12 week old puppy - Dry food preparation

ITgirl73

12 week old shih tzu puppy teething & chewing everything in sight. I am currently heating his dry food in a dish over a separate dish of hot water. Is this correct or should I be heating it in the actual water instead?

Cherry Blossom

Why are you heating his food? Is he not eating it at normal temperature? 5 seconds in the microwave does the same job. You only heat it to enhance the smell to encourage them if they are not eating. Cooking it in water will only destroy the nutritional value of the food. It is already cooked straight from the bag.

Bells21

ITgirl73 wrote:

12 week old shih tzu puppy teething & chewing everything in sight. I am currently heating his dry food in a dish over a separate dish of hot water. Is this correct or should I be heating it in the actual water instead?

Unless their gums are hurting too much, I would leave the food as is as it would be giving an appropriate item to chew on a little.

ITgirl73

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Why are you heating his food? Is he not eating it at normal temperature? 5 seconds in the microwave does the same job. You only heat it to enhance the smell to encourage them if they are not eating. Cooking it in water will only destroy the nutritional value of the food. It is already cooked straight from the bag.

Breeder said he was heating it & I understood that he was heating it over hot water. I just feel that puppy has lost weight during the week so wondered if I am doing wrong as he is eating what is recommended on bag

njs030

ITgirl73 wrote: »

Breeder said he was heating it & I understood that he was heating it over hot water. I just feel that puppy has lost weight during the week so wondered if I am doing wrong as he is eating what is recommended on bag

Are you giving the same food as the breeder?
How much weight has he lost and is there any other problem signs like not drinking, listlessness etc?

ITgirl73

notjustsweet wrote: »

Are you giving the same food as the breeder?
How much weight has he lost and is there any other problem signs like not drinking, listlessness etc?

Breeder left same food down all day shared between litter of 7 - puppy is in good form very lively I might be worrying about nothing as I am conscious that I am changing to 2 meals a day as the mid feed was being ignored so dividing 7/8 of a cup of royal canin dry food into 2 separate meals

njs030

ITgirl73 wrote: »

Breeder left same food down all day shared between litter of 7 - puppy is in good form very lively I might be worrying about nothing as I am conscious that I am changing to 2 meals a day as the mid feed was being ignored so dividing 7/8 of a cup of royal canin dry food into 2 separate meals

You might be a little bit over cautious
Perhaps you could weigh him and again a week later to see how he's getting on to ease your mind.

There's no need to warm food unless he's not eating it as said above and it'll help his little teeth.

DBB

I've raised a lot of pups. To my mind, 3 meals a day at 12 weeks of age, let alone 2, is not enough mealtimes for a pup... Though your pup is ignoring the mid meal so I guess there's room for individual variation. But, at 12 weeks the pup is going through a major growth spurt... The biggest one he'll ever have, and this makes big demands on the body. In consequence, I'd consider it quite unusual for a pup of 12 weeks to not be hungry every 3-5 hours, and to be not eating a midday meal.
I'm a big advocate of feeding pups to satiation at least 4 times a day (forget about feeding guidelines til 6ish months), and I'd question why your pup isn't eating one of his meals, and is looking skinny at 12 weeks. These 2 factors in combination would concern me.
Are you sure pup likes the food you have him on? It's really common for pups and dogs to simply not enjoy certain types or brands of food. Does he eat his other meals with gusto, or does he pick at them? Does he always finish them?
Are you sure he's managing to eat it okay? At 12 weeks, it's a bit early for teething aches... They don't start losing their puppy teeth til 16 weeks. So, are you sure all is okay inside his mouth?

Bunnyslippers

Royal canin is really rubbish food so I'd think about switching it, gradually though over a week, try James wellbeloved or taste of the wild.
You don't need to heat puppy food, and I'd echo DBB he needs more than two meals a day, little and often is what puppies need. If the breeder was leaving food down all the time that may be why he's ignoring the meals, it may just take time to get him into a routine. But I'd get him checked at your vets just to rule out any health issues and to check his weight, as pups usually will wolf down meals at this stage when growing - they do go gawky and ganglier at this age as they grow upwards!;)