what to feed a 8 week old

[Frzframe]

Mitzi is almost 8 weeks old and I don't know what she was feed before coming home. She wont eat puppy food - not even when I soften it up. I've been using canned puppy food mixed with it and she will eat that some of the time but it gives her the runs. What should I do? Any suggestions?

[Mark]

The brand or contents of the canned food may be a problem for Mitzi. What brand are you currently using? Try to avoid any foods with corn or corn meal and make sure that meat or (type of meat) Meal is the first ingredient listed. If you give her plain, white rice and she still has bowel problems (or vomitting) - then it is probable that she has a bug and should see a Vet.

Please do keep us posted!

Mark

[Krista]

Well I prefer to feed dry kibble, but thats just me.

I would look for a dog food that high quality.

Things I WOULD NOT want to see on the label:
by -products
digest
chemical preservatives like BHA or ethyoxquin
a lot of corn or corn prodcucts -should not be in top ingredients.
sugars (corn syrup, sorghum, beet pulp..etc)

Have you tried feeding kibbles one at a time by hand? Sometimes that helps them get used to eating it. I'm assuming you just got her, so everything is new. She is probably just a bit nervous and uncertain. Show her lots of Love, but do not just keep changing food to please her. -Of course if food makes her sick, or if she is allergic thats a good reason to change. A simple switch in foods can give a dog diareah, that is why you should mix new foods in gradually to old foods when you switch if possible.

Have you had her vet checked yet?? All new pups should be ASAP. They need shots and wormings and general check ups.

Good luck!

[Oscar's Mom]

Is it possible to find out what she was eating before you brought her home? A change in food will give her the runs if not done over several days. What are you feeding her? She may have been feed food with a high corn content and your does not, so it might not taste as yummy to her, she may need time to adjust. When Oscar came home he was eating Purina puppy food but we switched him to Nutro Puppy Max (no by products or corn)over the first week. I did soften it with a little warm water in the beginning.

[Frzframe]

Thanks for the info. And yes I took her to see the vet already she is healthy and weighs 3 pounds 2oz. She may be still having a reaction to the shot and wormer he gave her. I'll be sure to check her food labels when I get home thanks for the help.~Shonda aka Frzframe

[Jennifer]

I had the same problem with Betty not wanting to eat the dry food when I got her. She was a pound puppy so we didn't know what she had eaten before. For about a week, one of us would sit with her while she ate. We started of hand feeding her, after a few days just sitting with her while she ate would do the trick. If one of us didn't sit on the floor with her, she wouldn't eat. Maybe this would work.

The first time we used the can open we realized that she had probably been eating wet food and never had dry food. She did the dance all around the kitchen. Funny, the things that dogs will tell you.

[Frzframe]

Your right, Mitz knows a good thing when she smells it. Our Emily dog has no teeth so we feed her canned food and when Mitz catches a whiff of it boy does she go nuts. But she can't have any cause she's just a baby - not that she believes that she already thinks we are hers and not the other way around.
But she does get a small amount of canned puppy food. TeeHee
~Shonda

[dutchman]

Having just had older (youngest 6 months) rescue dogs as an adult it's been a long time sine I've worked with a small pup. I do recall one of the little dachshund girls we had when I was growing up got a mixture of soft boiled egg and cottage cheese blended with her dry food. I think she only got about a teaspoon with each feeding. The breeder my folks had gotten her from used that trick to help wean the pups. I know she always got excited when ever my mom would have cottage cheese herself. She never forgot how special it was to her even long after she no longer was getting it on her food.

If my memory is correct that was the same little girl who was paper trained when my folks got her at just 8 weeks and was housebroken in just another two weeks. A smart little girl and a good breeder who had spent some time working with the pups before sending them on to their new homes. I know a few siblings were not allowed to go to their new homes at the same time we got our little girl because the breeder didn't feel they as individuals were ready.

Have fun with the little one.

