Tequila's gonna starve

2398 Views 25 Replies 17 Participants Last post by rachael7, Nov 24, 2004

Sweety

Discussion Starter · Nov 21, 2004

Hi all

Well, I'm sure I've posted on this problem I've been having with Tequila before, but it's worse now than ever.

She just won't eat. I've got 4 different types of puppy chow and she won't have any of em. She totally off of the tinned stuff and won't have the puppy pouches anymore.

I haven't been giving her table scraps, etc cause I didn't want her to expect that all the time. She's just stopped eating. She'll have one or two bites from me when I've got it in my hand, but not nearly enough to keep her sustained. I've even tried mixing the wet stuff in with the dry food. Do you think she won't eat dry food if she's teething (last vet visit she said Tequila still had lots of little teeth).

The vet says she won't starve herself, but I dunno, she's soooo stubborn.

I totally lost it the other day with her and went to the supermarket and got her some adult dog food. Well, she ate that ... it was the Cesars foil packs. She's still only about 8 months, and I know she should still be on the puppy stuff, but I just can't see her starve. She's acting and looking perfectly normal, but I can't help but worry.

PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!!!

1 - 20 of 26 Posts

KB

· #2 · Nov 21, 2004

I have the same problem w/Kemo. I thought I found a solution but he has reverted right back to his old ways.

I am seriously thinking of my own diet for him of human grade food stew or something w/supplements cause I am at my wits end too. Today I had beef stew that I made and I took his food and covered it in the stew gravy...then he ate it! I have tried dog gravies and he does not like them.....he is like the wind, ever changing. I have never met a dog so stubborn as him. He has gone 4 days w/out food.......I finally cooked him a hamburger :roll: It was amazing he came back to life. I have spent LOTS of money and have given LOTS of food away......he thinks he is human and that is what he wants! I have tried all methods etc.....I know I could not have held out for 4 days! :lol:

Boogaloo

· #3 · Nov 21, 2004

In my opinion, I think adult food at 8 months would be OK to give. I mean, Chihuahua's pretty much stop growing by 6 or 7 months anyway. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong!) Of course, puppy food would be better but if she won't eat it, what other choice do you have? Can you mix 1/2 puppy and 1/2 dog food together?

Sorry to hear it is such a struggle to get her to eat. I guess I shouldn't complain about Bosco trying to eat EVERYTHING in sight!

Good luck!

Dee

· #4 · Nov 22, 2004

Guess I'm lucky, too. Chico is only 11 wks old but he loves his Iams puppy food.

Auggies Mom

· #5 · Nov 22, 2004

Ok I hate to admit this but this is what I do for Auggie and it works. He used to be on the try a different food a week plan too. I buy frozen skinless chicken tenders and bake them 3 at a time. I cut them up one at a time into very small cubes. I use them as training treats and when I feed him ( he gets a mix of mostly dry with about a tablespoon of wet ) I tear up one cube of the chicken into little tiny pieces and sprinkle it over the top of his wet/dry mix. He has never refused to eat it since I started that . Plus I feel like plain baked chicken can't be bad for him. I know SPOILED :lol:

Kelly

· #6 · Nov 22, 2004

I have a friend that also has a chihuahua and she will not eat dog food. Bootsie eats whatever her and her family eat. I can't imagine it's healthy.
I personally don't want to cook for a dog. I don't think there is anything wrong in doing that but if she eats the adult food I would continue that.

Sweety

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 22, 2004

Thanks for all the info guys.

I have been doing a full pantry cleanout and found a bag of Royal Cairn (sp?) from when Tequila went to her puppy socialisation party . I've never used it cause she's was pretty good on the Pedigree puppy stuff then. Well, I've decided I have nothing to lose, so I've given it a try. She had 2 bites and then she was off, but I managed to get to eat a little by handfeeding her (yes I know, bad again

). Thing is with this dog food is that it soooo small. Maybe the Pedigree dry is just too big for a little mouth and has put her off.

If she sticks to it I'll keep her on that, albiet £15 for a little bag (that's about $27 for those in the US).

Does anyone know if dogs lose their appetite when they are teething?

