help my 13 month old staffordshire wont eat dog food?

Question

we recently got her from a nice family, but her entire life they have fed her scraps. she refuses to eat dog food. she almost ways 80 pounds, so she eats alot of food. its like feeding 2 humans, i cant continue feeding her this way and i know it cant be good for her. any suggestions would be appreciated. please help

Answer 1

Find a good quality dog food...
we adopted a dachshund and the first 2 days, he wouldnt eat at all. I have to say that i was woried, but everyone told me that he will eventually eat because a dog wont starve himself to death....so true. We are feeding him twice a day....he has 30 min to finish. if he doesnt then he'll wait until next meal.
Believe me, it works.....he will eventually eat.
Just dont give him any human food or treats until he'll eat his dogfood.
Good luck and thanks for taking in a pup...its hard work that will pay off in the end.

Answer 2

At 13 months most kids still need to get molars and then there is the 2yo teeth too. If you have had your wisdom teeth come through it can feel quite uncomfortable and you can get pain radiating through to the sinuses, down the neck, in the ear (without there being an actual infection) and the mouth probably hurts most of all. I would serve up meals like you usually do, let him eat what he wants, then let him go because if it is teeth, it just has to pass. Also toddlers at this age hate to be confined to a high chair or seat. Could you give him "food on the run" bite sized pieces of sandwich, crackers and cheese, pieces of fruit that can go straight into the mouth..............I have a 19 mo and he hates to have to sit and eat, sometimes it works, but others I have to quickly shovel as much in his mouth as I can and give him the rest of his meal on the fly. It can be distressing when your child refuses to eat, but they will eat when hungry. Your child has only just got past the 12 month mark and is probably making up for lost calories in milk. Persevere with him, it should get better in time.

Answer 3

Check out a raw diet. It is not that expensive and it is healthy.
http://www.rawdogranch.com
I used to get chicken backs at an extremely low price from the butcher. It's a good "raw meaty bone" food, in addition to other needs when raw fed.
If you aren't up to trying that diet, then try a good kibble that doesn't contain wheat, corn or soy. You don't want the dog's skin to start having problems which it could if you switch to kibble, esp. with those ingredients.
I feed my dogs occasional raw- chicken back
and Nature's Recipe Venison and Rice, because two tend towards allergies. I add supplements: Norwegian Cod Liver Oil and NutriVed- both are for skin and coat.
Nature's Recipe was one of a handful of easily found brands that was NOT on the recent recall lists for melamine and other toxins found in dog foods. (hundreds of brands)
http://www.itchmo.com
Whatever diet you start her on, the change could cause some stomach upset while the dog is adjusting to a new diet, so you can add a bit of pumpkin pie filling to the diet, give your dog about a half can with the new food you are going to feed her, if her stools start to get loose.

Answer 4

I would keep trying to give her the dog food, try several different brands, maybe she doesn't like the one you're giving her. If you still can get her to eat try calling the vet and asking them for suggestions. I would definitely recommend NOT feeding her table scraps its unhealthy and dogs bodies can't digest certain fats like ours can. Good Luck!

Answer 5

A young healthy dog will eat when it is hungry. Stop the people food, and as stated above, give her 10 minutes twice a day to eat the dog food. She will eventually, but you can't give in. They can be very stubborn about this and can go many days without eating! But believe me, she will.

Answer 6

Put out dog food with boiled hamburger and rice mixed in and slowly decrease the amount until she's eating just dog food.

Answer 7

A dog won't starve itself so put the food down and it will learn to eat what you give it.

Answer 8

I have 3 dogs. They will eat what ever you put in front of them. Either canned or dry. My dogs like hotdogs, chicken, chips, popcorn, etc. But the still eat thier food when they want it. Try introducing some treats. They love them and the will more than likely eat what ever you put in front of them.

Answer 9

after trying to learn about dog food since the finding of the bad stuff coming from over seas, more people are going natural. the dog and cat food is made from junk not fit for human consumption. they grind the chicken and grind up the bones and even throw the feathers in. and since when do animals need grains in their food[ unless you're a cow]people are using chicken and turkey and carrots and brown rice and cheese and vegetable oil. doesn't that sound better to you? I'm going to try it with my cats.even my dog when she was still here[ up until march.. she was 13 when she went to the bridge i used to hive he carrots and broccoli for snacks. try it. i bet she'll like it. i don't know what you do about vitamins tho. maybe a supplement?

Answer 10

cook for her, apples are good, carrots, even rice, boiled rice is good and u can control her, that's was bad about some dog food, they have too many fillings and it makes them fat and it makes then eat more than they need. my puppy went from eating 3 times a day of iams, to once a day of Innova, but in between he could have some carrots, apples even bananas, and he's not starvin at all, so she'll get used to it