My dog doesn't like eating her food?

Question

Why does my dog, in general, not want to eat?

She LOVES treats and other random stuff, but doesn't seem to 'like' the dog food. She doesn't eat much of it, and only eats if she is REALLY hungry... We try to mix other foods, but she ends up spitting the dry dog food out...

We tried mixing with milk, and she ate well for about a week, and then it seems as if she is just bored with milk now...

What can be done? Do I just feed her other food?

She is approaching 9 months now.

Thanks in advance.

I forgot to mention, we took her to the vet - and she was diagonosed with CPV...

however, she shows very little symptoms of CPV, e.g. no diarrhea, and seems healthy, playful etc.

the only thing is that she occasionally vomits yellow bile - but this is ONLY if she does not eat...

i guess its catch 22, if she eats, it's only 'real food' or treats - if she doesn't eat, she vomits.

do i just get her to 'see whos boss' and feed her only dog food?

if i add wet dog food, wouldn't she learn that if she waits long enough, she'll get different food?

Answer 1

Dogs aren't picky by nature- they are trained (unknowingly) by humans to be that way. Stop changing her food- she knows that if she doesn't eat it, eventually you'll change to a new one... or that you'll give her a treat. No treats, no changing of foods until she learns to eat what she is given.
Upgrade her food to a high quality one (like Innova, Solid Gold, Wellness, or similar with ingredients).

Answer 2

Switching her diet to a high quality food with no fillers (any corn product is a filler) and a high quality source of meat (first ingredient should be a whole meat, and the food should contain no by-products or meat meals) will mean that she gets much more nutrition eating a smaller quantity of food. Some brands to consider are Innova, Wellness, Canidae, Solid Gold, and anything that meets the above criteria. These foods may also be more palatable for your dog, because they are made with much more meat.
You could also try feeding her some canned food, as dogs generally like that better than the dry.
Unless she is very thin (you can see her ribs) that it's not that big of a deal that she doesn't eat much. A dog on the thin side is much healthier than a fat one. If she IS getting really thin, a trip to the vet might be in order.

Answer 3

This will be a repeat of some of what others have said, but...

1) Stop with the treats. Most puppies are receptive to hugs and scratches so I'd recommend using that for her training or find her favorite toy to reward her with.

2) If you are feeding her a high quality food, she will eat less of it. Ask your vet which brand he/she recommends (personally, I like Nutro) and how much you should be feeding your pup. Keep track of her weight and consult with your vet regularly. I would not recommend leaving her bowl down but feeding her at least 3 times a day with whatever amount is recommended. It will be easier to keep track of the amount of food she has eaten. Don't be too concerned if she won't eat the first few times. Eventually, she will give in, or you'll be clued in to something a bit more serious.

3) She may simply not like the taste of the food. I used to work retail at a pet store and had a lot of owners that would complain that their pets (mostly cats) didn't seem to like the taste of Science Diet. They tried another quality food and their problem was solved. You might want to try another brand of food and slowly mix it in with her food.

4) Another option is that you have spoiled her with treats and human food and it will simply take her some time to adjust back to dog food. If you fear that she will starve herself if just offered the dry food, then try spicing things up a little. I don't recommend the canned food, but instead, use sauce (the pet stores all sell highly nutritional sauce to put on dry food). It will still offer the crunch that's so good at keeping her teeth clean, but will add a little flavor that might intice her when it comes to feeding time.

5) My last suggestion is to get her on a regular feeding schedule. Wake up, trip outside, breakfast. Allow her 15-20 minutes to eat and then pick up her bowl and take her back outside. Then maybe play time or whatever you choose. Wait for lunch time, same routine and follow it again with dinner. If she has more interest in following you around than eating, perhaps grab a book and take a seat on the floor where she eats to keep her company and encourage her to stay there.

Best of luck :)

Answer 4

she's a picky eater.

try wet dog food. most dogs can't turn that down.

however, when an animal won't eat something, often they are trying to tell you that they don't need something in it, or that it is harmful to them. they are smarter than us in that respect. lol.

look at the ingredients in your dog food. there might be a preservative, or a chemicle that is harmful to her and she knows it.
if changing to a wet brand doesn't work, try finding a natural dog food without so many chemicles, she might like that. they might have some at trader joes. if you can't find any and it's driving you crazy, i know of a company that sells some. it's top quality, and dogs usually love it. i think you can order it in small cases for the wet stuff, or bags for the kibble, so you can see if your pooch likes it before buying a huge amount. e-mail [e-mail] . she's a distributor that should be able to help you get some if you want, or if you just want more information she'll have a brochure she can send you.

good luck!

Answer 5

Get a good quality pupy food. Science Diet Lamb & Rice or Iams Lamb & Rice. Quit feeding her treats of any kind until she's a adult. Feed three times a day. Leave it down for about 30 minutes and the pick it up. Take her outside after she eats to do her business. Then bring her back in. OR leave it down for free choice feeding. She'll fiqure it out that all the begging will only result as pieces of her own dog food being handed to her. Don't give in. Is she current on worming?

Answer 6

Your dog knows that it will get treats and scraps from you, so you've taught her that she doesn't have to eat her food. Dogs are pretty smart, but they will not starve themselves. You need to cut the treats out completely and she will eat her food. You said it yourself, she only eats if she's really hungry. Just let her get hungry! It's okay. My dogs only eat when they are hungry too. Once you cut out the treats and milk (which is NOT good for her digestive system) then she'll eat her food just fine. With that said, she needs to eat a good Puppy (not adult) food. Feed her puppy food until she is around 1 year old. Some good foods are Iams & Science Diet.

Answer 7

Make sure you aren't giving your dog table scraps. She may be holding out for them and they do not have the nutritional value she needs. And limit treats.

If that isn't the problem, you can try another brand of dog food. My dogs only eat Pedigree canned food in the morning then they have Iams dry sitting out for the rest of the day.

A dog should be on puppy food for the first year to get the added nutrition while they are growing.

Answer 8

Have you tried feeding her cat food? I adopted a Golden Lab that was severely abused and has very obsessive-compulsive tendencies. He was a very picky eater so my vet told me to buy food that had the highest fat and protein content I could find. He was still bony. I then got a kitten and he took to "mothering" it and would lead it to the food dish. He started eating cat food and put on enough weight to become healthy and had a better coat. I asked the vet and she told me that the only risk of dogs eating cat food is them getting too fat. Cats need much more fat and protein and it is cheaper to buy the cat food anyway. I now have two dogs and three cats. I buy the Paws and Claws Delicious mix from Tractor Supply Company (40 lbs for $14) and it keeps the whole crowd happy and healthy. We do have to exercise the Austrailian Sheppard more so he doesn't become obese.

Answer 9

My question is do you feed her table scarp's?If you do that would stop them eaten there food.They gotten a taste of the real stuff.What you have to do gust take them off table scarp's all at once.Then start to put gravy on the dogs food to make him eat more often.My dog did the same thing he was spoiled.

Answer 10

just give her the dry your the boss of the dog. she will eat cut back on the treats only for tricks