My 2-month-old puppy won't eat unless I hold his bowl. Is this normal?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I hear this complaint quite commonly. The most likely scenario is that Kanye is at the age where eating ravenously declines because he is no longer growing. I would pick a food and continue measuring it out twice daily. Just leave the food out for the day to see what he is eating. I would expect a dog this size to eat about 2-3 cups per day of adult dog food. My own personal dog of the same size is also what I call a “camel eater”. He’ll go a day or even two without eating and then eat his whole bowl. So long as Kanye stays a normal weight, has normal, regular stools, and is energetic and happy, I’m not too concerned. On the other hand, of you note vomiting, lethargy, or weight loss, it’s time to see the vet. Best wishes to you and Kanye!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! He may be too young still so I would continue to hand feed him for now for at least 2 more weeks but I recommend that you leave the bowls available to him so that he can let you know when he is ready to make the transition. Best of luck!

Thank you for your question. It looks like Elvis is a good size puppy, already 20 lbs, which means I am less concerned about him going a day without food. I recommend putting the food in the dish, and offering the dish every few hours. Don't feed him anything else by hand. If he goes 24 hours and still refuses to eat out of the dish, then we will move to plan B. This would involve holding the dish, and picking out one kibble at the time to feed to him. The goal is to have him take the kibble from your hand, and with every few pieces move your hand closer and closer to the dish or bowl eventually having your hand in the bowl if possible. I'm sure Elvis will get the hang of it soon. Some puppies are just not very food motivated, but he will eat when he is hungry. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! They really sleep for the vast majority of the day. It is not unusual for puppies to not eat great as they get used to eating solid food. I would recommend you try different kinds of both kibble and canned food. If there is no improvement and he continues to not eat, I would recommend you consider having him evaluated by a veterinarian for that purpose and also to possibly establish care with a veterinarian for recommendations on preventative and early life care. Good luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is not necessarily uncommon for pets that have been moved to a new environment. However, it does not typically last more than a few days. If it has been longer already, I would encourage you to check in with your veterinarian again so that they can reevaluate Lupin to ensure that nothing has changed. Otherwise, he should be getting used to his environment. Have a great day!

Kudos to you for being so concerned about Buddy! :-) As long as Buddy is at a healthy body weight, he is likely getting plenty to eat. To make sure he seems to be a healthy body weight, run your hands over his ribs to assure that you can easily feel (but not see) his ribs. You should also be able to see a "waistline" when looking down at him. I can't see Buddy well enough in the pictures to help you determine if his weight is appropriate. Some dogs are naturally picky or have been conditioned to eat less dog food because they know that treats or more appealing food is coming. I always recommend offering food twice daily as you are doing, but some dogs choose to only eat once a day. Avoid midday treats or snacks to try to train Buddy to eat at mealtimes and continue avoiding table scraps. Make sure that Buddy is being offered a high quality kibble (I generally recommend Science Diet, Purina ProPlan or Royal Canin foods) and if you choose to switch foods, be sure to do so by mixing old and new foods together over 5-7 days. If the canned diet seems to tempt him to eat, you can continue mixing a bit in with the kibble, but I would recommend avoiding Beneful and looking for a higher quality canned option. Feel free to request a consultation or post additional questions if you have further concerns! :-)

Increases in the environmental temperature can cause dogs to not want to eat. You can try leaving her food out longer, feeding her earlier in the day when it's cooler or feeding her indoors where it could be air-conditioned. With this breed they can be predisposed to certain stomach conditions if only fed once a day. Therefore I would try to get her to eat two meals again if possible.