New puppy not eating

Hi there, I'm new to this forum, so hopefully I've posted this is the right place.

Firstly I'd like to say there is so much useful information of here, thank you!

I'm hoping someone will be able to give me some advice. I brought my new shih Tzu pup (whiskee) home yesterday evening, and she doesn't seem to want to eat. Should I be concerned about potential hypoglycaemia? She hasn't eaten a thing, and she sleeps quite a lot. Is this normal?

Whiskee is coming up to 11 weeks old now. Is she too young to start clicker training? I saw the useful advice on this forum and would love to give it a try.

I would be grateful for any advice.

Thank you all

Sheila x

Hi Sheila and welcome. First of all...
Did you bring home some of the food she has been eating at the breeder's? What food are you giving her? Has she eaten since you posted your message? Have you had her checked over by a vet (whiic I would advise any new puppy owner to do just to make sure you have a healthy puppy. Did your breeder give you a puppy pack and has he/she offered to help you out should you need any advice?
So many questions I know... but I am trying to get a clear picture.
You have to remember that she is likley to be a little unsettled at first as she has just come from her birth home where she is used to every routine and although she will probably settle very quickly with you it is all a bit new toher at the moment. However she should be eating if she is hungry so if she hasn't eaten anything yet then a trip to your vet is recommended. Where did you have her from? I am hoping it was a reputable breeder but it could be that if you were given food for her or told what to get it might not be what she has been given by the breeder and that would explain why she isn't eating. If you are feeding a dry food she may well prefer it a little moist and maybe with a little of something tasty (cooked chicken or tinned food) added to make it more tempting.
You can start clicker training immediately by the way.... she is a perfect age to pick things up very quickly.
Let me know how you are getting on - but do go to the vet to get her checked over even if she is eating just to be on the safe side(it is a prudent thing to do with any new puppy) xxxx

bump

Hi simbalove,

Thank you so much for your reply. She has eaten a couple of bits of kibble now. I spoke to the breeder and she has told me to put some hot water in to soften the kibble, so i tried that. she pretty much was straight in, but only licked the water up! and then had a few odd bits. I am feeding her hills Science Plan puppy (smallest kibble) the breeder did not give me any food with the puppy pack but told me to get this food, i just have her toys, KC certificate and her blanket. The first day I got her I popped straight to the vet however the receptionist advised me to give whiskee a few days first to settle in as it might be all too much for her if she sees the vet straight away.

She came from a breeder in Middlesex.

I might try with the cooked chicken, this sounds like a good idea.

I have an appointment with the vet on Monday. Should I keep this appointment, or do you feel I should take her in? She's lively, plays a lot, then sleeps.

Thanks again I'm very grateful for your advice

Whiskee wrote:Hi simbalove,

Thank you so much for your reply. She has eaten a couple of bits of kibble now. I spoke to the breeder and she has told me to put some hot water in to soften the kibble, so i tried that. she pretty much was straight in, but only licked the water up! and then had a few odd bits. I am feeding her hills Science Plan puppy (smallest kibble) the breeder did not give me any food with the puppy pack but told me to get this food, i just have her toys, KC certificate and her blanket. The first day I got her I popped straight to the vet however the receptionist advised me to give whiskee a few days first to settle in as it might be all too much for her if she sees the vet straight away.

She came from a breeder in Middlesex.

I might try with the cooked chicken, this sounds like a good idea.

I have an appointment with the vet on Monday. Should I keep this appointment, or do you feel I should take her in? She's lively, plays a lot, then sleeps.

Thanks again I'm very grateful for your advice

Hi and welcome to the forum. As Simbalove has said above Whiskee will be a bit unsettled as everything is very new to her. I would certainly keep the appointment with the Vet tomorrow, just for peace of mind . I don't know anything about the food you have for her, but I am very surprised that the breeder didn't give you any food to come home with. It may have been the case that you could not get any. Also if they had given you a bag of food you could be certain it is what she had been fed on. I also would agree that a bit of chicken if she does not want to eat. If you still have concerns and the breeder is a reputable one she should be happy to answer your queries, not just now but for the life of the puppy. We have some very experienced Shih Tzu owners on here so don't be afraid to ask for advice , we all started sometime. Were you also given her health card with her vaccinations, on, you will need to take it with you to the vet? and also one with the dates she was wormed and flead and which ones were used?

