My dog won't eat her food after I switched to a new variety. Why?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sometimes dogs will just get bored of the same diet and just need to be switched to a completely new diet. I would recommend you consider a different diet though it could be from the same brand. Remember to introduce her to the new diet slowly as follows: feed 25% of the new and 75% of the old diet on day 1. Then feed 50% of each the second day and 75% of the new and 25% of the old on day 3. On day 4, you should be able to feed her the new diet entirely. Good luck and have a great day!

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!

I would recommend doing a gradual transition to the new food. Slowly every day remove some of the old food and add more of the new food. If he is still not eating when you try the gradual transition then I would recommend having him evaluated to make sure there is nothing medical going on. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It is possible that something is medically wrong with her however, I would first recommend feeding her the old flavor of food to see if that's the issue. If she eats that flavor then you may want to consider keeping her on that food. If you would rather switch you can slowly transition but mixing the two together and slowly transition the old one out.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Given he has not been showing any other signs of illness, this may just be that he needs a diet change. Sometimes dogs can get bored of their diets periodically. You can try a new diet or possibly mix his current diet with canned food to see if that helps. Best of luck!

You can try mixing the two foods together if you switched abruptly because some dogs do not handle a quick transition well. Mix the old food and new food together in a bowl for a week or two to gradually switch her over. You can also try things like soaking the new food in warm water to soften it or with a low sodium chicken broth to try to make it more appealing initially, then gradually decreasing the amount of liquid added to the food. Some pet stores also have a satisfaction gaurantee if you pet will not eat the food, so you can also call and find out if the store offers this and will let you exchange the product if she still refuses to eat it.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If Mia was eating fine and suddenly has stopped eating, this is certainly a cause for concern. Issues with the teeth, gums, or mouth can cause pain while eating. Of course there are other medical conditions that can cause decreased or lack of appetite that will need to be ruled out with her veterinarian. You can try softening the food down with water and heating it up a bit to bring out the flavor and entice her to eat. If she still doesn't want to eat, then please take her in to see her vet as soon as you can.