Does anyone know what to do with a picky-food house dog?

Question

She just won't eat what we give her and it seems as if she wants our tablefood instead, even though tablefood isn't really good for pets.

Answer 1

Give her the food, and don't feed her anything else including dog treats. If she begs for table food don't give it to her. If she goes more than 3 days without eating anything, then I would have a vet check her out there maybe a problem. One other thing you can try is putting gravy (Iams makes it and you can buy it at a grocery or pet store) on her food. That might make it more appealing to her.

Answer 2

Another thing to look into if she prefers "people food" is a raw diet (like chicken, veggies, etc). Some dogs just do not like kibble type products and some (like my own) are allergic to the grains in it. It's a simple concept. Look for a book on it at your local library or book store. If you're not interested, do as someone else said above, keep her food dish full and do NOT give her table scraps. Eventually she will get hungry and will eat it. Iams also makes a great gravy type sauce to put on dry food. I have used this before when I had given my dogs kibble in the past.

Answer 3

How does she know what table food is? Unless she can open the fridge, or cook for herself, you must have started her on this path.

Now you need to be tough and force her to eat dog food, or cook for her forever. Put the dog food down for 30 minutes. If she doesn't eat, pick it up and put it down in 8 hours, for another 30 minutes. If she is a normal, healthy dog, she WILL NOT starve in a couple days. It may take her a few days to realize that you are no longer going to cater to her, but she should start to eat dog food. Before you undertake this change, make sure that she is healthy by taking her to see your vet.

But you need to be tough. If you give in, she will hold out for table food. And eventually, unless you are cooking a balanced diet, you will probably run into problems.

Answer 4

Are you feeding a high quality dog food? If you are feeding a low quality food your dog may not want it because it just does not taste good to her.

Look for a food that has meat or fish as the first ingredient. Avoid foods that have corn, wheat, and meat by-products. These are cheap fillers. By-products are defined as "not fit for human consumption". This can include cancerous tissue.

I also have a picky eating dog. I feed Natural Balance Venison & Brown Rice formula.

Answer 5

The problem may not be the dog but her people :) If you are feeling guilty or troubled that she is not eating and giving in and giving her table scraps, then you have inadvertently trained her to turn her nose up at her own food and she will eventually be rewarded with yours. Make a concerted family effort to NOT give her any people food for several days and she WILL go back to eating her own food. Dogs survive by instinct and will not allow themselves to starve if otherwise healthy. They can however be stubborn and if they know holding out will gain them people food, they will try it. I have seen this behavior in many of my rescue dogs and ALL of them eventually learn to eat their dog food and do quite well but it can be scary if you dont notice your dog eat in a couple of days. Don't panic...the dog WILL come around.

Answer 6

Have people been offering her people food? If somone is slipping her some food, that needs to stopped or all of your efforts with trying to get her (back?) on dogfood will be pointless.

Try giving her ground beef mixed with rice. Once that's consistent slowly start mixing in some dog food until you can give her dog food only. Maybe make it more enticing by mixing in some wet food.

It's best to keep her on one flavor/brand of dog food. Changing bags every time you buy new food can create a picky dog.

Answer 7

One thing I've tried is putting some gravy on the dog food. Somehow this makes it more appetizing for the little guy. They sell this gravy in a squeeze bottle in the pet section of Walmart or any pet shop. Try it, I think you'll be happy with the results.

Answer 8

We give our dogs packaged chicken and beef lunch meat and mix it with rice or pasta or something... sometimes a little bread.. or oatmeal or cereal... It has always been good for our pets.. they live to be 15 and 16 years old.. but you have to give them a mix.. not just all meat.. sometimes we give them a little cheese or mac and cheese.. but not much of that.. or they will get constipated... I was told a long time ago that dry dog food is just old cereal and stuff that was not fit for human consumption.. and that it is not that good for them.. Dogs have lived for thousands of years before the invention of "dog food" Good luck..
hope this helps.. :)

Answer 9

Could it be that your dog doesn't lke the type of dry dog food you are feeding her? Try another brand or flavour, and see if that helps. My dogs like a small spoonful of canned (wet) dog food on top of their dry food. They used to get a tablespoon of cream on their food, although cream may not be that easy for them to digest. Find something tasty to add to the top of your dogs food, and see if that helps. Peanut butter maybe? Or half a slice of salami? Bits of liver?

Answer 10

Most dogs who have been fed with table food sometime in the past become choosy pets. so to avoid this kind of habit, you should have stuck to all pure dog food int he first place. Too late now, unless u starve it to death; and table food is absolutely not good for the dog.