ILuvMyPup

· #8 · Nov 22, 2004

omg, I'm having the same problem. I feed him the cesars wet food also, but he seldomly eats it. Koda will be a year old next month, and he still has baby teeth, so its hurting him to eat hardly anything. I hope everything works out!!!

Richie

· #9 · Nov 22, 2004

It seems to me that a lot of puppies just don't like puppy food! Richie used to have very bad appetite and mild diarrhea every second day or so when he was on puppy food. Then our vet told us we should mix puppy food with adult food and switch completely to adult food within a month (he was only 5 moths then). We did that and everything is just fine now!
I would also agree that giving pieces from the table is ,first of all, not healthy and secondly, you'll teach your pup to beg for it. I give mine some boiled chicken from time to time with his regular food. I think, this is ok.

Richie's mom

Cuddles

· #10 · Nov 22, 2004

To tell the truth nothing really wrong with people food . Just make sure you get a list of what dogs CAN"T have. Actually if you have children and lots of littl letover bits it's easier and cheaper.

Peppy's Mum

· #11 · Nov 22, 2004

My grandma's dog is a chihuahua cross silky terrier and she has the same problem. She will go days without eating and then she will eat then go days without eating again. My grandma buys her 'human food' like mince and stuff and heats that up for her because she will eat that over dog food any day. But she has done this for as long as I can remember. Like every week I got over there and Grandma will say to me 'Penny's gone off her food again'

So perhaps its a chihuahua thing :?:

Ms_P

· #12 · Nov 22, 2004

I think if you are going to feed strickly people food you had better do some research. I know there are things dogs need for nutrition that people don't.
If you are going to feed people food find out what those things are and if there is some alternate way to give it to them. Like vitamine pills.
Also think about what you are doing. Is it really better for the dog or just better for you.
When you got your puppys you agreed to the responsibily of keeping the dog healthy.
You love them like they are your children, but you have to remember they are still dogs not humans.

Ms_P

· #13 · Nov 22, 2004

Peppy's Mum said:
My grandma's dog is a chihuahua cross silky terrier and she has the same problem. She will go days without eating and then she will eat then go days without eating again. My grandma buys her 'human food' like mince and stuff and heats that up for her because she will eat that over dog food any day. But she has done this for as long as I can remember. Like every week I got over there and Grandma will say to me 'Penny's gone off her food again'

So perhaps its a chihuahua thing :?:

No it's not a chihuahua thing at all. It's a people thing.
As much as you don't want to admit it, you are doing this to your dog.
If a dog is healthy it will NOT starve itself. And the more you give in, the more they will take advantage. If you want to spoil them you have to suffer the consequences.
As long as there arn't some underlying health issues like stomach problems, alergies or teeth problems the dog will eat what you feed it.

Ask your vets about it, after all they went to school for many years to learn this stuff. Who should know best? Ask more than 1 vet, what will they tell you? Don't take my word for it, ask the vets.

I am sorry, I will probably upset a lot of people here with this post, but you need to wake up and realize it's your own fault that they won't eat.

Peppy's Mum

· #14 · Nov 22, 2004

Im new to owning a chihuahua so dont have a lot of experience with them.
The reason I thought it might be a chihuahua thing is because Ive never heard of any other breed of dog that will go off their food like my grandmas dog, and the dogs ive read about on here.
There may be other breeds, just saying I havent heard of them.

Boogaloo

· #15 · Nov 22, 2004

Ms_P said:
Also think about what you are doing. Is it really better for the dog or just better for you.

From what I have read, it sounds like the people who are faced with this problem are NOT trying to do what's best for them, they truly seem to have their dogs best interest in mind. Home-cooking food for your dog is a lot of work and I am sure it is a lot more expensive that regular dog food.

I buy Bosco Iams and he has always loved it so I am not going to mess that up, however who knows what goes into that product? I sure don't.

I know my dog trainer as well as my vet said cooking meals for your dog is really good for them, provided they do get their necessary vitamins, minerals, calorie intake, etc. <--That's the hard part!

Supplements are available to give to your dog to ensure they get their necessary levels of nutrients, though.

