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Comment by Stephanie & Lola on May 5, 2008 at 3:36pm

Lola never eat her food when we first got her. I tried 4 different types of food and she hated them all. I finally found Canidae and she loves it. I mix a teaspoon of wet food in with her 1/2 cup dry food and it's gone in a minute. I hope you little man is eating better now :)

Comment by Ziska Childs on May 5, 2008 at 11:31am

This is a Corgi who won't eat?????!!!!!?????

Okay- first things first- go to the vet get some blood work done and make sure everything is okay. If everything checks out then I think you're being wrapped around his little paw.... and he's loving it.

I have four woofers- and they are exactly that- woofers- if any one of them is shy about eating a little competition goes a long way to improving appetite. I also give raw to 3 of them and home cooked to the 4rth (who is having some kidney/tooth trouble so she gets cooked meat). That's what works for me but I don't expect it to solve your problem- although some doggie day care time or doggie play time would probably help. I heartily advise no "free feeding" (leaving the bowl out with the kibble). The yogurt trick is a good one- but consider that he may just not like kibble. That's not a crime (unusual in a Corgi - Corgis will normally eat the leather off a lamp post- but not a crime). If you still want to try the kibble route you might try some other variety. Good pet shops are just thrilled to give out samples. Just make sure you leave one combo out of the group (normally lamb and rice) in case he develops allergies later in life. There's one other stratagem you might try- make sure you eat first- then he gets his kibble- this helps set up a "pack" order. It sounds like you're losing the "top dog" battle and eating first should help re-establish the proper order.

Ziska

Comment by James on May 5, 2008 at 12:16am

Oh and, thanks everyone for the advice. I appreciate it.

Comment by James on May 5, 2008 at 12:15am

I should go pick up a scale tomarrow, I have never had the need for one. He does the same thing, he takes a bite, wanders off eats the one piece, then goes back and mabye eats 2 more then he stops eating them and just spits them out and goes about playing. Dinner was out (wet kibble) for 20 minutes, and he ate about 10 pieces over that time and I sat there with him the entire time so he didnt wander off and play, then I took it up. He was surely hungry from not eating lunch. Im going to try the same at breakfast. Eventually he has to eat. If he doesnt eat a solid meal tomarrow like this Ill get the Yogurt back out of the fridge. (he loves it, but I am not mixing him special food every day, I would rather treat him occasionally with Yogurt/pumpkin ect, but he has to eat his food first)

Comment by Charlie on May 4, 2008 at 11:58pm

Charlie was very picky, or maybe just distracted. His breeder was free-feeding the puppies, so I guess he thought that the food would be down for him to nibble all day. He would eat a little, then wander off. I wanted to give him 3 set times a day intially, so I kept coaxing him back to the food bowl during meal times. I did put a little water on his food and added either a small spoonful of either low-fat yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese for several weeks. I also changed his food a couple of time. The third food I tried him on was a charm. When he got used to scheduled times and I found a food he enjoyed, he started eating like the normal Corgi "vaccuum cleaner". Then I was able to cut out the yogurt/cottage cheese, and then cut wetting his food.

He did still manage to eat with all the coaxing and "additives", and gain a pound a week. You can pick up a bathroom scale for about $10. Just pick him up with you, then subtract your weight. As long as he is gaining about a pound a week, then he is eating plenty.

You are being a great doggie dad! : - )

Comment by Bella on May 4, 2008 at 10:49pm

Bella use to have a hard time eating as a puppy, especially since then she required moreas she was a "growing puppy". It got to the point that I use to have to trick her and put the cat next to her so that she would eat it instead of letting the cat have any. That stopped at like 8 months or so. She eats IAMS, but she will not eat just the dry food. I mix it with some spoonfuls of the wet food and she loves it. She will even prefer that over some real chicken for dogs that was given to us by Petco.

Comment by Bridget on May 4, 2008 at 9:24pm

One more suggestion, try putting a little warmed up low sodium chicken broth on the broken up kibble bits. That was a suggestion from the vet of my pup when they decided there wasn't enough of mom's milk to go around 7 pups. The broth softened up the kibble. Good luck!

Comment by Sam on May 4, 2008 at 9:23pm

I am not a big fan of Eukanuba but I know many that feed it and do well. My feeding program consists of feeding dry kibble in the morning and a spoonful of canned at night with a bit of warm water. No major reason then it is what I do. You may try that and see if he is more interested.
It is not unusual for a pup to eat irregularly for a time. My little Gelly did the same on and off. I continued to pick up her bowl after 15 minutes. Soon she ate like the rest of the clan. A move to a new environment and leaving the other dogs is really a huge step for a pup. There are new smells, new noises and the lack of security of his former protected life. They adjust amazingly quickly given their very young age.
You may opt to change the food however I would not consider going to a prescription. He isnt sick just not eating regularly. The ingredients of many rx foods are not suitable for growth maintenance. There are many good premium foods out there if you wish to switch. I happen to be a big Natural Balance fan.
You are doing a great job James. Nice to see owners so attentive to their new pups. As long as he continues to grow, is holding his weight and is active, playful and eliminating normally you will be just fine.

Comment by Carlie on May 4, 2008 at 8:48pm

We have Kiwi on the Eukanuba small bites puppy food, I noticed that when she was 8 weeks old she wouldn't eat anything much larger than that just b/c she couldn't. We were told by the breeder to mix something in her food, so we put a tsp-tblsp of non fat plain yogurt and a tsp of water all mixed in. Kiwi has never had a problem eating, but maybe Cheez-man is still getting used to his surroundings. Also, we leave her food down for about 20 minutes and then we pick the bowl up (even though there's nothing left in it). I say just keep an eye on him and if it gets to be a problem, talk to your vet about possibly putting him on a Rx dog food named "ID" they love it, and it's very gentle on their stomachs. Good luck with everything. Glad to hear that he's portraying all the corgi puppy traits.

Comment by Joshua on May 4, 2008 at 8:44pm

Bexar ate very well at first, but slowly ate less and less (for those that don't know Bexar and Cheesecake are brothers). He also itched himself a lot, so I was worried he had minor food allergies. I am in the process of switching food right now to Blue Buffalo (Puppy Lamb and Rice) and he loves it! He eats all the Blue first, then as much Eukenuba as he desires.
After much reading, I decided Blue was a high quality food that I couldn't go wrong with. I like to eat healthfully myself, so I want to feed my dog quality food too. Its not as expensive as I expected, either. My local PetSmart carried it.
FWIW, Bexar was 4.8 pounds a week ago, but he was the smallest of the litter, I believe.