Feeding high quality kibble, yet......??

[Cosmo's Mom]

HI--

I have a 9 wk old pup, Cosmo....he is eating Chicken Soup.......sometimes only 1/2 a cup per meal...sometimes a little more.....had to add a spoonful of the canned Chicken soup to even get him interested.......not overall interested in food.

My questions are:
1. He seems to eat very little....and is overall very uninterested when it comes to food.....I can see his ribs...definitely not a fat pup...vet says not too skinny yet......at 9 weeks, weighed 13.4 lbs........other than adding a bit of canned Chicken soup or chicken broth to "soup" up the flavor, should I worry??

2. I did a great deal of research and chose Chicken Soup because I thought it was a high quality kibble. He seems to have frequent, formed stools......but large amount of stool each time. I thought better quality kibble meant less quantity of stool?? Am I wrong???

3. His breath is AWFUL !!! I can barely stand it when he licks me !!! Anything different I should be doing or any tips on improving his breath??

Thanks so much !!!!

 

[gmacleod]

I don't think that you should be worrying about it. His weight sounds fine, and the vet is happy with him - and if he's healthy, happy and active as well then I really don't think you've got any cause for concern there. Believe me, it is very very much better for his long term health that he is not overfed or overweight as a puppy. At a correct weight, you should be able to see his last few ribs, but it is very common to see more than that on a growing boxer pup

How does the amount he consumes compare with the feeding guideline on the food packaging? Unless it is substantially less, then I wouldn't be inclined to worry about changing his food or adding too many extras. But healthy additions such as raw or lightly scrambled egg one or twice a week, some raw hamburger or chicken, cottage cheese or vegetables are good healthy additions.

I'd also note that puppies are notorious for going through picky periods where they're really not very interested in food. It is related to their growth spurts - when they're in a spurt, their little bodies are demanding all the energy they can get and so the pup is ravenous. But between spurts, they don't need so much food and it's perfectly OK for them to eat less at those times. So in fact Cosmo could just be between spurts and will be looking for food again in a week or two...

As for the puppy breath - the answer usually lies in the teeth. Try giving him some nice raw bones to chew on

 

[axp113]

my pup is 12 weeks now and is only 12 lbs. He was 6 lbs when we got him at 8 weeks and he is a very picky eater. We got him to start eating Wellness kibble and he eats really good now. Just try adding things like gmacleod said.

the reason he was so small is that he came from a litter of 13 puppies. He is steadily gaining weight now. Just be patient, the puppy will come around.

 

[Cosmo's Mom]

May be a SILLY question...but what types of RAW bones ??

HI--

Thanks for all of the tips. One from Gmacleod said to remedy puppy bad breath, give him a nice raw bone to chew on.

What type of raw bone??

Should it have just a little bit of raw meat on it or alot??

Should I worry about what type of microscopic bugs are growing on the raw bone (I have 2 1/2 yr old twins and they notoriously find all of the dog toys/accessories irresistible.. no matter how diligent I watch them) ??

How often to give pup bone to keep breath fresh??

Thanks and sorry for my ignorance !!!

 

[gmacleod]

It doesn't need to have meat on it (though your puppy might appreciate it if it did). The main point of raw bones are that your puppy will chew - possibly for hours. And that will help to keep his teeth in good order - it will scrape off any tartar buildup and it will help him to get rid of his baby teeth as they become loose, rather than having them decay in his mouth.

All you need is to ask your butcher for "dog bones" - pretty much any sort will do, and there will probably be a small amount of meat on it (doesn't matter one way or the other though). Depending on the size of the bone, you can just give it to him for an hour or so each day, then put it away in the freezer till the next day, or if you get quite small bones then just throw them away after he's done chewing and give him a new one next time.

I would certainly say keep your kids away from the bones - but you wouldn't want them putting anything in their mouths that the pup has been chewing on. One way of doing it though, would be to give the bone to your puppy in his crate, then once he's had an hour or two of chewing, let him out and take away the bone. That should take care of any possible issues with small children deciding they'd like to chew too

 

[LoveOdin]

Odin eats Chicken Soup as well and doesn't always seem all that interested. In fact, the first week he was home, I would sit with him while he ate because he was so nervous. He would take a bite and then run out of the kitchen to eat it, whining the whole time. He just had a little phobia going on. He's past that now. Anyways, he was 16.2 lbs at 8.5 weeks and 17 at 9.5 weeks and he eats 3/4-1 cup 3x day. He's a big boy though. Sometimes he eats it all, sometimes he doesn't. But I figure that if he's hungry, his body will tell him it's time to eat more. Also, I feed him every day at 0800,1400,2000 and if he doesn't eat it after 15-20 min with a little encouragement, then I pick it up and just combine that food with the next feed to equal the 3/4-1 cup amt. That way he knows that when it's time to eat, he'd better "get it while it's hot". He usually has 5-6 stools per day and they are usually well-formed and darker in color. No bad breath though.

 

[Indy B's Mom]

Tyler can be picky somedays with his food. For his breakfast, I put 1tsp. Missing Link+2tsp. yogurt over his kibble. He eats every bite. His lunch and dinner are just plain kibble and he doesn't usually finish those. He was 10.5 lbs at 8 weeks and 15.7 lbs at 9.5 weeks. He gets 15 minutes with each meal, then I take it up. He went to the vet Friday and she seemed pleased with him, so I figure he must be eating what he needs. As long as your vet says he looks good, I wouldn't worry about it. They all grow differently, as you can see from Odin's post, his B-day is the same as Tyler's and Odin weighs more. As long as vet checks go well, I wouldn't be concerned.

 

[Cosmo's Mom]

Thanks for all of your input and help

All of a sudden this week, he has an appetite....I figure it's a growth spurt.

As for the bad breath, he still has it......I think it's from the water and teaspoonful of canned Chicken soup food per meal.... I mix it in to make it more tasty for him. I am going to try a raw bone soon for him to chew on...to see if that helps clean his teeth.

He also feels heavier than before....so he is growing.......Hooray!!!

I'll keep you updated...........

 

[boxer]

Good to hear his appetite is back Those puppy growth spurts sure can make us worry LOL

 

[Mollie_T]

My Maggie went through a "I refuse to eat anything" phase. We switched between 7 different premium kibbles & canned foods before finally finding Blue Buffalo chicken flavor. She's 8 months old & still has picky days, but overall she eats good. When she was small I'd take her to the vet for check-ups & always voice my concern about her not eating well, that poor vet probably thought I had munchousen byproxy (sp?), LOL. I was so worried about her eating habits, it finally got better- but I'm sure I gained several gray hairs throughout this ordeal...