Why is my dog refusing dry food but begging for treats and human food?

If you're feeding your dog everything, including people food and treats, he likely enjoys those a lot more than his food. Just like people, giving too much junk food may encourage your dog to want those items and ignore their healthy diet. It is best to remove/stop giving all extras including treats, people food, etc and only give his food -- You'll want to place it down for 15m and whatever he doesn't eat, pick up and try again in a few hours. Once he is hungry enough, he'll try out his food again and you can get him back to his normal routine.

If you are giving Brogan treats and other food (table scraps etc) when she doesn't eat her food it is likely she is just not eating and trying to get something better. I would recomend feeding her dry food only and no treats for a few days. A young healthy dog will not starve themselves. If she is still not eating she may need an exam to make sure she isn't painful. But I suspect she's trying to "train" you into giving her other foods. Dry dog food is what she needs to be healthy with little to no treats.

Dogs tend to try and hold out on the "healthy" stuff especially if more interesting things such as treats are available. If he is refusing to eat it is best to stop all people food and treats for a day to encourage him to eat his food instead. Most dogs will get hungry enough after a day to give their regular food a try.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It is possible that Ray either has a bit of an upset stomach or other illness that is mild at this point, or he could just be learning that if he begs for treats he will get them and not have to eat his dog food. I recommend monitoring him for now, if he gets worse (vomiting, diarrhea, painful, weak, not eating treats) then bring him to a vet. Other than that, you can try to decrease the amount of treats he gets and not give him treats when he is begging, and see if you can train him back to eating his kibble. Best of luck with Ray!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If Oberon isn't vomiting or having diarrhea, I would withhold food from him for 12 hours. He may be nauseous. If he is still refusing food after 12 hours I would take him to a vet for a thorough physical exam to find out why. Good luck and kisses to Oberon!

It sounds like she's trained you to give her the good stuff :) I'd first start with a vet visit to rule out a medical cause (Anxiety, intestinal parasites, an issue with her liver processing nutrients called a liver shunt). If everything is normal, then slowly start weaning her off the treats and on to food. It's ok for her to go a day or two without eating a normal amount while you're transitioning her.

There could be a reason that the dry food is uncomfortable for them (broken teeth, gum disease, etc), however since it's both dogs, I expect it's more that they have learned to hold out for the ham addition. The good news is that they are large adult dogs, so they can go a day or 3 without eating without issues if they are otherwise healthy. If they are having ANY other issues (vomiting, diarrhea, weight gain or loss, limping, skin disease, lethargy, or anxiety etc check with your vet first before working on the dry food issues). If they truly are healthy, just stop giving them ham. Put the food down for 15 minutes and then pick it up. Offer the food 2 or 3 times a day. Throw away any uneaten food at the end of the day and start over the next day. Stay in the room during meal times, but don't make a fuss about the food. If they STILL aren't eating the food by the end of day 3, consult with your regular veterinarian. Make sure water is always available. It's ok to give them their regular treats at other times of the day (but no Ham and generally no super amazing treats), but don't try to fill them up with treats. The idea is to let them get hungry enough to eat the food.