My 6-week-old puppy won't eat his new food. How can I transition?

You can start now. Buy a high-quality dry food and mix it in the ratio of 1/4 dry food to 3/4 of the cerelac. Feed three times/day. If the dog is tolerating the mixture after a day or so, increase the dog food to 1/2 the total and decrease the cerelac to 1/2 half the total. Then you can give 3/4 dog food to 1/4 cerelac, and finally switch over to the dog food exclusively. I am concerned that the cerelac may not have been giving the dog the nutrients he needs. It is best to get him onto dog food as soon as possible. Watch for signs of excessive weight gain, as the dog food may cause him to put on more weight than the cerleac has. After a few months you can decrease the frequency to twice/day. I am available for consultation if you have questions or need additional help.

Congrats on the new puppy! I would definitely start slowly transitioning him to a commercial dog food. I am not sure which brands you have in your area but I love royal canin, science diet, iams, and purina. If you don't have these brands, the main thing is that you want to try to find a large breed puppy formula for him to be on until he is about 1 year old. I would start by stopping the milk as this can cause him to have an upset tummy. I would also start to slowly mix in the new puppy food and over about 10 days, increase the amount of puppy food and decrease the amount of chicken and rice. I hope this helps!

Hello. Better than the Cerelac, you want to use a syringable product like Hill's a/d or Purina Critical Care. If your vet does not carry these, then you can purchase pureed meat baby foods as long as there is no onion or garlic. If you cannot get this, then take any canned dog or puppy food & puree it at home in a blender adding just enough water that you can push the food through a syringe without the food blocking things up. Until your puppy can eat on its own, you can give 1 cc (ml ) every hour. This is just a tiny amount of food that hopefully Goofy will not throw up. You should also syringe a couple of ccs (mls) of water every hour, too. If any of these small amounts still cause the puppy to vomit, he will probably need to be hospitalized for intravenous fluids & continuing medications to control the nausea & vomiting. But if he will hold down these tiny amounts for most of the day, you may be able to nurse him through this. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

To help Tobi wean and to get used to dry food, I would soak a high quality puppy formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with the cerelac 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 cerelac you use until he is eating the dry puppy food only. Best of luck.

The problem with changing foods too quickly is that dogs can get GI upset (especially diarrhea) with a sudden diet change. If a dog is not eating the old food anymore, sometimes we will use a bland diet (1/2 cooked white rice and 1/2 cooked white meat chicken without any skin or bones) as the other food to mix with the new food to allow for a gradual diet change to the new food to (hopefully) prevent any GI upset, so you might consider that option. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Maggies is very cute! I think that 4 weeks is too young to be taken from the mother and siblings. At this stage I would mix puppy formula with canned puppy food. If she won't eat that then you can mix the cerelac in with the canned puppy food but I personally do not like animals eating human dairy foods. Gradually over the next week or so add less and less puppy formula and more canned puppy food. Then around 5-6 weeks add moistened dry food. Hopefully by 7 weeks she will be eating all canned or dry puppy food. Good luck!

Awww...Simba is adorable. Any diet change should be done gradually over the course of a week to avoid vomiting/diarrhea that can come from a sudden diet change. For the first 2 days feed a mixture of 75% puppy and 25% starter...for the next 2 days feed 50% puppy and 50% starter...for the following 2 days 25% puppy and 75% starter and then finally 100 % starter if there are no gastrointestinal signs during the week. Good luck!