What do you do if your 5 month old puppy (Shih-tzu) will not eat her puppy food?

Question

I tried feeding her boiled chicken after I noticed she didn't want to eat her puppy food (Iams brand). She loves the chicken but it gave her diaherrea. So I stopped giving her chicken. Now it's worse, she won't even consider eating dog food at all. HELP.

Answer 1

I have a shih-tzu as well. She's about a year.

Try Eukanuba or Science Diet. I feed mine Eukanuba and she eats it well. Your puppy is probably just spoiled from all the chicken. Leave out the dog food and I promise she'lll eat it eventually. Dogs will give in to hunger. She'll learn that she must eat her dog food if she doesn't want to go hungry. If she doesn't eat within a couple days or so of you just making the dog food available, she may need to see a vet. Watch for vomitng, diarhea, gums turning white or blue, or lethargy. She could also have eaten something bad and you have not noticed. I'm trying to scare you, more tha likely it's just a case of spoiled puppy. But watch out for any of those warning signs and see a vet immediately if you notice anything abnormal about her behavior. It still might be a good idea to get her checked out by her regular vet on monday, just to be safe.

Answer 2

Puppies need vitamins and all of the nutrition that is included in puppy dog food. Feeding her human food wasn't the best thing to do, so I would go back to feeding her puppy food.

I was taught that a puppy should get food for 10-15 minutes. Whatever she eats during that time is what she gets. If she doesn't eat it, then take the bowl away until her next feeding time. Eventually, she will learn that if she doesn't eat when food is given, that she has to wait for awhile to get her next meal.

Don't worry if the puppy doesn't eat for a day or so. As long as she has water, she's not going to die.

You can also try mixing a bit of canned dog food with her dry dog food to see if that will entice her appetite. Did you try adding a bit of water, or chicken broth to the dry dog food? That seems to work for some puppies, too.

Human food might be an easy way for you to see to it that your puppy eats, but know that she's not getting all of the nutrition that a puppy should be getting, if you only feed her say, chicken, or rice, etc.

Answer 3

I know it 'wrecks' the complete recipe, but why not combine both. We feed one of our hounds Burns Lamb and Rice and the other, who has a sensitive tummy after having Giardia early on, Arden Grange Sensitive (about to be switched because they've reduced their bag size but kept the price the same!!). With both they have just a very small amount of Butchers Blend, tripe mix, on the complete food which I also add a small amount of warm water, for flavour and taste. Neither Burns nor Arden Grange is especially cheap, but both is good, and I don't imagine your Shih Tzu is going to need much, so a bag should last!! You may have a struggle at first if he's been given human food, but stick with it. Put the dog food down at the right time (I recommend you feed two meals a day now, unless he's under weight and needs lunch still) and leave it for say 10 - 15 minutes. If he doesn't eat up, pick it up and refrigerate it until the next mealtime. Bin anything left over at the end of the day - and for now, until you have managed the switch to proper food (!), no treats. He needs to be hungry so he eats up which he should do once he realises that this is his source of nourishment now, with you! Add Do not use hot water to soak a complete food - it will destroy the vitamins. Warm water for soaking - but you should not need to be soaking his food at 5 months in any case. A small amount of water to bring out the smell and flavour by all means. But that's all.

