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Dog Nutrition: My Puppy Won't Eat. What Do I Do?

By Sylvia Dickens

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Published: 18May2008
Word count: 792
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Good dog nutrition is crucial to your puppy's overall growth and health. When he stops eating, it's important to determine why. Fortunately, in most cases it's a temporary situation that will clear on its own. When it lasts more than a day or two, it's time to find out what's going on. There are a few important things you can do at home.

Contrary to what you might believe, dogs don't get bored with their food. They stop eating for a number of other reasons, including stress, too much activity in his dining area, and new surroundings. Of course, there's also the possibility of illness, but before seeking veterinarian help, give it a few days to see if your puppy begins eating again.

A puppy does most of his growing in the first year, so any dog nutrition issues must be addressed quickly. Your dog's nutrition will not suffer if he doesn't eat for a few days, but if his refusal to eat persists, it could jeopardize his proper growth.

When your new puppy arrives at your house, he'll be a little disoriented, confused, and worried because he was recently taken from his mother and siblings. Dogs are social creatures, so this separation can be distressing to a young puppy. By making sure he gets a lot of attention from your family and is successfully introduced to and accepted by any other household pets, you can help him to adjust more quickly.

If he stops eating, the worst thing you can do is to hand feed him, as tempting as that can be. This can trigger a behavior you don't want to have to address later on. The only time you'd hand feed him is if your vet suggests it. Otherwise, you want to feed him at a regularly scheduled time every day. If he doesn't eat the food in 15 minutes, remove it and leave only the water. Put his food back down at his next regular feeding.

While it can be upsetting to see your puppy not eating, there's little concern at this stage about lack of dog nutrition. He will have sufficient reserves to keep him healthy for the short term. Still, you'll want to take a look at possible causes of his eating problems to shorten the delay in his getting proper nutrition.

Here are a few things you can do.

If your puppy has diarrhea, keep your eye on him to see how bad it is. If it is severe or if it doesn't stop after the first day, take your puppy to the vet quickly as dehydration can become a very real threat to your puppy's health.

Always put his food and water in the same place to avoid disruptions in his behavior. Dogs like stability, and moving his pot around will not help.

Avoid feeding him table scraps as this can disturb his digestive system and lead to certain behavior problems later on.

Make sure that his dining area is quiet during feeding times. It's difficult for a puppy to concentrate on eating when kids are running around, vacuums are running, and people are walking back and forth.

If other pets in the household are showing aggression, bullying or jealousy against your new puppy, keep them out of his eating area until he's finished his food. Nothing can jeopardize your dog's nutrition intake faster than animals trying to attack him or take his food while he's eating.

After you've ensured his dining area is free of distractions and disruptions, and if he's still not eating after a few days, take him to your veterinarian. He probably has a treatable condition such as worms that is causing him not to eat.

Apart from affecting his food intake, worms prevent your puppy from getting proper dog nutrition because they get to any food he's eaten before he can digest it. If left untreated, worms can cause more serious problems for your puppy. The sooner the condition is treated, the sooner your dog will recover and begin eating again.

A puppy's growth rate and long term health are influenced by his food intake. Because your puppy uses a lot of energy and resources during his growing process, his body demands more nutrients by body weight than an adult dog.

During his first year, feed him a good quality commercial food that has been specially formulated to meet the nutritional demands of your growing puppy. By following these simple steps, you can ensure your puppy grows healthy and strong. It's all about making sure he gets good dog nutrition right from the start.

Get more dog training and dog nutrition tips and information. Sylvia is a retired journalist who has been a dog lover all her life. She writes and publishes articles and reviews of dog-related products on her ebook web site. See her recent book, "Healthy Dog Nutrition Secrets"

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