Dog won't eat kibble? What safe, healthy food toppers can I use?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Bear! Medications can mess with an already sensitive stomach. So if his decrease in appetite matches when you started medications for his skin that is likely the reason. See if adding warm water to the dry food helps or a tablespoon of canned food with in the same brand will get him to eat. Hopefully when his skin is cleared up and the medication is over he will resume eating normally. I wish you the best

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!

Add warm water or a couple teaspoons of baby food to his food to stimulate his appetite. Check his mouth and gums for injury or signs of periodontal disease (redness, swollen gums, bad breath, visible plaque/tartar build up). Discontinue hand feeding. This may worsen his being finicky. Changing the food bowl may reignite interest. Prepare his food at mealtimes and leave it down for 20-30 minutes. Pick it up afterwards whether he has eaten or not. Repeat this at the next mealtime. Do not offer any other food or treats between meals. Zeus will not starve. He will eat when he is hungry as long as you are firm with him. Regular mealtimes are recommended since dogs thrive on routine. If he develops any other symptoms (lethargy, vomiting,diarrhea, loss of appetite), then have him examined by your veterinarian.

Hi there. Yes, stress could be the cause of Bear's eating behavior. I would try feeding him away from the other dog, somewhere where he doesn't feel challenged because this could be an issue. You can also try high calorie food like Royal Canin GI high energy to help make sure he's getting plenty of calories. There is also the canine phermone collar called DAP which can help settle their nerves and this may be worth a try. I hope that helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry that Bear has not been eating. Since it has been more than a day that Bear has not eaten, I recommend taking him to the vet. It could be anything from not liking his original food, to an upset stomach, to something more serious like pancreatitis, a foreign object, oral pain etc. Your vet can perform a full physical exam and decide if additional diagnostics are warranted at that time (blood work, fecal testing, radiographs). If Bear has any vomiting, diarrhea, or lethargy- I would recommend taking Bear in sooner to the vet.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Teddy! Since you are describing him as skinny I worry about medical causes for his anorexia. I would deworm him even if the stool is negative and have a stool sample checked. I have blood work ran to check his kidneys. If all the blood work comes back normal I would do a maldigestion/malabsorption profile (B12, folate, TLI, PLI), a bile acid to test liver function and test him for Addison's disease. Then I would ultrasound him to look for enlarged lymph nodes and thickened intestines that would suggest Inflammatory Bowel disease. I hope this helps and I wish you and Teddy the best!

Thank you for your question. There are some dogs that are very picky eaters, including mine. You can approach this a couple of different ways. You can decide to stick to one food and take the approach that Kimi will eat it when he is hungry. If you choose to do this, you need to avoid adding anything to the food, or he will simply wait until you add something to eat it. At his age, I would be comfortable letting him go 48 hours without eating before giving in and adding something to encourage him to eat. The second approach would be to recognize that he gets bored with his food and rotate through foods. You can find a brand with multiple flavors. Or you can change between brands. If you change between brands, I recommend adding some of the new food to the old food for a few days. Lastly, there are some dogs that only eat once a day, and if that is all he is interested in, that is okay too. He will eat when he is hungry, and as long as his weight is stable, and there are no other symptoms (such as vomiting or diarrhea), I wouldn't be concerned. For the barking, I recommend ignoring her when she barks. If she receives attention for this behavior it will continue. Here is a link to an article on barking. https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-tips-to-stop-excessive-barking-in-dogs/ I hope this helps. Thanks for using PetCoach.