[Sherley]

Hello All,

I am a first time puppy owner of a beautiful 8 week old little princess chihuahua named Cookie. She started eating the solid food the breeder provided, but has recently been reluctant to eat it. I was given Science Diet A/D to supplement her food if she was not eating, which she loved at first (2 days ago), but she is reluctant to eat that (the A/D) now as well. She is eating around a 1/4 cup of food per day (she is 1.5 lbs). I am worried she should be eating more.. I have also been giving her Nutra-Stat to supplement her diet if not eating, as directed by the breeder. She loves it but I'm not sure how much is 'too much'. I'm really concerned if I should see my vet or if I'm just an over protective mother. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I am concerned if I'm socializing her correctly. I'm a woman on the go and have taken her with me to visit family, meet the work family, to the airport, etc. Is that OK? Should I be leaving her at home in her crate? (it breaks my heart). I don't want to deprive her of a smooth transition into her new home. Again, I'm a first timer and adore her, so any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

Sherley & Cookie

[labman]

The socialization issue is easier. Basically, take her anywhere you can now as long as you aren't exposing her to dogs that don't have all their shots or places a sick dog may have eliminated in the last 6 months. It is too easy to pickup a life threatening case of parvo or something. The more people, men, women, children, noise, etc. she is exposed to in the next month, the more comfortable she will be with them all her life. If a dog isn't going to live all its life in a kennel, the more it gets out before 12 weeks, the better.

The food is another matter. If you can, stick to the dry chow the breeder was feeding. I don't remember what the Science A/D is for. If you are feeding any decent chow, the dog doesn't need anything else. Evaluate it using LongLiveYourDog.com - Life Span Study - Rate Your Dog Unless it is already too thin, give it a few days to adjust to its new home and all your activities. Most puppies come from the breeder too fat. A 1/4 cup doesn't sound like enough, but it doesn't need to eat a whole lot. If it isn't eating any more and thinning out, get it to the vet before the weekend.