how do i ever?

Question

get my basset hound dog,to eat tin dog food,i have tried him with every type you can mention,even the biscuit type and he dont want to know , all he wants to do is eat scraps of food that are given to him,i have stopped all the family giving him bits of food, left the tin dog food in his dish thinking he will eat when he hungry,and he still wont advise please

Answer 1

It's a battle of wills! Don't give your dog a choice, just put his food down, if he hasn't eaten it after 15 minutes, take it up and don't feed him again until his next meal is due. Leaving food down is a bad idea, the dog begins to look on it as a right not a priviledge. He won't starve himself and once he realises his food isn't there "on demand" he'll start eating whatever is put in front of him.

Answer 2

As a few people have said, it'll eat when it's hungry.

However I personally don't recommend tinned food, it's like giving your dog McDonalds every day. Their breath smells worse than usual too!
Use complete mix (proper dry food not biscuits) and just be firm! Your dog will not starve itself.

I occassionally give my dogs carrot peel and veg scraps when I'm cooking but very rarely. It seems to be keeping their teeth lovely and white, their gums look healthy and I'm sure it helps their digestive system.

Eventually, you can treat sometimes with meat etc but I wouldn't advise it till the dog's been eating it's normal food for a say a month or so. Because, in your case if you treat it too soon, it may be cheeky and go back to it's old ways.

Answer 3

My dog is the same. Doesn't like tinned or dried food. I give her dried food with a little something special in it like some chopped carrot, or sausage or chicken. This does encourage her to eat her food but often she just picks out and eats the 'treat' and leaves the dried food. Then I just keep giving the food back to her. She eats it eventually. But sometimes she may go two days without eating. She is healthy, has energy, so it isn't doing her any harm. Vet says dogs can go 4 days without eating.

Answer 4

First be satisfied that he is not sick.

Then decide if you want him eating dog food or people food. People food is OK but not from the table while you are eating. Absolutely NOT.
I prepare my own dog food 60-70 % baked chicken, mixed canned veggies, brown ride and rolled oats and a nutritional dog supplement. It's actually less expensive than dog food and make it up once a week and put in frig.
If you want a more thorough recipe email me or check the other questions as I just sent info to another person. [e-mail]

Lots of luck

Answer 5

Just dont cave in my friends dog did this about a year ago so she kept trying to stop everyone giving him scraps but she caved in! I think you should just stick to your guns put down a tin of food and maybe put the dog in the same room as his food when you and your family are eating but whatever you do dont cave in eventually he will eat is own but still dont give him human food untill he realises that his food is all he gets, dont give in and dont worry im sure he is not stupid enough to let himself starve when there is food right in front of him, hope this helps

Answer 6

Tinned dog food is basically water, check it out on the tin. It is false economy to try and get your dog to eat it if he doesn't like it. You put it in its dish and then you throw it away, so wouldn't it cheaper in the long run to give it something it will actually eat? I feed mine generally chicken fillets with chops etc for an occasional change. Ofall is cheap and they love it but I only give it them once a week cos its seriously rich. For extra vitamins give your dog a raw carrot, its good for them and they love them.

Answer 7

It is probably worth gettiing the vet to check your dog over for anything more serious, and of course to check his weight.

Chopping and changing your dogs food is likely to upset its tummy. Gradually introduce a good quality balanced diet to your dog and then stick to it. If you are feeding wet food, make sure your dog is given crunchy biscuits too to help keep his teeth clean.

Given the RIGHT information, no dog will starve itself. So, let's take a step back here to understand what is going on...

In the wild, two of the most important things to a canine are the pack (and status within the pack) and food.

Feeding is a time when status is clearly underlined. Watch wolves on any documentary and you will see that the highest ranking individuals will eat first (the alpha pair), when they are full they will step away from the kill and allow the next in line to feed, the pack will feed in order according to status, the lowest ranks will eat last.

If the kill is too big for the pack to eat all in one go, the leader will make sure no other animals take what's left of the meat.

An alpha wolf will eat a chunk from the remaining carcass after chasing off other scavegers. I have even seen photos of alpha wolves behaving like this when humans are observing the pack hours after a kill.

In doing this, the wolf is sending a clear message, 'I'm the top dog and this is mine!'

OK that's enough of the natural history, now let's translate this into what is happening in your home with your dog.

The alpha is in charge of any food and always gets first pick at the kill.

So at home, you and anyother members of your houshold need to eat a small snack when preparing your dogs meal - the dog will see this as you having first pick of HIS food. Keep this up for 14 days.

What follows next, you need to adopt for life.

Calmly place the bowl down on the floor. If your dog is vocalising or jumping, put his bowl and the food away and try again in an hour.

Once your dog is calm, place the bowl on the floor and step away, it is now your dogs turn to feed. Remember in the wild, once a pack member steps back from the kill, it is another members turn to feed.

If your dog walks away from the bowl, pick it up and put it away until his next meal is due - Do this whether the bowl is full, half full or empty - As leader, you are in charge of that food.

When leaving food down for your dog to pick at during the day, you are sending a clear message to him that he is leader of your pack (family). Your dog is not eating his food, because once his food is gone, he has lost his leadership status.

What you need to do is remove that status (the uneaten food) and remove the pressure your dog is feeling as a result of the food being left around.

Any food your dog gets should be earned, don't let him sit infront of the kitchen cupboard asking for food. Walk away and ignore him.

In a nutshell

Eat a small snack when preparing your dogs meal.

The second your dog leaves any food, pick it up and put it away.

This is just one small piece in the jigsaw of convincing your dog that you have what it takes to lead his pack.

Good Luck ;o)

Answer 8

stop giving the dog titbits and give him a proper meal at around the same time every day so that he gets into a routine.
If you stop feeding him human food he will soon get hungry and eat the doggy food

make sure that you let him know that it is his to eat by pointing at it. For a few days but little bit of cooked meat mixed in with his dry biscuits so he is mmore inclined to eat it so that he can get to the meat.

make sur that you vary his diet don't just give him biscuits everyday

Answer 9

Its not unusual for dogs to dislike tinned dog food, my three little ones dont like it so i've put them on................. cat food! Dogs love fish and so it made sense to try them on that and they love it! Been having it for over three years now! Of course i back it up with vitamins and fresh veg that we eat as i worry that they don't get enough in the cat food but they are healthy, happy and thrive on it. Try it and see if your dog will eat it. If he doesn't then you'll probably have to spend one day a week preparing and cooking his own food and freezing it for the month ahead! Good luck.

Answer 10

Hi sweet, I sympathise with you. It's hard to make changes especially ones that involve 'letting go'. Think secretly you like that he only wants to be fed from your hand, bit like a baby, they need you and that feels good. Furry little muzzle...:+)

You say you've stopped everyone giving him titbits but that he'll only eat from your hand...which is it? You've stopped or you haven't?

I think let go of the food issue and look a the bigger picture. A dog needs a good session of exercise to get hungry, then a period of approx 1 1/2 hours quiet time before feeding. He should be ravenous, it's the normal cycle of events in the wild. Hunt the food for while then eat. Try creating that cycle for him see what happens.

Then, my constructive advice would be to look at raising his bowl off the floor so his ears aren't covering his face when he puts his head down. Try raising it on a small box or step so his is at a natural height like he's used to when you feed him.

Also, use a little diluted gravy (warmed) with a touch of garlic...the smell drives them crazy and he should chow down like a dog!!!
Let us know what happens x x