My 7-week-old puppy won't eat. What should I do if he's not eating?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If Mojo is lethargic and not wanting to eat, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I would recommend having his blood tested and x-rays taken of his abdomen. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your puppy. This is not normal behavior for such a young puppy. If he goes too long between meals, his blood sugar will drop too low. I recommend having him evaluated by a veterinarian today. In the meantime, you can place karo or maple syrup on his gums to help raise his blood sugar. I hope this information helps!

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.

Unfortunately, this is not normal behavior for a young puppy and is pretty concerning. At less than two months old, your puppy needs to eat regularly or he risks having low blood sugar, which can cause serious health problems. Vomiting is not typically caused by stress and all these signs make me worry about a more serious illness. Please have him seen by a veterinarian right away because his lack of appetite and vomiting are very serious.

I am sorry Boba is not feeling well. At that young of an age he most likely needs soften kibble with warm water or you can try can puppy food. Typically dogs are weaned at 5 weeks so 4 weeks might be a little young. i would recommend trying to stay away from people food. If Boba gets use to eating people food he might never want to eat dog food. If he is not acting right or seems sick at this young of an age he really needs to go to a vet. In young dogs parasites, infection and viral disease are all possible and he should really be examined to determine why he is ill. i hope that helps

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Blacky. I recommend seeking veterinary care for him as soon as possible. Several weeks is way too long for a puppy to go without proper nutrition. Based on his exam findings, fecal testing will be recommended to look for any intestinal parasites or other intestinal infections. Based on these results, either treatment can be recommended or further testing if necessary. He may require deworming medication, antibiotics and fluids to rehydrate him. I hope this information helps!

If your puppy is not eating at all and this began within the last day or two, I would be very concerned about a serious medical problem - if this is the case, you should get him to a vet right away. Common causes of not eating in puppies would include parvo or intestinal obstruction, but almost any serious illness could cause not eating as a symptom so it would be hard to know the cause without an exam and possibly some blood work or x-rays. If this problem has been going on for a while and your pup is acting fairly normal otherwise, then yes - it's possible that he could have worms, or he may be a picky eater who would do better with a different diet. You could try deworming him with a dewormer labeled for dogs such as Panacur - you can get this over the counter at many pet stores, just follow the dosing instructions on the label for your puppy's weight. You may also want to try a different brand or flavor of puppy chow, or mix some canned puppy food in with his dry food to see if this helps to tempt his appetite. If this doesn't seem to help, then I would recommend having him seen by a vet to find out if there is some other reason for his poor appetite.