my puppy refuses to eat dog food.........i gave him table scraps and now the vet says that is unhealthly.?

Question

i bought dog food and he refuses to eat it ...........any suggestions on how to get him to eat......dont say starve him he will eventually eat......that would break my heart to know he was hungry.....hes like a child to me..

badgirl41....where can i purchase this innova food

Answer 1

Problem one - you think of the dog as a child. The dog is a canine and they have very different rules of behaving. Check out the show The Dog Whisperer on National Geographic channel.

Point two - he may not like either the brand of dog food or the flavor. Some animals do have a preference for chicken over beef, etc.

Point three - a dog will never allow themselves to starve. In the animal kingdom that's paramount to suicide and their survival instincts are too high.

Try giving the puppy its food at specific times of the day every day. They like routine and feel more secure that way. They like to know what to expect.

Put the food down for about an hour. If the puppy hasn't eaten yet, pick it up and wait until the next feeding time then put it down again. A puppy up to about 6 months should get 3 meals a day.
If it doesn't eat at the second meal time, pick the food up and put it down again in the evening.

I about guarantee that you won't have to do this for too long before it will get the hint that this is it and survival instinct will kick in.

Also, think about what you're doing to your dog. You're depriving it of important vitamins and nutrients it needs to grow healthy. In a puppy this is paramount if the dog is to have strong bones, muscles and teeth and not develop human type illnesses like diabetes and heart disease.

Really, by feeding your dog nothing but table scraps you're doing it more harm than good. If you think you'd cry now to see it hungry...you'll be crying really hard down the road when it's ill from something you could have prevented by being just a little hard-nosed now. Which do you prefer...immediate gratification or postponed gratification?

Answer 2

You have now created a monster puppy. He wants people food and nothing more. You now have to get control and put him back on the right menu that's suitable for him. Get your puppy a good puppy food like Eukanuba, Nutro,
Royal Canin or any of the other good dog food and you might try adding some plain yogurt, a little cottage cheese or a canned dog food like Mighty Dog which comes in many tempting flavors. Little Caesars is another wet dog food that comes in many flavors. You could also boil some hamburger and crumble that up into the kibble to get him to start eating. You must stop giving him table food or he will not even think of trying something new. I have raised dogs for quite awhile and I am a dog trainer and I can tell you this, a dog will not readily starve himself if his own food is offered to him.
He is being like a child, not eating his dinner, and waiting for dessert. This bad habit can really hurt your puppy so don't think you are being mean, you have to get him on his own food. When you were a child and you didn't eat your supper, you were probably sent away from the table with no supper and no dessert.
You didn't starve and it did teach you to eat your meal. Your puppy is just that a puppy and he needs the food that is suitable for him to grow into a healthy dog. I know you love him but you have to do what's right for him. Tough love will get him on the right track but you have to be strong enough to do it.
Good luck to you and your puppy.

Answer 3

Sorry - the best thing to do is not feed him the table scraps and only offer the puppy food.

You should listen to your vet for proper care and the future health of your dog. Indigestion can happen, diarrhea, vomiting, pancreatitis, gastric dilation and volvulus.

If you want to feed people food as a special treat or snack, treat him with the following: carrots (my dog l-o-v-e-s carrots as a snack), broccoli, a small piece of apple (not the core), celery, green beans, tofu or non-fat or low-fat yogurt. Remember, these are only SNACK suggestions.

A technique that often works for picky eaters: if he doesn't eat within 15 minutes, take up the bowl. Don't feed again until the next regularly scheduled meal. Take the bowl up again after 15 minutes. Usually after one to two missed meals, the dog will get back on track - and have a renewed appreciation for his food.

Answer 4

You don't say how old your puppy is. Some things I do when my pets won't eat - pour hot water on the food, stir it, pour the water off. Chicken or beef broth is good for this also. You can also put a tablespoon or so of canned food in with the dry.

Try feeding your puppy around the same time everyday in his on spot - in the kitchen or laundry room or bathroom where he is less likely to be distracted, and do it at a time other than when you are eating. Hope this helps!

Answer 5

The dog has you trained very well.
Why would he eat dog food when you have taught him that if he waits something better will be comming.
If you want the dog to eat dog food grow a back bone and get tough.
Put down the dog food and give him 20 minutes anything not eaten pick it up and feed NOTHING until his next regular feeding time. When he gets hunry and he will he will eat dog food. But if you feed in between or give treat he is not going to learn to eat dog food.
It would be healthier for him to eat dog food and his health will be better in the long run.
How ever if you are ok with the dog ruling your life and house feed him what ever you like.