Tom, Frank and Tanner

[OneCoolPup]

I had the same problem with Sadie, and after about a week that I had her and she wasn't eating very well, I got a sample of Science diet Puppy for small breeds, and she really liked it. The kibbles were very small, and she was 3 pounds at the time too, so do you think it might be the kibble size? When we ran out of the Science Diet, I started giving her Iams and she eats that just fine. I think the kibble size makes all the difference when they're that tiny http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

[Frzframe]

After I had the scare with Mitzi the vet told me she would eat Science Diet canned puppy food. She did and loves it. Then I was to put her on Science Diet dry puppy food. Guess what she wont eat it. I've tried adding it to the canned that she loveshttp://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/facelick.gif I've tried hand feeding it to her but she just wont eat it. My vet said she would eat the dry and not to worry but he is wrong. Should I just let her continue with the canned or should I keep with the dry? Oh by the way this is now the fourth bag of food she has turned up her nose at. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/disgust.gif
~Shonda

[Krista]

If you keep changing her foods when she does not eat, you will have a picky and finnicky eater the rest of your dog's life!!

I'm personally not a fan of Science Diet...if you read my origninal post with ingredients I do not like to see in my dog food you and check the SD label, you'll see why. Just because a vet promotes the food does not mean it is what is best for your dog, many of them make money off the foods they push.

Remember to mix foods in gradually when you switch...over at least a week. That means even if switching from wet to dry of the same brand.

In my opinion, the vet is right, She WILL eat it if she gets hungry enough.

some brands you might want to look into are:
Flint River Ranch
Innova
Canidae
California Natural
Wysong
Solid Gold

if you don't have any of those -they are avaialable by order too -or maybe some of these you could find
PetSmart Premiere
Natures Recipe -NOT the breed specific kind
Nutro Naturals

It sounds like you have one spoiled little girl, as all dachsies should be, but remember YOU are in charge. Don't let her "boss" you around with demands over food.

[Oscar's Mom]

Krista - just wondering why you dont like the Natures Recipe breed specific kind?

[~Jen~]

I just poped in for a minute in addition to the good foods that Krista mentioned i would like to add the BARF (Bones and Raw Food Diet) and Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice puppy formula here is a link for the BARF recipe you can buy Sensible Choice at any of your better petstores although i dont think petsmart sells it maybe Petco if they have that chain in your area. Sensible Choice Contains NO corn or byproducts and is all natural. Good Luck
http://home.earthlink.net/~msalvail/barflink.html

http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif
Jen

[dutchman]

Another good brand of food is the AVO products. You can check them out at www.avoderm.com (http://www.avoderm.com) They can be difficult to find since they are not marketed in the chain pet stores or grocery stores. In this area I go to a local feed store. For my adult dogs I'm using AVO-Derm and have started mixing in the ActiveCare.

Good luck,

Tom

[Krista]

Oscar's Mom:

While the herding/hound food from Natures Recipe has a lot of good things in it...Chicken By product meal is the 4th ingredient. I think the best dog foods are free of by products. By -products are not fit for human consumption, not easily digested, and may even be things such as feathers, feet, beaks...etc.... That is why I don't like that formula.

the other foods mentioned are good ones too...and there are still more available... just read the lables

[Frzframe]

The vet said the same thing about changing her food but she didn't eat and got very sick. I have a $100 vet bill to prove it. I can't afford another vet bill like that. I guess I'll just keep trying with soaking the dry and adding it to the canned food. If any of you think I should just go with moist dry and wait her out let me know. I'm at my wits end trying to get her to eat dry food.
~Shonda

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Frzframe on October 05, 2000 at 03:48 PM</font>

[Krista]

Well if you want to feed her canned food, I really don't see too much of a problem with it, as long as you will brush her teeth often.

I still think you should find a canned food that has better ingredients....but thats just my personal opinion. Flint River Ranch has a product called Dry Water...you add warm water to make a soft and warm meal. It uses only human-grade quality ingredients and will end up being cheaper than canned foods since you feed less and aren't paying for the cans/individual packaging.

If I were you, I might drizel some slightly melted, natural, sugar-free peanut butter over the kibbles to entice her to eat them....

