How can I get my Chihuahua puppy to eat his food?

Question

he is a very picky eater and hardly eats any of his food

Answer 1

Just a few things to add. How old is the puppy? Did you just get it? If he's new to your household then it would be wise to call the person you got him from and ask what they were feeding him. If you mix some of the food he was used to in with what you are trying to feed him it might work.
If he's very young (under 8 weeks) then make sure you're giving him moist food or moistened dry food. Sometimes dry food is just too hard on tiny breeds when they're little. I have one who would rather end up at the vet than eat dry.
I don't recommend starving chihuahuas as they are so tiny that they have issues with low blood sugar very easily. If their blood sugar gets low from not eating they will start a rather fast downhill slide. First, make sure he's drinking. If he seems tired or not active take him to your vet. If he's still playing normally then just try maybe adding a tiny bit of cottage cheese (not much!! A tablespoon at most!) or some bacon fat (again, not much!) to his food. There are also a ton of homemade recipes on the internet that will help with a picky eater.
Also, right now with the issues with dog food recalls and again, being these dogs are SO tiny and even the tiniest bit of poison like the melamine being found in dog foods right now would easily kill them, I am highly recommending avoiding at least dry food and even some canned food until they find the source of this issue and fix it. I know most vets say table scraps are bad but in light of the issues with pet food right now it's my opinion that table scraps are much less dangerous to a chihuahua than dog food could be. That said though, make sure you are feeding a doggie vitamin daily and using one of the best nutritious recipes you can find. Maybe even ask your vet for a recipe.
Hope this helps! Enjoy him!

Answer 2

You should not leave the food down all day. Put it down at the designated times to eat. Leave it down for 10 minutes and then pick it up. Do not feed snacks in between meals. The dog will eat when it gets hungry enough. Don't get worried and freak out about your dog loosing a bit of weight. Most people tend to keep their dogs overweight and the few pounds will not hurt when they are lost. Your dog will not let itself starve to death. Their natural instincts will kick in and they will eat. Just remember, do NOT give it snacks, or it will wait until the next snack time. If you start to get worried about your dogs weight loss you can see pictures of what the proper weight looks like at the address below. This way you can see at what point it becomes a danger to the dogs health. Do not let the dog get to level 2. If it does then you will have to surrender and feed it what it wants. Good luck.

Answer 3

I'm assuming you leave the food down all day? Limit the timeframe for feedings.

Leave the food down for 15 minutes at a time (2-3x a day) - after 15 minutes pick it up until the next feeding. The dog will not starve. It will learn to eat within the timeframe.

My dog didn't want to eat either, and I did this and she was eating by her 6th meal. It's hard to watch them miss their meals, but training is often harder for the human than it is for the dog.

Good luck!

Please make sure you're feeding a quality food like Canidae, Wellness, Innova or Artemis. I'm curious as to what you're feeding.

Answer 4

I had this same issue with my Chihuahua, until I switched her to Royal Canin for Chihuahua's which she loves. You may have to do like I did and switch dog food brands or it may be something more serious and you may want to take her to a vet.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

my mother in law has 2 chihuahua puppies & 1 would not eat so she put dry food down in the morning at lunch & dinner time & when she got hunger she would eat but only one kind of food as mum tried differant types of dry foods until she found one they both ate

Answer 6

Do not feed any other food, tough love honey, when he is hungry he will eat it, he will not starve himself, he is just testing you for your food, dont feef him by hand or human foods, if you do he will never eat the dog food.....and put him in a different room to you when you are eating, so that you dont get tempted by those eyes :-)

Answer 7

Offer the food on a schedule -- once or twice a day only. If you give him dry food you might try wetting it with a bit of warm water, or mixing the kibble with a bit of wet food. If this persists for longer than a few days, take him to your vet. Puppies often chew on and swallow things they're not supposed to, which can cause a bowel obstruction.

Answer 8

He is spoiled! When he is starving, he will eat!