Female Chihuahua is becoming a picky eater?

Question

My 3 year old female chihuahua has been slowly starting to turn her nose up at her food. At first it would just happen once in a while; she would ignore her food, and would have to be encouraged to eat it. Once she started, however, she ate it all.

Now it is happening more often. I serve her the food, she looks at it, and then won't eat it unless I coax her by putting some at the end of my finger.

I have added her favorite treats to her food, such as pieces of carrots and fresh fruit, but I don't want to "reward" her behavior.

Do some dogs just get more picky as they age? She is otherwise healthy and active, and she will eventually eat what she is given.

Answer 1

I have two Chi's. One standard, and known as a "Deer Chi",
and the other a runt, otherwise known as a "Toy". The Deer
is a year older and yet they are half sisters. The older one
acts like a mother to the tiny one.
Now the older dog went after her puppy food, and then got
bored with it as she was about two, and we switched to what
we have her on now. Which is Pet Promise, endorsed by
Dr Andrew Weil, for it's healthy content without fillers. We buy
it at the grocery store in the small bag, which lasts at least a
month.
The little toy isn't much for the dry food. We rescued her from a puppy mill home,and she was raised on a diet of
cooked chicken. And this is the favorite meal of both Chi's.
So we give it to the two alot. We also give them small portions of what we have extra for our dinner meat. They do
like pork but not as much as the chicken. The older Chi will
eat some of the Pet Promise each day, but not the toy often.
When we got the toy we discovered she had yellowed teeth
and horrible breath, and we started giving her Greenies, the
brand name of a chewable product that they eat and it's good
for them. It's supposed to remove tar and whiten their teeth.
Her teeth are slowly getting better. Our older dog has been given them since she was a small puppy and her teeth are white. She looks forward to these treats each day. When we ran out, she was into a funk for the three days she went without. So she needs her Greenies fix daily.
We had a Bichon Frise throughout her life, and she never
was a picky eater. She loved people food more than her
kibbles tho. She loved my spaghetti and some other foods
that were home cooked. And she loved Jerky Treats.
We offer our dogs a variety of meats that we have. But
not a big portion and only once a day. I would have to say that
the older dog is more picky now at almost 4 years of age. She will even turn her nose up at people food sometimes. We
don't worry about her, as we know she'll often wait til later
in the evening to eat some kibble.
We've noticed with our dogs that if it's warm from the
weather, they don't want to eat til it's cool and comfortable
later, unless the A/C is on. Their appetites wane due to that
and don't want much to eat. Our Bichon was the same way.
And sometimes would even skip a meal entirely.
I also notice that our dogs don't like stale water, and I've
made sure when I see a rim of bubbles in their water bowl,
it's time for a change. So I put fresh down in the morning
and early evening. That's something that can be easily
overlooked. They will drink alot once I put a fresh bowl down.
If your dog is suddenly picky, it could easily be the summer
heat that's got her off her feed, so to speak. But it could be
time to change the brand of her food as well. I guess they
get tired of the same o, same o, as we would.

Answer 2

It could be the quality of food and she is rejecting what her body will not use (cornmeal, brewers rice, wheat gluten, ect) or she could be over fed. Put her on a feeding schedule and only allow her one hour to eat after you put her food down. If she doesn't eat then take the food up until the next time you feed. Make sure she is eating at the same time everyday. Eventually she will learn that she will eat then or wait. If she goes three days without eating take her to the vet. A dog can live for one week without eating but you don't want to wait that long. You also should take notice if she starts to become lethargic or her stomach expands. If this happens take her to the vet asap. Don't add any flavoring to her food or give her treats in it as this will not correct the problem but will only allow her to eat what she wants and leave it. Good job rewarding her with carrots though. They help fight bacteria that cause peridontis disease and strengthen the gums but watch out for certain fruits mainly grapes and raisens.

Answer 3

No. You are making her picky. I've had several Chi's--all you need to do is put her food (a good name brand dog food) in a bowl for 15 minutes and if she doesn't eat it, she doesn't get anything else until the next meal (feed twice a day). Trust me, she will soon turn into a great eater! Stop doctoring up her food and worrying so much. Dogs will not starve themselves to death. She is smart and is training YOU!

Answer 4

I had the same problem with my first dog also. The dog I have now had the same problem in the beginning too. After doing some research and experimenting I discovered that dogs love olive oil. They only need a teaspoon in each meal. It's good for their health overall and for their coat . When my dogs were done eating I rewarded them even if I had to coax them to eat. After a while they realized that every time they eat their din-din they get a nice treat. I have started adding some cooked ground beef, cottage cheese, or shredded cheese with his kibble and he can't wait till his next meal. Long gone are the memories of treats now! Adding some water in dry food might help too.

Answer 5

I think their individual taste buds cause food to taste good or bad to them. Children's taste buds are different from adults and certain foods many taste bitter to them without added sugar. Older people notice a change in their taste buds and many no longer care much for sweets, etc. Also If a person has had a good or bad experience in regard to a food, that may bring back memories that affect a picky eater.

Answer 6

i have the same problem with my 3 year old female chihuahua. we used to feed her beneful and she would only eat the red pieces out of it. then we switched over to pedigree and she loved it at first. she would eat the every piece and even try to bite the other dog i have if he came 3 feet from her bowl. so after about a few months of eating it, now she only eats the squares with the meaty center! shes very picky. she sometimes eats when i hand feed her. but i wouldnt suggest it. so when she only eats the squares out of her food when i feed her, after a few days i wont give her anymore food since she already has 3 days worth in her bowl and then she eventually eats it. so shes probably just picky like my furbaby.

Answer 7

She's just trying to get extra attention from you. She's trying to see how much she can get you to do. Just put out the food and leave her alone. She won't make herself starve to death. Animals know how to stay alive.

It might take her a while to eat since she seems to be so smart and stubborn. But probably not more than a day or so.

Answer 8

My Chihuahua is VERY picky. The reason is simple. My grandma always gave him leftovers. I am not sure how to make it stop but if you havent given her any table food then she might just not like the food.

Answer 9

Is she pregnant? If not than I guess shes bored of her food, my dog gets bored of her food too so we change her diet like every week lol

Answer 10

if you or someone gives her table scraps that might be the problema con la chihuahua