My dogs won't eat dry food after table scraps. What healthy dry food?

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!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center! In the United States, Pet foods are regulated by a nongovernmental organization called AAFCO. They set standards for what makes a complete pet food. Due to these high standards, most pet foods for sale are adequate to provide complete nutrition for pet dogs. What you want is a food that has an AAFCO statement on the package that the food has been used in FEEDING TRIALS. You will find some food that have a statement that they are FORMULATED to meet requirements. Your family veterinarian may have specific preferences for food types. In general, food made by Hills, Purina, Eukanuba, and Royal Canin will have excellent nutrient profiles for your pet. If your dog has specific medical requirements, your family veterinarian can make recommendations for a prescription food.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! As you have probably noticed there are plenty of diets in the market. There are a few that stand out in my opinion in terms of quality and palatability. I really like the Science Diet, Royal Canin and Purina Pro Plan products. A diet that I have found to be of very good quality, affordable and dogs love is the Purina Pro Plan shredded blends. You can find that at your local pet store or online. Otherwise any of the diets of the previously mentioned brands would also be good choices for Harley. Good luck!

You have a lot of flexibility since she's a young/middle age adult, and I'm assuming she's healthy. Basically any food made by a reputable company is going to be fine for her. There has been more and more evidence coming out recently that grain-free diets aren't healthy for dogs (linked to a particular type of heart failure called Dilated Cardiomyopathy) and raw food also presents risk of salmonella and e.coli to both the dog and family around the dog, so I'd generally recommend staying away from both of those options. The brands I like are Hills, Purina, and Royal Canin because they have veterinary nutritionists on staff, have good quality control, and generally make solid products. I hope that helps a bit!

Grain-free foods aren't really necessary unless Apollo has an allergy to a specific ingredient and needs to eat a grain-free diet. Any balanced food should be fine to give, but brands such as Nutro, Science Diet, and Eukanuba all offer a great variety of foods including grain-free, specific health issues, large breed, etc that Apollo may enjoy eating. They also all carry wet-food varieties of their dry foods so you can easily mix and match without upsetting Apollo's stomach. If you do switch foods be sure to do so over a period of 7-9 days, gradually adding in more of the new food over time to help Apollo's GI tract adjust and minimize digestive upset.

I agree. I do not recommend to feed pets a grain free diet unless they have a known grain allergy. There are a few brands that I recommend because I think they’re high quality and pets tend to like the taste. Royal Canin is my number one choice. It is highly digestible and low residue and this tends to result in good stool quality with low stool quantity. Another brand I like is Purina pro plan. Nutro is also a good brand. Make sure to transition any diet slowly. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

In general, it is not recommended to feed dogs a grain free diet unless they are known to have a grain allergy (which is very uncommon). There are many misconceptions about pet nutrition circulating. While the link is not yet understood and has multiple factors, something about the grain free diets may be allowing heart disease to develop in certain dogs. I recommend to feed a high quality brand with a good reputation and minimal problems with food recalls. The brand I like the most is Royal Canin. They conduct feeding trials to measure the digestibility of their diets. Most pets who eat this brand have excellent coat and stool quality. They also tend to produce minimal stool which is a sign the diet does not contain fillers and is highly digestible. I also recommend Nutro and Purina Pro Plan. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.