Dog refusing to eat

[HandbagsnGladrags]

My 6 month old puppy has decided he's not eating kibble any more unless I mix it with something like chicken or a bit of ham. We're currently having a stand off and he hasn't eaten anything at all today. I changed brands of kibble recently, he was enthusiastic at first, I mixed it gradually etc. But he's just lost interest. Sometimes he'll eat a bit if I scatter some on the lawn. He's not ill, acting normally, he's just being a stubborn little sod.

What would you do? Stick it out til he gets hungry?

He will eat if he’s hungry enough

He currently knows if he stops eating, you will give in and give him what he wants.

Stop pandering. Only worry if he doesn’t eat for more than 3 days

Kibble is quite boring and bland for a dog to eat day in day out. By all means find a good quality kibble they like but use it as a base and mix other interesting foods with it to give variety and interest. Our dogs enjoy tinned sardines, our leftovers, the possibilities are endless.

Dogs love food, it should be a highlight of their day, so it is worthwhile to investigate thoroughly and find an option that your dog enjoys.

I'd say be careful. But don't pander.

Depends on your dog. My labs -hoover everything and it's gone in 20 seconds. I never need to take the bowl away as there isn't anything left. If one isn't eating, they are ill and they go downhill quickly. You could try down for 10 minutes and if it doesn't want it -take it away until next meal. But absolutely no treats.

My parents had a dog, a little JT and they brought a different canned dog food (going back 20 years!) and it refused to eat. They tried to 'last' him out but he wouldn't have it.
He also used to pick at his food and go back and forth. Personally I find it would attract flies etc.

In this situation I'd bring another dog over and see how quickly he eats. My friend's dog was being picky so she just brought him here for tea. He soon tucked in.

Personally my dog gets wet food and we change the flavour each time we open a new can.

Kibble is boring for a dog and yes they will eat when hungry so you could ride it out but I love to see my dog enjoying his food so I mix it up for him so he doesn't get bored.

Thanks for the replies. I don't really want to go down the wet food route and plenty of dogs eat kibble. He gets treats mixed in when he's eating properly but I don't want to rely on them.

Has anyone tried salmon oil?

Another thing to consider is that kibble will start to deteriorate once the bag is opened if not stored in the same bag in an airtight container. After 2 weeks or so it will smell very unpleasant to dogs with their superior sense of smell.

Really? The bags I use have seals on them - does this not keep it fresh?

You’re feeding kibble only?

Thats boring for the dog. Imagine you only had the same food every single day for the rest of your life.

Please do look at giving them some wet. Even if it’s only a small portion

My dogs have a bowl of kibble down all day for them to pick at. I change flavours regularly so they get variety. They then have a bowl of wet food in the evening.

Bung in some veg with it to give it some variety etc.

I used salmon oil from fish for dogs and it really helped mine when she was a fussy pup. When that ran out I used olive oil and then gradually stopped adding it and she continued to eat them no problem

Re food storage. We have one of these as we buy large bags from Millie's Wolfheart, and store half in the bag and half in another sealed plastic box

www.wilko.com/en-uk/curver-pet-life-dry-pet-food-container-54l/p/0334099?bvstate=pg:3/ct:r

Meant to say, he used to have a scrambled egg for breakfast every day and he's even gone off that 🙁

Maybe it's the hot weather. I don't feel like eating much during this hot spell.

Really? The bags I use have seals on them - does this not keep it fresh?

If it's airtight that's fine.

Ahh, mine would still eat treats and scrambled eggs. Is yours drinking & going to the loo ok?

Tinned sardines
Scrambled (with water) egg
Some frozen veg
Leftovers (especially anything with past!)
All make our pup happy

The trouble is, once you start switching because the dog 'gets bored' with one food, you'll be forever doing this. You've got 12-15 years ahead!
Choose one brand and stick with it.
Offer the food at set times, and remove it after meal time. No treats. No mixing of wet and dry food. Make sure there's water available all the time.
And let him get on with it.

Sometimes the heat might be an issue with loss of appetite. Some dogs like eating really late at night.

Dogs don't savour food the way humans do and out of date or spoiled food is not something they'd turn their noses up at.
(Obviously you should make sure food is stored properly even if they'd eat anything).

I really wouldn't offer options.

Also check the dog hasn't got some sort of mouth discomfort or ear infection which would make chewing dry food painful- another reason a dog might not want to eat.

@longtompot yeah he's drinking and going to the loo. Just did him some mashed sweet potato and mixed it with his kibble and he's wolfed the lot.

I know some people will come on and say their dogs thrive on kibble, but all dogs are different and many don't enjoy that kind of diet. If you were an omnivore with teeth designed to tear meat, would you really want to eat dry biscuits everyday with no variety in texture or flavour?

What's your objection to wet food? Cost? Smell?

If you really don't want to feed it, at least think about mixing something in with his biscuits. It doesn't need to be wet food - it could be meat (as you've been doing), a raw egg, some doggy gravy, some warm water etc. Just something to make it more interesting for him and to give him some variety in his diet.

I don't pander to my dog - if he doesn't eat, he doesn't get something else instead, but equally I don't expect him to be happy with a diet of dry biscuits and nothing else.

We've done the warm water thing. And sometimes a bit of cooked chicken.

My dog won't eat dry kibble and I really don't blame him. Half a tin of sardines mixed in and he's happy. I also save any leftover chicken for him to mix it up a bit.

I might try the sardines - thanks. Have just ordered some salmon oil as well.

my boy is a fussy bugger. What I have found is working OK at the moment is giving him a variety of things. I know people say dont change food all the time but like other people have said it must be boring for the dog to eat the same thing all the time. So I have a few flavours of kibble in the cupboard, I have some butternut box as well and some tinned food as well - all good stuff for sensitive tummy as he has a dicky tum sometimes. So I mix and match what I give him on a daily basis. might give him half butternut box in the evening and some wet food in the morning etc seems to be working at the min.

You do get a lot of conflicting advice. The breed I have are renowned for being fussy, and so my instinct is not to pander. Having said that, today I only got him to eat by mixing in a bit of sweet potato and chicken. Any my salmon oil arrived so I'm going to try that with his evening meal but I know you can't give too much of it so I can't put it in every meal. Will also try the sardines.

Can anyone help with gravy toppers which are suitable for puppies? Which brands etc? I am a first time dog owner so am just trying to do what's best for him.

Mine both have had salmon oil for a long time -I bulk order it and they get a bit squirt on their kibble. They have stunning shiny coats -and before I did it they didn't.