Feeding jack Russell pup

[Wheresthehoofpick]

Hi. I have an 8 week pup. Came from a friend who fed him on kibble and raw chicken mince.

Since he has been with us. He won't touch either of those. Will eat a little of a different kibble. Lilly's kitchen. And cooked chicken which he loves.

Not having much luck with wet puppy foods.

He is lively, going to the toilet fine.

I've always had labs. Super greedy!! Wondering if I am expecting too much.

He seems tense eating from his food bowl. Will often take the food and Run off with it.

Could he be intimidated by our older dog? He has a crate within a pen in a part of our living room which is then sectioned off with a room divider. The dogs are only meeting thru this divider at the moment. We are feeding him far away from our other dog.

Any thoughts?

 

[EllenJay]

Is his food bowl deep - i.e. he has to put his face into it to get to the food? If so try feeding him off a saucer/something flat. Only give him a small amount of food - a tablespoon at each meal (you could be overfeeding him if you are used to bigger dogs).
Good luck

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Our JRTs came from a busy noisy household with several cats and dogs with children running in and out all the time and I don't remember them ever having any problems eating. I must admit that it's a long time ago.
But when, just less than 2 years ago we got 2 Lab pups, we kept them apart from the adult Rottweiler for safety's sake. They, or she, were always crated for the first few weeks, then only together on leads. The Rottweiler was besotted with the pups but she was so much bigger than them that we wanted to keep meeting very low key. The crates were alongside each other in the living room, so they could be together but separate and get used to each other. I think it was about a month before they were allowed to play all together under close supervision in the yard. If your pup feels threatened by your older dog, it might be an idea to feed him in the crate, where he knows he is safe. JRT pups do eat considerably less than food than Lab pups.

I should also add that if you feel stressed around feed times, your pup will pick up on that and feel stressed himself, so do try to set everything up to keep stress levels as low as possible.

 

[deb_l222]

Start as you intend to go on, don't make him fussy. Pick a food and stick with it, offer it to pup but if he doesn't eat it straight away, pick it up and only offer it again at the next mealtime. Dogs soon learn not to starve themselves - you might actually be feeding too much, he's only little

Just an observation though, why are you keeping him separate from your other dog? If pup has come from a litter of puppies (I'm assuming he wasn't an only pup), then it will be comforting for him to have a friend.

 

[Hexx]

My 9-week old is on meat/kibble x 3 per day, she sometimes has a scrambled egg for lunch. Because I have other dogs (one of which is extremely food-orientated), I feed her in her playpen so that she can eat undisturbed. She also has a shallow bowl.

Sometimes she will eat all her food, sometimes she won't: I just take it away until it's time for food again.

 

[misst]

My JRT was 16 weeks when we got and refused the kibble she had had at her breeders from the get go.
She was offered Lillys kitchen puppy food which she loved (wet food) and now has Billy and Margot wet food.
She will eat any scraps or titbits but picky about her wet food. She does of course eat sh*t of any kindthat she finds on the common.
I do wonder if I had been less soft about it if she would have settled on her kibble in the end.
They really do only eat very small amounts and even as adults I weigh the food so as not to overfeed them.

 

[AmyMay]

Feed her what he’ll eat (ie the Lilly’s Kitchen and cooked chicken).

I too am wondering why the dogs are being kept separately (except obviously for meal times).

 

[Wheresthehoofpick]

Thanks that's helpful. He wolfed down cooked chicken this am. He is definitely eating more as he gets more confident. More play = more hungry! I am offering him about a tablespoon 4 times a day.

We are keeping them separate with supervised interaction as our lab is very excited about him and wants to play one paw splat. Which makes him squeak and her anxious.

They are now happily existing along side each other with supervised interaction.
I had assumed they would be together from the outset but it was clear that that wasn't safe. We are getting there though. Lots of tail wagging, sniffing each other and licking.

My lab is a total softy apart from around food. Also why we are keeping their eating spaces totally separate. Also she has food intolerances so we don't want her eating his food.

 

[Wheresthehoofpick]

Thanks everyone - he is eating loads better.

 

[Parrotperson]

Don’t worry about the running off with food. Jrt’s do do this. All mine have! Oh and where’s the picture!!!

 

[Wheresthehoofpick]

Pup is now eating brilliantly. Thanks for all your advice. The flat dish and sticking with chicken and kibble has worked.

 

[EllenJay]

What a poppet - he is beautiful xx

 

[Wheresthehoofpick]

We are all a bit smitten ?

 

[Parrotperson]

Pup is now eating brilliantly. Thanks for all your advice. The flat dish and sticking with chicken and kibble has worked.

That's sooooooo cute!! Lucky you.

 

[Clodagh]

‘One paw splat’

I love that as a game description ??

 

[misst]

I have his big sister! This is when we got her at 16 weeks. I hope he is better behaved than this one