I am a new owner of Westie and find that he is difficult to feed and won't eat food from his bowl. He was hand rearerd and I am worried incase this has something to do about it. He is also 14 weeks and don't know if he is teething - can anyone please help?

Hi, its a bit young for teething yet - has he been examined by a vet at all to check his mouth/bite is correct? What did the breeder feed him on, how many times a day and are you feeding him the same? If you could answer these questions I can help hopfully.

Dogs start to teeth when they are about 4 months old, so it is unlikely teething is causing him to be fussy.

If he eats from your hand, but not his bowl, there is nothing to worry about - he is just demanding waitress service. You can try feeding him by hand with your hand over his bowl. If he is interested in eating, start to drop one bit at a time from your hand to the bowl. He should pick it up out of the bowl. Do this over a period of days until he is eating directly from the bowl. This should work if he has an aversion to the bowl. You can also try changing the bowl - plastic or ceramic instead of metal, or vice versa. Metal bowls especially some dogs do not like, mostly because they tend to be noiser.

If what you really have is a fussy eater then I would change his food to something he likes. If he does not like dry food, try Nature's Recipe, or you can cook him his own meals.

Stacey

I am a new owner of a Westie too! Molly is 15 weeks and we've had her since she was 8 weeks old. I'm interested to hear you're having problems feeding as Molly is very fussy and doesn't like to eat from her bowl. She will often take a mouthful of her dried food and bring it into the front room to eat. She will then go back and get more. She's very clingy toward me and follows me from room to room so we thought it might be that she doesn't want to be by herself. So we tried sitting with her although it didn't make much difference, but she has improved a bit since we changed from Pedigree to Bakers Complete but I still worry about her and have spoken to the vet. He seems to think that as long as she's still full of beans and isn't losing weight then she's fine.

However, it's a completely different story with human food! She seems to be interested in everybody's food but her own and it's very difficult not to give into those big brown eyes!

I am always wary of feeding a biscuit that is multi coloured - all those additives, are a bit risky for a breed like Westies that develop allergies more easily than other breeds. Just my theory If you want to see her food disappear quickly I would give Arden Grange or Burns a try. I have heard Nature diet is excellent too, but haven't used it myself.

Thanks for the advice. I'm off to the pet shop at lunch to buy some Natures Diet as I've been having a look at a few web-sites this morning and was shocked at the information about more run-of-the-mill foods and what goes into them! The Arden Grange looked good also, but unfortunatley no-stockist in my area and I'm loathe to buy it mail-order without knowing that she actually likes it.

Did you see my query about bones on the Feeding page? About why raw-hide is dangerous? Does anyone have a response?

To ClaireM
Our Westie Tom is exactly how you described! He'll eat any human food rather than dog food. We too put him on Bakers Complete and he seems to be eating better. Tom follows us from room to room too, wonder if it's one of their characteristics?!
We took Tom to the vets for his 2nd and last injections yesterday and the vet said he thinks it's better to feed dogs fresh vegetables and meat if that's what they like-Tom adores tuna fish!
Just thought I'd let you know the similarities!
P.S. You didn't by any chance buy Molly from Scotland did you?!?

Hi Laura

The similarities are quite spooky! Our Molly is now 15 weeks and starts her puppy training classes this evening. Only problem is I'm a bit concerned how she will react to the other dogs. We've tried to introduce her to my sisters old black lab who is the softest thing but she wouldn't stop barking at him!

We opened the patio door just slightly so they couldn't get to each other, just sniff and the old lab was crying because he desperatly wanted to make friends but Molly wasn't having any of it! She's also a little terror with the cat and will bark at dogs if we're in the car and she sees them. Do you think she'll be ok with dogs more her own age? I hope so as I'm worried we might get thrown out of classes!

