• If you're a past member of the board, but can't recall your password any more, you don't need to set up a new account (unless you wish to). As long as you recall your old login name, you can log in with that user name then select 'forgot password' and the board will email you at your registration email, to let you reset your password.

Eating & dog park questions

gamefanz

Well-known member
Since the first day we brought home Toby he has been a grazer with his food. He will eat a few bites then leave it for hrs then go back to eat some more and so on. He has been averaging 2/3 to 1 cup a day but in the last few days he's only been averaging 1/2 to 2/3 a day. He does not seem interested in eating at all. We've tried putting him in his playpen so he will focus on eating but all he does is eat a few bites then go to his crate to sleep or just sit there. We've tried leaving the playpen open while he is in the living room with us so he can go into the playpen to eat when he wants to and he will but only a few bites then he is done for a long while. We have shown him the bowl when breakfast is served and he doesn't seem the slightest bit interested at the time. So if we put the food down for only 1/2 hr he wouldn't care at all. He seems to like his food when he eats it. We are slowly adjusting out of Eukanuba to Royal Canin dry food. We like the idea of dry food because we didn't do this with our Peke, he was fed wet and dry and it was not good on his teeth after many years. Its a lot easier to leave the food down if it just dry. Toby has good stools, he poo's average of 4 times a day. Any advice on getting him to eat in a timely manner?
We have a big outdoor dog next door who doesn't bark much but when he does it scares Toby and he runs in the house. This morning as we were outside we heard a dog about 3 to 4 houses down bark and that scared him too and he ran in the house. I know he needs to be socialized with other dogs but our vet does not want him with other dogs until after his 3rd shots on Aug 1. Do you think it would be a bad thing for his health if we took him to the dog park and just hold him so he can see other dogs from afar? No touching or on the ground just being held so he can see these other animals?
We do not have many places around here that allows pets so taking him with us to stores and such is not possible. pet stores and home improvement stores are just about it but I know letting him walk in a pet store is not good at this time either.
Any advice on introducing him to dogs right now without disregarding what the vet advises? I hate that he is so scared of barking.
Thanks
Becky
 
You could try putting the food in a toy that dispenses it. My 2 think it's so cool, they would rather have it fall out 2-3 pieces at a time and scavenge the floor than eat of a bowl. You want one where the pieces fall out easily.

As far as socializing. I wouldn't go to a dog park, deadly diseases like parvovirus could get picked up. Pet stores are also not a good idea. If your neighbor's dog is fully vaccinated and gentle you could try introducing them. Getting a couple of "friends in the neighborhood" should give Toby a pretty good base until he gets his shots.
 
Good idea about the food. I will give that a shot!
As far as our neighbors dog its a no. Our neighbors advised us that their Akita was never socialized as a pup and was attacked by another dog in its life so it is not dog friendly at all. The dog looks pretty scary to tell you the truth and growls through the fence. We've done a lot of puppy protection in that area because of this. They do not allow their dog to come in contact with another because of being unsure what it will do.
We asked an owner of a PomPeke across the street and she said her dog was never socialized either and is skidish around other animals but she said when he is done with shots we can give it a try.
We don't know any other families in our neighborhood. There is not that many dogs in our neighborhood as far as I can tell. More kids!
UGH! I guess we will just have to wait it out.
Thank you for the advice.




You could try putting the food in a toy that dispenses it. My 2 think it's so cool, they would rather have it fall out 2-3 pieces at a time and scavenge the floor than eat of a bowl. You want one where the pieces fall out easily.

As far as socializing. I wouldn't go to a dog park, deadly diseases like parvovirus could get picked up. Pet stores are also not a good idea. If your neighbor's dog is fully vaccinated and gentle you could try introducing them. Getting a couple of "friends in the neighborhood" should give Toby a pretty good base until he gets his shots.
 
Just got the smack down from my husbands coworkers wife who is a groomer. They have 2 German shepherds who are older but she said Toby is too young to meet other dogs and she said we need to wait until he is fully vaccinated. I guess I am trying to rush it a bit so we will wait it out.
Becky
 
Leaving dry food down encourages grazing. Better to put it down, leave for 10-15 minutes, then pick it up and not feed anything until the next official mealtime (no treats either!). Apart from it being good for Toby to have regular meals, you need to know how much he's eating, as weight-watching is a lifetime's occupation with most Cavaliers! Even if you don't want to generally feed a mix of wet and dry, a little something on top of the dry for a few days/weeks can help Toby to get started on eating regular meals - my two love tinned fish, either in oil or tomato sauce, just a spoonful a couple of times a week as a treat (and it's good for their coats).

