On Sep 29, 2007, at 1:01 AM, Mandy F. wrote:
Ah, if he is actually missing some teeth then it does make some sense to soften it up. Did your vet say if your pup has some dental problem?
Nope, she didn't say anything about a dental problem but I could ask about that in our next visit. I didn't think to ask the first and second time (yup, we've just had 2 vet visits so far bec I've just had him for nearly 4 weeks) because I figured that he was still a baby and really had some missing teeth. :o) How long are chihuahuas considered a baby/puppy?
This morning though, I tried to feed him his food with very little water. And added some dry ones on top just to see if he'll like it and hack it. Well, so far he did! He managed to eat it all and was ACTUALLY chewing his food now instead of slurping it up. So maybe your advice was right. Maybe I will gradually lessen the water -- water is good though so I don't mind it mixed in his food because he's not much of a water drinker unless after play.
As far as how much to feed, my pup has always had food available at all times. I'm not sure how much she eats a day. Sometimes it's like she gets munchies and will eat all her food overnight and sometimes she just eats a few kibbles here and there.
I was advised to keep his meals scheduled -- to not leave food available at all times except during meals. Except for rare cases when he doesn't eat at all, then I'd have to keep food there when he gets hungry. But so far, he hasn't NOT eaten at all during meals. At worse, he just doesn't finish all of it so I take it away after an hour or so of ignoring it.
I was advised that if he doesn't eat at all, to just take his food away after some time. So he learns to eat on schedule and on demand. I think it's also to keep his pooping predictable and on schedule. Fortunately, I haven't had the need to make that moral decision (haha) to take his food away because he doesn't want to eat. Whew. But that's what I was advised to do.
