Puppy Feeding and Training
Hi everyone!
I'm brand new to this site, and puppy owning in general. I got my Cardigan Corgi two days ago, her name is Malygos and she'll be 10 weeks tomorrow, and I realize I'm probably just being a hysterical mother since I'm new to everything however:
I can't seem to get her to eat her kibble. I can't say she's had more than 1/4C in the past two days. She'll tear through treats like no other though. I'm only trying to feed organic and natural so the treats she's eating aren't terrible. (dehydrated yams, carrot sticks, fish sticks) but she won't eat her actual food. I've tried soaking it in chicken broth, adding yogurt and pumpkin, and she'll eat two or three bites then lay down and go to sleep or get distracted and do something else. What should I be doing? I don't want to put her on wet food, but at this point I feel like she should just eat?
And I'm also unsure as to how much she should be sleeping vs. exercising? What counts as exercise for her? I know she shouldn't be running too much, but...how..do I know what is too much? I'm sorry I'm so nervous about the whole thing!
And finally when it comes to the leash! When will she be able to go on real walks? She doesn't exactly walk if that makes sense. She always wears a collar, and she'll wear the leash, but trying to get her to go where I ask her to doesn't exactly happen. I guess it's only really been two days but I'm a worry-wort and I don't want her to develop bad habits!
I'd be very grateful for any words of wisdom about corgi puppies, especially 10 week olds.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Autumn Haac on
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I have her on the same Iams kibble she was eating, but the breeder had said she mixed it with purina to get her to eat more. Right now I'm mixing the Iams with Blue because I want her to switch over to Blue.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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Young puppies varies in their activity levels, but it's common for young pups, 8 to 10 wks.old to be active for about an hour and sleep an hour. They should not be overtired. For the feeding, I would abolish all treats and stick to 3 meals a day on schedule until she's established in her feeding pattern. I use Cheerios for a small treat with young pups. One Cheerio now and then is a crunchy treat that does not disrupt the diet.. As for walking on leash, at first just let her take you around in a safe area, like your yard, then you can coax her to follow. I'm assuming you had a Vet check and that shots and wormings are where they should be on her puppy schedule. If not, then that would be a top priority. If you do a search of this site, you'll find much useful information on many topics. Enjoy.
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I've had her vet checked, and right now I have her eating about four meals a day, each at the same time. We have a schedule but she's still not really eating. I'll leave it down for 15 minutes then pick it up. If she won't eat...should I just not worry and wait until she figures out she has to eat?
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Four times a day is too many meals, I would go to three meals ( keep the amount as you have it now for each meal, so the total you're offering will be less than the total you are offering now ). I would not increase her foo until she was eating eagerly and jumping up and down for her meals! I would offer the food and pick it up when she walks away from it. Next offering is the next scheduled meal. Unless ill, nobody starves with food available. I would not add goodies to make her eat, but I would add a bit of water to her food. As she eats readily, you will have to adjust amounts upwards.
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Permalink Reply by Diane on
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You'll get lots of great info/advice on this site... But most importantly, don't forget to post pictures ;->
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Permalink Reply by Juno on
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I feel just the same way as you. I get my pup, Juno next week, at 10 weeks and i'm sure i'll be wondering about the same things and being overprotective and lost and everything. Not worries though, i'm confident that mycorgi will be of most help! :) good luck, can't wait to hear how it goes!
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Permalink Reply by Justin and Pancake on
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Congrats on Malygos! I just got Pancake on Monday (He is a pembroke) and he doesn't like walks either. He will deal with the leach and will walk right outside but any attempt to take him on a walk is a huge fail. He just sits on the sidewalk and looks at me funny. Gently tugging on the leach doesn't get him to move either. After he does his business he just wants to sit and ignores me trying to get him to move around on the leech. He is very eager to go back inside though and if I say inside and move towards the door he will usually come.
Pancake is behaving the same way in terms of food as well. The breeder had him on purina puppy chow but I am feeding him wellness for puppies. I am mixing the two, with mostly wellness, but he really doesn't seem to care which food so now its all wellness. He isn't eating much at all though. Today he had about 2/3 cup of kibble. He surprising will eat his kibble when I take it out of the bowl and put it on the floor or let him eat it out of my hands. I only give him his real treats when he goes in his crate, but otherwise I just feed him pieces of kibble as treats which he gladly eats. On Monday he wouldn't eat any of his food, but he is slowly eating a little more each day. I think they are still in the warming up process.
