What do I feed my dog?

ummm…how old is she? How long have you had her?

How much does the puppy weigh? How old is she? How much are you feeding her?

She does not need lunch. She should get two meals a day at the same time.

I would recommend raw food. If not, a high-end cooked dog food.

It is quite possible your puppy is very young and may not be ready to eat solid food. If she has not been weaned you may have to transition her slowly. A good age indicator are her teeth if you do not know how old she is exactly. Take her to a vet soon to make sure everything is OK, and remember most dogs are perfectly fine eating the same balanced diet 2x per day.

Maybe try getting the dry kibble wet. It might still be too young to want to eat the hard and dry food.

The puppy is 2 months old. I got her 3 days ago.

I wet the food, she doesn’t eat it. But when she does eat it – it definitely helps. But I watched her eat the treat – she can definitely chew it.

Are you feeding the same food that the pup has been eating? Some dogs get used to a certain brand and will not eat anything else. @Soccer129‘s idea to moisten the kibble may help too.

If you put down a small saucer of milk does the pup drink it? If so mix some of the kibble with milk, use a little less milk every day or two until the dog is eating the kibble without it.

Just saw your response. Makes me think you may want to try a different brand of food.

Find out what she is used to eating if you can, and if not just find one dog food and stick to it, twice a day, the same time every day. Preferably something for puppies at this age and until she is about a year old.
Since you have only had her 3 days, that could mean she is either missing her last family, or is trying to get used to you. Sometimes that will affect the dogs appetite.
Remember, she will eat when she gets hungry.

is she like a small dog like a terrier? becaus i have a yorkshire terrier and she doesnt eat much either. but i learned tht they dont have much of a appetite. so if its a small dog it might just not be in the mood for food.

Your puppy is only 8 weeks old. That is very young. From the Purina website:

“Introducing Puppies to Solid Foods

By six weeks of age, most puppies are ready to be weaned. If they have started to eat solid foods from the dam’s dish, it is not unusual for puppies to begin to wean themselves at about four to five weeks of age.

Young puppies should be fed an appropriate puppy life stage food at least three times a day until their food requirements, per pound of body weight, begin to level off as they mature. Feeding schedules can be reduced to twice a day when pups are four to five months old, and once a day when they are eight months or older. Fresh water in a clean bowl should be available at all times.

Warm water or milk can be used to moisten dry food, however, too much milk can act as a laxative and cause digestive problems for some puppies and adult dogs. One hour should be allowed for a puppy to eat, after which the uneaten portion should be discarded.

Establishing routine eating habits by feeding a puppy in the same place and at the same time each day is recommended and can help in housetraining. Offering human foods from the table is not recommended because it encourages begging and may create a finicky eater. Puppies consuming a complete and balanced diet do not need supplemental vitamins, minerals, or meat.

The amount of food offered to a puppy will vary depending upon its size, activity, metabolism, and environment. For the best results, develop a regular feeding schedule, such as three small meals a day for younger pups. You can gradually reduce to one feeding in the morning and one in the evening as your puppy ages. An overweight puppy not only presents a poor appearance, but the excess weight can cause bone abnormalities. Anytime owners have questions or concerns about their animal’s body condition, they should consult their own veterinarian.”

She is nervous. Give her time…she will be fine. Just spent as much time as possible with her. Once she is comfortable with you and her new surroundings, she will start to eat.

The best food is Scientific Deit food. It is a little expensive, but it would produce a very healthy dog. Like all dog foods, they have the puppy food and then the food changes with the dog’s size and age.

What is her name? What kind of dog is she?

Good luck with her.

