I have a 2 year old chihuahua and he barley eats anything. How can I get him to eat?

Question

I have found he does like cheese and pizza but barley anything else. Not even dog treats.

Answer 1

dogs aren't used to our "human" food so that's why man created specially formulated dog foods. dogs like the taste of human foods more then their dog food so if you feed them table scraps of course they will go on strike until you give them what they want. SMALL DOGS ESPECIALLY!!! I have a 6 year old chihuahua and she went threw this when she was still a puppy. I stopped feeding her table scraps and fed her only dog food and treats.

your chihuahua might look like he/she isn't eating, but they store food in small places where they can find it later.

and just to inform you that any animal WILL NOT starve themselves so if your chihuahua is hungry enough they will eat. so just leave out your chihuahuas food for about 15 min. and then pick it up. if your chihuahua doesn't eat right away then they learn that they should eat it when it is given to them. you should always have water present for them at all times. but you should only feed them in the morning and at night.

I have owned chihuahuas all my life and I have found that if you put just a little bit of olive oil or Bacon grease on their food then they are getting a better/shinier coat and they are getting something yummy at the same time.

I hope this has helped you. and if you have anymore questions feel free to email me at

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Answer 2

Don't feed him cheese and pizza all day! This will cause even more problems, as he may become obese.

Buy a reliable, tasty brand of dog food, and encourage him to eat slowly. Spoon feed the dog by bringing a spoonful of food to the dog's mouth during your family's dinnertime or whenever the dog eats. If he refuses, put the food into his food bowl and leave it. He will eventually eat. Do not bribe him with doggy treats, though. He will just learn to refuse his food more often to get treats.

However, if your dog refuses all food for 24 hours or more, take him to the vet for an emergency checkup. He may have an eating disorder.

Answer 3

I have a 5 lb dashund....and she gets her dog food and sometimes chicken strips and a bite of meat at supper time. They get good dog foot...Nutro Max dry mini-chunks. Half a cup per day and she used to still have some the next day at feeding time...when I introduced another dashund...she ate like a pig for a while with him...he was extremely underweight because he ate garbage at his last home, but he has gained 3 pounds and now they are back to leaving their food in the dish even by the next feeding time. The vet says they are both extremely healthy and they are confident that whether there is food in their dish or not they will be fed the next day at 3:30. Be consistent, dont overfeed and they will be confident that the dish will be filled. Good luck!

Answer 4

What exactly are you trying to feed him and how are you going about it?

No dog will willfully starve themselves. If you are putting down his food, and he is not eating it, and then you are giving him table scraps you are rewarding him for not eating his food. You are causing the behavior.

First visit the vet and be sure there is not medical problem. If there is not, then there is a simple way to get him to eat.

Place his food on the floor, wait 30 minutes and pick it up. You have to remove it weather he eats or not. The next day do the same thing. Allow him access to the food for 30 minutes and them remove it. He will eventually be hungry enough to eat the food. It is his choice if and when he eats, so he is the one causing himself to go hungry for the night.

While you are doing this you cannot offer any other food. No table scraps, etc. If he gets the payoff of table scraps when he chooses not to eat in the 30 minutes he knows that not eating gets a reward.

You have to think of it this way. Why do you go to work? To get paid right? If tomorrow your boss told you that you were not going to get paid(your reward for going to work), would you still show up the next day? it the same with the dog, not eating gets him a reward of table food. Remove the reward, and you extinguish the behavior.

Answer 5

Is he otherwise acting normal? --If he's not lethargic or anything and he's still keeping his normal routine (playtimes, outings, cuddle times...), it might just be the heat...I don't know where you're located, but my dogs (in TX, AZ, and CA) always ate less in the summertime. Feeding them at a cooler time of day (or at night) seemed to help.

See if you can get him to lick peanut butter off your finger. Peanut butter is tasty, easy to digest, and loaded with calories; if the dog ever gets too sick to eat anything else, you can keep him going on peanut butter until you can get him to the vet's.

My very old Poodle would still take cottage cheese and yogurt after he'd stopped eating his regular food. Also, fresh chicken and rice are good for stomach upsets.

Good luck with the little guy...!

Answer 6

I have a very very picky dog, she wont eat dog food , any brand I think I have tried them all. She loves the cat's food!! I talked to my vet and he said that I could feed her a good cat food but to give her a doggy vitamin everyday. She is three now and very healthy. Vet says she's a sound dog. If that is not an option try putting very small amounts of bacon grease on the food and gradually decreasing it so that she's eating the food in a healthy manner.

Answer 7

Depends really...is he eating less than he once did? Keep in mind he's not a very big dog and doesn't require a lot of food. Table/human foods are not good...some dogs will simply refuse their food b/c they have figured out you will give them yours. Still you might want to make sure nothing new is in his environment that he's unhappy about (new pet, new bedding, new food) or call your vet to see if he/she can offer help. My dogs love cheese, too...but maybe you should try cheese flavored treats or food w/ cheesy bites in it.

Answer 8

NEVER FEED A CHIHUAHUA PIZZA, CHEESE, OR ANYTHING ELSE HAVING TO DO WITH CHEESE, CHOCOLATE, CANDY, OR SUGAR!!!

(I think you spelled barley wrong. It's spelled correctly as "Barely")

Gosh what is with that dog? It sounds a lot like Parvo. Not eating anything? Maybe he's being picky...

Ok please go see a vet.

Answer 9

there are various affliction procedures that reason nausea in canines. It sounds to me like he's basically nauseated and tries to get excited over a clean nutrition and it would not artwork for him. Have him regarded at at your vet. they are going to desire blood artwork and urine diagnosis. Im thinking kidneys, basically because of the fact it is often seen in our older pets. yet could desire to be something. it won't be the nutrition, yet that some thing else is going on the place he would not sense stable adequate to eat it. vet tech

Answer 10

dont feed any cheese or pizza, and when he is hungry enough he will eat. he is a dog. You must teach him to eat right. Dont feed him junk