5-week puppy tummy upset: How much dry kibble? Should I soak it?

She is small and 5weeks is early to be separated from mother and littermates and such pups can be more prone to anxiety due to limited socialisation. I would recommend feeding 5-6times per day with a complete puppy food (feeding guidelines vary per brand, wet or dry) and once on puppy food would not need additional formula or supplements. Be sure to keep up to date with deworming medication and contact your vets office to arrange vaccinations. Keep her isolated from other, unvaccinated dogs until she is up to date

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. A one month old puppy should be able to eat puppy food, so I would find a dry food that is formulated for puppies/growth. Follow the feeding instructions on the bag. If you are unable to purchase dog food today, you may feed him boiled chicken and rice in a ratio of two parts rice to one part meat. I hope this is helpful!

I typically recommend by 1 part chicken to 3 parts white rice. Give your dog a couple tablespoons, every few hours to start, and work up to about 1/4 cup every 4-6 hours as she tolerates things better. When your dog is eating well, start adding her dry food. If her signs don't resolve than she should be examined by a vet. She could have an infection or a parasite and your vet can prescribe medications to help.

I can certainly understand being concerned about your puppy not eating enough. It's really not the best for for your puppy, as it's not formulated to meet her nutritional needs. It's not something that is recommended to give to a puppy on a regular basis, usually only when the animal is sick. In addition, there may be ingredients in the baby food that is not safe for her to ingest. It could be that she isn't used to dry dog food, and you can try making a puppy mush for her to see if that helps. I would soak a high quality puppy formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with puppy formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry puppy food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until she is eating the dry puppy food only. If she still doesn't want to eat much, then I would have her seen before the 15th.

I recommend giving 3/4 of the old food and 1/4 of the new food for three days, then give 1/2 of the old food and 1/2 of the new food for three days, and then give 1/4 of the old food and 3/4 of the new food for three days. After this you should be able to fully transition onto the new food.

I would recommend a vet check to determine if there are nay underlying medical causes but the fact she eats well is a good sign. Monitor for regular stools and no pain or vomiting and ensure she is dewormed regularly with an appropriate puppy wormer (every 2-4 weeks depending on the product). Keep her isolated from other dogs (especially dog parks etc) until she is fully up to date with her vaccines

And in terms of the food -- he should be willing to eat wet food, if not dry food, at this age. So if he's not, I would highly recommend a check up with your vet to make sure everything looks ok. He may just need more time to adjust, but with such a young guy, he can get low blood sugar and dehydration very quickly, so it's important to act sooner rather than later.