I had a dog that did not like Kibble much either to intice a dog to eat can be hard but feed them the same time every day and leave it down for about ten minutes if she does not eat pick it up and try again the next day. If she is a pup she needs puppy food it is the best and has the things a growing puppy needs. If after a few days she is not eating she needs to see a vet if she is healthy they can offer some suggestions. I had a dog that would not eat until I cooked rice and mixed vegetables and boneless skinless chicken breasts I would let that cool and blend it up and put two TBS. on the Kibble and freeze it in Two TBS. full little packages and pull one out each night so she had it on her food. Chicken and rice and vegetables are good for dogs so my vet approved of it my dog then would eat Kibble but I would talk to your vet first!

pups are often finicky especially if they’re new to the home. Our new pup wasn’t eating much in fact she was starting to greyhound on us to the point we got really worried. We were giving her the same brand that our late dog ate, only the puppy kind for her. We thought if our old dog loved this brand then our new pup would also. This was a mistake. Petsense took back the uneaten food and we tried Hill’s after we gave her this from the 5lb bag we got from our vet that came in the puppy starter kit. She really took to this food and we were so relieved. Hill’s is kind of pricey but so is any dog or cat food that is any good. It’s also vet recommended but that is in part because they get support from the maker to offer their product, sort of how doctors do when promoting meds from big pharma. But what the hell, the puppy likes it and it is pretty decent chow. Rule of thumb- try to avoid food from walmart or grocery stores. It’s not gospel just rule of thumb. Old Roy comes to mind. It’s crap. I fed that to our dog most her life before I found out things. There’s a reason why you can get 33lbs of it for 10 bucks, or less. They put a lot of grain filler and meat by products (chicken beaks and assholes) in it. Sure, your dog will live off it but when you do some research on dog food it really takes a toll on your conscience. It has bothered me to no end I did that, but I just didn’t know. Good pet food is not advertised on TV or hardly anywhere else (another rule of thumb…OK you can call this one gospel) Try to get the best food for your friend you can possibly afford. Make cuts elsewhere in your budget if possible. I take my lunches to work and it’s often baloney sammiches. I get some of my clothes from Goodwill. One thing to consider is what if the store is out of the food you always get? It can be tricky to suddenly put a different kind of chow down. I have 2 brands that my pup is into so the odds both kinds are out of stock at the same time is remote. I mix them in the same bowl.
Also I sometimes feed her some canned food stirred in with the other 2 kinds to make it interesting. So at any one time there will be “Hill’s’, “Orijen” brand, and “Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul” canned food. All this is sort of expensive for me but if I make sacrifices I can make it happen. I rescued a dog literally right out from underneath the animal control officer last month and hauled ass outa town and brought him home. I twisted off the job to do this. He also get the benefits from a great diet from reputable food makers (USA not China) and he’d doing great. Dogs know when somebody saves their bacon and this one would stop a bullet for me. He always is close to me or I see him look for me and then go sit someplace as long as he knows where I am then he’s cool. I luv my dogs :)

Correction: “Orijen” brand is made in Alberta

I don’t know who told you human food, such as meat, vegetables and some grains are a no no. That is not true. For a lot of years before some entrepreneur figured out he could get rich taking the garbage that was the by product of processing food for humans, dogs ate whatever was left over from the dinner table. And for the most part they were healthier, had less skin probs, ear infections, obesity, etc. Wild dogs eat nothing but the same food that humans eat.

As @marinelife said a raw diet or modified version of same is excellent and it is a rare dog that turns it nose up at it. Google BARF or raw diets and have a look.

Not this way thats for sure..

where did you get a puppy that young?

well definitely you need to find out what he was eating before.. if you change it’s food his stomach won’t like that.

sometimes puppies don’t eat when they come home – because the move from their previous house was traumatizing.

If you don’t know, take him to the vet. If he isn’t eating something might be seriously wrong..

So how is the pup doing? What did you do to start it eating?

@WestRiverrat Thanks for asking! It’s been a while since I’ve been around. The pup is no longer with me – and is back in the care of its owner (scary – and I feel bad for it).

She was a wonder to have and I miss her alot.

She started with the soft stuff – from cans, etc. Usually gave her the good stuff from Wellness, and other like brands. The IAMs were just… nasty looking.

After a while, I put her on a more dry diet and she didn’t seem to mind much after she grew a bit. I had the puppy till her 5th month.

Great times.

Again – thank you all for the advice!