Sudden loss of appetite..

[Mochi Man]

I started my 9 week old puppy on the Bravo Chicken basics..For the 1st week i fed him 3 times a day about 2.5 ounces each feeding. He was loving it and seemed to be having great poops so all looked great. However, yesterday, I he began not eating his food as heartily, and this morning he only ate 0.5 ounces, barely touching it. I am at work most of the day but my girlfriend is will him all day, and she just told me she noticed he seems to be chewing his paws. I know this can be a sign of allergies.

Should I switch the Turkey or another Bravo basic? any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Chris&Eti]

There are so many reasons for loss of appetite-some of them can be serious especially for a puppy so if there are any other symptoms I would consult a vet immediately. If you haven't decided on a vet yet, make sure to ask if they will support the fact that you're feeding raw-if they don't there might be unnecessary focus on this that can interfere with a proper evaluation and diagnosis and be confusing for you. I take Eti to the Riverside Animal Hospital on 108th st- they have an integrative practice and support raw feeding.

It could be conditioned taste aversion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditioned_taste_aversion) where a dog relates a discomfort/nausea that he may have previously experienced to the food he's eating-in which case definitely switch the food. Its the best thing do at this point anyway to try different protein sources from week to week to understand which ones work best and which ones he has a problem with.

Paw licking is normal grooming behaviour, stress -especially a new environment can increase the need for a puppy to soothe himself with this activity-just to give you some perspective on the paw chewing. If it is more severe than this (its irritating his skin) then it can be food allergies and even environmental. Switching to another protein (preferably not another poultry) may help. If it does, then he does in fact have an allergy to chicken ,if not it could be environmental-like his bedding or the detergent you use to wash the bedding.

Besides Bravo, anything else he's eating could also have an effect-are his treats grain free?

[Mochi Man]

Thanks for the advice. I go to Gramercy Park Vet, which is a block away from me, and the vet is Dr. Kuhlman who I found recommended on some other frenchie site. His view of raw was straight to the point. He said he doesn't get involved in food discussions unless he feels the dog is unhealthy and food could be the problem, which seemed a fair statement, no? I was the first appoitntment, but when I walked out I saw 5 other frenchies in the waiting room, which I took to be a good sign.

I brought in a stool sample yesterday as part of the vet's initial screening and they found the coccidie parasite, which he said is very common in puppies. We have started the meds and vet said that he is very young and it's normal for pupps.

I just read about the taste aversion, which is very interesting, but don't think it's that, as he still eats the food.

The paw licking was just my overreaction. I have read so many posts that discuss paw chewing as a sign of allergies. He just licks, nothing obsessive, or anything that suggests he's uncomfortable.

Only treats he gets are small cubed pieces of turkey that I boil.

Thanks for your suggestions, but at this point I think it's just a new dad being a little nuerotic :o

[citygirl]

My dogs eat Bravo and I've experienced a sudden loss of appetite with one of them, but it was only temporary. Normally, my two are very excited to receive their food and are leading me to the area where I put their bowls down, but a few months ago, Lexi (who turns one year old tomorrow, by the way) seemed ambivalent one evening about eating. She smelled the food, nibbled a little, then walked away. I put the food back down about 30 minutes later and she did the same thing. The next morning, she seemed more excited about the food, but the same behavior occurred -- smell, nibble, walk away. This lasted for two days. On the third day, she was finally hungry again and hasn't acted strange since. I attribute the behavior to the fact that she'd chewed on a lot of fallen little tree limbs while outside and, if I remember correctly, she finally threw up a bunch of chewed up woody stuff toward the end of her hunger strike.

Just as aside, I started my two on the Bravo Chicken Blend and they did fine at first, but I have since found that Lexi is allergic to chicken. I moved them to Turkey and that was even worse. I now have them on the Bravo Beef and rotate that with the Rabbit. Twice a week they get Venison or Elk. They've done well on all of these.

I hope this information might help you!

[citygirl]

One other thing that I forgot to mention -- I was able to get her to eat a little of the food by hand feeding her. I didn't want her to get hypoglycemic, so I did give her a small amount of her food that she was willing to eat if I hand fed her. That is something to worry about with a puppy -- too little to eat and their blood sugar can go haywire.

[Mochi Man]

Great. Thank you for the input!!

[citygirl]

Hand feeding doesn't become a problem if you don't keep doing it! With a puppy so young, it's important that they get some food into their systems so that they don't have a problem with low blood sugar.

[gmacleod]

Actually, hypoglycaemia is quite a big risk with young puppies if they skip too many meals. Just like human infants, they need to eat little amounts often (which is why 3-5 small meals per day is more appropriate than 2), or they do risk upsetting blood sugar levels. Hypoglycaemia can be fatal, btw, so it's not something to mess around with. A little more info on that in this short veterinary article: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1651&articleid=877

With all that said though - it's highly unlikely that a pup is going to run into that sort of trouble from skipping one meal and eating little at the next ;) It would take rather a lot more than that to cause problems.

It's also worth bearing in mind that pup's nutritional needs, and hence appetites, go up and down with their growth spurts. That's logical enough, if you think about it. So I really wouldn't worry about a general decrease in overall appetite, as long as the pup does eat a little on a regular basis.

[Mochi Man]

Thank you all for your comments.

It was just a case of me over reacting:o ..he is eating fine. It was just for a few meals, but now he is right back to inhaling his food. In fact I gave him some of the heart and liver of my turkey and he loved it..saving the neck for tomorrow.

Thanks again, and hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving..

[Mochi Man]

yes, he is inhaling his rabbit these days. Really seems to love it.

Thanks!