Question:

Hello everyone *waves*. Hubby and I came home a week ago with our gorgeous little Coton De Tulear pup who we decided to call Hamish. It´s hard work, harder than I anticipated. So far though it´s going quite well. We have just a few issues that we would like to have resolved.
He is a little fussy about his food and refuses to eat from his bowl. Instead me or hubby has to lift the kibble out and put it on the floor for him to eat. We think he may be afraid of the bowl even though he has his water in an identical bowl.
We bought a crate for him 2 days after we got him. So far we´ve had him in the crate whilst we´ve been around and also while we´ve been out. WE have been building the time up, starting with 1 minutes and now we´re up to 45 mins. During the 45 mins period we´re in the house with him, sometimes even in the same room. WE don´t talk to him while he´s in the crate but he whines incessantly. I try to wait until he´s been quiet for a few minutes while he´s quiet before letting him out. Surprisingly he sleeps in the crate with the door open in our bedroom all through the night and won´t leave it until I get up. The only thing is that as soon as the door is closed he starts whining and working himself sometimes upto barking.
I´m keeping a note of his visits outside to relief himself hoping to see some patterns and actually there is a pattern to his routine now.
Perhaps the above issues should be posted on another board?

Answer:



Hi lisalou Firstly,I would not advise adopting any special feeding arrangements like hand feeding or your puppy will expect you to continue..always Put the food down in the dish and remove it after ten minutes then do not feed again until the next meal is due.

Regarding the crate and housetraining you may find these Dogweb articles helpful...






If you have any further questions please post them and we will do our best to help you..
Forgot to say you seem to be doing the right things with the crate
Your puppy needs to look upon it as a 'safe place' so never scold him before putting him in there.
ADDED
If you do want to put him in the crate with the door shut do so after he has been fed and had a play, that way he will be more likely to settle down..put him in quietly without fuss..with a 'safe toy' and an item of clothing that you have worn and only go to let him out when he is quiet.

Answer:



Hi Lisalou,

how old is Hamish now? What kind of bowl was he fed at at the breeders and what kind of bowl is he fed from now? Some dogs are afraid of their bowls, particularly metal ones. They eat away at the kibble and suddenly they spot a strange dog staring up at them from the bottom.

I do agree that you need to encourage him to eat properly and not give him too much special hand feeding, but I don't agree (sorry Mini ) that you should only leave the food down for 10 minutes. I'd leave the food down for at least 20 minutes if he's a tiny puppy - it is important to encourage him to eat from a bowl, but it's more important at this age that he's getting the nutrition he needs.

If I were you I'd put the food in his bowl, sit by it and encourage him over to you. Start with feeding from your hand and slowly move your hand lower and lower until it's in the bowl with the food - he should feel realxed by your presence. Feeding by hand, although not ideal and not to be encouraged for too long, does have the added advantage of preventing food possessiveness. If encouraging him this way doesn't help, try changing the bowl type.

Remember he's only tiny, he's only been with you for a few short days and it's all an upheaval for him. Some puppies settle straight away, others take a while. Be patient with him, and try not to pander to him or be anxious around him. Puppies do go through funny behavioural patterns at first - I haven't had a puppy that hasn't refused food out of the blue for a few days - usually it rectifies itself but a little encourgement on your part isn't going to turn him into a neurotic adult.

Hope this helps.

Becs

Answer:



He´ll be 13 weeks tomorrow. I´m not sure what kind of food bowl the breeder had but we´re using a little metal one. I think I´ll try and find a heavy ceramic one to use. He actually used the bowl for a couple of days before eating his food became an issue. He does usually eat pretty much what he should every day, it´s just a performance that I don´t want to see continued.
Thanks for all the replies.

Answer:



Originally Posted by lisalou He´ll be 13 weeks tomorrow. I´m not sure what kind of food bowl the breeder had but we´re using a little metal one. I think I´ll try and find a heavy ceramic one to use. He actually used the bowl for a couple of days before eating his food became an issue. He does usually eat pretty much what he should every day, it´s just a performance that I don´t want to see continued.
Thanks for all the replies. Lisalou I think you are encouraging the unwanted behaviour by hand feeding and making a fuss..put the food down without a word and ignore the puppy, after about 10 minutes remove the food without a word (ten minutes is adequate to tell if a 13 week old puppy is going to eat the food or not, obviously if he starts eating but is a slow eater allow longer. )

Answer:



Hi Lisalou,

I'd try sitting with him for a while before you change the bowl. Some puppies do go through this, it's not a major thing for you to be concerned about. He's just settling in, and by next week may be eating from the bowl perfectly happily. If you got him at 12 weeks, it may take him a little longer to settle, so give him time.

I agree with Mini that you shouldn't make too much of a fuss - aim to encourage him to eat from the bowl, not automatically relent and put the food on the floor, but I seriously wouldn't leave it down for only 10 minutes. Sorry for the contradictory information here, it's not particularly helpful for you, but I would leave the food down for a minimum of 20 minutes at a time - snatching the food up too quickly can result in possessiveness over food. 20 minutes isn't pandering to him

Answer:



Originally Posted by Archaeopath Sorry for the contradictory information here, it's not particularly helpful for you, but I would leave the food down for a minimum of 20 minutes at a time - snatching the food up too quickly can result in possessiveness over food. 20 minutes isn't pandering to him I don't recall suggesting the food should be snatched up

As I said in the previous post (ten minutes is adequate to tell if a 13 week old puppy is going to eat the food or not, obviously if he starts eating but is a slow eater allow longer. ) ..If the puppy is being fussy and has got used to hand feeding and has not touched the food after ten minutes, the betting is it is not going to eat it at all so best to remove it . Obviously if the puppy has started eating the food you walk away and leave it for however long that it takes the pupy to eat it ...there is no question of snatching the food up while the puppy is eating

Answer:



Originally Posted by Minihaha I don't recall suggesting the food should be snatched up It was a phrase Mini, my concern was for how long the food should be left down.

Originally Posted by Minihaha As I said in the previous post
..If the puppy is being fussy and has got used to hand feeding and has not touched the food after ten minutes, the betting is it is not going to eat it at all so best to remove it . Obviously if the puppy has started eating the food you walk away and leave it for however long that it takes the pupy to eat it ...there is no question of snatching the food up while the puppy is eating Yep, and I still disagree I'm afraid. It is allowed

Answer:



yeah becs i seem to remember gwen bailey recommending the same in the "Perfect Puppy" book!!its really good and easy to follow , sometimes for sale on ebay but worth a buy anyway!!good luck!!