Pups' poor appetite

I have a pair of puppies (dont ask) same age same litter, both are lively and exhausting, neither have good appetites, but the smallest is the worst, I am concerned she is not putting on the weight to grow, she has a habit of scratching her armpit but after looking very closely she has no mites hair loss redness or anything to justify the constant scratching which usually aims under her armpit to her chest.

We have tried mixing their food with juices meat etc, as suggested by the breeder, but after initital interest they both need to be pressed into eating.
I know this isnt normal and at 11 weeks of age we struggle to get a good meal into them 3-4 times a day, the larger is stout and growing faster but the smaller although obviously much daintier is only making a 1lb in 5 days, she is very lively and has no problem matching her older sibling
They have been wormed by drontal , frontlined and had full vaccs, any ideas I am getting worried......both are FULL of energy??

It wouldn't do any harm to let them have a check up, although if they are both lively, playing, interested in whats going on etc then all is probably fine.

When my pup was about that age he too stopped eating 0 and he is a ouo that will eat constantly given the chance! I tried him with various different foods and nothing made any difference. In every other way he was fine.

Turned out he was teething and his gums were probably sore - as the vet said 'he's probably trying it on'!

It all cleared up after a couple of days and he ate his dinner like usual.

The only other thing that comes to mind is, do you supervise their mealtimes? Maybe the larger one is eating more tha his/her fair share?

Also, thinking of her itching - what food are you feeding? Maybe there is a bit of an allergy thing going on?

All guesswork on my part I'm afraid, but I am sure one of the experts will help.

hi,

a dog itching can be a sign of allergy, but can also be a sign of simply being insecure.... you'll often see dogs either itching, shaking themselves or yawning when they're met with thing the don't understand.....

Are you feeding your dogs separately and in separate area's? If not, give this a try.... the smaller puppy is probably used to being lowest in the pack.... meaning she has always been the last allowed to eat... and once weaned from mum to food this often means she gets the least appetizing food.... so feed her separately, put the bowl down, pretend to take a handfull yourself (no need to pretend eating it ) and tell her to eat.... she could just be waiting for permission.....

hope this helps and good luck!

Hi Davina you haven't said what you are feeding the puppies on or how long their appetite has been poor . Are you feeding what the breeder was feeding. At 11 weeks they should be on four small meals a day which I think is what you are already doing, make sure you are not giving them too much at one meal .

As the others have said it is best to feed the puppies separately also don't leave the food down longer than 20 minutes.

If the puppy is fit and active and is peeing and pooing OK there should be no cause to worry, however healthy puppies should have a good appetite.
If the puppy shows any signs of illness or the lack of appetite continues I would have a vet check to make sure all is well.

Thanks for your replies, the puppies are on Bakers puppy food which was supplied as part of a puppy pack by breeder.
The feed times are completely supervised by myself or hubby, so we are trying to make sure the larger pup doesnt grab everything.

We tried actually cutting down to 3 meals a day and that does seem to have created much more enthusiasm with the pups.
However it is interesting regarding the 'pecking order' as the smallest does tend to run forward then backs off just as if she is waiting permission to eat and she does seem a little uncertain when eating if she is doing the right thing....so i will try to increase her confidence seperating them completey does seem to cause distraction...but may be the answer
Regarding the allergy the wee puppy doesnt seem to actually scratch hard and there are no marks or anything on her skin , but she does it a lot ...that aside they are both fit as fleas

Hi Davina the puppies should be on 4 small meals a day until 12 weeks of age. Bakers would be my last choice of food for a dog, it actually contains sugars which have no part in a dogs diet. I would gradually switch to a better quality food with few additives.

I would feed the puppies separately for now preferably in different rooms/places.

Hi-not being funny but my male Kerry Blue terrier is a stomach on legs-terrible scavenger and always trying to eat Cherry's food as well as his own! (he likes to live dangerously!).

My point is -when we go to visit my Sister who has a Bichon Frise called Lily, Lily's food is on the floor in a dish and Parker sniffs it and won't touch it. Lily is fed on Baker's too. As I say Parker is not fussy so I would try feeding them on something more natural with less colourings additives and sugars.

I have managed to give the pups the 4 feeds today, could anyone please advise me on the best diet/makes for my wee Cockers, it is such a minefield with everyone pushing their own products, I have owned Cockers for 32 yrs and tended to give them tinned meat except for the last dog to die last year she was 14 1/2 and when her mother died of cancer I panicked and put her on a rice and chicken diet but then there are the problems of balanced diet vits/mins etc...please point me in the right direction I so want these little guys to live a long healthy life..........

Hi Davina Well spoken of dry (complete) foods on here include Fish4dogs/Burns/Wafcol/Arden Grange/ there are others too. Some of the 'wet' foods, Nature Diet, Nature Menu , Chappie, Burns pouches and the new raw frozen foods Darlings, Natural Instinct all of whom have websites.

A lot of people are now feeding raw or BARF diets or a variety of foods.

Which is considered best wet , dry or semi dry foods?