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Beagles/My new Beagle pup!!

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Expert: - 1/14/2009


Question
Hi,

We just brought home a male beagle pup - 40 days old. For some reason he doesn't like to drink water. if i give him the dog food dry ; he gobbles it up but if i soak it in water he doesn't touch it. how can i get him to start drinking water? also he seems to be a fussy eater. he eats a bit and walks away from the bowl, till i bring him back again. how do i control this? am a first time dog owner. i feel terrible when the little pup doesn't eat properly. Plz help!!

Answer
Congrats on your new little guy!

I think the problem is he is soooo young. He unfortunately should never have been taken away from his mom this early, he would still be nursing at times at 40 days. Minimum age to take a puppy out of a litter should be 8 weeks and what's best for them is 12 weeks! Not only because of food issues but because they learn very valuable lessons in the pack that they need to be properly socialized as adults. Did you get him from a shelter or a breeder? No reputable breeder would ever release him this early.


Since he is eating the dog food dry without an issue I would not wet his food. He should be getting water from a bowl separate from food. But the problem is he would normally be getting his liquids from his mom still. I think this is worthy of asking your vet because he absolutely needs to have fluids as well.

Beagles

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Have4Paws

Expertise

I am happy to answer BEAGLE BREED SPECIFIC behavioral questions. Please DO NOT ask CRATE TRAINING OR MEDICAL questions! I am not a vet nor an expert in the use of crates.

Experience

I currently have one beagle, a male age 5, an 12 month old Pit Bull, and a 8 year old min. poodle. I have had to let go of three of my dogs, 2 beagles and 1 whippet/rat terrier mix in the past 5 years, most recently my whippet mix. The two beagles lived to 15 and the whippet mix to 13.5, it has been hard to say goodbye to them. I have done rescue work on and off for years as well as fund-raising for the local animal shelter. I worked for a dog magazine in the past (Southern California Dog Magazine). Being a psychotherapist has encouraged me to do in depth studying of animal behavior as well. I have worked with many people to help curb undesirable behaviors in their dogs (or them!) or to form good behaviors. My life is devoted to and surrounded by my dogs........The picture you see here is Zeppelin but we also call him the "miracle dog". He was hit by a car April 2010 while out with the dog walker and had very serious injuries... 4 surgeries and $17,000 later my boy is whole again and back to loving life. He is so special to me and he weathered a lot of pain and trauma yet is still the sweet boy he always was! I also work to stop Breed Specific Legislation and help to get pit bulls adopted.

Organizations
HSUS, PETA, SPCA DONT SHOP...ADOPT!!

Publications
Dog Fancy

Education/Credentials
I am a Marriage and Family Therapist licensed in the state of CA and am also credentialed as a Certified Addiction Treatment Specialist

Awards and Honors
Honored by the Agoura Animal Shelter for my volunteer work.

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