Pup won't eat :(

Hi my staffys 17 weeks old & she won't eat her food unless I sit there and feed it to her in my hand, then she gobbles it down, but when its dinner time and I put it down for her she sniffs it then walks away so I have to sit there and hand feed it to her ... What do I do so she eats it herself? I know if I keep doing it then it will become a habit but she doesn't eat it otherwise?

I am probably going to sound mean , but they will do what you key them get away with . I know I would worry if my pup wasn't eating but a dog won't ever starve itself. I would put the food down and if she doesn't show an interest within 5 min , lift it up. Do that at every meal. Even if she hary eats all day she will wake up hungry the next morning and you will stop the cycle.

* Hardly

So if she doesn't eat it, just lift it back up again until her next feeding time? I'm worried she won't grow at a normal rate though

Sounds like it's already a habbit !!

What are u feeding her ?

Is she otherwise in good health ?

It could be she's used to u feeding her by hand.... A dog will rarely let itself starve if food is being offered.
I'd suggest putting her food down, maby with a splash of natural yogurt ontop to tempt her to eat it. Leave it down for 10-15 mins, then remove it.
If she dosent eat it, she goes hungry till next meal - and repeat.

If she is otherwise healthy & lively then I'd say she's having you on!

I'd put her food down, leave it for 10 minutes & then take it up again. If she finds dry food (I take it you're feeding dry?) boring you could mix a little bit of sardine or wet food in to make it more appetising.

I was feeding her bakers but there's a lot of bad reports on it so I changed it immediately! Well weened her off it immediately & yes she's fine in health.

Sorry she's now on K9 optimum x

Puppies don't generally like kibble. Moisten it down or add some gravy or tuna to it to make it more appetizing. Then do as said, leave it then pick it up. A healthy dog will not let itself starve and i can garuntee that the problem will be resolved in a few days and she will be no worse off. Continuing the way you are going will have a bad effect on her, she will learn that food comes from hands and will in the future go for hands automatically thinking that its food.

I'll try mixing it with tuna for her tea tonight see if that works, I just want her to develop like normal & not have any problems. I won't hand feed her again now and just put it down & if she doesn't touch it pick it up until next meal time.

-I've also heard about "salmon oil" is that it? Where can I get this from & what do I do just put it onto dry food?

Logan started this for me once and it turned out my mum had been feeding him with a fork when he was at her house and he expected me to do it too!!

He is a very picky eater. If you mix in a tablespoon of olive oil she will eat it. It tastes great and its good for them. When she stops eating take the bowl away and give it back in 5 minutes or so.

She's just pushing her boundaries and picking up habits.

Haha feeding him with a fork! Classic ... Well guys I've just gave Lola her tea I mixed her dry food with mackerel in olive oil ... She woofed it down, every little bit! I will now be going to the supermarket stocking up with tinned fish! Thanks for the advice guys!

MelCollierX wrote:Haha feeding him with a fork! Classic ... Well guys I've just gave Lola her tea I mixed her dry food with mackerel in olive oil ... She woofed it down, every little bit! I will now be going to the supermarket stocking up with tinned fish! Thanks for the advice guys!

Don't give too much oil,just literally a spoonful of drained tuna (sunflower oil not brine) will do. or even a slice of ham or a bit of chicken. anything tasty.

Pleased to hear that Lola is eating better now, we add just a little cooked, cooled chicken to Rocky dinner (he is on Barking Heads TLC kibble) which he always finishes off very well.

I wouldn't use tinned tuna, it has high levels of mercury! Use tinned sardines in oil/tomato sauce instead! You can also add a raw egg with the shell included.

We did the oil trick sometimes or a spoonfull of philidelphia

Hot water to release the smells and create a gravy of sorts with a spoonful of oil!

Moll was a nightmare at times with eating and they push you but don't give in to create a fussy monster!! Despite all the worrying you will do (I did) they won't starve themselves. We had a day or two at times where she didn't really eat anything all day.

Nope ill be a tough cookie with her, the little demon having me on like that! & no ill give her sardines not a big fan of tuna myself, I gave her mackerel in oil tonight, is that okay? Bloody dear though! But she ate it so I'm happy!

Tia went through that, would look at it and walk away, i picked it up then and put one down again on her next feed, so on so on, in the end she knew if she didnt eat it, it would be taken away, thought she may have been teething but even when the food had hot water added to it to soften it she still didnt want it, but managed to eat a plate of chicken! she was just being picky! eats it now

If it went soggy and she left it our chickens were always very happy as they got the leftovers!

MelCollierX wrote:Nope ill be a tough cookie with her, the little demon having me on like that! & no ill give her sardines not a big fan of tuna myself, I gave her mackerel in oil tonight, is that okay? Bloody dear though! But she ate it so I'm happy!

Yeah mackerel should be fine! I get Morrisons own tinned sardines in tomato sauce for 47p for my boy since he won't eat raw fish

I get mackerel or sardines in tomato sauce in Tesco for pretty cheap. He doesn't get it everyday though, just now and again as an added bonus, he likes his food no matter what

Okay will do, thank you xx