Hi I'm peter and I'm from the philippines. I bought an 11mon female shih tzu and I am having problems feeding her. It's been five days but she is not eating well. I asked the previous owner what is he feeding to her but he is lying to me. He keeps on telling me that he is feeding her beef pro adult dog food but I think the dog doesn't even recognizes it. She doesn't want to it eat. I already gave her 10 diff dog foods but still she doesn't want to eat. I can't contact the previous owner anymore, I don't know what to do. I am thinking to send her to the vet but the vets here are very stupid. They can't even answer simple questions. Last week I went to the vet to have my other two dogs checked. I asked her if my dogs are fine or are they healthy. Believe it or not, SHE Doesn't KNOW. I told her that I think my other female dog is in very near heat because my dogs vulva is swelling. So she smeared it. She told me that I need to wait for a month or two. But after two days I SAW BLOOD IN HER VULVA, MY DOG IS REALLY IN HEAT AND THE FREAKING VET Doesn't KNOW!! That's why I don't want to send my other dog to the vet because it will only be a waste of money. I hope somebody will help me. I know my dog is hungry because every time she sees me holding a food, she often chases me. But if I give her the food she doesn't want to eat it. Please help me. I also can't afford to send her to another vet. There are only few vets here. And they charge a lot and at the end of the day, they didn't resolved the problem.
Please have a heart. If there are foreign vets there or dog lovers please email me an (email removed) thanks.

I think the issue is that you're changing foods twice a day. You said you've had her for 5 days and you've already tried 10 different types of dog food. She's confused.

She's in a new home, she's young, you keep changing her food. She seems to be stressed.

When you feed her are the other dogs around? Where do you feed her? When do you feed her? How often do you feed her?

I would try the food the previous owner stated he was feeding. Put the bowl in a nice quiet area, somewhere where the other dogs can't get to her, and let her be for a while. If need be, leave the bowl down all day.

It really sounds to me that she's just too nervous and confused to eat.

More then likely, if that is the type of food the previous owner claims to be feeding a 11 month old pup, then that is probably the food that she is use to.

Dogs can stop eating due to stress. Being taken away from everything that is familiare and put into anther home with other strange dogs and another strange human being, is VERY stressful.

Dogs will not starve themselves!! If she is bright, alert and responsive, then I doubt she is sick. If she is sick, it would be due to you changing her food on her 10 times over. Dogs cannot handle that. They have very sensitive stomaches and need time to adjut to a new food, especially if its going from a low grade food to a high quality food.

Figure out what type of food you want to feed your new dog, and stick to it. She will relax, settle down and eat. To entice her to eat, maybe try a spoon of canned food.

Just relax. If you are nervous and upset, she will sense that and become even more nervous and upset. Treat her like you do your other dogs.. Talk to her as if she has been there forever. Dogs are very sensitive animals and can pick up on all of our over-reactive human emotions :)

PLEASE HELP I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! Its my first time to have a dog, I just got my shih tzu 2 days ago April 7 to be exact. When we took her she already had cough the pet shop owner told me that it was becoz of the heat,( am from the philippines by the way and its summer here now.) they we're closed for 2 days becoz of the holy week holiday. And the puppies were left at the shop only to be checked at feeding time. And so becoz the shop was closed with the electric fans as their only ventilation the puppy had cough. They advised me to give the puppy vit c and multivitamins. On the day that we took her home the puppy can't sleep because of her cough I was so worried so I ask the owner what should I do and she told me to give the puppy 2ml 2x a day of 250mg amoxicillin after meal. I've already given her once today April 9. and also I've noticed that she's losing her appetite which also started today April 9. since we took her home she was eating well that was 2 days ago. Please HELP!

First, you have a puppy mill dog. All dogs sold at the pet store are from puppy mills, not breeders. Puppy mill dogs are notorious for health problems.

It sounds like your puppy has kennel cough. It's a treatable condition, but you won't treat it at home with any of the medications that the pet store suggested, and I would highly advise not to give medication that any pet store suggests. Most people that work at pet stores don't know the difference between a dog and a rabbit. Not the people you should trust with your pets health.

A vet is your only option. If it is kennel cough (which is only a guess because we can't diagnose on the internet) then it is treatable, but you can't leave it. It can be fatal if left untreated.

To the vet you go.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=kennel+cough&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CEMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FKennel_ cough&ei=-ViDT7G1Eonm2QXWtsj_Bg&usg=AFQjCNHALmnyBzpejIj6cB8p6LXjQ3UITA&cad=rja