Puppy Eating Habits

[mailman]

My girlfriend got a puppy (part German Sheperd) a few months ago. She has been feeding him the standard puppy chow. He seemed to eat pretty good, occassionally she would put a little dog treat in tho get him eating.

She has not intentionally feed him any human type food, but tells me that lately, the puppy eats fruit (papaya) and some vegetables when he sees them or finds them. Is this unusual, it shouldn't be unhealthy? Also, the puppy is not eating his puppy chow as enthusiastically as before, so she started to put a "little" sugar mixed in with his chow. That doesn't sound like a good thing to do, anybody know if this is a no no? Thanks

Edited January 11, 2008 by mailman

[jumnien]

Thank god, I thought was a thread about eating puppies in Sakhon Nakhon!

[Nienke]

Adding sugar to the food is certainly not a good idea. Besides it is very bad for the teeth, it can give similar problems to the health of the puppy as it can do to humans.

It isn't unusual for dogs to eat veggies and fallen fruit. However, it can be a sign that the dryfood provided lacks in certain nutrients. Your puppy then tries to fill in these gabs by eating other things. That your puppy starts eating more difficult might also be a sign that the food provided isn't optimum, and may even give a slight digestive upset, that the puppy feels but that doesn't show to the human eye (yet).

Nienke

[bina]

sugar, yuck

maybe she should feed him less frequently now but larger portions??

u didnt mention his age; also, pups like people have growth and eating spurts

eating fruit and veggies is a dog thing... some dogs like it more then others....

perhaps the weather has changed? hotter (dogs eat less)... or something...

difinately dont have to play with adding things to the food... will cause a very finicky dog..

if its professional chow, check that it is the same , no new changes, not spoiled or 'off'...

maybe serve it to him dry, all day available ?

check for worms and other things (internal parasites change appetite as some dogs will eat more 'greens' when parasites are active inside and pups often have worms....

[mailman]

Thanks for everyone's replys! No, this thread is not about eating puppies, although you don't want to know about the habits of some people up north!

I will certainly get the girlfriend to discontinue adding a little bit of sugar to the puppy chow, my feeling exactly, that this is not a good practice. I'll have to check on what kind of puppy chow she is buying, I think it is a decent brand with liver and vegetable content. That could be the problem, who likes liver and veges? Maybe should go back to chicken and whatever she was doing before! I don't want a finnicky eating dog either, I was telling her to give him the puppy chow and if he doesn't eat for a day or so, that is OK. When he gets hungry, he will. What I had been told is that dogs like the same food every day, don't change it around, unless there is a problem.

The puppy is only 4 months old or so and getting 3 bowls of food a day, as recommended, with water always available. He is not fat and not too skinny, just growing. I don't think he has worms, but will ask sweetie pie to check his output. He has had his puppy shots, so should be up to date on that. I take it, that it is NOT unusual for a puppy to eat fruit and veges. I'll let you know what I find out. If I am doing things incorrectly, let me know.

[JohnC]

One of my dogs loves apples the other will not touch them! at three months maybe time to upgrade to adult food? I give both of mine tesco dog food (chicken) I tried beef once and they puked it up, same when I bought some nice doggy chicken in gravy, back it came. So now they get one tin plus 200g of dried food each every day and seem to thrive on it. In fact the girl is now pregnant so I will have a few Thai husky pups running around soon! If your pup goes completely of their food then it could be a digestive problem plus their body may have problem with the sugar. Believe it or not a friend back home had a dog that was diagnosed with diabetes!!

[ade100]

I have read in numerous places that commercial dogfod is just very poor quality meat and grains that is not fit for human consumption (and when you consider the crap they put into fast food, that is saying something). Many advocate feeding dogs on natural foods like brown rice, veggies, fruit, eggs, chicken etc. We do this as much as possible, at least once a day.

[mailman]

Well, it looks like eating vegetables and fruit is not unusual or a problem for a dog from what others have said.

Still not sure what brand of dog food we are using, but it is liver and vegetables and the puppy seems to be eating fine now, so all is well. Teelak says the puppy does NOT have worms and she has stopped putting any sugar in the dogs food, so looks like he will survive fine. Thanks for everyones responses and sharing your experiences.