My dog will only eat human food! He's willing to starve! Help..what will make him eat his own food?

Question

I've tried the wet stuff and the dry stuff..he will only eat human food, and only if it's meat!

Answer 1

Trust me, eventually, he will eat! We had a German Shepard that we had to spoon feed like a baby! Like you, we also thought he would be willing to starve himself. We brought this problem to our vets attention and she instructed us to offer him dog food twice a day...once in the morning, once in the evening. If he refuses to eat in the morning, pick up the bowl and put it away and don't offer him food again until the evening. If he refuses to eat in the evening, pick up the bowl and put it away and don't offer him food again until the morning. Trust me, he will not starve himself. Our dog didn't eat for almost three days and then would only pick at it. As soon as he walked away from it, we put it away until next feeding time. After about a week of that, he ate every morsal at every feeding. If you keep giving in and feeding him human food, he will never eat the dog food. Don't even give him scraps of your food when you're eating and always feed him AFTER you have already eaten. I'm sure you're aware of the fact that your beloved friend can and will eventually suffer from health problems if he continues to eat human food and no doggy food. I would say good luck but you don't need it...it will work just as long as you don't give in! Be strong!

Answer 2

You created the problem without realizing it so now you have to take steps to fix it. What is the worst that will happen if you do add to the food or give extras to your dog; he will stop eating, but not forever hunger is a powerful motivator. What you should do is set the food down and walk away, give your dog 10 minutes to eat and if he does not eat pick it up and wait until the next meal and try again. Repeat this until he eats, and he will eventually eat (within days). You may want to offer food 2x a day but he will get the point and he will not starve to death. Good luck !!
The dog's missing a meal is harder on the owner than it is on the dog, so as hard as this may be it is better to correct now otherwise you will have a picky eater for the rest of his years.

Answer 3

If you're trying a different brand for every meal or you're not giving at least a couple weeks for them to get used to one brand, it won't work. A day and a half will not kill them. They will eat before they starve themselves. Stick with one brand that they can get used to and if it helps, give them a bit of wet dog food as well. It usually has a bit higher fat content than dry food but there are higher quality wet foods that dogs still enjoy and are healthier.

Answer 4

My dog eats dog food,but every time we leave for vacation and he stays with my dad,whom he knows very well,he doesn't eat for 3 days,after that he's so starved,that he eats even dry food alone,which he doesn't like usually without a can of dog meat.Try not to give him anything,just the dry dog food,if he doesn't eat it, take it away and give it to him again the next day,when it's feeding time and so on, he will start eating it when he's really hungry and I strongly recommend not to let him watch you when you eat your food.Be patient and good luck :-)

Answer 5

If you are feeding a low quality food your dog may very well have a good reason to refuse eating it.

Either find a high quality food and stick with or switch to a healthy raw diet. A healthy dog will not starve itself. Put the bowl of dog food down for 20 mins twice a day. Pick up the food whether he its or not. Repeat. No snacks in between meals, he will get the point to eat what he is given when its given.

Here is information on choosing a high quality food, as well as information about raw diets as well.

Nothing you find at a grocery store is going to be a good food. High quality foods can be found at large pet store chains, or online. A couple of foods I like are Nutro Natural, Innova, and Cannidae.

There are other high quality dog foods. Here's how to spot them:

A high quality food will have little or no fillers such as corn, wheat or soy. These aren't very digestable for dogs, and are common food related allergens. Since you were seeing corn meal in the first few ingredients, those are not high quality foods. Foods list ingredients by content, with the ingredient it contains most of at the top.

A high quality food will not contain BHT, BHA or Ethoxyquin, these are all chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer.

A high quality food will not contain by-products of any kind. Meat meals are ok as long as the source of the meat is listed, such as Chicken Meal.

A high quality diet should have meat as at least the first ingredient., and be made from human grade ingredients. Foods that don't use human grade ingredients often get their ingredients from less than desirable sources, such as meat from animals that were diseased, or euthanized.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm.........

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htm...

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html.....

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html.....

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&m...

Answer 6

Obviously, you need to remind your pooch that you're in charge when it comes to dinner. If he's crate trained, crate him when you eat your meals in another room in full view of you. You have to be his pack-leader, and the pack-leader #1: Eats alone, and #2: DOES NOT SHARE. The pack-leader eats his fill, then the other dogs eat. Eat your food, don't give him any of it. You also need to go ahead and establish eating times for him, while reinforcing that you eat your food, then he gets to eat. About 15 to 30 minutes after you finish your evening meal (or morning, or lunch, whenever you can consistantly feed him), set out an appropriate amount of food for him (depends on size, anywhere from 1/2 cup for very small dogs to 2 cups for larger breeds). Take him to his food, set it down for him, and leave it there for 30 minutes. Don't force him to stay there, don't put pressure on him, just take him to his food dish (via a lead, if necessary) and put his food down, and leave. After 30 minutes or so, go back, and take the food up. No snacks, no treats (outside of training, and I would hold off until he's eating his food.) He gets 30 minutes to eat. He WILL NOT STARVE. Eventually he will eat. Keep water readily available, and remember to exercise him regularly. He'll eat, and he'll learn that you are the pack leader, and he will be much happier for knowing his place in your pack!

Answer 7

At some time or another you must have been giving your dog people food - more than just a little here and there. Your dog prefers the taste of people food (and what dog doesn't!) and now has decided that is all he wants. Talk to your vet and see what he/she recommends to do. Good luck

Answer 8

I have 3 grown pit bulls and 3 pit bull puppies and let me tell you they are STUBBORN!!!! But no dog will starve itself. Put the dog up (lock it in the bathroom, bedroom, etc. or outside) while you are eating. Leave his food down and try pouring some of that Iams sauce on it. They love it and its good for them, too. He'll eat eventually. YOU HAVE TO BE STRONG!!! RESIST THE PUPPY EYES!!! LOL Seriously, though.... If you don't give in because you feel bad, he will get the point. And when he begs, use a rolled up newspaper on the nose. It doesn't hurt and it teaches him that the only he gets your foo is when YOU want him to have it.

Answer 9

If you want, because your dog refuses to eat his dog food and you like giving your dog regular people food, Feed him/her only chicken and rice, I swear my step-mom & Dad alwasy go to the store once a day and get their dog a real already cooked chicken and pick off all the meat and then mix with rice, also they do buy some kind of exspensive food (Science Diet) anyway there dogs live along time and they always eat like this Other wise, try just setting his dog food out ( Dry) and believe me if he truly is hungry he will eat it, just when your not watching he knows your watching

Answer 10

A dog will not starve itself. You are in a contest of wills and the dog is winning.

Leave dog-food out for the dog and he will eat.