Hia my name is natalie i was just wondering if anyone could help me i recently bought a bichon frises of a man that lives not far away from my home the pupppy is 17weeks old and she dont play with any ov the toys i bought her any help or ideas i can use to help her b a playful pup..also she only eat about 50grams of butcher puppy food is this normal ?!x

Hi, welcome to the forum

First of all, I would pop her down to the vets to get her checked over. I'm sure she's absolutely fine but it's a good place to start.

How long ago did you get her?

Does she spend most of her day sleeping as opposed to playing with toys? Or is she chewing your house to pieces?

With regards to her eating; she should be eating more yes. Firstly I would get rid of your Butcher's puppy food to be honest. It's not a very good food really and this could be one of the reasons why she's not eating much - maybe she simply doesn't like it

If you're near a Pets at Home or other pet shop, I would pop in and buy her 'Nature Diet', 'Nature's Menu' or 'Nature's Harvest'. All different brands None of them are particularly expensive but they are all very nutritious with lots of meat

Another tip to get your puppy back into the swing of eating more regularly is to feed her 4 meals a day. Don't leave food out for her, just put her bowl down at say 8am and if she hasn't finished eating by 8.10am take the bowl away and don't feed her again until 12pm.

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I've replied on your other thread in dog chat

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Puppys don't instantly know how to play with toys or how to play games with you - you have to teach her.

Sit on the floor and give your dog treats or fuss if she manages to play the game you want her to play with her toys.

If its a chew - it usually helps to start it off somehow by smearing something tasty on or if its an edible chew, filing a little bit off to get the smell and taste more accessible to your pup.

It might seem odd having to teach your dog how to be a dog, but just like babies, puppys need to be shown how to eat, play, behave, go to the toilet, sleep...everything

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Oh btw - I second the opinion that Butchers isn't a great dog food to be on.

Theres plenty of threads on here about food - but in general try to get a good meat content and as little cereal as possible. And don't bother with puppy food, just get normal food.

For example, Wainwrights Turkey and Rice trays are 65% turkey, 5% liver, 5% brown rice, the rest is 'minerals seaweed and chicory root'.

It's £8 for 12 trays from P@H, and you'll probably only need to feed 1/4 - 1/2 a tray a day to a puppy - each tray is 400g. But read the label to find out properly....

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I've put the two threads together to make it easier to find replies
Welcome to PF Natalie

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