As for exercise. I some how got Pancake to walk to the end of the block and back, but I realized that was probably way to far. So now I just pick him up and walk a few houses down (because he refuses to walk on his own) and then set him down and he willingly walks back. I also play with him right after he goes potty by playing with his pull rope and stuffed animal. He usually goes to sleep after he gets sick of playing. It seems to me he is getting enough exercise. I also have been trying to throw in a little training while playing with his toys which usually gets him excited.
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Permalink Reply by Allie May Thitte on
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I think every dogs energy level is different. My Effie is 14 weeks, and boy she plays hard... She can run and run and run for a long while outside chasing my three yr old son. It's really nice bc it totallY wipes her out and she will take a really long nap afterwards.
The leash will come with time. Effie still isn't comfortable 100% on it, but we're able to have short walks around the block, with some running mixed in. It also really helps if someone is with me walking ahead of me so she has someone to "herd" and get her excited about moving forward. She also really prefers being in a harness for walks vs. having the leash attached to her collar.cmaybe try that?
As for the eating, I'm no help. Effie has always been a good eater, thank God. She eats 1/2 cup 3 times a day!
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Thank you everyone for the replies! She's doing well today, she's currently sleeping on my lap. I think we're going to just be experimenting with her activity level.
My next question is, she sleeps an awful lot, even though she had plenty of toys and things to chew. Do I let her sleep, or should I wake her up to play? I've been waking her up, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not?
And I feel like it's impossible to teach her commands such as sit because she's so low to the ground. Should I be on my knees teaching her these things?
(I'm going to upload pictures of her soon! :])
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Let her sleep. Growing up takes lots of energy and pups grow very fast compared to human children... As Ellie Mae writes about Effie, by 14 wks of age you'll be looking at a very different picture!
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Permalink Reply by Chris, Kadi & Brodie on
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Congrats and welcome. I suggest you look through all the other threads on this site to find lots of good advice given to folks who were in just the same shoes as you are in now. When I joined I already had one Corgi that was about 7 months old and a new adult had strayed up and I was looking for his owner. I perused the other threads and found all sorts of wisdom!
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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I think the MOST important thing you can do as a new dog owner is to enroll her in obedience classes. They are so great for puppy socialization and offer so much support for new pet parents. Corgis are SO SMART so you really want to make sure you do it right from the beginning. An obedience class will help with that. Even the cheapie classes offered at Petco and Petsmart have a lot to offer for a young puppy and a new puppy owner. She can start as young as 8 weeks, so she is old enough. Do it NOW. They will help with commands, leash walking, potty training, and aare there to offer you advice as she settles into your home and becomes the crazy corgi puppy she's bound to become. Your obedience class will become a kind of support group as you hit minor bumps in the road. Corgis are the best dogs but they do offer quite a challenge as puppies, even for the most experienced dog owner, so its nice to have a trainer to ask questions to.
Also, as others may have mentioned DO NOT keep adding yummy stuff to get her to eat. Picky eaters are not born they are made. You will be in a world of hurt if you create a picky dog at this young age, by 1 year she will be refusing everything but cooked steak if you don't watch out. Just place her food down for 15-20 minutes and pick it up if she doesn't eat. My guess is she is still pretty terrified about this HUGE life change she just went through and will need a few days to adjust and then she will start to eat and play more. It may take up to a week and as long as she is drinking, has firm stool, and is munching a little bit, she will be fine not eating big meals for a few days. GOOD LUCK AND POST PICTURES!!! :-D
I also want to note with the food thing, if she doesn't eat much after about a week you may want to consider changing kibble. Blue is one of those kibble that dogs either love or hate. Franklin was a great eater, I switched him to Blue and then he didn't really eat much anymore, then after a few weeks he quit eating all together. I switched him at that point to Taste of the Wild and he's been eating great again ever since. Some dogs just hate those little "life source bits" that they put in and I don't think the kibble is all that appealing to some dogs
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