My 8-week-old German Shepherd puppy isn't eating enough. What to do?

It is possible that Cookie has not hit a growth spurt yet and will increase her growth rate in another month or so. I would recommend a good deworming to make sure parasites are not a reason for slow growth. Also, I would make sure she has a good balanced puppy food. If she does not seem to like the puppy food you can always change the brand or even mix in wet food to help stimulate her appetite. Some shepherds are born with congenital defects but these are pretty rare. IF you feel she is not improving I would recommend taking her to your vet for a good exam.

Sudden loss of appetite and weight loss in a puppy is very concerning and may be related to fever, infection or a bowel obstruction, particularly if accompanied with nausea or vomiting Please have her assessed urgently by a vet, reduced appetite is never normal in a growing pup

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Keep in mind that you may perceive him as being eating a lot but his caloric intake may not be sufficient for his body weight. This is easily calculated with the following formula: Trooper's body weight (in kilograms [which is his weight in pounds divided by 2.2]) multiplied by 30 plus 70. This total you multiply it by 1.8 and the result would be the amount of calories that he should be eating per day to gain and maintain a healthy body weight. You can always find the caloric intake of the food you are feeding Trooper online. If you have any questions regarding how to calculate his needed caloric intake per day, contact your veterinarian. Good luck and have a great day!

German Shepherds are lanky dogs, especially when they are puppies. Make sure you are feeding him enough and that he is dewormed regularly. If Boe is still abnormaly thin as an adult, then I would worry about something else going on. I would recommend to feed the Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy Formula. This is a nice diet with the right calories for a growing puppy. Please post again if you have any further questions!

Dogs are carnivores and therefore should eat non-veg food, preferably commercial complete puppy food for large dogs or specifically for German Shepherd dogs. Try a proper dog food. If he still does not eat you need to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam as he may be getting ill.

As a breed, German Shepherd‘s tend to be thin dogs and some lines are more thin than others. Continue feeding him a high-quality, high protein diet. I recommend the brand Royal Canin. Be careful with exercise and make sure to follow your veterinarian’s recommendations. Lastly, Colt is not done growing yet. The first year of life is devoted to upward growth and the second year of life is when pets fill out so he is still developing. I hope this helps. You may speak with your veterinarian about sending off a blood sample for analysis to find out if the platelet count is truly abnormal or if any blood parasites or seen. Best of luck.

This is an unusual problem for a young large breed puppy like Kilo. Most puppies are always hungry so the fact that he won't eat concerns me a little. Thats good that there's not likely worms but protozoal and viral infections will also make puppies not eat. It appears that an intestinal blockage is less likely as those dogs are generally very lethargic and vomiting. As its always better to be safe than sorry, I would recommend to make an appointment and have him evaluated. Since he cannot talk, you don't know why he's suddenly changed his eating habits. Puppies generally eat 3-4x a day and as an adult, feed him twice daily. GSD are prone to bloat so feeding smaller more frequent meals are better. Best of luck with baby Kilo, he's a cutie!