I need help with my 10 week old puppy's eating habits!!

I have a brand new 10 week old puppy Tedy who is a pembroke corgi.  He's only been with me 3 days but obviously we started training right away, as I don't want dog pee all over my house haha.  The only problem is, Tedy won't eat - ANYTHING!  I know they say positive reenforcement works just as well as treats but as far as doing tricks like sit and lay down, I KNOW something visual to help him learn would work better because it did for both of my other dogs (ally who recently passed and Roxy who is 14).  I think in total I've bought like 6 different kinds of treats as well as peanut butter, cheese, hamburger, and turkey.  He is totally uninterested in everything I give him. 

Along with that Tedy has an eating problem.  With other corgis my problem has been them eating waaaaay too much but Tedy isn't interested in his food really.  If I put his food in a bowl he sniffs it, maybe licks a piece and then walks away.  I did what the vet said and gave him 15 minutes and took the bowl away but after missing breakfast and lunch he was so lethargic I had to give in.  The only way he'll eat is if I take his kibble and put it on the ground in front of him and even then he'll only eat a few pieces.  How do I get him to eat his food from the bowl in the kitchen if I can't even tempt him by putting hamburger or cheese in it?!?  

(I'm feeding him the food his breeder was feeding him and I've already tried switching brands AND canned food - NOTHING)

Any help would be so appreciated as this little guy needs food! (btw water isn't a problem)

Thanks guys :)

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Try adding warm water to his food...it usually works well for me. Maybe sit with him for a bit take a bit of time with on a quite but fun time.  Go back to the food he came with and don't add a bunch of others right now or he might get sick and that would NOT be good. Find a (1) snack to add and stick with it...wait a week and add another. I DO NOT believe in picking up the food after 15 minutes for a puppy as my dogs will eat when they want but usually within that amount of time. Remember this is all new and he is a babe trying to figure out life right now. I also would NOT put extras in his food as you are teaching him to be picky.

 

Good Luck...he is so handsome!

I understand your frustration. My puppy Tucker (who is 12 weeks) I feed 3x a day (6am,12pm,6pm). I would put his food down and he would sniff it and go lay down or take one or 2 bites and then go lay down. A few things to keep in mind. 

Remember he's a puppy and everything is new to him which causes stress and sometimes a decrease in appetite. A dog normally will not starve himself; leave the food and water down for 20 or 30min then pick it back up (like your vet said). The dog will realize that you are the food provider. Remove any distractions during this time (e.g. toys, treats etc). I agree with Jane that you don't want to add anything to his food like cheese or hamburger just yet. If anything add chicken broth to his dry food and let it sit for about 5min to soften it up for him. If you have to, sit with him to ease any tension he might be feeling when it comes to eating but try not to make it a habit. You don't want the dog to associate you holding it hand..I mean "paw" every time it has to eat. It took my puppy about 3 or 4 days before he fully ate his whole bowl of food.



Good luck :)

The first thing I recommend is BREATHE.

Take a deep breath, and chuckle at yourself. Three days, switching brands? Recognize that although Tedy's behaviour is anxiety-producing, it is most likely temporary.

The recommendation to soak his food in chicken broth is a good one. Another recommendation I have heard many times is when you make a change, wait 3-5 days before deciding if it has produced any result. And only make one change at a time.

 

My Carys (11 weeks, I've had 1 week, now) came with Puppy Chow, yeh, really.  She didn't seem to want to eat, so I put a few a few kibbles of Taste of the Wild in her food, 'cause I was planning on switching her over to it...I knowwwww, I did it wrong!!!  LOL   anyway, she ATE!!!  and within a couple of days she was switched because she would pick out the TOW kibbles and only eat them and not the PC!    she never got sick, she maybe had one incident of loose bowels, that's all. 

I swear I'm going to record her eating....she'll eat and howl while she's eating   LOL. 

TOW had a recall not to long ago...just wanted to make sure your bag wasn't affected

http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/information/

thanks. I'm in Texas, doesn't look like we were affected.

I also have thrown TOTW on the pups food and they also ate that first but when they got hungry they would eat the other...

Lemmy was a finicky eater when we first got him (11weeks) and I just left his food there, when he was ready he'd eat it, even if it was "picking" through out the day.
He might still be adjusting: there's more interesting things then food to check out.
He'll get hungry and he'll eat, shoving food in dogs face wont make them eat it; if someone was shoving a burger at your face when you're not hungry, would you?
I don't think you should get to concerned until you notice his poop amount is a lot less in amount and frequency or if there's none at all. It's alarming, but unless he's sick, he'll eat, he's a corgi haha eventually you'll be fighting to get him to stop eating lol.
Congrates by the way!!!!

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