Hi

I have a 14 week old Westie and two weeks ago he suddenly started refusing his food. Up until them he had been eating three meals a day, puppy mixer and tinned food, without any problems at all.

I had him vaccinated at 12 weeks and it seems that since then he has absolutely no appetite whatsoever. I have had him back to the Vets, a week ago, but they could not find anything wrong with him, temperature fine, no allergic reaction to the vaccine, nothing apparant at all. He is still full of life and will play for hours but every time I offer him his food he just turn his head away or walks away. Obviously he is eating small amounts but just seems to pick at everything I give him.

Do you think I have a 'picky' dog and if so any suggestions what to feed him. I have been told that I should take his food away if he does not eat it but I feel so guilty that he is not eating. I have tried giving his different types of dried food but he seems to eat it as if is were a treat, by taking it away from the bowl one piece at a time.

Any suggestions ?

Thanks, Julie

Welcome to the forum Julie Leigh

I have two Cocker pups (seven months old now). One has always been a 'sludge gulper' but the other has had similar problems to those you describe.
It was after her second vaccination that she began to be a picky eater - she had been OK up until then. I posted on this board for advice and received lots of good ideas. She would only eat if we sat and fed her by hand or spoon.
We then discovered that, although she had been treated, she had a bad dose of round worms. The vet prescribed medication and the worms were eliminated. She still carried on being a picky eater though - with us patiently tempting her with all sorts of different foods. Then I put the pups on to a BARF diet (bones and raw food). Since that day we have never looked back. They are BOTH eager feeders now! They mainly have raw minced chicken, beef or lamb with crushed (juicer) raw veg. I do add 'Natural Choice Wholebake Original Puppy' sometimes, oats or brown rice etc. They also get various other things which I have mentioned on here before - don't want to bore anyone!
Just thought I would say how I got over my problem and hope that it helps to know that you are not alone.
Regards,
Liz

Hi Julie,
I know how you feel. My lurcher/jack russel cross, Cassie, turned into a very fussy eater when she was about 16 weeks old. She is my first dog and I was at the time totally "green" about issues regarding vaccinations or nutrition - just followed advice from the vet - it never occurred to me to relate her sudden pickiness to her 2nd puppy booster.
So I changed her food, changed it again and again, from Complete Dry to tins and mixer and back again. She would eat if I hand-fed her, but only very small amounts. I tied all the advice - much like you are describing: Take away the bowl, ignore her after the bowl is put down etc etc. No success.
It was a very frustrating battle that went on for some months. I found that the only thing she would always eat was "my leftovers". This made me think about natural food and I started reading more and more about it. There are a number of sometimes conflicting schools of thought out there: No grains v some grains, no dairy products at all v yoghurt is good, no cooked food at all v lightly boil some meats. So you will have to use your own intuition.
She now gets mainly raw meats (beef, lamb, chicken, turkey - with liver or heart one a week) which makes up about 40% of the amount and the remaining 60% are a mixture of raw veg (she doesnt like them very much though), cooked veg (yummy, she says), cooked pulses and as a treat ever so often a little yoghurt, a little rice and, very occasionally, some cereal with watered down goats milk.
She eats 2 large portions a day and then asks for more!
As treats she gets dried fruits and the occasional nut and raisin.
My conventional vet just raises his eyebrows and tries to sell me "his brand" of dog food and my holistic vet thinks I am doing the right thing. The main thing is, that a) she is eating and enjoying it and b) she seems to be thriving on it. Another thing I have noticed since I changed her diet, is that she turned from a totally hyper dog into a lively, energetic but managable one.
Hope this helps.
Good luck with your Westie. What's his name?

If possible it would be worth contacting your pups breeder to see if they have any advice to offer.

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all your advice and just to let you know that Bailey is now eating again.

After another visit to the Vets, they decided to try a steriod injection as it is possible that he has a problem with his mouth. Either just teething or a problem with his jaw, which I was told is quite common in terrier breeds. The injection is just a precaution but ever since then he has seemed to get his appetite back. He is still very fussy over dog food but I was told by the vet to give him anything that we eat and to try giving him proper meat, minced beef, chicken, liver, that sort of thing.

Anyway he is eating with vigor now and it is such a relief. I made him minced beef with tripe last night and as we all stood outside, away from the smell, he sat patiently in the kitchen waiting for it to be served. I suppose we will just have to suffer as long as he is happy.

One thing I would ask, if anyone has any suggestions on what they feed their dog, bearing in mind he is only 14 weeks old, I would greatly appreciate them. I want to make sure that he is getting the right food and the other thing is by giving him human food I am unsure of portion sizes and dont want to be over-feeding him or starving him either.

Thanks again for all your help.

Julie

I suggest you use his body weight as a sign of whether he is being over fed or under, most dogs fed on "leftovers" and "human" do seem to carry more weight than not. Have you tried feeding your tripe raw? It eliminates the smell enormously as does adding a little garlic powder to the tripe. Im sure he will love it just as much. Let me know hoe you get on.

Hi, my pups get picky at this age too. I would maybe add a vitamin and mineral supplement like SA37 to one of his meals. If he is not on a traditional doggy diet, he may possibly lack something. Mine love sardines once or twice a week, (not much of the oil though) and never refuse it. A westie this age wont need huge amounts of meat, aim for 30%-40% of the diet. PLain boiled rice is enjoyed usually as a "bulker". I wouldn't give too much beef, but chicken and lamb are best. My puppy has a couple of tins of rice pudding a week, a tablespoon or so on most meals - or she wont eat it! I have become a great fan of Arden Grange lately, my fussy puppy loves it! All mine love raw carrots, sliced length ways, not too fat. They also love leftover boiled greens, chopped up small. Also a couple of small drinks a day of diluted evaporated milk, if he can tolerate it tummy wise- will keep the weight on if you think he is not plump enough. At your puppies age I would feed him to appetite, unless he does get porky. Hope this helps.

I've always put any feeding problems at around 14-16 weeks down to teething - never occured to me that vaccinations may cause a problem

Christine