My dog is picky. Can I add fruit like banana to his dry food?

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!

Even with the vitamin supplements, this is not likely a complete and balanced diet. There is not anything you can give him to improve his appetite. This is likely behavioral and nature. It’s hard to get a pet adjusted to eating pet food once they are used to eating something like human food or jerky treats. You may try cooking his food or try different commercial diets to find one he likes. If you want to cook his food, you will need to contact a veterinary nutritionist to make sure that the diet is complete and balanced. A recent survey found that the vast majority of the homemade diets found online were unbalanced. Any food you choose needs to be AAFCO tested and certified. This information will be on the packaging. You will also need to decrease the amount of jerky you are giving him. Best of luck.

Some dogs can be very picky, and if Brownie enjoys eating food with a little wet food mixed in, that's not a problem. Many brands of dry dog food also carry equivalent wet foods, and you can mix that in while still providing a balanced diet that is healthy for Brownie to eat. If you do add in wet food, you may just want to decrease the amount of dry food slightly to account for the increase in calories for adding extras.

You can mix the 2 together and slowly decrease the amount of soft food he gets to get him used to dry food again. You can add a small amount of chicken or beef broth to the food to give it a little more flavor an entice him back to dry food that way

A lot of food allergies are also due to an allergy to chicken and/or beef. I would recommend to refrain from putting chicken on there until you ask your vet because it depends on the type of food your vet put him on as to whether or not chicken is okay. In the meantime, maybe just top the food with some canned green beans or hot water. Also, most foods have a canned version that you can top the dry food with. If you want to set up a consult and talk to me about the specific food they put him on I would more than happy to look at the ingredients with you and see what other options might be okay to add to Benji's diet. I hope this helps!

As long as she eats and is not losing weight, don't stress out over it. It is true that smaller breeds can be a bit more finicky. Switching foods would not be recommended as it can lead to gastrointestinal upset and reinforce her finicky nature. Instead, try mixing in a bit of warm water or a teaspoon of baby food to stimulate the appetite.

I don't recommend you give your dog citrus. The banana is OK but really not ideal either. You are better off sticking to dog food and not human foods. Any abnormal foods could disturb her normal appetitie. If this is a one time occurrence where she didn't finish all of her food right away I would not be concerned. Just monitor her for any abnormal behavior (lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, etc) and if you notice her showing any of those signs or continuing to not finish her food then I would take her to your vet for an exam. Hope this helps. Best wishes.