My dog will only eat people food or CAT food!?

Question

My Chihuahua, Roxxi, has only eaten people food since I got her when she was a little puppy. The vet said that little dogs are picky, so give her rice and ground meat. Well, now she WILL NOT eat dog food at all. I usually give her table scraps (minus poultry bones, because they can puncture the organs). The vet said that she is healthy, etc. But, now, we got a kitten, and Roxxi eats all of her food! I have to seperate them just so Roxxi won't eat all of her food. Roxxi actually likes it more than the kitten does? Is this bad??

Answer 1

Your dog is probably smart enough to have figured out that hey, if she doesn't eat her dog food, you will give her something better! The cure is easy - give her nothing but dog food for a while. No dog will starve itself to death out of pickiness, she might refuse for a couple of days but sooner or later she will eat the dog food. And voila.

That being said, even though your dog starts eating dog food, she probably won't stop eating your cat food too. But just feed them both at the same time. Cats can get their food served at meals, it doesn't have to be out all the time. When a pet leaves its food, take it away. Feed 2 or 3 times a day, both at the same time.

Answer 2

The vet said to give your dog rice and ground meat as a daily diet? I'd change vets. The only time plain rice and ground meat is fed is when a dog has a GI upset, food allergy, or other type of dietary issue.

There are different types of dog foods for different breeds of dogs. Yes, toy breeds can be finicky, but they should still be fed dog food to ensure they receive all the nutrition that canines need. A dog will eat when it's hungry, believe me. It may take awhile, because she now expects caviar, but you might try some of the fancy can foods. At least they're made nutritionally correct for dogs.

The reason she no longer will eat dog food at all is because she's been spoiled on human food. Let's face it, human food is more interesting, tasty, and less-boring than dog food. However, they key word here is "human" vs. "dog" food. Your Chihuahua is a dog, not a human. While she may appear healthy now, people who live on fast food don't show its effects immediately either. A dog eating cat food isn't going to make her ill, but she's not a cat. For very ill dogs, we used to give them the smelliest kind of cat food to tempt their appetite. As soon as their appetite was back, they would return to proper high quality dog food.

What we do for our puppy and cat is put the cat food high up where the puppy can't get it. The cat jumps to her food leaving the puppy standing there looking up like, "Hey, I can't get up there." Hope this helps a bit.

Answer 3

She has learned that if she doesn't eat her dog food, you're going to give her yummy human food. Unless you're going to feed her a well-balanced raw/barf diet that you've done extensive research and talked to your vet about, you shouldn't feed her any more human food. Start giving her dog food again. Does she have a feeding schedule? If not, make one for her, and if so keep it. When it's time for her to eat, set down her dog food. 15 minutes should be enough time for her to eat. If she doesn't eat, don't give her anything until her next meal time. A healthy dog won't starve itself to get different food. She will refuse at first, but sooner or later, she will eat. Don't give into her begging for human food. Kitten food isn't good for dogs; it was made for kittens for a reason. You should keep your dog away from the kitten food. Put it up somewhere, such as on a counter where the kitten can reach but your can't. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

You could try slowing mixing small amounts of dog food in with her people food and over time just decreasing the amount of people food you mix in. I've heard this technique works well. As for her eating the cat food...maybe just continue keeping them separated during feeding time is a good idea. I used to have the same issue with my dog and cat and that is what I always did.

Answer 5

I used to have a beagle that would eat all my cat's food and after a while she gained so much weight. I was told cat food is very fattening. Here's a trick that might work. Mix water in with regular dog food. This kind of creates a gravy that your dog might like. Also, you can mix a beef bouillon cube with water and the dog food. This looks more like actual gravy.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!!!

Answer 6

Hrm- Well, if the vet says your dog is healthy, I wouldn't worry too much about the people food. But as for the kitten food, you'll have to feed the kitten somewhere where the dog can't go.

Answer 7

Neener, neener, neener, Roxxi's got you trained...

Answer 8

Ya sure your dog doesn't also think she's gay? I wonder if there's such a thing as Animal Psychotherapy?

Answer 9

my dog does the same but she is totally fine so i think it is okay