Change in Eating Habits

Question
Hi Patti! Before he was hospitalized (including Vitamin. K IV and blood transfusion)and is currently recovering from rat poisoning (the accident occurred about 3 weeks ago), my Corgi puppy had a voracious appetite. Unless I put other goodies into his dry dog food or hand-feed him, my pup is extremely reluctant to eat. When I expressed my concern with the vet, his response was that Corgis are hearty eaters and my puppy will eventually regain his appetite. Do you have anything to add to the vet's advice? If so, I would gladly appreciate it. Thanks!

Answer
Hi Liz,

Your puppy probably isn't feeling 100% just yet, it could be why he's being a reluctant eater.

The only problem with adding tasty tidbits to your pup's diet, as an enticement to get him to eat, is that he's going to learn very quickly that if he holds out for something "better", he'll get it. You're creating a finicky eater who may turn up his nose at his regular dog food long after the point when he's feeling better. If you've been bribing your dog to eat for three weeks, he may have already learned that holding out for something better, works.

If your dog's regular food is a dry food, instead of adding people food to his diet, try adding a little canned dog food. At least then the enticement is the kind of food he needs.  
There are also supplements such as Tomlyn Pet Products Nutri-Stat, Vedco EnerCal , or Nutri-Cal that are appetite stimulants made for for recovering pets and finicky eaters who extra caloric & nutritional intake.

Being reluctant to eat isn't the same as not eating. Your puppy will eat enthusiastically again, when he's better. Until then, letting him eat when he's hungry, rather than force-feeding him  isn't a bad thing. If he's able to exercise at this point, it can help his appetite to give him an extra walk or more time to run around during the day.

Best of luck,
Patti