can't see the parents and go to the puppies' home to watch them interact. Also, ask for pictures to show the puppies' progress from birth. If any dogs seem sick or anything else seems strange or "off," go elsewhere.
I have two imperial Shih Tzus. One is 5lbs and the other is 8lbs. First I would give her a little Karo syrup on her tongue to make sure your puppy's blood sugar doesn't drop. Another life saver for all puppies to insure they grow big and strong is NuVet vitamins. Until you are able to purchase the vitamins, just pour a little water over her hard food and she would more than likely prefer it that way. I would not rush to change her food especially being that she was just placed on that food and before the breeder allowed her to leave her care she should have been eating normally. Sometimes it could be the stress from being in her new home. So just give her a few days. You are doing well by making sure she stays hydrated. Good luck with your new baby...
My 4 week old Yorkie will not eat or drink. I was told to try and make him drink. Kits are not working. There have been no flu symptoms. All he wants to do is to lay down and sleep. Help.
I also encourage you to take your puppy to the vet. 4 week old puppies don't have a lot of reserves to go too long without eating or drinking. Is he still with the mother? Is he still nursing? If he is still nursing and not taking solid food/water, that's one thing. If he's not nursing or eating than there could be something seriously wrong and he needs to get checked out ASAP.
How did you get a 4 week old puppy? Some people say 8 weeks is fine to take a puppy from its mother, but ten weeks is better. The puppy will be more secure. You don't want a dog with separation anxiety.
4 weeks is way too young. The puppy should be having nothing but its mother's milk at this point.
If the mother is deceased, I suggest you get the puppy to a person who has experience fostering very small puppies and hand rearing them. Otherwise it will certainly die.
I have a 2 month old Lab mixed with a German Shepherd that I brought home from the pet store 2 days ago. However all it does is lie around and sleep. She also does not eat, other than a spoonful or 2 of wet food. However when she interacts with other dogs she seems fine, but still doesn't eat.
Is she nervous and scared and need time to adjust since she's only been around other dogs. Or is taking it to the vet the best choice?Has your puppy had her vaccinations? The store where you bought her should supply you with that information. If they don't have it they are negligent. At her age I would want to rule out Parvo, a very serious disease for a puppy. She should have been vaccinated against it, but if you have no proof of vaccination, you need to get her to a Vet right away. There is a test for Parvo. Then you will know what you are dealing with. It takes several days of care, by you and your Vet, but many pups make it. When she is better make sure she gets her vaccinations. Good luck.
You do need to take it to the vet just to be sure it doesn't have a serious disease like parvo or distemper.
Unfortunately, dogs bought at a pet store are frequently ill because a vast majority of them come from puppy mill operations where nutrition and cleanliness is extremely poor and illnesses are rampant. Of course the store staff will tell you it came from an exclusive private breeder, etc. but it's all nonsense. When people are shopping for a puppy they see that cute face and they forget to be careful.
My new puppy won't eat. What could be wrong?
By matt rivers from Green Cove Springs, FL
There are many reasons why he/she isn't eating. Take him/her to the vet ASAP.
