Puppy is a picky eater

Question
QUESTION: I hope you are the person I ask, but I'm having a problem...I bought a very
healthy goldendoodle puppy 2 weeks ago, and ever since I brought her home
she DOES NOT eat dry food. She didn't touch the food our breeder was
feeding her (which she was in fact eating before I brought her home, it was
Kirkland dog food) so I tried mixing it with Innova puppy food, and she once
again didn't eat it. I figured she was just trying to adapt to the new
environment, so I didn't worry too much. Anyway, I tried JUST giving her the
Innova, but she still didn't eat it. I'm now trying Acana Pacifica, because she
ate it when she was at my mom's house with her dog. I tried feeding it to her
at my house and she once again didn't touch it. I'm now thinking she only ate
it because she saw the other dog eating it.

I've tried doing the "put the food down for 15 minutes and then take it away"
approach, and it didn't work. I finally broke and started making her chicken
and rice and/or mixing in canned wet food with her dry kibble. If I thoroughly
mix in the canned she will mostly eat it all, but she will pick the chicken and
rice out of the dry food and leave the dry food in the bowl. I honestly don't
know what to do, because I am a firm believer in feeding dry, I don't want to
keep buying/making wet food.

Oh and as far as the "a healthy dog won't starve herself" saying goes...I tried
it, I only gave her the option of eating dry all day, and she went all day
without eating it but begged me for food. She was clearly starving. (And yes I
fed her, I wouldn't let my puppy starve)

On a final note, she's only gained 1 lb in 2 weeks. She was 12 lbs, now 13 lbs
at 10 weeks, and she should get up to almost 75 lbs. Please help me!

ANSWER: A healthy dog WON'T starve itself, but this takes far longer than one day.  It may take several days.  Each time you change food (especially if you add anything intended for people, like chicken), the dog may investigate; if what's in the bowl is very tempting, even a sick dog will at least attempt to eat it.  If you add something tempting each time the dog refuses its own food, you are training the dog to WAIT for the addition.  Random addition of more desirable foods creates an even stronger response in the dog, meaning she will remain hungry far longer.

You need to take this problem to the veterinarian because of the dog's age; NO ten week old dog of this breed mix is SEVENTY FIVE POUNDS.  In fact, a ten week old puppy at seventy five pounds would have to be from a GIGANTIC breed and I don't know if such a weight even exists in a neonate. Have the veterinarian explain to you what to expect in terms of physical development in this breed mix, and have the puppy tested for parasites (which can reduce weight and significantly upset a puppy's stomach.)  There is a nutritional supplement the veterinarian can give you that can prevent weight loss and ensure the fact that this neonate is receiving adequate nutrition for health purposes, should the puppy require this in the vet's estimation.  Meanwhile, feed the puppy three times daily; leave the food available for an hour at a time; don't add anything to it or show any anxiety regarding how the puppy reacts to the food.  Your anxiety around meal time is easily detected by the puppy (who observes your body language constantly) and may be contributing to the problem.  Make the appointment with the vet tomorrow.  If the puppy has intestinal parasites, the vet will treat them.  If the puppy is otherwise healthy, you need to relax and let nature take its course.  NO healthy dog starves itself but it takes time to undo whatever has caused this behavior.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Just as a clarification, I was saying she will be 75 lbs full grown, she is only 13
lbs now. She doesn't have worms, and she has seen a vet. The vet just said
feed her canned food to tempt her to eat. I did try the 'only dry food all day'
thing and she didn't touch it, and had no interest in touching it, but she
literally begged us for food because she was so hungry (or at least we
thought). I have just never had a dog like this. I'm used to them eating
anything that is put in front of them... Would you say this is a fairly typical
behavior? Or have we just completely spoiled her? Also, we give her a
supplement called NuVet, so hopefully she won't become too deficient during
this period.

Answer
Oh LOL this is better; I kept imagining what a 75 pound 10 week old puppy would be like and it was my idea of a nightmare lol.

Kirkland is garbage, one of the cheapest foods available in bulk.  People who have a great many dogs and care nothing for their nutrition feed the worst possible food.  I have no idea if the puppy was really eating this product at the "breeder's" home; as I may have mentioned, this breed is becoming a huge puppy mill product, as are many "designer" breeds like this.  Hip problems STILL exist as well as many other inherited genetic problems, so that's something to tuck away for future reference as the dog matures.  It's impossible to determine in a puppy this age if there is hip dysplasia; feeding a puppy with the genetic propensity for this a high protein puppy food past age four months is not a good idea because it pushes bone development.

Now back to the problem: ok you've seen the vet and s/he's not concerned about the pup's weight and has given you a supplement: this is all good.  Pup has been tested and has no parasites: also good.  Pup is not vomiting (I hope) and has no diarrhea (I hope): if this is not true, further investigation is required for esophageal and gastrointestinal malformations.  You haven't mentioned these as a problem so I'm assuming pup is perfectly healthy in every way except she won't EAT dry food!  As I've said before ONE DAY is hugely insufficient in an effort to change a dog's eating habits: if you want her to eat dry food, you have to TOUGHEN UP (lol) and give her ONLY her own food, several times daily with plenty of availability, for at least TWO weeks.  It's VERY easy to train a dog to refuse a bowl of food: just add something "better" in sight of the dog; it's SO easy to train a dog in this manner that you can even extend the time the dog will wait for something "better" and visibly perceive the dog WAITING.  So long as a dog is fundamentally healthy (according to a competent veterinarian), the dog WILL eat the food you provide, ultimately -- I PROMISE you.  To tempt her a bit further, don't add canned food.  Sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese onto the dry food itself BEFORE putting the food down; make it a small amount of cheese.  The scent of the cheese should entice the dog.  Let her eat as much (or as little) of the food as she wants.  STOP worrying, and give it time.  Try this for one WEEK, starting when you read this post, and report back.  ONE WEEK.  :o)