griff Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 i have a pup, we have tried two different flavours of puppy food and she isn't even eating 2 meals a day.. she really doesn't like it but will happily eat the food laney is on, does she really need puppy food? my theory is that years ago there was no complete food and dogs used to eat scraps and survived so i think she will be o.k on his food. i am worried sick she isn't going to gain weight as she will not eat her puppy food no matter how hungry she gets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Grose Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 Probably not, depends on what you are feeding Laney. I agree with your theory and also in the wild dogs would all eat the same prey that was killed. Pups might have smaller pieces and the mum may have selected certain cuts for them but they didn't have any specially killed for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 What are you feeding Laney on? Do they do a puppy version of that? Also if you are feeding her dried food and she is teething, she might not want to eat because her teeth are sore, whereas if you are feeding Laney a wet food, she might prefer that as it's softer for her to eat. We are having to change Charlie's food as he is struggling with kibble now as his old teeth are sore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted December 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 thankyou both, i am feeding laney this http://www.wolfit.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=2_11&products_id=77 they don't do a puppy version, only chicken and rice, i have given her a large handful and she has ate the lot, the most she has eaten in one go since i have had her! they are quite small biscuits anyway so she has had no bother eating them, i think i will just stick to feeding her those.... just need to guess how much to feed her now Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 As you are feeding Laney the working dog food, it is high in protein anyway for working dogs. Puppy food tends to be high in protein and just small kibble, so I imagine Dakota will be fine eating Laney's food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Grose Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 Regarding amounts - have a look at how much she should be eating as a full grown adult and feed that much over how ever many meals she has. Certainly that is what we do when we are raw feeding. ie a 20kg adult dog should have between 400g and 600g a day as an adult so a pup would have the same amount over 4-6 meals a day. I don't know if this equation works with dry food but it might be a starting point for you, or compare the protein and calorie values on the puppy food she won't eat with the Wolfit one and then feed the amount the puppy food suggests with relevant adjustments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happylittlegreensquirrel Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 most dogs here are fed on curry and rice or fish and rice and there is no puppy version of that and if they get enough food they grow ! I have many house holds with vegetarian dogs who are in stunning health a lot of food companies do samples , why not try asking for a few and see if you can find some thing to the pups taste ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 I'd give her what she'll eat. If it does turn out to be lacking something you can always supplement it with more protein (or whatever) Good excuse for a pic though? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmagic Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 One of my retrievers would not eat puppy food from teh day she arrived in the house, despite eating it when with the breeder. She would eat my adult retrievers food ,even picking it out if I mixed them. I eventually fed her as I had fed my pups years ago. Weetabix for breakfast. Scrambled egg, fish fingers, macaroni cheese, or boiled chicken, with some plain mixer mixed in. Some mince if we were having it. At six months she went onto adult food. Now that I feed raw my pups get exactly the same diet as the adults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted December 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 Dakota and my beautiful diesel dakota on her own i have fed her one meal of laneys biscuits and she has nearly managed the lot!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 puppy food tends to be slightly higher in protein and perhaps calories than the same manufacturers standard food for older dogs but I can't see any reason at all that any decent should cause problems - particularly if the dog is more inclined to eat it than the puppy food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted December 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2013 Thanks Ian she is still not eating 3meals a day, back to the vets Monday....i hope she has gained weight!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 I'm not sure how long you've had her & you may well have already tried / thought of all this but off the top of my head Is she eating the food Laney is on seperately or stealing it from Laneys dish? Would she eat more if fed away from Laney, if fed a wet food rather than complete? Anything that may have caused a loss of appetite (eg recent vaccinations, change in environment) or do you think she's just picky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted January 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 to be honest ian i think she is just picky, she will eat biscuits if you hand feed her... i use them for training, she will eat the food sometimes if i soak it and then the next time she wants it dry, she seems to be a snacker and obviously i don't want to get into leaving food down so i remove it. i have just bought some weetabix and goats milk today to give that a try, basically i think she is just fussy and i don't want to encourage it but i understand she is a young pup who is growing and needs to eat. she doesn't care if laney is there and she will pinch food out of his bowl... and he has food issues himself (his stand has to be in an exact position or else he won't eat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted January 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 well Dakota had her second jabs and microchip yesterday, she was weighed and has put weight on, she was 4.1kg 3 weeks ago and is now 4.7kilos, she still isn't eating a great deal... i mentioned it to the nurse and he said put her food down, leave it for a while and if she doesn't eat it take it back up and feed her nothing until her next meal (which i have been doing anyway), he also said it would be better for her to be on a puppy food but to be honest i am not buying her anymore foods to try . She seems to like to eat mud and grass and i have just given up on worrying about her eating for now, if she begins to look under weight then i will have a chat with the vet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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