I found a lot of really interesting information at this site:
http://www.pamperedpuppy.com/features/200410_feedingpt3.html

Ms. P, what do you feed your Chihuahua/Chihuahuas (do you have more than 1, I don't remember)? Maybe that food would taste good to Tequila!

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FJW

· #16 · Nov 22, 2004

Our trainer told us that if our dogs quit eating puppy food there was nothing wrong with switching to adult food. There is still great nutrition, just not alot of the richness (and fats) that puppies need to start out with. Mother's milk is really rich and fatty and after they are a few months old, they don't need as much.

Maybe Tequila is balking at that richness and just wants some plain ole food, which she is getting in the adult food that she will eat.

Grizzly (6 months old) has been eating adult Maximum Nutrition Lamb & Rice for about 3-4 weeks now and is doing very well.

OzzyAndLilysMom

· #17 · Nov 22, 2004

ozzy was the same he went off his pedigree puppy at about 6 7 months so what I used to do was (he loved the adult food of butchers in the foil trays 4 in a box and) so I used to mix half pedigree puppy and half of the butchers adult and then he would eat it :wave:

Sweety

Discussion Starter · #18 · Nov 22, 2004

Hmmm, well let me see now ... Ms_P, not too sure who you were referring to regarding the whole fault thing. Were you just speaking about people who cook for their dogs?

Just asking because I in no way feel it is my fault that Tequila isn't eating. And I haven't given in and fed her scraps from the table either. I just decided to try her on something different. I also noticed that the Pedigree puppy food was still quite large and very very crunchy and I can see she has a hard time eating it, she takes forever on just one piece.

I have also spoken to 2 diffent vets and a nurse who advised me that if she isn't eating I should just leave her and she will eat, then they said, if that doesn't work then try changing the food and one even said that these toy dogs are commonly known for picky eating, so table scraps wouldn't be too bad.

One of the main reasons I won't feed Tequila people food is because if I go on holiday, she stays with the breeder and I don't think she will cook her people food, so I prefer not to worry myself half to death when I'm on holiday.

Now, I don't mean it to sound like I am having a go at you Ms_P, just want people to know I'm not being lazy or hasty in my asking for advise. I have done loads of research and but my concern for Tequila not eating will always be there. I guess in a way I feel the same as if my son didn't eat, I'm sorry, but I certainly wouldn't just let him starve no matter what the Doctor said.

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Kari

· #19 · Nov 23, 2004

I don't think they'll let themselves starve to death but I tell you what, I don't spoil my dogs at all when it comes to food (I spoil them other ways :wink: )and Mr. Peepers will NOT eat at all sometimes. I don't give him other food, I just remove the food he won't eat and try again when it's time for dinner (I feed them 2 times a day). If he's hungry enough, he'll eat.

I know firsthand how frustrating it is when they won't eat, they are like our kids and we want them to be healthy. There is nothing wrong with you trying different foods to find one she likes. But if you try it too many times, maybe that's when the dog feels like it's o.k. not to eat because you'll find her something else.

Buster loves to eat and he'll eat any dog food but Mr. Peepers is soooo different. It really is strange. Buster won't touch people food or cat food (not that I give them people food, I don't) and Mr. Peepers loves people food, cat food and has been known to steal food off the table, when we aren't looking ofcourse. :evil:

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Dee

· #20 · Nov 23, 2004

imkari said:
I don't think they'll let themselves starve to death but I tell you what, I don't spoil my dogs at all when it comes to food (I spoil them other ways :wink: )and Mr. Peepers will NOT eat at all sometimes. I don't give him other food, I just remove the food he won't eat and try again when it's time for dinner (I feed them 2 times a day). If he's hungry enough, he'll eat.

I agree with imkari and with Ms_P to a degree. It's sometimes hard not to treat these cute little dogs children. But there IS a difference between a dog being stubborn and wanting his own way with food and one who truly is a picky eater...I've had both. The vet gave me something to stimulate the picky eaters appetite and she was on it for about six months. After she grew up a bit, she had no problems with eating any kind of dogfood.

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