New puppy is sad; won't eat or drink

We just got our new Cavalier puppy this afternoon! During the day, I think he was too excited to eat or drink. Now he seems kind of sad; I think he's wondering why his "mom" (the breeder) doesn't come to take him home.

What worries me is that he's not drinking. Not eating won't hurt him, but not drinking is not good.

Should I be worried?

Congratulations on your new puppy.

It's very worrying that he won't eat or drink - actually not eating CAN hurt them, as their blood sugar can drop very quickly which is why baby puppies need to eat four times a day. Sometimes in a new home they are just too excited to eat, so missing the odd meal the first day is not too much of a problem as long as he eats within 12 hours or so.

Not drinking is rather worrying - does he know where his dishes are? Have you shown him - maybe dipped your finger in the water and let him lick it?

Did he seem well before you left the breeder? Was he depressed at all there? Did Mum and the rest of the litter seem well?

obviously the concern is that he is poorly. Has he had diarrhoea, doing normal poos [I presume he is pooing?] If not, does his stomach feel hard/tight - worried he might have swallowed something.

If you lift a flap of skin at the back of his neck does it drop back immediately, or does it drop slowly? [indicating that he is dehydrated]

Has he had some time just shut in his crate or puppy pen? Just to lie quietly or has he just been running mad all the time? Puppies need to sleep and should not be allowed to run until they are exhausted.

Maybe put him in there with his water and food [I'm assuming his breeder gave you some of what he has been eating, a diet sheet etc - you should keep him on the same thing for at least 10 days]

Do you have some Dr Bach Rescue Remedy? You can give 2 drops of this into the mouth - maybe every 15 mins for a couple of hours until he seems brighter [can get it from the chemist]


Have you downloaded the Ian Dunbar books, Before and After you get your puppy - free to download from here,

http://dogstardaily.com/free-downloads

they have the best possible set up and advice on how to raise your puppy.

The essentials are here

http://dogstardaily.com/training/puppys-first-week-home-8-9-weeks


I'm sorry that you have this worry on your first day - if puppy still isn't eating or drinking then I think you need to telephone your vet. Has his breeder telephoned to see how he is settling in?

Not eating or drinking is bad!!!!! my friend just had a yorkie he bought go into shock and almost die within 24 hours of bringing it home. If my friend did not take the puppy to the emergency vet it would have been dead!!!!

Call a vet ASAP if this is happening!!!!!

Thanks for your replies! Sorry that I did not see them right away; for some reason my account is moderated, plus for some reason I wasn't "subscribed" to the thread, so I had no idea that my post had actually gone through.

Update: It's now five days later and he is eating and drinking. The day I posted a friend suggested having him lick water from my fingers. The next day I also discovered that he would eat if I wet his food with warm water. He only wanted squishy food for a day; I wonder if his teeth hurt because he's teething, and he might have also refused to eat if he were still at the breeders.

He did eat like a bird for the first few days, even though he was very active. He got his vet checkup on Tuesday, and he is perfectly healthy and not dehydrated, although I personally wonder if he should drink more water.

Nikki -- Yes, the breeder gave us a brand-new bag of food, as well as a blankie that he used at her house.