Rawhide is dangerous because they often chew off a hard lump and swallow it , it then swells up in the stomach and can cause a blockage which if undiagnosed can cause a lot of problems and possibly even death. PIgs ears are considered dangerous as pigs have all their injections via the ear, and in non organic pigs they are frequently given as preventative to disease - not sure if growth hormones are still used on pigs but they certainly get a lot of AB's. I think there is also a danger of disease- is it Hepatitis? I still give my Westies cow heels - the unfilled ones, but check they are not too sharp/splintery They can only come from younger cows now and are not as solid as the older hooves were. If there is a choice get black ones rather than white as they are genrally tougher horn. Only give under supervision and remove when they get small. I dont think there is any danger from cow heels for small dogs who cannot swallow them - anyone? Rasks are a good healthy treat, but full of calories, which makes them excellent to top up a fussy eater but you have to be careful not to give too often (once a week?)to an overweight dog.

Hi Claire
We bought Tom from Aberdeen, where did you get Molly? I was starting to think they could be from the same litter!
Where did you find out about puppy training classes? That could do Tom some good too.

Fraid they're not - Molly came from Surrey - couldn't be further away! I ha a bit of a break through last night though. Couldn't get hold of the nature Diet as they were out of stock, but after reading about oily fish on here I decided to give her a handful of her Bakers Complete and half a can of tuna. You should have seen her! She didn't leave her bowl until she was finished and there wasn't a scrap left! She then kept going back to check if there was any left! I repeated this for breakfast today and although she did leave a couple of the biscuits I was still really pleased with the difference. Don't know if Tuna is alright as a regular thing though or should just be a treat? Any idea?

The training class was great, she only growled when another dog started barking and I think she was just saying 'hey I may be small, but I can still sick up for myself'. The only problem we had was her not concentrating because she was so busy being nosey and seeing what else she could get up to but I believe this is a normal trait in Terriers (trainer said so anyway). Got the number from the Vet, had to wait a few weeks to get in but def worth it and they are KC approved. I thought my heart would burst with pride when she passed the recall test with flying colours! She was running her fastest down the hall to me (took a while with her little legs) and everyone was going 'awww' at her. I could have cried!

Hi Clarie,

I think I was posting at the sametime as you.

Glad it went well lastnight and the fish trick did the job.

Pam

Claire/Laura,

Have you tried Tripe Sticks yet, They are a good harmless chew and you can even stick them in the freezer which helps pups sore teeth. Just don't gve going to bed as they can make them need the loo till they are used to them.

Re the characteristics of your 2 dogs sounds like a common thing and please please don't take this the wrong way as I doubt if anyone hasn't done it and my comment is meant in fun.

Are you any chance spoliing them ??

When someone says their puppy prefers human food etc the question arises , How do you know ?? It is like humans if you give a man a fillet steak every night for his dinner and then one day put spam down to him I think he may turn his nose up also. ( sorry not being sexest LOL)

Meat, fish and vegetables all are good for your dog/puppy ( I personally don't feed oinions ever or pork) . A little bit of fish or meat can be mixed in with the puppy food also to encourage them to eat it.

Take them out and about to the shops, garden centres, dog classes etc the more they are socialised at a young age the better. I find or believe this also prevents some of the barking.

Another little tip I believe works well is when meeting other dogs for the first time let them greet each other on a secure lead , don't lift them up in your arms the sometimes are a bit more grumpy or nervous.

Good luck with your puppies they both sound like normal healthy puppies.

BFn Pam

The Vet said exactly the same when I said she likes chicken! Well how does she know? But I don't think there's anything wrong with giving her chicken/tuna etc as long as she's getting some complete food aswell. As long as she's eating and getting her nutrients.

We don't feed off our plates and she doesn't have scraps. Although she is partial to the odd Cheesy Wotsit and loves cheese.

Anyway, I'm giving the nature Diet a go when I can get some. The only thing we have to watch is the cat - he deliberatly drops a couple of his treats onto the floor for her! quite cute of him but not sure they're too good for her tummy! Obviously we're not the only ones who can't resist those big brown eyes! LOL.