My 8-week-old puppy whines, won't drink water, but eats wet food.

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.

I am so sorry to hear about your puppy! With these symptoms I would recommend finding a vet in the area to examine her. I would be concerned she could have a urinary tract infection or be suffering from constipation. If you have any canned pumpkin you can give her a teaspoon or two added to her food to try to help if it is constipation, but it sounds like she needs to see the vet for an exam!

It is possible she may have a urinary tract issue with frequent urinating, a simple test by your own vet can help check this. Reduced appetite may be due to this, but many pups which are weaned early lack the skills and confidence to eat when not directly supervised. Dislike of being left alone is also very common and can lead to separation anxiety issues if not approached sensitively but consistently by providing comforting toys and treats and slowly increasing the times she is left to build confidence and independence

At 3 weeks of age, you can actually start introducing wet puppy food. I would wet it down with some puppy milk and put it on a paper plate. This way he can explore the wet food and try some. If your veterinarian evaluated him and say he is physically ok then I would not worry too much that something is wrong. I would just continue with trying to feed him the bottle but also offer and wean him onto the wet food. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

At this point mom has generally begun to wean her puppies. Offer water, regular dry kibble, kibble soaked in warm water and canned food. This does need to be a large breed puppy formula for the food. There’s a brand that makes a food specific for weaning puppies called Royal Canin and I recommend to pick some up at the pet store or online. You may need to smear some of the food on the puppy’s mouth so that it gets the idea. Also allow him to see mom eating so that he has the desire to copy her. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Young puppies will whine or vocalize when cold, hungry, sick, injured or if left alone for long periods of time. You can make sure he is fed, warm and has company. To diagnose illness or injury, he would need to be physically examined by your veterinarian.

Vocalizing at this age can be a sign of serious illness and I would recommend taking him to an emergency veterinarian as soon as possible. He may have an infection or he may be in pain. Any other symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, nasal discharge, coughing or trouble breathing could be significant and if present could help determine what might be wrong. If he is not eating or drinking he could also be significantly dehydrated - young puppies can become dehydrated quickly. Good luck!