Why won't my bulldog eat grain-free biscuits, only raw meat?

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear that Bufford is having a problem with his diet. This happens occasionally due to a few reasons including boredom with the same diet, loss of satisfaction from the food, oral discomfort, jaw pain, among others. Your veterinarian can perform a physical exam and then advise some diet recommendations or advise some testing to evaluate his health (fecal exam, blood tests, x-rays, etc). Unless you can find an appropriate diet they he likes I would let your vet take a look at him and go from there. Good luck with Bufford.

Picky dogs can be so frustrating! I personally am not a fan of grain free diets. The truth is, they are a marketing fad. The reality is that only 5% of dog allergies are caused by food, and of that 5%, the majority is protein related. Grain allergies are extremely rare, and I never recommend feeding a grain free food unless the dog has a proven food allergy to grains. Grains are beneficial to dogs, as it helps fill them up and keeps them satisfied for longer. I recommend switching them to a brand such as Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. Whether or not you make the switch of foods, it's time to get tough with them if you want them to eat only dry dog food. They won't starve themselves, they will eat it eventually. You just have to be strong and not give in. Start by putting their food down in the morning for 15-20 minutes, taking it away after this time period even if they haven't eaten. Then no more food until dinner time. This is extremely important, they have to learn they need to eat the dog food or they don't get anything else. At dinner time, again put their food down for 15-20 minutes, taking it away after that time even if they haven't eaten. No more food until their dog food the next morning. Do not give in to them, no meat, cheese, or raw egg on their food. They will get hungry enough to eat the dog food only as long as you stay strong. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your question! The hard biscuit may be difficult for him to chew. I would try and feed him soft / canned dog food and see how he does with that. If he is still not eating and continuing to worsen, I would recommend having Maximus examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. He may be going through a phase where he is particular about the texture of the food and changing it to a more soft food may help quite a bit. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello, and thank you for your question. Stela is a beautiful dog. It is possible that she is just being picky. I would try to very gradually mix in the dry food into her wet diet, for example each day feed a bit more kibble and less wet food. I generally advise against raw diets, as they can harbour bacteria and cause serious illness in both dogs and the people who handle the food. Try sticking to commercial kibble and wet food, with the goal of transitioning onto kibble over time. Experiment with different brands, and hopefully you will find something that she likes! If she seems at all unwell (low energy, vomiting, diarrhea), then I would worry about a medical cause for the low appetite, and recommend taking her to the vet. They can check for things like a gut infection, parasites, food allergies, etc. I hope this helps, and that Stela is feeling well!

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are a few things you can do to make his food more palatable while he gets used to it. For example, you may add low sodium chicken broth, veterinary approved gravy which you can get at your pet store or pieces of boiled chicken to it. Good luck!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Snoops. Diet is a lot of times a personal preference of the dog. Some will eat only dry food while others will prefer canned or a combination of both. As long as he is eating a well balanced dog food and maintaining his weight, the formulation does not matter. So if he prefers the chicken and gravy that should be fine. I hope this information helps!

Butta is so cute! I personally do not recommend raw diets. There hasn't been any scientific evidence that they are beneficial to dogs, and there is a real risk of your dog and you getting sick from the diet due to the bacteria. You would get sick from handling the diet. In addition, it's very hard to get a raw diet balanced at home unless you pay for a commercial. I always personally recommend feeding either canned food or dry food, as those have been proven scientifically to be both healthy and nutritionally balanced for your puppy. I hope this helps!