Good Luck.

[Cindi]

What I am most surprised at is that the breeder of the puppy 1) let you have it so early and 2) did not send some food home with the puppy so that you wouldn't HAVE this problem in the first place. My dogs cannot eat SD without gassing us out of the house so I hope you have better luck. One of the problems with a puppy so young is that she still might be getting her molars and it might be difficult to eat hard food. When I have puppies learning to eat, I put hot water and puppy food (dry kind) in the blender until it is mush. I add a little cottage cheese while it is being ground up and sometimes powdered milk or goats milk. The remainder can be refrigerated and then reheated/warmed before giving it to the baby.
Just another idea for you to try but if you do decide to try it, use a high quality puppy food (ie any that have been mentioned or Nutro or Purina Pro-Plan; I have had wonderful results with the 2 I've used.)
Good luck!! <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm1.gif" border=0>

[Frzframe]

Thanks I will go home tonight and blend her some food. The problem is I didn't buy her from the breeder I got her from an intermediate seller. I did ask what she was being feed and all she would tell me is puppy chow. I know she is still getting her teeth in cause she chews on her toys back where her molars are coming in. I know I don't won't to spoil her rotten but after the scare and the vet telling me that if I waited until after the weekend it might have been to late for Mitzi I don't want to take any chances with her so now I am babying her to much. But what can I say I've had her for only two weeks and I love her like crazy already. I'll let you know what she thinks of her blended dinner.

[Frzframe]

Thanks for all the great advise. I went home and found the blender - a feat in itself, we've recently moved and still have some items in boxes. I gave Mitzi a little of it she wasn't to excited but didn't turn up her cute little nose at it. Then this morning I added some of it to her canned food and she ate it!! Maybe this time it will work! All the other food she wouldn't even taste or if she did she would spit it out and look at me as if saying "what in the heck is that it sure isn't food!" I don't want to try yet another kind so I am going to stick with S. Diet, I know most of you don't agree but for now I know she'll eat it. One more question why cottage cheese?http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/blah.gif
~Shonda

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Frzframe on October 06, 2000 at 01:56 PM</font>

[Cindi]

Cottage cheese is a source of calcium and protein, it's not upsetting to the tummy and for some reason my dogs love it even when they aren't feeling all that great. The puppies usually stumble over themselves and each other getting to it http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif
And once you get her in the habit of eating you can start backing off the canned food maybe. Since she had such a tough start, getting her to eat regularly might be just like getting her used to a 'good' habit. Unfortunately, dachshunds are known for not having the cleanest teeth as adults and the less soft food they are 'attached' to the better. AND, canned food is usually fattening http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif)

[Frzframe]

Well as of last night Mitzi decided that dry food isn't so bad. I don't know what took her so long to figure it out - heck when she is outside she eats acorns and rocks! Last night she thought that the dry cat food was yummy. Needless to say the cat didn't like Mitzi sniffing around her food while she was trying to eat. So I took her to the bedroom where I had some of her food and hand feed her. At first she spit it out looked at it then ate it. She ate every bite in her dish! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/bounce.gif Happy, happy, Joy, joy. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/bounce.gif
I have up new pictures of my baby if anyone wants to see them at www.ott.net/~shonda (http://www.ott.net/~shonda)

Mitzi and Shonda too

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Frzframe on October 12, 2000 at 03:39 PM</font>

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Frzframe on October 12, 2000 at 04:41 PM</font>

[LisaH]

Mitzi is ADORABLE; my husband would be very jealous because he really wanted a black-and-tan longhair. "Those cute little red feet!" he chortles whenever he sees one. Our Annie is a sable longhair. Mitzi has that puppy expression I love so much, sort of "Hi! I'm new on the planet!"

[Frzframe]

Lisa-
Mitzi thanks you. Of course you don't have to tell her she is adorable cause she was born knowing it!! I wanted something different in a dog and looked at all kinds of colors for dachshunds but I just kept coming back to black and tan LOL. Mitzi yep she was the one I fell for her at first sight. She is a keeper all right.
Shonda