Feeding Help!!

[Kit16]

Hi! I am new at this, as well as new at being a Boston Terrier's mom. I just got an 8 week old, male, 2 lb littl guy. I've been to the vet and, of course the problems started after we left there and I am not due back for shot for another week or so. I had him on the breeders food, but I am a strong believer in good food (I have a six year old boxer on Innova, and, wanted to get him on the good stuff too!)
I was wondering what/how much you all suggest I should be feeding him. He did very week on about a 1/4 a cup twice a day while I was switching him out from the breeders food, but then he just stopped going after it, so, being worried, I went and got canned food, so now he won't touch the dry of course.
I haven't the puppy thin in forever, so I am a bit worried! Any help would be great... web sites for educating... anything!! Thanks! Kit's mom!

[alison]

why not put a tablespoon of the wet stuff on his dry food and mix it up?

[Kit16]

Tried that one.. he licked off the wet stuff and ignored the dry.

[alison]

I'm sure someone here will have some ideas....sorry I couldn't be more help

[Kit16]

No problem! Thanks for replying anyways!! Well I'm off to search the web to see if I can't find something on there! Thanks for your help!

[Cheryl]

try mixing a little yogurt or chicken broth in with his food and see if that helps. You could also hand feed to try and encourage him to eat a little.
I think most of us have had pups that are picky eaters, I know I have and thank god they grow out of it.

Do you have any pics to share?

[nmsmith]

Hello There,
One thing that has helped me a lot when my dogs get picky about food is to make them work for it. That is, take the puppy for a walk (till she is HUNGRY), make the puppy sit before you put the bowl down, etc. When they are hungry enough, they'll eat. If that doesn't work, you might want to check in with your vet to make sure there isn't some underlying issue interfering with the puppies appetitie:) . Best Wishes!

[nadsuka]

An 8 week old baby should be on a mix of wet and dry anyway.
Mix some good quality tinned puppy food with his dry and leave for about 1/2 hour to soften the dry. Add any left over gravy you may have from your own meal. Remember his teeth are not fully through and his mouth will be tender.
There is no hard and fast rule about amounts so I feed whatever they will eat (without them being sick). At 8 weeks mine are still on 4 meals per day and by 9 to 10 weeks will take themselves down to 2 or 3. Just remember to feed puppy fooD as it has the required vitamins etc.

[Kit16]

You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for all of the help, I will give it a try tonight at feeding time. Yes, I do have some great pics of Kit and my boxer, Ginger, but I have yet to figure out how to get them on here... evidently they are too big or something?? I will try again tonight... any tips on that? I just downloaded them from my camera (which is new too), I feel so dumb.. so much to figure out in such a short time!! ; )

[andie]

When Molly was a baby, I mixed like this, whatever got her to eat...SHe was ruined for a little while...SO PICKY!!! If you can get him to eat the good food by letting it soak in water, I would. I feel like mixing yummy things with it makes them more picky, or maybe all puppies are just picky. You can let the food soak for a while, and it will be really soggy, and Laurie told me something once that was a great idea. Maybe she was kidding, buy mine loved it! The crumbs in the bottom of the bag make an excellent gravy. You can mix it with warm water and poor over the food. Then they are really only eating the dog food, but disguised in a soft style with gravy...Yum yum!

[Jill]

I didn't get Clover as a puppy but I did experience some problems with her eating. I finally did what Cheryl said and I hand-fed her a little until she got used to where the food was and what it was. Now she has absolutely no problem eating. :) "Working for their food" is not a bad idea, either IMO. Clover always has to walk in the morning and evening before she gets food.

[Barbara S]

I have found the best way to post pictures is to use photobucket. Click on the link for help. If you need any addiotnal help please don't hesitate to let me know. I will happy to help you.
http://www.bostonlove.org/forums/faq.php?faq=new_faq_item#faq_new_faq_item2

Don't worry. A lot of this stuff seems overwhelming until you get used to it.

[lucysmom]

Welcome to the board! Can't wait to see pictures and I hope your little guy starts eating good soon :)

[Christine]

I made the mistake of hand feeding Stetson when he came home, because he didn't eat the first night off the plane and I wanted to make sure he didn't starve. Then he got to the point where he wouldn't eat unless he was hand fed. The only thing I could find that made him really want to eat out of his dish was Iam's Savory Sauce. I put a few drops on his food and he ate with no problems. It only took one bottle, because I gradually weaned him off the stuff.

He also seems more interested in eating when I heat up his dinner a little before feeding him.

[Kit16]

Thank you guys so much for all of your help... my bf is totally computer savvy, so when he gets back from a work trip, I will have him help me get those pics on!

[Marty]

when marty was 8weeks i had trouble swithching over to another brand of food. I have him on a RAW diet now which he loves. I found mixing wet food and dry food caused him to go potty more often. I guess the wet digested faster than the dry. just my 2cents =)