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My 8-week-old puppy won't eat dry food. Can I give her baby food?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

We have an 8wk old chihuahua going to the vet on the 15th but we're concerned she isn't eating enough dry dog food to sustain her when she only eats a few bites. Is a small amount of meat flavored baby food ok?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on March 2nd, 2017

I can certainly understand being concerned about your puppy not eating enough. It's really not the best for for your puppy, as it's not formulated to meet her nutritional needs. It's not something that is recommended to give to a puppy on a regular basis, usually only when the animal is sick. In addition, there may be ingredients in the baby food that is not safe for her to ingest. It could be that she isn't used to dry dog food, and you can try making a puppy mush for her to see if that helps. I would soak a high quality puppy formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with puppy formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry puppy food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until she is eating the dry puppy food only. If she still doesn't want to eat much, then I would have her seen before the 15th.

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