A lot of puppies are daunted by noisy bigger dogs. Once Toby's shots are finished, you could take him to the dog park and just sit with him on your lap, where he feels secure, so that he can watch what's going on, and perhaps some dogs will come up and say hello - without towering over him. If he seems worried, be cheerful and encouraging, rather than reassuring - which signals that there something worrying to be reassured about! Be patient - puppies develop at different rates; some are immediately confident and outgoing, others need more time to adjust to a very confusing world!

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Great advice! Thank you so much. I took his food away and will feed him again at dinner and hope he will eat it all at once. We only give treats when we are training him. I don't want to start down a bad road with treats like we did with our Peke.
I will heed the advice given and just wait out the dog intro's. I will definitely start out slow when we do introduce.
Becky



Leaving dry food down encourages grazing. Better to put it down, leave for 10-15 minutes, then pick it up and not feed anything until the next official mealtime (no treats either!). Apart from it being good for Toby to have regular meals, you need to know how much he's eating, as weight-watching is a lifetime's occupation with most Cavaliers! Even if you don't want to generally feed a mix of wet and dry, a little something on top of the dry for a few days/weeks can help Toby to get started on eating regular meals - my two love tinned fish, either in oil or tomato sauce, just a spoonful a couple of times a week as a treat (and it's good for their coats).

A lot of puppies are daunted by noisy bigger dogs. Once Toby's shots are finished, you could take him to the dog park and just sit with him on your lap, where he feels secure, so that he can watch what's going on, and perhaps some dogs will come up and say hello - without towering over him. If he seems worried, be cheerful and encouraging, rather than reassuring - which signals that there something worrying to be reassured about! Be patient - puppies develop at different rates; some are immediately confident and outgoing, others need more time to adjust to a very confusing world!

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
We have never had a grazer, probably because we leave the food down for approx. 15 minutes, then take it up. No more food until next regularly scheduled meal time. They get hungry sooner or later, and figure it out.
 
Thank you Waldor. When I took it away he saw it leave. I hope he learns quick when to go eat his food. I want to keep my pup growing at a healthy rate.
Becky



We have never had a grazer, probably because we leave the food down for approx. 15 minutes, then take it up. No more food until next regularly scheduled meal time. They get hungry sooner or later, and figure it out.
 
We have progressb*n*n* We took his food away after lunch, There was 2/3 cup. We put it back down for dinner and he ate everything except about 2 tablespoons:rah: I hope he keeps this up! Thank you all for the advice!

Becky
 
Puppies are pretty good at eating what they need and want and don't tend to over or undereat. Kate's summed up perfectly why it is really a good idea to never leave dogs to graze/free feed, especially not cavaliers, but I wouldn't worry too much about the amount. How old is he now and how many meals a day? Generally a young puppy needs 3 meals daily (up to four when very young), dropping to two meals at 4-6 months, then 1-2 after that. They generally begin to show less interest in the third meal at around 4-6 months themselves and will often just leave it. A cup is a lot of food -- it is a starting point to gauge the right amount, but a lot of cavaliers would not eat that much especially after they reach a year old or so. A few might need more than a cup but not too many. It is a kind of trial and error and some days a dog just may not want as much and will leave some food.

I would look around for a good puppy socialising class -- where your pup can safely meet lots of other puppies. I'd look for a class run by someone with a CCPDT certification -- a place based on rewards training, not 'corrections' where they want you to jerk the dog's neck, use a choke chain etc.
 
Thank you for the info Karlin. Toby is 11 weeks old. We really hadn't had meals per day, if he ate what was in the bowl then we gave more but he never ate more than one bowl. We have only given a cup a day so far. Starting today we will be doing breakfast, lunch and dinner. I won't be putting more food in the bowl though until he eats everything in the last meal.
Becky
 
About the dog park, it would be much better to find a puppy obedience/socialization class for him to meet other pups. Sometimes dog parks can have unruly pets with owners that are just trying to burn off their energy. I would think 3 puppy shots are enough to join a puppy class. I know here it is enough, you would just have to call around. Good luck!
 
Thank you. I only know of 2 places right now with puppy training and they are located in pet stores. Not sure of the rules yet on vaccines, I will have to call them. We want to get him started in training just not sure about the vac's.
Becky
 
Back
Top