Answer 4

your puppy may have other culprits in the house feeding her things that she will turn her nose up to what is good for her. If you are giving her rawhide products, pig ears and greenies...these are not helpful....throw those away! Call a family meeting and tell them if you do not have full cooperation then you will give the dog to the town bully! Perhaps this will get their attention! Then your puppy should be eating at least twice a day...maybe a cupful....put the pup in a confined area after she has went to relieve herself early in the morning...place her food in front of her for only 15 min (really only 15 min.) If she does not eat...it is ok...no more opportunity to eat again until that evening after 5PM
Do this again...after she has went pee....place her again in a confined area and offer her the food again (15min) again if she refuses to eat...do not worry...no more chances for it again till morning...do not give in...do not feed treats....treats can come
once she has a routine of eating on time...save the treats for training...but first get her eating and relieveing herself on a schedule! This may take a couple of days to get started...then stay on schedule with feeding at the same time every day and night...for at least 2 or 3 weeks...Then remember...your consitency will be her consisency...once this is accomplished then you should begin training her right away...a 5-7 month old Shih-tzu can be trained at this age! The smaller the dog the quicker the brain developes... during this time could she recieve treats...and the treat thing should not be her greatest reward...the petting and praise should be what she appreciates the most...not the treat...after she is about 7-8 months old stop the treats and just give lots of love and attention to the pup when an achievement has been made....your pup may live to be 17 years old...and you don't always want to be sporting a treat for good behavior! This all may seem cruel...but the pup will eventually eat! At all times keep water available for you pup! Remember Adam named the animals...so get control, or be controlled by your tiny furry freind...seems like your helping by giving in...no my human freind...most dogs own their humans...sorry...The dogs that are owned by humans are truly happier, for they do not experience the frustration from the humans aggrevation of being controlled by their pets!

Answer 5

you shouldnt gave any puppies any humans tables foods like chickens will make pets sick in their health. you should buy some can foods and buy one bag of dry puppies food too and just give little bit and mix them together and see if she willl eat it if she doesnt then do this i do this to my dogs when they were puppies before . i just ut some dry food with can food together and put on the spoon and gave them to try first time . they just started eatting . but if you dog isnt use it what you got at home . i think you should go to the pet shop and ask if they got something different kind brand puppies foods that she might like to try .

Answer 6

Pour chicken broth over her dry puppy food and microwave it for like 10sec so that her dry food becomes softer. Some puppies don't like puppy food cos its hard and they're not used to it. Anyway, she'll prob start off with only licking the broth but then she'll start to eat bits of her dry food, gradually increasing over the feedings. If that still doesn't work do as above with shreds of chicken mixed into the microwaved dry food & chicken broth (mixing with dry food should make her poo drier than when u only feed her chicken). Gradually decrease the concentration of chicken broth, maybe diluting with water and then totally off chicken broth with only water to soften dry food, then less and less water and eventually only dry food. This might take up to weeks for the transition depending on ur dog. It worked for mine. When she grows older and her stomach can handle more food, then u can prob mix her dry food with some canned doggie food if you want so that she gets variety.

Answer 7

Pft, no wonder, would YOU eat Iams? And have you seen the websites about the testing that P&G do to ensure that grot is 'fit to eat'?

Do a google for BARF - the bones and raw food diet. It is what dogs used to eat in the hundreds of years before companies realised there was a buck to be made out of gullible but well-meaning dog owners. Your pup will never turn her nose up at her dinner again and she'll be much healthier for it.

Answer 8

I have a shih-tzu too. As a puppy we called her the pyrana fish - she'd put her head in the bowl and wouldn't even come up for air.

As she got older - she wanted other food - the hard food wasn't good enough. She likes soft food - but that is not good for her little chicklet teeth.

If the pup is hungry - she will eat. Just leave the food there for her.

If it goes too many days, see a vet. They have a special prescribed food that will help your Shih-tzu get back on the right track.

Answer 9

Unless she isn't eating for more than 3 days- then she is fine. Many dog breeders will fast their dogs to make them more interested in their food.

If she is lethargic or acting wierd in other ways you should consider taking her to the vet as there may be somthing else wrong.

I would not suggest giving her any more "special food" as this just caters to her finiky tastes. My dog is the same way and I made the mistake of catering to her wishes when she was a pup. I had to do more work than was necessary to break her of that bad habit.

Also dogs are smarter than us- sometimes they just don't need the extra calories and they will fast themselves as necessary to stay in balance.

Answer 10

there are alot of puppy food out there for puppies. you might want to change her brand. or change her flavor. she may not like the texture. get something that tastes like chicken seeing how she liked the chicken flavor stuff you gave her before.