Picky Dog!!!?

Question

my dog will not eat any of the dry dog food i buy him. how do you find a good dog food that a picky dog will eat?? he eats the wet food but i heard that food isnt good for them. please help?!

Answer 1

he's being stubborn, he'll eat if he's hungry, dont feed him any treats, or table scraps at this point. Wet food isn't neceassary for dogs, and they like it because they never get it. One thing to keep in mind too, he may not be eating dry because it hurts his teeth, are they in good shape? or do they have a lot of tartar on them? If his teeth are bothering him, i'd recommend taking him to your regular vet to get a dental and possibly pull some teeth, he'll feel so much better afterwards!

Answer 2

Have you tried different brands AND flavors? They have all sorts of flavors now, lamb, chicken, venison, fish, etc. Avoid supermarket brands like Iams, Purina, Pedigree, and Alpo. Go for the good stuff: Blue Buffalo, Nutro, Nature's Recipe are all good choices.

The other thing is, if you give him wet food, that may be the reason he won't eat dry. Dogs are very smart, and he could be holding out in hopes of getting wet food instead. You might have to put your foot down and take the wet food away until he eats the dry food. Very few dogs will starve themselves to death, and a day or two without food won't hurt him in the least. Try offering him dry food only whenever he starts begging for food, and if he refuses it, put it away and try again later. He'll probably come around after he misses a few meals and realizes he's not going to get the wet food after all.

If you can't do that, or if he goes 3 days and still won't eat, try mixing the wet and dry together very thoroughly, so he can't pick around the dry and eat the wet. If he eats it like that, you can always just feed him that every day, a little wet food with the dry won't hurt him. Or you can slowly wean him back off the wet food by adding less wet each time.

One last idea, there's a very good natural dog food at petstores, one is Red Barn, another is Natural Balance, they look like sausage, they are wrapped in plastic and usually in the treat area, but they are food. They are not wet or dry, they're sort of a semi-moist chewy food, and a lot of dogs really like this stuff even if they won't eat regular dry food. It's very good for them too, so give that a shot.

Answer 3

Your dog has you trained! lol Dogs only get really picky after the owners have changed their food too many times. A dog will not starve itself if normal and healthy otherwise. Get a high quality food NOT Iams, Science Diet, Alpo, Pedigree, Purina anything, etc see the website below for a food comparison.
Wet food is not bad. That's old school!!! Many dogs actually do better on a combo. A raw diet is even better!
Just make sure you are pro-active in regards to dental health if you choose anything other than raw.

Answer 4

If the dog eats wet food. Start by mixing the two and gradually reduce the amount of wet food you put on the dry.

You can go to any kind of dry food that you would like to use. The dog isn't picking 'brands' he picking wet over dry.

Answer 5

I hope your not feeding him any human food?? because then he'll hate the taste of his own food. My dog is so picky too, and hardly ever wants to eat his dry food. I tried so many brands of dog food and finally stuck with "Royal Canin" dog food. My dog really loves it and seems to enjoy the tiny bits they come in. There's even a special formula for picky eaters. I hope this helps.

Answer 6

How old is the dog? If he's a puppy then it's up to you to teach him to eat regular dog food. The dog may have a condition too so he may need to be checked by a vet. If he's an older dog then he probably has been spoiled with human food. Either way, get him checked by a vet.

Answer 7

wet food is perfectly fine for dogs, the only problem is that it doesn't help clean their teeth the way dry food does. so if you get wet food, make sure he has lots of bones and hard toys to chew on to keep his teeth clean so that you don't have to rack up your bills with veterinary dental work.

the way to work with a picky dog is this: feed him at a certain time each day, and only put the food out for a certain amount of time. that way, he will learn that if he wants to eat at all, he'll have to do it at that time every day.

and definitely cut out the people food, if you're giving him any. i mean, if YOU were given the choice between popcorn and dog food, which one would you choose? besides, people food is not good for dogs and can make them sick!!

Answer 8

My dogs wouldn't eat dry food either. They would rather starve! Seriously. So I had to act quickly. I started saving the bones from my meat and freezing them and before I put my dogs food out I would boil a bone in a sauce-pan. When it was a brownish color I would salt it lightly and then pour it over their hard food. They ate it up. Couldn't get enough. Basically I tricked them into thinking it was soft dog food.

Answer 9

I would recommend you call around to your local pet stores and see if they carry a product made by Merrick, called "Grammy's Pot Pie", it is available in both can and dry food. Give it a try, your dog may surprise you and really like it. Good Luck.

Answer 10

he will eat it when he is hungry.
wet food is bad for dogs' teeth.