Unlike other Pets, chihuahuas need a lot of care and attention, as you would give to your newborn. They are energetic, love playing, and are very sensitive to a lot of things. With that said, you may have noticed that on some occasions your chihuahua won’t eat, even if you try hand feeding it. Chihuahuas have a lack of appetite, which is known as appetence or anorexia – not the human disorder kind though. Also, before taking any action we should take into consideration the age of your dog.
In this article we will cover:
- A newborn chihuahua puppy won’t eat
- A puppy won’t eat
- when an adult won’t eat
when a newborn chihuahua puppy won’t eat
Bringing a new chihuahua puppy home, Means you have to expect anything. As they are so tiny and fragile. If you notice that your puppy won’t eat or doesn’t eat enough, you have to take massive action ASAP in order to keep your puppy healthy. Due to their tiny size lack of nutrition will severely affect their health.
Early weaning syndrome is one of the reasons why a puppy won’t eat. Early weaning syndrome is when the puppy is was separated from his at a very young age. This issue can impact the puppy’s growth extremely.
It is known that a puppy must never lift his mother before the age of 8 weeks. However, due to some marketing reasons, breeders or individuals may take a chihuahua puppy from his mother too early to sell him. So, in order to avoid issues related to this situation, you should never buy a chihuahua who was obliged to stop drinking the dam’s milk.
In addition, a chihuahua puppy won’t eat or doesn’t eat enough due to some medical issues such as stomach and intestinal problems. For this reason, don’t take any action before having a full checkup from the veterinarian.
The fix
Once you are sure that your chihuahua puppy doesn’t suffer from any health issue according to the vet’s complete checkup. The reason for not eating will probably be due to early weaning. Therefore you will be obliged to play the role of the mother. In other words, you have to bottle feed your puppy.
Your main goal as a first step is to feed your puppy a milk replacer, to let the body becomes stronger and build muscles. After that, the puppy can be weaned to start feeding solid food.
Foods you have to choose from must contain vitamins and minerals, and be digestible. They are in form of a powder that we can mix with water(don’t use tap water as it may contain some chemicals such as pesticides).
You should feed puppies every few hours as they get hungry quickly. To know your puppy’s progress you have to weigh her every day to see if there is a gain in weight.
You can give the puppy soft mushy foods after one week. When the puppy’s body is familiar with the food, you can start feeding him regular meals.
The chihuahua Puppy won’t eat
Since you are sure that your puppy is old enough to eat solid food, you have to choose home-cooked food. This way, you can feed your dog foods with nutritional value. As on the other side manufactured dog foods contain additives and fillers.
Furthermore, there are a lot of advantages of home-cooked foods. Such as, your puppy will eat much better and will enjoy a better appetite. Also, you can use food that you have already at home which means that you can save a lot of money and make delicious food for your dog.
A normal puppy needs 40 to 55 calories for a pound of body weight.
when an Adult chihuahua is not eating
There are many reasons why your adult dog won’t eat and you should be worried. This include :
Change of Food:
A drastic change in what you are feeding your chihuahua will cause a fussy behavior which may result in not feeding at all. They are picky eaters and will choose among various dog foods that they will love to eat while others will barely give a lick. If you wish to change your dog’s feeding diet then it is advised that you do it one step after the other.
- How to change your chihuahua food, step by step
- 1st week, do 75% of old food and 25% of new food and mix it properly.
- 2nd week, mix the old and new food in equal proportion.
- 3rd week, decrease the old food to 25% and increase the new food to 75% and ensure it has been properly mixed.
- 4th week, do 87.5% of new food and 12.5% of old food and mix them well.
- In the 5th week, you can introduce the new food alone and it’ll be like nothing has changed for your chihuahua.
Feeding Schedule:
Since there are small toy breeds, it is best to serve their meals in small potions preferably twice or thrice a day. Depending on how old your chihuahua is, you can implement a good feeding routine that you should on a daily basis strictly. Ensure they are well-spaced, say one meal in the morning, another during midday and the other in the evening. However, if you aren’t available during the day, stick to two meals a day, morning and evening.
- Appropriate feeding routines
- Less than three months: always leave out food so that they can feed anytime.
- 3-6 months: 3 or 4 meals a day
- 6-12 months: 2 or 3 meals a day
- Above one year: 2 meals well-spaced out.
Dental Problems:
A problem with your chihuahua’s teeth, gums, or mouth, in general, may be the reason why it’s not eating. Often check the state and conditions of your dog’s mouth to ensure that they don’t have a bad tooth, mouth sores, or foreign objects in there. If you find something off, immediately take your dog to the vet for a checkup.
Illnesses or Pregnancy
Chihuahua s are prone to get sick often especially due to their sensitivity. If you experience some poor eating habits in your pet then it may be suffering from a stomach upset or may just be pregnant. This is usually accompanied by either vomiting, diarrhea, or the weather look. If this persists for more than a day, you should visit your veterinarian.
Picky Behavior
Sometimes the reason why your chihuahua is not eating is that there are so many people or other pets around its eating area. This may make them feel shy, uncomfortable, and be in a finicky mood. Therefore, set the food place in a quiet place where they will find it comfortable. The type of bowl may also make the dog not eat at all. Also, if it is not properly leveled or too deep and the Dog keeps on hitting its edges, then he will not be happy at all and will refrain from eating.
Solutions to your chihuahua’s Eating problems:
Sometimes we are too loving to the dogs and we end up spoiling them too much. The first step to finding a solution for their lack of appetite is visiting the veterinarian to determine the cause. Then based on the issue, apply the best solution so that your chihuahua gets back to eating as it is required. This can be by:
- If it is a health issue, once the illness has been diagnosed, and treatment is underway, you can try alternative feeding solutions. For example, syringe-feeding, using a feeding tube, or rather giving them a liquid diet. Once they are all better, ensure to go back to normal feeding routines.
- On the other hand, if your chihuahua isn’t eating due to behavioral issues, then you need to take strict measures. This may include:
- If you have been offering too many treats, stop or minimize until he feeds.
- Similarly, if you have been feeding him on human food, stop and use the step-by-step guide on how to introduce new food until chihuahua food is back into the feeding diet.
- Take the chihuahua for a walk before mealtime.
- Set a place aside for a better feeding environment where.
- Trying out new chihuahua foods. For example; if you note your dog isn’t eating dry foods, you can try canned food or wet food as well.
- Try out new bowls to see what your chihuahua prefers and at different heights.
- Ensure you feed your pet fresh food all the time.
- Make mealtime fun.
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