Puppy - eating issues - Cala or any other whippet people please!!!

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maisie

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My 15wk old whippet puppy is a terrible eater - the only food she eats with any enthusiasm is scrambled egg - which she has last thing at night to top her up before bed. When we got her she was on scrambled egg for breakfast, raw green tripe lunch and tea, and scrambled egg for supper - she went off the tripe (thank god - it stank!) so we started her on half nature diet and half James Wellbeloved whole food. Some days (about 2/7) she eats reasonably well - other days (About 5/7) she barely eats anything except the egg. She is a bit on the skinny/ribby side and yesterday she developed diarrhoea - she is completely fine/normal in every other way. We have put her on chicken and rice which she loves (funny that!) but she still has diarrhoea today. All I want is for her to eat 3 reasonable meals (of dog food!) a day with some enthusiasm, and to put on some weight. Any ideas?
 
If my dogs haven't eaten their feeds within 20/30mins it is taken away.

They soon learn to eat what they are given. I know someone who only fed their dog M&S Chicken as it wouldn't eat dog food
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It had to be M&S, it wouldn't eat Tesco chicken or anything
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I do exactly the same - she takes herself off away from the bowl and it gets picked up - she just hardly eats anything at all!
 
Quail was like this as a pup. Then all of a sudden but quite some time down the line! About a year she willnow trough her food on a night when it is put down.
Where as when a pup she would take a mouthful away & eat that. Or even she would lie down watching other dog eating then it would eat her's!

Sorry no advice on how to ease it, mine just grew out of it I think!
Plus mine is a lab so unheard of them not to eat!!
 
My dog (lab) is a terrible eater - he's always underweight
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After spending a fortune on test after test from different vets we eventually went to see an iridologist (sp) and she gave us a diet plan which worked. He's still fussy but he's maintaining weight now and it much healtier - and people no longer stop us to threaten the RSPCA
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People used to think he was part whippet because he was so skinny
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Starve her for 12-24 hours for ther diorrhoea, try and stick to the good food, the well beloved sounds good, and split her meals into very small meals...i.e a small handfull, I have done this with my little fussy blue whippet, and at first she thought her throat was being cut, she is now greedy, and will try to steal from the food bin.......as she thinks that small measley amount is all she is going to get, I was simply offering to much in one meal, whippets esp, living as a singular pet can be a nightmare to feed up, they only need a tiny amount of food, unless racing......if she is bright in herself.....don't panick, but starve her, and reintroduce her wellbeloved and meat, in a miniscule portion, and offer her more meals per day..............u will gradually be able to increase and lessen the meals........mine will now eat 1 decent meal a day, throuh fear she may have to survive on the tiny morsal meals I was giving her
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Hi, I had terrible trouble with my first whippet pup. Like Cala says, when they are on their own they can be a nightmare.

Mine too, would only eat scrambled eggs - she would also only eat off a fork (yes I know, I shouldn't have fed her this way but seriously, she got so thin, I was desperate - people were stopping me in the street and accusing me of starving her
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) She also had a dodgy stomach and would get terrible diohreah every now and again for no apparent reason.

I found, eventually, that she would eat raw tripe fairly reliably so I fed her that every day. She wouldn't eat James Wellbeloved (still won't) but she loved Iams.
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I hate feeding this cos of the animal testing thing but I got so desperate to get food into her my principles went out the window. Might be worth a try.

One of the bests foods to feed a really fussy dog that I have found is Vitalin Bitch Diet - it is highly nutritious and also apparently they make it extra nice-tasting to encourage a bitch in pup to eat more. This is what I ended up feeding her - she had 24/7 access to Bitch Diet plus a block of raw tripe once a day. she also got plenty of treats (raw chicken wings is a good one) just to get the calories into her.

To be honest, the absolute BEST way to get a whippet to eat is to get them a brother or sister. In the last 2 years since I got my second dog, my first dog has ceased to be a worry with the eating!!

good luck, PM me if you like. I must have tried every trick in the book with my dog at some point in her life.
 
Thanks guys - we have 3 other dogs with her - a labrador - eats everything and always has - its a labrador - need I say more - a rescue lurcher - eats everything cos she always thinks it might be the last meal she gets for a while - bless her - and another whippet - who is a bit fussy but generally eats 2 square meals a day - this pup however is shocking - surviving on fresh air and scrambled egg!!!. Will starve her and then give her very small meals and see how we get on. Wish me luck!!
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Hi, 5 mths ago I wouldnt believe I would write this but my Lurcher pup has suddenly decided food is nice
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I had exactly the same problem as you, I was beguinning to worry as he was so lean and wouldnt eat for a few days. Yes he would eat anything he shouldnt have but dog food, no way. We found he likes Skinners Ruff and Ready and (whispers) Butchers tinned food which Im hoping to wean him off and get him totally on dry food.
He only seems to eat after exercise and is not mad for it but he is eating. Hes nearly 9 mths old and its only this last fortnight that he has started to eat better.
 
Good point from Louby...as he is very young, his exercise is a tiny portion of that he will be getting as he gets older, and using up more energy may change his feed habits and encourage him to eat more as he uses more energy.
 
This may be a no no??? but sometimes if he showed no interest at all we have sprinkled a bit of grated cheese on top or put a bit of milk on the dry food.
 
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