Eating issues. Please help!

Good day everybody,

I have a 13 week old female staffy. Most amazing pup I've ever had.

I only have one area of concern, and would appreciate some input.

My problem is that she has a low appetite. I live in South Africa, and have literally tried all the best brands of kibble food available here. She simply do not eat it. I am currently using Royal Canin as it is the most expensive one in RSA and the only one she vaguely eats.

According to the feeding instructions of the food, she should be eating about 2.5 'Royal canin' cup fulls a day. If given only as is, she would only eat about, half a cup. (Breeder fed a good, but inferior brand of food)

I daily take her for a walk and play with her a lot. Afterwards she just falls asleep for the night... ( so she does have a fair energy requirement).

I have taken her to the vet. He did blood works and stool sample analysis, and besides some of my wife's hair (I am bald, so definitely not guilty here, haha) in her stool, everything was 100%.

Currently, we fried and dried a kilogram of mince, and re-hydrate about table spoonful full of the mince and mix it with her kibble. Still, we only get her to eat about 1.1 cup of it per day.

She likes eggs (2 X scrambled, no salt), but I don't want to give more than once a week.

Guys, sorry for the very long post, But I would really appreciate some help or pointers...

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Does she look underweight? If not I wouldn't worry too much, personally I've never measured Daisy's food! But saying that I didn't have her from a pup.

If she likes the eggs you are OK to give 2 or 3 times a week, scrambled or a lot of people simply crack the raw egg over kibble (someone will confirm if that is OK for a pup?) Also you could try adding some tinned sardines (in oil or tomato sauce) to her food. I also use tinned mackerel and salmon. How many meals a day is her food split into?

She does not seem underweight. But I would have thought that during this important growth phase that she should be eating better...

The breeder told us to feed her 3 times a day. We tried this, but she only eats some at 2 of the sessions. (without exception). We have tried even smaller portions over 4 sessions, still only eats at 2 of them...

I'll try the sadines/ raw egg over the kibble.

She doesn't have to have all of her meals as kibble at this stage , you can try other stuff to keep her interested such as breakfast some oats made with goats milk , some cooked mince , and maybe just 1 kibble meal , gradually going more over to kibble as that should be her long term food for all the right goodness. it is good for them to eat well at this stage and have a nice chunky pup.
Also have you not thought of trying her on raw it can be done from being a puppy and there are a few on here that can advise you , she may take to it very well , but you don't know until you try

eggs are fine for dogs, you can mix her kibble with one every day. you can also add sardinnes, chicken etc.

I have the same problem with mine the last few days she just turns her nose up at her dinner shes always been on wainwrites but I recently changed the flavour and im wondering if this may be the problem. I added gravy this morning and she still only ate half for lunch I tried mixing in a small amount of sardines and mixed it in well and she ate it all. This is all well and good but not sure how many times a week she can be given sardines.

You can add a sardine with every meal if you want, or a raw egg. You could also put a couple of teaspoons of salmon oil on the food daily.

Is your pup otherwise healthy - lively, happy & drinking well, growing, but not underweight?

She has been fine apart from the last couple of days she doesn't seem as chunky as normal and although plays still she seems to sleep more than normal x

Thanx for all the advice. As for my pup, besides eating less than I would like, she is happy, playfull, energetic and drinks water regularly.

Will keep you updated regarding what works or any new issues.

Thanx for everybody's advice.

M

Hiya there, I would not worry at all. Is she gaining weight in line with her age? Our 19 week old is on the same food but bought from the vets and she will only eat in the morning and evening as well. She will rarely eat the full amount it says on the packet. Remember that the recommended intake is only a guide and all dogs may eat more or less than this amount. Is she eating anything else - dinner scraps, treats?

The other's suggestions are great - I give our dog half a can of sardines (this is 2 1/2 sardines) with oil and mix this through her morning kibble twice a week (so one can a week usually Tues/Thur morning-I save the other half in the fridge). On the other days I might mix raw or scrambled egg through her kibble and some morning and in the evening I leave it dry so that she doesn't get too fussy. I feed amounts more based on what she's consuming at the moment rather than what is says to feed them. What is left after 30mins I cover with plastic and put in the fridge (sometimes she's only eaten 1/2 a cup in one meal). If its just dry I cover with plastic and leave out on the bench for the morning. I am however reluctant to keep the kibble once mixed with raw egg - that get's chucked if there's any left over. There is NEVER any left over when mixed with sardines and their oil. I might try some of the other's suggestions myself like the sardine oil.

You might like to offer her a chicken neck in the middle of the day. These are usually a firm favourite and good for dogs to chew on. You'll need to watch her the first few times to make sure she eats properly doesn't eat too quickly etc but it is perfectly safe for dogs to eat raw chicken bones (as long as they are human grade and not going rotten). You could probably feed her two of these a day on a regular basis as well as the kibble morning and evening.

Let us know how she get's on.