[kristen0068]

Hey and thanks for reading and trying to help. I bought a golden retriever puppy at 4 weeks and 5 days old that night i brought him home he ate puppy food like a pig. The next day he wouldnt go near it hardly just barley nibbling, now is the second day and he is still barley eating. vet says its ok, he is using the bathroom alot but still its worring that he wont eat, and he whines like he wants his mother. How do i get him to start eating i wet it down make it warm ive tried everything

 

[LibertyME]

Why o why was the pup separated from his dam so early?

 

[MikaTallulah]

Good luck. I think 5 weeks is too young to be away from mom though. Try getting puppy formula to mix with kibble. I had to supplement my one yorkie at weaning time due to weight loss. I own mom.

 

[estesbubba]

Wow! In Nebraksa it's required they stay with their litter mates until 8 weeks. Don't know about other states but 4 weeks seems awfully early.

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

Have you had him to the vet? That would be the first thing. He's actually too young to be separated from his mother but other people have made it work even though it's really hard on everyone.

I suggest you take him to the vet and have him looked over. Today. Little pups can dehydrate and get very sick, very fast.

 

[Tahnee GR]

How much does he weigh? Regular weighing can help let you know if he is thriving or not. How is his activity level? What are you feeding him? Is he drinking?

Five week old puppies do not eat all that much, compared to adults. Is he pooping? If he is pooping and not losing weight, he is probably eating more than you think. One trick I have done with very young puppies like this, is to soften their food so it doesn't hurt their teeth. In a pinch, warm water will do but I really like to add a bit of warm goat's milk to their food-it adds calories and is very palatable.

You said the vet said not to worry-has the vet seen him? If not, I would take him in to be seen.

I am sure he misses his mother and littermates, but 8 week old puppies do too. Where does he sleep? Are you, or someone, home with him all day?

 

[Willow52]

Hank was 5.5 weeks when he was given to me as a gift. He didn't eat a lot either. He also would not eat the food the breeder apparently had him on. So I started him cold-turkey on Innova Large Breed Puppy. I mixed it with a little canned (same brand) and cottage cheese or yogurt. He didn't seem to like it wet or mushy from adding water.

He did get a tummy bug at about the 5 day point so maybe your little one is working on one. If he gets diarrhea, get him to the vet ASAP. Puppies that young can dehydrate very quickly.

I didn't have much trouble with him crying since I stay at home and at night his crate was in our bedroom.

With a little care your puppy will do fine.

 

[kristen0068]

i got him so early because he was hurting the mother and the breeder was trying to get rid of them because they couldnt keep them around her. Yes he is pooping and peeing alot actually and is very energetic, i have raised puppied before so the age didnt bother me however i never had this issue. I am feeding him purina puppy chow which he seems to not like at all and have tried the food the breeder provided with him and that isnt going well either. Someone told me to try a food called gravy train they said he would love it do you guys know anything about that food. Thanks for the advice my husband is on his way to get goats milk and a scale as we speak.

 

[kristen0068]

Oh and i forgot to answer a few more questions you guys asked. he sleeps in a box next to our bed he sleeps all night long. He is with us all the time when we go to the store we take him with us.

 

[Bentley's Mom]

He may still be stressed. It's only been a couple of days and his whole little world has changed. I would keep him on the same food. You don't want to keep changing his food because that can cause big tummy problems. How much are you feeding him?

 

[kristen0068]

i have been trying three times a day but more now since hes not eating, he will lick all the water out of the food and thats usually it he will nibble at it taking maybe 2 to 3 bites then he runs away and wont have no more of it

 

[Pemphredo]

I dealt with this exact same thing when I got my puppy at 5 weeks 3 days... be persistent make sure he is drinking water and try puppy milk. he still needs his mothers milk so it would be best to get him on some puppy milk. let him just drink it from a dish. if he starts refusing water try a medicine syringe and put it in his mouth. are you leaving the food down for him all the time? maybe he is eating when you don't see him eat?

 

[kristen0068]

No i take it up because my other animals try to eat it and when he gets done licking and trying to eat he uses the bathroom immediatly so i keep it scheduled. Right now he is running around the house chasing my son whining i know he he misses his mother and i just want him to be ok. My husband is going to go ahead and get puppies milk too and try that when he gets home

 

[Pemphredo]

No i take it up because my other animals try to eat it and when he gets done licking and trying to eat he uses the bathroom immediatly so i keep it scheduled. Right now he is running around the house chasing my son whining i know he he misses his mother and i just want him to be ok. My husband is going to go ahead and get puppies milk too and try that when he gets home

since he is just licking all the liquid out of the food the puppy milk mixed with it will help a lot if you add it to the food instead of JUST water. good luck and keep us posted. I wanna see pictures of this little guy! :O)

 

[Pemphredo]

how does his poop look? is it runny? liquid? has he been de-wormed?

 

[kristen0068]

its regular still form not runny or anything he goes alot. Thanks for the advice and care we will for sure be adding the milk to the food let you guys know how it goes

 

[Pemphredo]

can't wait for an update! I hope he starts pigging out soon. my Sharlette still isn't a huge fan of eating. I have to hand feed her ( from my hand) 3 times a day. she eats 1 cup of puppy chow at a time. but is such a slow eater. like it takes her for ever to eat that 1 cup. but once she is done she walks away. it just takes her a while to eat. maybe he will be like that too. maybe try feeding him from your hand. even if it is a wet sloppy mess LOL I had to do that also with sharlette even when it was wet soggy food LOL

 

[kristen0068]

well just tried to get him to eat some puppy chow soaked in puppys milk he licked it a few times and ran away, put some puppys milk in a bowl he licked it a few times and wouldnt any more, dont know what to do

 

[ozzy'smom]

What food did the breeder have him on?

 

[kristen0068]

they had him on some food called the pride they told me i wouldnt be able to buy it. I held him in my lap and took the food in my hand and put it to his mouth after a few mins of squirming he ate 3 small hand full it was soaked in the puppy milk which he doesnt seem to like. my question now is if i can get him to eat that much how many times a day should i do that. And should i try to bottle feed him the puppys milk since he wont lick it out of a bowl.