Why is my picky dog eating cat food and having hard, ball-like poop?

OH Moose sounds like quite the character. Unfortunately, some dogs are super picky. Other times, they need a little tough love. It sounds like you've already ruled out any possible medical issues so Moose must be picky, and you are super nice pet parents for catering to him. I find for some dogs its a taste or texture they don't like. But it sounds like you've tried them all and Moose keeps turning up his nose. I would recommend putting his dish down for 10 minutes, then picking it up and putting it away until his next meal time. Repeat. Feeding 1-3 solid meals a day like this will teach him to eat when the food is out. A dog will not starve themself, but they may need to get a bit snacky for the next meal to encourage eating. Also cut out ALL treats. Moose needs to learn to eat his food and not fill up elsewhere for the time being at least. My other recommendation for these picky eaters is to buy only small bags of food at a time. Less waste, but also some dogs are particular about freshness of their kibble too. Buy only a big enough bag that will last no more than 3 weeks. Store the food in the original bag, in an airtight container. And feel free to try new brands with each bag purchase, just make sure you transition from one food to the next to avoid tummy upsets. Moose might just be one of those dogs that likes variety. TIP: sticking to foods that have similar protein % will avoid protein overloads and tummy troubles, Some brands also specialize in rotational feedings and are meant to switch from different proteins, your (pet specialty) local store should be able to assist you with those brands available in your area.

Honey has decided what her diet will be, but that's not her job . . . it's yours. Stop feeding her all different foods. The changes probably upset her stomach, making her feel even less like eating.. Put regular dog food in a bowl on the floor without fuss and leave it for 15 minutes. After that time, pick it up whether she has eaten or not. Do not give her anything--no treats, snacks or human food--until her next scheduled mealtime. Then repeat the process. It may take several times for her to realize that there will be no otrher food, and that she must eat what you have given her. Remember that you are not starving her–she is CHOOSING not to eat when she does have access to food. This is a battle of wills. When she is hungry enough, she’ll give in and eat, and your problem will be solved. Do not weaken or "feel sorry" for her. It will only make it harder to correct. She must have a nutritionally complete diet, and what you are feeding her now is not sufficient. Good luck!

The best thing to do is not to give her any additional food at all. No human food or treats. Given that she will eat it when she's desperate for something to eat, it shows she will eat it and she's simply being picky. Only offer her her dog food twice a day, and put the meal down for 15-20 minutes. Pick it up after that time period, even if she hasn't eaten anything. Do not give her any other food until her next meal. Once she learns she won't get any other food, she will start eating it.

Some dogs are just picky eaters or are not very food driven. So we have some dogs, like your typical labrador, that will eat anything and everything within 30 seconds of it being put down, and others that are more picky and graze throughout the day. There are not necessarily medical drawbacks to leaving her food down throughout the day, or at least leaving it down for a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening. Sometimes unfortunately with dogs who are picky we just have to be tough and not offer them a different food every time they decide they aren't excited about their current one. We can predispose dogs to food allergies if we are changing their foods all the time and we do get allergies later in life it is much harder to find a good diet for them. I would choose one food and stick with it, and she will eventually get hungry and eat it. The exception is toy breed puppies which can develop hypoglycemia if they go too long without eating https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952329 , but adult dogs should be able to tolerate this. I am a fan of the purina pro plan line, which is available at most pet stores and is good quality, they also have dry diets, wet diets, and their Savor line has kibbles along with softer/chewy kibbles which my dogs love. If there is some treat that she is very fond of you can mix it in with the food that you want her to eat and slowly decrease the amount of the treat each day so she gets used to the other food. Some people find putting some low sodium chicken broth on the food can entice them to start eating a food and you can slowly decreas the amount placed on the food, or warming food up slightly makes it more appetizing.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is very abnormal for a 7month old puppy to vomit that much. I recommend taking her to the vet with a fresh stool sample to rule out intestinal parasites first. She may also need X-rays to rule out an obstruction. I would stop feeding her the human foods as she is likely to hold out for those vs eating her puppy food diet. You can try adding canned puppy food to her dry food to get her more intested. As long as there are no health concerns she will eat when she's hungry. Right now, you are caving to her before she caves and eats and is therefore promoting a picky behavior. If she's healthy, I would get tough about what you offer her. She won't starve. Good luck and kisses to Daisy!

Dogs are lucky in that if they don't eat for a day or two there's no harm done. Cats will suffer liver damage after a few days, dogs just get hungry. As long as she is otherwise healthy, I wouldn't worry about it too much if she has a picky day here or there. Keep an eye on the behavior, to be safe, and see if there seems to be anything that seems to trigger the event, so you can keep your vet informed. If you do decide to change her food, don't do it abruptly. Make sure you have enough of the old food for about a week. You can change her over a couple of different ways. One method is to mix the two foods, 75% old, 25% new in a single bowl for 23 days, then 50% of each for a few days, then 25% old food, 75% new for 2-3 days or until you run out of the old food. Alternatively, you can offer two bowls of food, old food in one, new in the other. Gradually decrease the amount of new food until she is completely transitioned onto the new food. This will minimize and hopefully prevent any intestinal upset because of the new food. Feed the best food you can afford to as this will support optimal health which will, in turn, lead to fewer health problems later in life.

Hi there. If Molly isn't underweight and your veterinarian has confirmed that she doesn't have any underlying GI issues that might make her not feel well when she eats, then there's no need to constantly switch foods trying to find something to interest her. Many picky dogs are good at training us to do this. :) Instead, you can just offer her food at her regular mealtimes. Leave the food out for 10-15 minutes, then pick up whatever is left and put it away. Offer it again at the next scheduled mealtime. It might take a few days, but she'll eat when she gets hungry. It's a bit like insisting your child eat his vegetables, when he'd rather have ice cream!