Expert: Lynn Houston - 6/30/2009

Question
Hi - our girl had a litter of 8 boxer pups - all but one are doing well with weaning (they are now 8 wks old)  the one who isn't doing so well can't seem to swallow the more lumpy food - so we go back to sludgey stuff and no problem.  We have got an appointment tomorrow for her to have a barium xray done - just wondered if anyone had encountered this and found it was a weaning problem rather than medical.  I am certainly not looking for you to give me a medical diagnose as this will be established tomorrow at vets.  But would lift my spirits a little today if I had a glimmer of hope that it just might be a weaning problem.
Thanks
Dawn


Answer
Some dogs certainly have a harder time adjusting to solid food.  You're doing the right things, making her mush and having her checked by a vet.  Are you using the solid food to make mush?  You can start breaking up pieces of the solid food and putting it in her slush - don't let the solid food get mushy, but mix it with the mushy stuff.  Start with really small pieces of solid food, then slowing increase the size.  She'll get used to eating the solid food.