Water and food advice if you please.

[Albert01]

Hello Folks, I have a happy healthy 5 month old chiwawa x jack russell that I picked up the other day. It weighs 3.84 kg.

 

My problem is that it doesnt seem to want to drink water. Not a lick. It will drink it with a splash of milk tho. So does anyone know whats going on there?

As for food, it seems a bit fussy, likes to be hand fed roast beef at $45 a kilo, but maybe half a matchbox full at a time. Doesnt seem to like dry food, mince and rice, canned puppy food.

 

So overall I am not sure how much such a dog should be eating and drinking. I can only leave food and water there, hes not skinny by any means.

I would appreciate some guidance, I have had pups before but none that wont get much bigger than it is at 5 months.

 

I can only add "it is the runt of the litter and its siblings picked on him".

[Albert01]

Bewdy, he just had a drink of water. I think I might have worked it out, hes used to eating and drinking last. My other dog is a big dog and drinks out of a bucket, the lil one drinks out of a bowl. The big dog drank out of of the bowl so the lil one did. The big dog dropped some crumbs, the lil dog ate them. He watches the big one eat but wont eat himself, now I know why, hes expecting the scraps. How did I go?

[Mairead]

When you say you picked him up "the other day", how many days has he been at your home? It is a big change, new person, new sibling, new sights, sounds and smells, new sort of water. Did you get any information on what food he was eating before?

Did you get any information about what was meant by runt? Was he a low birth weight compared to the littermates? Did he grow at the same rate? It's good he's not skinny, but weighing him regularly will help you keep an eye on his health. 

You might find he will try to train you to feed him roast beef, but stick to complete dog food rather than human food. People with experience with smaller breeds will be able to advise you how many meals he needs at that age. 

[tdierikx]

I would suggest you get a cage crate for him and feed him in there... or a playpen. Essentially he needs to learn that the other dog is not going to take his food, and that he's safe to eat what he's been given. If he doesn't eat what's been offered after 10 minutes, take it away until the next meal time and offer it again. Unlike cats, dogs will NOT starve themselves to death... they WILL eat once they are hungry enough. Sounds tough/mean, but it does work.

 

T.