Answer 6

I had the same problem with my puppy when we got him. He didnt eat his food. I would suggest mixing wet food in the dry food. I know its kinda early, but if its the only way he will eat than so be it. Dont give table scraps becasue he will always expect them, and there is nothing worse than a begging dog while your trying to eat. If you do give him wet food limit it and make sure you take him right out to use the bathroom after cause it makes for messy poop! Good luck and congrats!

Answer 7

I'm not going to say starve your dog. Not all table scraps are good for any animal, but on thing you could try is cook some white rice and add pieces of chicken to it (you can also add peas). You can give this to your puppy for its dinner or when ever you feed. In time slowly introduce dog food by adding it to this mixture and in time he will most likely start eating dog food.

I hope this work for your puppy! Good Luck!

Answer 8

use warm water and mix gravy into it. For those that say a dog will not starve theirselves before they eat the food that u put in front of them, it depends on the dog or puppy. I have a saint bernard that would starve himself before he ate what he did not like. Does people let their kids starve if they will not eat the food put in front of them? No they would not so why let the dog go hungry.
feeding the dog greasy tablescraps is unhealthy as it can cause pancreitis and too much salt is not good for your pup. Mix fresh meat and veggies in with the dog food or even just gravy to give the dog food the flavor.
I feed mine the raw diet and the vets will tell you this is unhealthy also and from experience it is healthier than the dog food you buy from the vet or grocery store. The dog foods sold at the vet and grocery can cause more problems than table food. read what is really in pet foods and you will understand.http://www.nzymes.com/Articles/pet_foods_whats_really_in_them.htm
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/chemicals.htm

Because the ingredients in pet food aren't exactly as pure as consumers are made to believe, not only is the food unhealthy, it may also be poisonousWhen the "food" comes out of the rendering plant, there's no way it would be bought by a consumer or eaten by a dog. To make it more pleasing to the eyes of owners and the mouths of animals, the producers of pet food add a myriad of chemicals.

To keep the food fresh, the first thing added is a preservative. The bags of food must stay fresh through shipping and on the shelf. There are several synthetic preservatives out there:

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
Propylene glycol (also used as automotive antifreeze)
Ethoxyquin


Their is little known about the effect these chemicals may have on an animal. Some experts and veterinarians claim ethoxyquin is the best and safest preservative on the market, others claim it is a potential carcinogen, causing skin problems and infertility in dogs.

Some other things that may be added to your dog or cat food are:

Coloring agents
Drying agents
Flavoring agents
Lubricants
Nutritive Sweeteners
Texturizers

some good natural dog foods are innova, solid gold, california natural, nutro
these dog foods do cost more but they poop less and eat less and i have not run into a dog that has not liked innova.
innova is what i feed when my kids have to feed my dogs because like i said i feed the raw fresh diet.
My 20 year old sheltie died recently from old age (vet confirmed death) and she ate the raw for the last 10 years of her life, the first 10 she was fed science diet and suffered badly from allergies, when taken off that crap and fed the raw her allergies went away and she just thrived in life up until the day she just went to sleep and never woke up. She did not suffer at all.

If you have a pet food store that specializes in dog food you will probably find it there, but I order mine on line as i do not have a store like this close to me
i will give you a couple websites you can order this food.
http://search.onlynaturalpet.com/search.aspx?searchterms=evo&click=11&OVRAW=innova%20evo%20dog%20food&OVKEY=innova%20evo%20dog%20food&OVMTC=standard

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/dept_brands.asp?dept%5Fid=130

I have ordered from both of these and have nothing but excellant service.
there are other fantastic dog foods on these sites that are all natural and good for your dog.

good luck with your puppy.

Answer 9

A dog will not starve him/herself. First stop giving people food no matter what. Second you need to make your dog hungry. Lots of exercises like biking. Once you stop exercises give water when dog is cooled down put food down for 15 min, if dog hasn't eaten in that time pick it up and try again at next feeding. It will take a few days but your dog will get hungry and figure it out. Good luck, remember tough love will make your dog live longer

Answer 10

You can slightly warm the hard dog food up in the microwave, and that way it will have a stronger better smell. You can also try vita gravy. This is a gravy that goes over dogs food and it smells just like people food.