Hey guys,

My boyfriend just bought a house, so we decided that we needed a puppy to go along with it. We are not moved in yet so we have been keeping him (Carter) between 3 different houses. I know this is very stressful on him, luckily we only have 2 more weeks.

Carter is a miniature Australian Shepherd and is a very picky eater. We have tried him on a couple different foods including Kibbles & Bits (eww-I know, the woman I bought him from), slowly switched him to Iams, he hated it... He loved a friend's Beneful Adult dog food so I bought him Beneful Puppy and slowly tried to switch him to that.. he will not eat it.

So, a wise friend told me to mix the 3 hard puppy foods along with a spoonful of soft mighty-dog. Of course, he sipped the gravy and then was done with it.

I refuse to give him human food.

I am at wit's end and have no idea what to do. The vet didn't give me any good advice so now I'm begging!! Could it be the stress of not having his own "territory" yet? Or could something really be wrong??

Please help :(

How old is your puppy? How long has he been with you?

We went on a month-long vacation this summer when our puppy was just three months old, which meant three different houses for him too. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world, especially when it came to housebreaking, but he seemed to adjust very easily and enjoyed all of the places we went. Some puppies could find the moving back and forth to be stressful enough to lose their appetite, but your pup might just be a finicky eater.

All commercial dog foods are not alike. If you do a little research into some of the things that have wound up in the cheaper versions, you would be absolutely shocked. There are responsible pet owners who refuse to give their pets commercial dog food.

The commercial brands recommended by our vet are produced through purina, hill's and royal. Personally, we have gone with our breeder's recommendations and alternate between a hypoallergenic, probiotic brand of kibble and then puppy-specific homemade meals.

You said that you refuse to give your puppy human food. What are your reasons for this? It's one thing to give your puppy a balanced diet of human-grade proteins, veggies and carbs, and it's another if you're talking about table scraps. If you are curious to know the reasons and methods for preparing food for him at home, there are a great number of fantastic books that explain it.

If it were my dog, I would try making a very basic chicken broth (no onions, no salt, no added fat), and I would add it to the food. If your dog laps the broth and leaves the solids (I had a cat that used to do the same thing with all of his foods), you can leave the food to soften in the broth and then stir it into a mush. One more thing: as dogs "eat with their noses" rather than their mouths, serving the food slightly warm can make it more appetizing to them.

Also, are you doing fixed feedings (i.e. leaving each meal down for 20 minutes), or are you allowing him free feedings (i.e. leaving the food down throughout the day)? And how many meals are you giving him per day?

He is 4 months old, we have had him for almost 4 weeks now.

What kind of non-commercial brands are the best and where do you get them? I am willing to pay a little more for the little guy, he is so sweet.

I just don't want him to have table scraps, and don't know when it is OK to give him our food. I know that carrots are a good treat for them, but besides that I have no clue. I just want my baby healthy and not skin and bones anymore. I am really interested in trying the chicken broth, I have never heard of that!

And no, we are not doing fixed feedings, only because we can't ever get him to eat that we will take what we can get by the bowl being out all day... along with our hectic schedules. Once we get into the house it will be easier but for now the poor little guy is losing so much weight that I feel so sorry for him!

Thanks for your help :)

I live in italy and I'm fairly certain that the producer of the food we've been using doesn't export as it's a small company. I don't know what's right for your dog, but we add a small amount of organic corn oil to our pup's food as recommended by our breeder and okayed by the vet. It adds fat and calories, and it's also good for his coat. You might want to ask your vet if it would be okay for your dog too.

My very finicky cat lost weight as he got older, and the vet gave us a tube of something that adds extra vitamins and is very calorie rich. I think it might have been called vita-cal, which I know is available in the states. I was going to recommend free feedings, as the more opportunities he has to eat the better.

The most basic rules I follow when it comes to home prepared doggy foods are no salt and no fat used in cooking. A very simple meal of rice and chicken is frequently recommended for pups with upset stomachs and digestion problems. I wash the rice before or even after cooking to remove some of the extra starch that can be hard to digest, but honestly it depends on the rice. Adding boiled carrots and green beans is even better.

My favorite puppy training book has a good amount of information about different diets owners chose for their pups, and I know there are other books recommended for people who want to read up on them. The training book is the puppy whisperer by paul owens.

I'm hoping carter gets his appetite going! Let us know how it goes!