Hi Sheila You are describing a normal pupy as regards the playing sleeping I would keep the appointment with the vet for a checkup and to get her registered with them and sort out when to have vaccinations etc. Don't worry if you don;t have any health card or info about worming as the vet will start from scratch anyway. The initial injection if she has had it is usually only a temporary parvo vac so she would need a full course and because all puppies have worms passed from their dam in the milk even if the bitch is wormed very regularloy through pregnancy vets assume there are still worms and will usually give a wormer on first visit.
I would be happier if she wasn't on The Science Plan as it does not have a very good reputation but if she is eating it then stick with it for the time being and when you need to get more think about a better quality food like Royal Canin (they do a kibble specially for shih tzu and many people give it a thumbs up) - or you could have a look on here there are lots of discussions about feeding.
I would use mince chicken and cook it in quite a bit of water which will make a nice liquor to soak the kibble in (if you use chunks of chicken your new baby will be very adept at picking out the chicken and leaving the kibble ) You can keep it in the fridge but make sure you warm it up and serve it warm as the smell will encourage her to eat.
I don;t know where this practice of giving blankets and toys with the puppy pack came from - lots of people seem to do it and yes its great for the pup to take things with it to its new home to help with the transition but NOT at the expnese of the important things like the food the puppy is used to because as sands says - if you don't have any and cant; get eany straight away it causes a real problem!
I am sure that by now your puppy is really getting to know you and things will start to settle down and you can then just enjoy your new baby - you are inf for a good many years of love and fun (I have had the breed for over 30 years and they have given me a smile/laugh every day even when I have been at a low ebb )
Anything else you want to know just shout.... looking forward to seeing a photo of your little one soon xxxxx

Hi and welcome to the forum. What I did to encourage mine to eat was put some in my hand and if that didn't work I put a bit into her mouth then once she got the taste of it they was know stopping her.

and to the forum...

I don't have any advice because i am new to all this with my little Milo but all i can say its sounds like she is just settling in so maybe give her time!!
hugs
Gemma and Milo

Hi everybody thank you so much for your support. I am popping the chicken in and whiskee is eating very well, although she does not touch the kibble. I will change to royal canin as soon as I finish this pack.

She went to the vet yesterday and. Is doing well. I will keep you updated. Clicker training is also going well too, I have taught her her name and to sit! Yay! Toilet training is taking longer than but I shall persevere. Will keep you all updated

its early days regarding the toilet training but she will get there in the end try giving her some veg and either rice potato or pasta with her chicken and a vitamin/mineral supplement if you are cooking the chicken you don't want her just eating cooked chicken as its not balanced

Now onto the down with the clicker - well done !

hi whiskee, my girl was on royal canin puppy kibble as a pup when she came from the breeder, but I always mixed a bit of canned food in with it to get her to eat it. she gets her nutrition from the kibble but the canned food mixed up with it has always just made her more interested in eating it. she likes "my dog" in the small 100g punnets and I just squish it up with a fork and mix it in with the royal canin for a bit of extra flavour, and honestly without the added canned food, she just wouldn't be that interested in eating her bickies on their own.

just like we wouldnt be that happy eating just dry bread or crackers

simbalove wrote:just like we wouldnt be that happy eating just dry bread or crackers

yep lol, I don't think kibble on it's own is that appetizing for them but add something moist in with it and they'll gobble up the whole lot, especially if it's something that coats the biscuits so they can't just pick it out. I've even tried changing over to a better quality canned food to mix in and my two still prefer the mydog (which I think is a bit like junk food) but as long as they eat up their bickies then I just give them whatever canned food they like

Evening all,
Just a quick update on Whiskee. She is now eating well, I am boiling chicken and vege and using a liquidiser ( one that makes baby food) to mince it all up, and adding in kibble with the chicken stock. She devours the lot! Her toilet training is also going well, she runs to the door to when she wants to do a number two however unfortunately is still seeing in the house. Most of the time as she heads to the door, but sometimes she just finds a spot and wees. I'm taking her out on the hour and after food and play but don't seem to be progressing very well with the accidents. Does anyone have any tips?

Clicker training is going well still, the resource is excellent!! So far she has grasped sit, lie down, and paw. She is also fetching her ball and bringing it back to me too. It's very fun playing with her! I'm having such a great time.

It sounds like Whiskee is settling in really well. She is still a teeny tiny baby so please don't expect too much with house training yet. She is doing amazingly well by running to the door, which means she has the idea in her head, but she will still have loads of accidents. You are doing everything right so just keep going and it will get better. Don't get cross or shout at her when she has an accident as it may cause her to go and hide to do it, and that is the last thing you want. Keep taking her out as often as you are and she will get the idea. Also don't be surprised if she goes backwards a bit sometimes, this often happens, but keep calm and carry on as they say and Whiskee will be house trained in no time.

Make the most of this time when she is tiny, it is the moist fun time you would ever imagine. All the work you put in now will pay off in years to come, she will regard you as a brilliant playmate and the bond between you will be lovely and strong.

Whiskee is doing Extremely well your on the right track, keep up what your doing.Your not alone Gemma and me as well as yourself are all new mummy's. All our furbabies are around the same age.So were all in it together so to speak. They will all learn in the end, Maxine and Contessa xxx

Milo Whiskee Contessa

Glad you are enjoying your new baby and she is doing very well indeed. Don't panic about the weeing - they get control of their bowels much sooner than their bladder so it is still very very early days for your baby xxxx